Skip to main content

Full text of "The New England farmer"

See other formats 


1 

1 

L 

t ' 

''  ■ 

UMASS/AMHEHST 


312066  0308   0411    2 


/E  COLLEG 
EPOSITOm 


LIBRARY 


OF  THE 


m 


MASSACHUSETTS 

AGRICULTURAL 

COLLEGE 

NO.-J.(a5rSl____DATE..1'l^_S5"_ 

souRCE--_\:\_..]_'_.E^a>TjQini 

Pc2  r 


SPECiA<      OLLECTIOMS 
a  AROHUVES 


^.  ^sc 


v/^^^ 


•Vv 


^ 


■"\        --5 


\ 


V. 


itiiniif 


V^EEKLY   AND    MONTHLY. 


THE  WEEKLY  NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER 

Is  a  larg-e  folio  sheet,  thirty-two  columns  of  reading  matter,  calculated  especially 

for  the  interests  of  the 

FARMER,    HORTICULTURIST,    MECHANIC, 

AND    THE 

FAMILY     CmCLE, 

Edited  by  competent  persons,  and  embracing  in  its  list  of  contributors  practical  men  in 
every  part  of  our  country.  The  News  Department  is  carefully  compiled  and  the  summary 
made  up  to  the  latest  hour  before  going  to  press.     We  give  special  attention  to  our 

Including  the  Brighton  and  Cambridge  Cattle  Markets  ;  the  Wool  Market ;  Produce  Markets 
of  Boston  and  the  leading  commercial  points  of  the  country ;  the  Boot  and  Shoe  Market : 
Financial  Matters,   &c. 

The  fourth  page  is  devoted  to  Literary  selections — giving  a  complete  Story  each  week. 
Poetry  and  general  selections.  We  also  publish  a  series  of  copyright  articles  written 
expressly  for  us  on 

DOMESTIC     ECONOMY, 

of  groat  interest  and  value  to  our  lady  readers.     As  the  circulation  of  the  Farmer  now 

EXCEEDS    17,000    EACH    WEEK, 

it  is  a  most  valuable  medium  for  advertisers,  who  receive  the  benefit  of  a 

Circulation  larger  than  any  paper  of  its  class  in  New  England  enjoys. 

SUBSCRIPTION  PRICE  :    $3.00  A  YEAR,  OR   $2.50  IN  ADVANCE. 

SEND    STAMP    FOR    SPECIMEN. 


The    Monthly    New    England    Farmer 

Contains,   each  month,  forty-eight  pages  of  reading,  handsomely  printed  and  illustrated, 
forming  an  annual  volume  of  nearly  600  pages. 

Terms  $1.50  a  year, Specimen  copies  10  cents. 

LIBEE.AL      PI?.EMIUMS 

Are  offered  for  new  subscribers Full  particulars  sent  on  application. 

All  orders  for  either  publication  should  be  addressed  to  the  Publishers, 

R.  P.  EATON  &  CO., 

'  34   MERCHANTS'   ROW,   BOSTON. 


THE 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER; 


DEVOTED   TO 


AGRICULTURE,   HORTICULTURE, 


AND   THEIR   KINDRED 


ARTS    AND    SCIENCES. 


ILLUSTRATED   WITH   ENGRAVINGS   OF    COUNTRY    RESIDENCES,    FARM    BUILDINGS,    ANIMALS, 

FRUITS,   IMPLEMENTS,    8so. 


EDITED    BY 

SIMON    BROWN    and    STILMAN    FLETCHER. 


NETV     SERIES.       VOIjTJMiE     I. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED    BY    R.    P.    EATON    &    CO. 

1867. 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


1867. 


j  '  4  44- 


\Zk 


INDEX    OF    SUBJECTS. 


ACCLIMATION,  Garden  of.    287 
Accountant,  a  blank  book  for 

Farmers 368 

Acres,  uiock  kept  on  two  .      .   .    555 

Taiile  for  ascertainiria;  .   .  .    654 

Agapar.tluis,  or  African  Lily  .   ,    152 

Agriculture  in  the  Campagna  .      62 

What  Tools  have  clone  for  .    338 

Agricultural  College  in  Maine  .    291 

Massachusetts     .   .   .   .36,533 

Michigan 76, 82 

Pennsylvania 24 

Vermont 25 

Items,  ?2, 85, 65, 117, 137, 183,  212 
271,  279,  291,  318,  336,  STS,  419 
44S,468,  438,  52&, 53S,  578 
Machines,  accidents  from  use 

of £4 

Schools 177 

Yeast. 15, 109 

Air-tight  bottles,  to  seal  ....    625 
American  I'omological  Society      509 

Animal  Lite, 576 

a  pi  rfect 255 

Animals,  Fattening  ....    406,  5C4 

ISoxious,   &c.   189,  219,   301,  302 

340,  369,   372 

Aphides c40,  o6\),  372 

Apples, ;   .   .   .    51-0 

best  fur  Orchard 232 

from  thr(  e  blosi-omings  .  .  579 
in  New  Hainpshire  ....  11 
in  Western  Kew  York  .   .   .    476 

Lemon  Greening 57i 

Ked  A!=trachan 556 

Varieies  nf,  changing  .    .   .    660 

W  hat  can  he  done  to  save  .    26.^ 

Apple  'frees,  blossoming,  time  of  b57 

Borers  in c32,  390,  433 

Buds,  bngs  on 332 

Caterpillars  in 344 

Culture  of 2  0 

Dwarf Zm 

for  Roadsides 231 

Grafting 166 

Old 3U6 

Peregrine  White's 121 

Protection  of  fri.m  climate  .    270 

Pruning 33,  33? 

Rinaint! 515 

gpoting 560 

Transplanting  .   '. 273 

Apiil,  Farm  Work  in 164 

Thoughts  for 163 

Ash,  Mountain 24 

Association,  Wool  Growers',  cir- 
cular          21 

August,  Faim  Work  for  .   .    .   .    357 

Meter  re  logy  for 19 

Autunm  Gardening, 559 

Ploughing 576 

Ayrshire'Hcrd-book  ....  132,  208 

BARLEY  for  Pork-making.   .    183 
Rarnw,  dai  Tar  for  Roofs  of  579 
Barometer  fur  Farmers  ...    62,  3^6 

Barre  Ciieese  Factory 366 

Barrels,  how  to  clean 578 

Bean  straw,  ....       563 

Wliite,  Culture   of.   .   .    67,312 


Beans,  Growing  on  Poles  .  .  .    495 

Prolific 2(8 

Beef  and  Pork,  Preserving  .  .  .     42 

How  to  Dry 217 

Number    of  Ribs    on   hind 

quarter 95 

Bees  and  Peaches 523 

Bread 441,471,513 

Comb,  how  made 421 

Culture 165 

Feeding  ....    95,  126, 129,  139 

successful 662 

Ferocious 11 

Honey  from  one  swarm    .  .   577 

ItaUan 240,499 

Keeping 214,401,439 

Lost  in  Spring 218 

Number  in  a  Hive 62 

Prevention  of  Swarming  .   .    3'1 

Range  of  Flight 471 

Robbing,  to  Prevent ....    333 

Why  Lost Ill 

Wintering  .  36,  95,  128,  212,  213 
Beet  Sugar  ....  156,  203,  251,  468 
Berry  Picker,  an  Expert ....    514 

Birds  and   Peas 418 

and  Insects £08 

Destroying  Fruit 439 

Black  Knot 233,  299,  .':38 

Bloating  from  Ovcr-cating .   .   .    516 

Boiler,  Mott's 333 

Bones,  Cattle  Chewing 217 

Flour  .  45,  115,  134,  215,  277,  311 
Boiers,  Tree.   .   .    Ill,  bS2,  335,  433 

Bots  in   Horses 140,  537 

Botilcs,  to  seal  air-tight    ....    525 

Boxes,  cheap  for   Vines  ....    469 

Boys  and  Apprentices  scarce  .      29 

How  to  keep  at  Home  ...      89 

Leaving  the  Farm 428 

Why  Dis'ike  Farming  .   .   .    116 

Brakes,  Polypod 216 

Brooks,  Johii,  F.arm  of    ....    364 

Brush,  Killing  the 307 

Brussels  Sprouts 5t)3 

Buckwheat  for  Wire-worms  .   .    411 

Rugs  on  Apple-buds 332 

Buried  under  Snow 58 

Burning  the  l{ough  Places  .  .  .  4' 8 
Bushel,  Number  in  Bins  ....  118 
Bushes,  Killing  the 332 

p  ABB  AGE  and  Cutworms  298,  332 
\J  Packing  for  Winter  .  32,  139 
California,  Agriculture  in  .  .  .  163 
Calves,  Breeding  Twin    ....    359 

Larg^3 378 

Raising 232,  255,  272 

Sick     139 

Canada,  Improved   Stock  in  .   .    3u7 

Raising  Corn  in 394 

Thistle 62 

Canker      Worm,      Gunpowder 

Waste  for 2P4 

in  Iowa 271 

in  Michigan 66 

Preventive 237,  571 

Sawdust  for 203 

Wooden  Boxes  for  ....  344 
Capital  and  Labor 20 


Carbolic  Acid 291 

Carbon, 560,  581 

Carbonic  Acid 667 

Carrots  for  Winter  Butter  ...  117 
Caterpillar,  Fall,  or  Wcbwonn  .  497 
Cats,  training,  for  catching  Rats  563 

Cattle,  Alderney '187 

A  Perfect  Animal, 255 

Chewing  Bones 217' 

Choked 74 

Breeders'  Association  .   .   .    194 
Breeds,  Improved  for  Feed- 
ing     336 

Breeding,   Hints   on  ...   .     62 

In-and-In 214 

Bull,  Chicago  Duke  ....    169 

Earl    Seaham fi33 

Roan  Prince 444 

Working  a 371 

Yearling,  a   Good  ....    334 

Cooking  food  for 672 

Diseases,  Loss  by 137 

Durham  Bulls  .  It  9,  334,  444,  {33 
American  in  England .   .    539 

Grades 187 

Feeding,  Thoughts  on  .  .  .  209 
Food  tor  Fattening  ....  272 
Fodder,  comparative  value  of  541 

Holdfast  in 442 

Kerosene  to  Kill  Lice  ...  218 
Lice  on  ...   .    218,  279,  327,  335 

Ox.  a  Sick 622 

Film  on  Eye  of 83 

Nine  Days  without  Food  .  538 
Shoe  for  Cor;ied  ...  47,  67 
Yoked  by  the  Head  ...  499 
Plague  in  Eiiglaiid  ....  63 
Shows  in  Stansteal,  Can.,  in 
Caledonia      and     Orleans 

Counties,  Vt 666 

Stanchions  fur  .  69,  471,  537,  538 
Steamiiig  fodder  ior  ....    580 

food  for 6i2 

Steals  and  Calves, tine  ,   .   .    419 

Tact  in  feeding 672 

Ties 3.5 

Wens  on 194 

Wrinkles' on   Horns  .   .   .46,48 

Yards  in  Chicago 498 

Celery 298 

Cellar,  a  Tight 274 

Barn 94,  216 

to  Protect  from  Frost ...      85 

Cclosia 63 

Cental  System 159 

Chapped  Hands,  Potato  Water 

for 117 

Charcoal  and  the  Food  of  Plants  362 

for  Wheat 490 

Cheese,    Cost    of    Factory    and 

Home-made 419 

DiflV-renl  flavors  .  .  .  .  368,  3S1 
Factories  in  JNew  York    212,  468 

Great  Canada 498 

Chemical   Terms,  458,  485,  510,  629 
530,  536,  543,  560 

Chemistry, 53>i,  536 

and   Farming 236 

for  the  Farm 2i)7 

of  the  Sea 192 


INDEX 


Cherry   Leaves,    Ox  Killed  by 

Eating 494 

Chess 417 

Chicken  Disease 4!!6 

Chilblains,  Cure  for 166 

Children.  Yountc  Olive  Plants.    180 

Cider  Mill,  Power 48 

Barrels,  to  clean 5"8 

to  keep  sweet 578 

Clay,  Dry,  as  a  Deodorizer.   .    416 

for  Iiressing 329 

on   S  mdy    Soils 469 

Soil,  Benefite  I  by  Sand  .  .  406 
Clothing  Material,  Foreign  .  .  177 
Clover,  Ammint  and  time  to  Sow,  106 

Curing  for  1  lav 319 

Club,  Planners'.  Effects  of.   .   .    107 

Foot 538 

Topics  for  Farmers'.  ...  491 
Coal  ashes  for  Currant  Worm  .    579 

Coal   Tar  for  Hoofs 037 

how  to  apply  to  roots  .   .   .    .'i7f, 

Colic  in  Horses 299 

roHamoro,  IL,  Vetretables  from    45 
College  f'jr  Housekeeping  .   .   .    575 

Composts 316,  514 

Concord,   Mass.,  Club,  Visiting 

Farms 423 

Connecticut,  State   Agiieultural 

•  Society 131 

Having  and  Sorghum  Grow- 
ing in  383 

Scenery,  Soils,  Tobacco  and 

Corn  in 382 

Valley,  Notes  on,  38-',  389,  394 
410,  414.  ii9 

Conscience,  a  Case  of 441 

Corn,  Birds  Pulling,  to  prevent    334 

Cow  overfed  on 47 

Crop 213 

Cultivation  of 46 

Death  from  eating  Smutty  .      43 

Fodde      507 

Fodder  wilting 4S-1 

and  Sugar  Beets 488 

Harvesting 537 

Pork  for  a  Bushel  of .   ...      95 

Pop,  crop  of 96 

Principles  involved  io  Hoe- 
ing     34S 

Raising  in  Canada 394 

Sheller.  a  cheap 118 

Time  for  Planting 348 

Topping 448 

Cows,  Abortion  in  ...  .  290,291 
Boutwell,  Gov.,  Product  of  557 
Butt,er  from  Soiled  ....  4*} 
<!ostof  Keeping  .   .    119,542,557 

Dairy,  best  for 2-6,  424 

Garget    in 472,  521 

His,  always  do  Well  .  ...  347 
Income  from  a  Heifer  .   .   .    218 

Jersey 184, 457 

and  Native 579 

Kicking,  to  (Xire  a 420 

Leaking  Milk 280 

Milk,  amount  of  per  year  .    55S 

fr  im  one 562 

Ov-crled   on   Corn 47 

Pla'enta,  Rcieiition  of.  .  .  359 
Product  of.  .  .  14,119,258,542 
Sucking   Herself    .   .   .    275,335 

Teats,  Frozen 27() 

Sore,    Salve  for 335 

Warts  on 376 

Wtiter   for 26,358 

Cranberry  crop  on  Cape  Cod  .   .    578 

Culture    .    .   .   .b3,  107,  118,  159 

309,  311,332 

Cress,  Water 236 

Crops,  Deficiency  of,  in  1865  .  .  380 
in  Middlesex  Co.,  Mass.,  .  514 
in  Worcester  Co.,  Mass.  .   .    523 

on  Seaboard 479 

Rotation   of 508 

Turning  in  Green 408 

Croup,  Treaimenl  of 15,67 

Crows,  to  Keep  off -130 

Curculio, 330,315,417,410 

Currants 431 

Slips,  How  to  Set  .  .  .  469,  520 
Worm,  to  Destroy  .   .   .  419,  579 


Cut-Worm 332,  377 

DAIRY— Butter,  Carrots  for  .    117 
from  Soiled  Cows  ....      49 

from  Whey 123 

Grasses  Best  for  Making  .    123 
Making,  Hints  on,  lb2,  322,  521 

Science  of 499 

Winter  ....  75,  93,  117,  45S 
Cheese  Factory,  Barre  .   .   .    366 

Flavor   of 122 

Government  Tax  on  .   .   .    122 

Makers' Ai-S)  inllinois.    167 

Convention  in  Illinois  .   .   .    405 

in  New  York 121 

Cream,      Temperature      fur 

Raising 67 

Raising  and  Milk  Preserv- 
ing          33 

Pork    in   England 208 

Products   of  Vermoiit .   .   .    1C3 

Profit  of 122 

Whey,  Butter  from  ....    123 
Davis,  Peter,  Success  in  Farm- 
ing     225 

December,  Las-t  of  the  Months  .    54D 
Delegates  to  Mass.  County  Ag. 

Boceties 18? 

Deodorizing 419 

Devil's  Darning  Neeille  ....    42H 

Dogs    protect  Poultry  ...    83,  512 

Keepers   and  Weed-keepers  421 

Tax  in  Englan.1 498 

DoMEsiic  Economy. 

Api^les,  Crab,  How  to  Pre- 
serve     452 

How  to   Bake 547 

Pie    . 452 

Bread,  Brown 355,  ^u3 

Making 102,  546 

Unleavened 402 

Breakfast,  How  Prepared  by 

one  Woman 546 

Bird  Cages,  Parasites  in  .   .    548 
Boys,  How  to  Train  ....    452 

Brown  Bread 2=6,  4(.3 

Cakes,   Breakfast 546 

Cheap 450 

Cocoanut 5  2 

Coffee 546 

Cream Iii2 

Feather 355 

Graham 296 

Griddle 403 

Indian 102,  2  i6 

Indian  Griddle 403 

SI'ilassts 403 

Mount    Pleasant 450 

Poor    Man's 102 

Sponge 355 

Sweet  Apple 582 

Union 402 

White 355 

Catchup,   Cucumber  ....    450 

Chair,   an   Eiisy 547 

(hoco'atc  Caramels.   .   .   .    J-82 

Cider,  Imitation 450 

Compote, Currant  and  Goose- 
berry   403 

Cookies  .   .  55,  102,  355,  450,  546 

Mother's 5S2 

Corns,   cure   for 583 

Creme,  Ciisk   a   la 2!16 

Currant    Preserves,   &c. .   .    403 

Custtird,  Orange 290 

Doughnuts 102,  450 

Kggs  with  Onions 683 

Fish,  Fresh,  Nice  Dish  of.  29H 
Fowls,  Dressing  for  ....  296 
Fruit,  (banning  ....  451,547 
Gingerbre.-ul,  Hard  ....  403 
Help.  Diing  Without.  .  .  35  • 
Ink  Spots  in  Linen,  to  re- 
move     582 

Loaf,  Poor  Man's 450 

Mats,  Home-made 547 

Merinoes,  to  wash 583 

Miillins 582 

Orange  Ice 682 

Piekle,  Green  Tomato  .   .   .    547 
Pie,   Apple 402 


Pie,  Cracker  Mince 582 

Lemon 533 

hhubarb 355 

Potiito  Patties 5S3 

Potatoes,  Fried 293 

Plaster,   Mustard 583 

Piii:ding 403 

Bri-ad  and  Butter  ....  54 

C;.ke 55 

Ginger 55 

Imitation  Corn  Starch  .   .  403 

Pop-Oorn 402 

Queen  of 355 

Railroad 450 

Rice 355 

Sponge  Cake 296 

Steamed 582 

Tapioca 582 

Troy 29^ 

Raspberries  to  Preserve  .  .  404 

Rhuoaib  Dumplings  ....  355 

Pies 355 

Sauce 355 

Snow  Balls 6H2 

So;ip,  Hard  or  Chemical  .   .  354 

Poor  M  Ill's 354 

Washing 354 

Soup,  Brown  Chicken  .   .   .  582 

Starching  Cuffs  and  Cellars  583 

Syrup,  Flaxseed 583 

Tomatoes,   about 451 

Pickle,    green 517 

Vinegar,  Black  Currant .   .  403 

Yeast 646 

Dome^tic  Training 575 

Draining  in  England,  Reasons  for  13 

Drains,  Hollow  Poles   for  ...  183 

Obstruction  of 37 

Dress,  Farmers' 577 

Drought 53j 

I?GG-Hatching  Machine  ...  140 

J  Egg^  to  Keep  Fresh  ....  331 

Preserving 349 

Soft   Shell 334 

Elephant's  Strength  and  Sagac- 
ity       103 

Emerson,  Isaac,  Orchard  of.   .  18 

England,  Ameiican  Wheat  in  .  271 

Cold  in ■.   .  1-3 

Dairy  Pork  in 208 

Draining  in,  Reasons  for  .   .  13 

Rotation  of  Crops  in  .   .   .   .  IfiO 

Mheat,  Yield   of  in  ...   .  271 

English  Lady's  Maid's  Duties  .  103 

Enterprise,  New  England  .   .   .  432 

Entomologist,  the   Practical  .   .  28 

Evergreens,  Transplanting  .  310,  333 

Experimenting,  Premiums  for  .  275 


FALL  feeding  Meadows  .   .   .    375 
Grass  Fields,  new  plan 

for 580 

Sowing,  Gr.ain  for  •  .   .   .   .    515 

Faneuil  Hall  JMarket 2_!6 

Farm   Buildings 119 

Farm   of  John  Brooks    ....    364 

D.avis,  Peter 225 

Draining,  good  Eft'ects  of.  9b 
House,  Complete,  Di  sign  fur  11 J 
Uous(>s,    Conveniences    a;  d 

Cost  of 40 

Implements 81 

Improving  a 277 

Laborers 191 ,  ,396 

Letter  from  the 364,392 

Little.  Shall  I  Sell?.   .   .   .      22 

Pn-mium,  a 321,327 

Produce,  Price  of 359 

Selling   the 71 

Shall  I  Purchase  a?.  .  .  .  179 
Thomas,   8.    M.,   Wajland, 

Mass 25: 

Work,  January 10 

March 106 

April 154 

Farmer,    INIonthly 8,  11 

Will  it  pay  to  be  a  slick?.   .    .387 

Farinirs'  Clubs 491 

Gardens  170,223,233,  203,300,563 


INDEX 


Farmers'   Gardens,    Shelter .  .    300 

Soil  for 233 

Deepening  the 263 

Hymns  for 120 

Bank  of 417 

Wives 113 

Farmiue,  February 5S 

Need  of  Better 4S6 

Success  in 445 

Swiss 27 

Tenant 385 

True  Pollcv 4S8 

"Why  Boys  Dislike 116 

Farms,  Leasing 167 

and  Farming    in   Westmin- 
ster, Vt 278 

in  Concord,  Mass. .  .  .   426,  4'i7 

Large 577 

Particular,  Blanchard,  Luke, 

Acton 432 

Brown,   James  P 4'27 

Hubbard,  C.  A 426 

Story,  Albert 426 

Wheeler,  Abiel  H 426 

Wilson,  Sam'l,  Windham, 

N.  H 431 

Wood,  Elijah 427 

Renting 78,  97,  363 

Fashions 583, 584 

February,  Meteorologial  Record 

for 261 

Thoughts 57 

Feed  Racks 500 

Fences 281, 534 

Hodges  for  Railroad    .   .   .    487 
Rails,  cost  of  in  Illinois  .   .    578 

Fencing,  Thoughts  on 334 

Ferrets   and  Rats 135 

Fertility,  Silex,  &c 502 

Fevers  and  Fruits 323 

Film,  Butter  Remedy  for  the  .   .    116 

Horses,   Eyes,   on 139 

Ox's  Eyes,  ou 127 

Fir,  Silver,  the  Europeau,   ...    412 

the  White   Spruce 573 

Fire  in  Clearing  Land 438 

Fleeces,  Heavy,  ....  334,  335  337 

Flies,  Fire 178 

about 478 

House,   origin   of 78 

Florida,  Butter"  in 54 

Flowers,  Creeping 306 

and  Plants,  Language  of .   .      19 

to  Cut 389 

FlourofBoiiC  45,215,134,215.277,311 
Fodder,   Comparative    Value  of 

345,  541 

Cutting 12 

Variety  of 12 

Fowls,  how  to  Feed 531 

Food  of,  how  Ground  .   .   .    531 

France,  Agriculture  in 178 

a  \Vheat  Country 543 

Friend,  an  Old,  in  a  New  Dress      9 

Frog,    the  Croaker .307 

Fruit,  Flavoring 573 

I'reserviiig   House 298 

Stealing 13 

Supply  of 133,  315 

Trees 125 

Calomel  and  Sulphur  for  .    182 

on  Buying 110 

Ringing 299,  309 

Fruits  and  Fevers 323 

GARDEN  of  Acclimation  .   .    287 
Autumn 559 

Farmers'  170,  223,  233,  263,  300 
553 

Hints 32 

Hot  Beds 160 

Manuring,    Seeds,    Tools, 

&c.    .\ 142 

la  June 257,  315 

in  November 566 

in  October 519 

in   September 477 

Gardening,  Market 483 

Gaslight,  effect  on  Vegetation  .    516 

Gate,  how  to   make  a 375 

Girls,'  Farmers 182 


Gladiolus 248,  581 

Glass,  to  Cut  without  Diamond  420 

Grafting 166 

Grape  Vines  .   .   .    469,  515,  523 
Wax 277 

Grain,  Crippled,  cut  with  Mow- 
ing Machine 471 

Crops 256 

for  Fall  Sowing 515 

Harvesting,  &c 357,  359 

Grains,  Harvesting  the  Small .    345 
Analysis  of .359 

Grape,  the  Concord  ......    184 

Fever 155, 161 

Isabella,  Culture  of  the  .  .    210 

Trellis 310 

Vine,  Grafting  the  .  469,  515,  5i3 

Need  Exercise 272 

Mildew  on,  to  Cure  .  .  .    471 
What  ails  the 441 

Grapes 259,431 

Cultivation,  Effects  of.   .   .    480 

Frozen 525 

in  Mass.,  notes  on 260 

in  Middlesex    Co 284 

in  Ohio,  (Kelly's  Island)  .   .    482 

on  Elms 516 

Red  Cedar  Posts  for  Mildew  272 

Rot  on  the  Trees 184 

Soils  for 117 

Grass,  Early  Cutting  .   .   .    371,  393 

Hungarim 229,311 

Lands,  Value  of 435 

Toi3-drcBsing 358 

Seeding  Land  in  Fall  .    358,  407 
Witch,''Eradicated 47 

Grasses,  Wild 419 


HANDS,  Chapped,  Potato  Wa- 
ter for  117 

Hair,  loss  of 559 

Harvest  of    Small  Grains,  time 

for  the 345 

Time 574 

Harwood,  J.  A.,  Farm  of.   .   .    326 

Hay  Caps 302 

Cured  improperly 417 

Cutting 13,  337,  503 

for  Stock 527 

Feedii'g  Early  Cut  Grass  .  .  343 
for  Cows,  amount  of ...  .  311 
Lime  and  Salt  for  Curing  443, 
462, 515 
Making,  Philosophy  of  .  .  532 
Measuring  in  Bulk  ....    581 

Rake,  Warner's 224 

Salt  and  Lime  for  .  443,  462,  515 
Salt,  Crop  of  in  Essex  Co.  .  341 
Steaming  and  cooking  .   .   .    504 

Haying 2« 

in  Connecticut .   .■ 389 

Time  to  begin 250 

Time,  Warm  Drinks  for  .   .    4-5 

Health,  Causes  of  sickness  .   .     49 

Suggestions  for  Preserving  .    106 

Work  and  Heat 4i2 

Hedges,  Osage  Orange,  40,  85,  90,  415 

at  the  West 40 

for  Railroad  Fences  ....    487 

Hens  eating  Eess 277 

Feeding  in"  Winter  ....    126 

Good 417 

Industriou' 278 

Manure 167,  378 

Number  of,  to  Cock  .   .   .   .    .331 

Selling,   about 167 

Sick  Cockerel 166 

Herd  Book,  Ayrshire  .   .   .    132,  208 

Hernia  in  Colts 130 

Highways,  care  of 553 

Hogs,  how  to  Kill  and  Fatten,  50,  «0 

Measles  in 94 

on  Uncooked  Food  ....    1.30 

Robbed  by  Rats 526 

Scalding,     Temperature     of 

Water  for 60 

What  is  it 181 

Honey,  Keeping  of 118 

Hop  Culture  in  England  ....     63 

Hops,  Cultivation,  60,   158,  166, 176, 

253,  2;5,  285 


Hops,  Culture  of 304 

First  year's  Cultivation  .   ,    254 

Kiln  Drying 336 

in  France 304 

Location 253, 304 

Packing 304,  305 

Bin 304,  305 

Manure  for !j4 

Planting 254 

Setting  Poles  and  Training 

Vines 286 

Suckers  of.  Transplanting  .    481 

Trade  in 90 

Training  on  Short  Poles  .  .  213 
Transplanting  Suckers  .  .  .  481 
Uncertainty  of  Crop  ....  168 
Yield  in  New  Mexico    .   .   .    117 

Horse,   at  Fairs 570 

Bots  in 140 

a  new  Theory 374 

Cure  for 468 

Care   of 568 

Clydesdale,  the 144 

Colic  in 299 

Colt,  a  Fast  Growing  .  .  .    497 

feeding  of 416,  468 

Hernia  in 130 

Lice  on,Eemedy  for  .   .   .    374 

Raising  the 272 

Sick 67,  78 

Training  of 146 

Contrivances  to  Protect  from 

heat 420 

Corns  in  Feet  of 498 

Doctoring 391 

Feed  for 324 

Feet  require  Moisture   .   .   .    237 

French    Morrill 88 

Heaves  in 53 

How  to  Prevent  Stepping  on 
Corn  in   Plowing  ....    420 

Lampas  in 673 

Maine,  high  prices  of   .   .   .     53 

Myrick,  the 417 

Prior  Impregnation  ....       68 

Racing  in  England 571 

Railroad  in  New  York  .  .  .  579 
Requisite  for  a  work  ....  213 
Ringbone,  Remedy  for  .  .  .  420 
Scratches  in  ...  .  181,  229,  459 
Shoulder,  Cure  for  lame  .    •  442 

Slobbers   in 525 

Sore  Ear  on 564 

Spavin  of  year's  standing  .    373 

Sprain  in 441 

Stifled,  Cure  for 495 

Vermont,  a 165 

Vicious,  to    subdue  ....    221 

Worms  in 86,494 

Wrinkles  show  Age.   .   .   .    2:2 

Horse-hoe,  Nourse's 333 

Hot  Beds 142 

House,  Design  for  a  Complete 

Farm .360 

and  Stable,  design  for  com- 
plete      112 

Fruit  Preserving 298 

Household  Conveniencies  ...      55 
How  Plants  grow  .   .   .    250,  409,  413 

Huncaiian  Grass 311,  467 

Hay  for  Sheep 467 

Hurd,  Joseph  L.,  and  William     187 
Hydrogen 510 

ILLINOIS,  Laws  against  This- 
tles    319 

cost  of  Fence  Rails  in  .   .   .  678 

Dairy  in 465 

Farmer,  talk  with  a  .   .   .   .  370 

Industrial  University  .   .   .  299 

Implements,  Trial  at  Utica  .   .   .  615 

Use   the   Best 81 

Insects  and  Birds,  Increase  of ,  308 

Eggs  of 180 

Journal  of 28 

and  Noxious  Animals  .   .   .  173 

Indexes,  Alphabetical 456 

Indiana  Pork  Crop 43 

Iodine     192 

Iowa,  Canker  Worms  in  ...   .  271 

Irasburg,  Farmers'  Club  .    387,  546 


8 


INDEX, 


Irrigation 434 

Isabella  Grape,  Culture  of .   .   .    210 

Items,  Agricultural    52,   85.  95,  117 

137,  183,   212,   271,  279,  291,  318 

335,  373,   419,   448,  468,  498,  525 

538,  578 


JANUARY,  Thoughts  for  the 

First  of 41 

Work  for 10 

Japan  Lily 184 

June,  Garden  in 315 

Thoughts   for 249 

July,  Garden  in 384 

Hay  month 298 


KENTUCKY,  Cattle  Show  .  27 

Kingbirds,  Catching  Bees  .  810 

and  Honey  Bees 375 

Knot,  Black,  Treatment  of .   .  .  349 

LABOR 146 

and  Capital 20 

Eight  Hour  System  of  ...  87 

Is  it  Disreputable 581 

Laborers,  Farm 376 

Wages  for 191 

White,  in  Mississippi .   .   .  499 

Lady  Wheat  Grower 495 

Land,  Table  of  Measuring  .   .   •  554 

Lands,  laying  down 525 

Leasing 47 

Marks 51j9 

Owner 486 

stony,  cultivating 482 

too  much   mowed 120 

Laying  down  land 525 

Lead  I'oisoning 45 

Leasing  Land,  Rules  for  ....  47 

Lice.  Cure  for,  on  Cattle  ...  327 

Kerosene   Oil   for  .   .   .    218,  271 

on  Pear  Trees 213 

Plant 340 

Lightning,  Singular  Freak  of .  481 

Lily,  Japan 184 

Lime  and  Salt  for  curing  Hay  443 

462,  473 

and  Old  Plaster 661 

and  the  Soil  that  needs  it .  528 

Muck   and  Ashes 514 

Linseed  Compound,   with   Oats 

and  Corn 273 

I,ittle  Falls  Farmers'  Club  ...  395 

Logic,  Female 584 

Lock  and  Key 17 

Louisiana  Sugar  Crop 183 

Lunar  Influence 470 


MACADAM  Roads,  cost  of .    £53 
Machine,  Egg  Hatching  .  .    HO 
Maine      Agricultural      College, 

Trustees  of 291 

Agricultural  Society  ....    131 

Kennebec 256 

West  Somerset 279 

Land   and   Crops  in  Aroos- 
took Co 44 

Letter  from 510 

Notes  fiom 441 

Oxford   County 5  5 

Sheep  Shearing  in 380 

Mange,   the 363 

Manures,  Application  of .   .   .   .    496 

Animal  Matter 279 

Artificial,   for  Hops  ....      94 

Ashes  for  Onions 222 

Leached 216 

Wood      167 

Bommer 218 

Bone  Dust 69,  2^0 

Flour   of  ...   .    164,  215,  237 

Meal 164 

Bones 125,  461 

Cheapest 317 

Compost    for    Melons     and 

y  quashes 214 

f(jr  Potatoes 164,  412 

Composting 226 


Manures,  Discussion  on  ...  .   412 

Dove  in  Egypt 233 

Experiments  with 120 

Fermentation 222 

Flour  of  Bone  .   .    164,  215,  237 
from  Cow,  Value  of.   .   .   .    318 

Hen 167,378 

Hops,  Ashes  for 94 

Importance  of 361 

Management  of 431 

Muck 64,415 

Nutriment  in  Water  ....     96 
Phosphates,  Hen  and  Privy      63 

Plaster 412 

and  Salt 70 

Ploughing  in 564 

Potash 412 

Preparation  of  Bones  .   .   .    25S 
Resources  of  Farm  for  .   .   .    HO 

Salt  for  Wheat 235 

Sawdust 205,412 

Sheep 237,  334 

Special 329,  4fil 

Experiment  with  .   .    129, 172 

Failure  of 196 

Onions,  Ashes  for 222 

Time  to  Apply 227 

Top-dressing  Meadows    .   .    490 

Turning  in  Green  Crops  .   .    40^ 

under  Plants    .......    380 

Unfermented 115 

Waste,   Economization  of.    423 

Weight  of  a  cord  of ...   .      59 

Winter  Management  of .   .      64 

Manuring  Land  for  Grass  .   .   .    139 

March,  Farm  Work  for  .   .   .   .    106 

Thoughts  for 105 

Market,  Faneuil  Hall 23*1 

Gardening 483 

Reports 31 

Marriage,  Favorite  Days  for  .   .    683 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege    36, 188,  f.33 

Societies,  Berkshire  ...    119 

Hampshire 119 

Norfolk 258 

Board  of  Agriculture  .    107,  147 

Central,  Crops   in 376 

Manchester 418 

Shelburn,  Crops,  Weather, 

&c 217 

Stock 170 

May,  TDoughts  for 201 

Meadow  Improved 226 

Top-Dressirg  the 490 

Meat,  Curing 252 

Boiling 221 

Preserving 32,  85,  449 

Melons,  Compost  for 214 

Men,  young.  Why  go  to  cities  .      83 
Meteorology,  February  ....    261 
August  and  September,  1866    19 
July,  August,  and   Septem- 
ber,  1867 575 

Meteors,   looking  for 48 

Michigan,   Ag'l   College  ....     82 

Tomatoes  at 576 

Ag'l  Board  of 76 

Microscopes 232 

Milk  Cans,  washing  by  Steam  .    427 
and   Cream,  Preserving  and 

Raising 36 

in  Brittany,  Division  of  .   .     53 

Price  of 236 

Sickness 319,498 

Weed,  the  common  ....    396 
Mines,  shall  young  Farmers  go 

to  the 230 

Mop  Handles  and  Brooms  .   .   .    U5 

Morgan  Colt,   Clifford 492 

Mothers,  the 173 

Mowing  Lands,  Pasturing  the  .    261 

Machines  at  Paris  Ex.  .   .   .    399 

Muck  ....    46,  49,  50,  132,  277,  514 

Muriate  of  Lime 38 

Mutton,  Curing 50 

Myrick  Horse,  the 417 

NATURALIST,   American    .    2)3 
New  England   Ag'l   Society  2.6 
Farmer  Monthly  .   .    9,  20,  237 


N.  E.  Farmer,  Compliment  to  .    515 
First  Subscriber  in  Me.     509 

New  Hampshire,  Apples  in  .   .     11 
Cheshire  County,  Notes  for  518 

Chester  Fair 60 

Crops  in 441 

Kensington,      Farms       and 

Farming  in 279 

Sheep,  a  Flock  ff 215 

State  Society,  Oflicers  of  .   .     ti6 
Wheat  in 231 

New  Jersey,  Lands  in 395 

Potatoes,  Decrease  of  Yield 
of 212 

New  York,  Cheese  Factories  in    202 
State  Ag'l  Society 168 

Nitrogen 510 

November 501, 502 

Noxious  Animals,  173. 189,  219,  301, 
302,  340,  369,  372 


OATS,  turning  to  Rye   ...  442 

October,   Garden  in  ...   .  519 

Thoughts  on 453 

Work 455 

Ohio,  Dairy,  Value  of 371 

Ag'l  Societies  in 131 

Sheep  in  Portage  Co.  .   .   .  378 

Oil  in  Wool f69 

Olive  Plants 180 

Onions,  Ashes  for 222 

Large  Crop  of 237 

Worm      512 

Orchard,  Crop  for 167 

of  Isaac  Emerson 18 

Old,  in  Connecticut  ....  394 

Ploughing 562 

best  in  Massachusetts  .   .   .  520 
Osage  Orange  Hedge  ....    85,  CO 

Ox,  Stick  in  Nose  ot 193 

Oxen  Yoked  by  the   Head  ...  499 

Oxygen 510 

PAINT  Poisoning 45 

Paper  Mills 82 

Paris      Exhibition,      American 

Grain  at 484 

Mowing  Machines  at  ...   .  399 

Ploughs  and  Plowing  at  .   .  393 

Poultry  at 411 

Wool  at 437 

Pastures     434 

Cut  Brush  as  Mulch  ....  366 

Improved  by  Sheep  ....  265 

Old 418 

Philanthropy  in 162 

Prairie 69 

Pastuiing  Cows  and  Sheep  .  .  327 

Mowing  Lands 231 

Peach  Stones,  Preserving  .   .   .  518 

Peaches 431 

Pears,  Bartlett 460 

in   Maine 335 

List  for  Massachusetts    .  .  273 

New 21 

Pear  Tree,  Dwarf 257,  300 

Lice  on 213 

Trees,  Raising  in  Belgium  .  261 

Root  Pruning 393 

Peas  and  Birds 417 

to  keep  fr.im    Bugs    ....  420 

Peat,  Character  of 406 

Manatjement   of 30 

Peddlers, Cloth 127 

Pembroke,  North,  Vegetables  .  45 

Phosphate,  Twell's  Animal    .   .  48 

I'hofphorus 510 

Pickles,   Sweet  Tomato  ....  514 

Pigeons,  Wild 470 

Pigs  and  Poultry,  profit  of  .   .   .  118 

Chester  White 241 

Fine 127,140 

Good,   on  Cooked  Food  .   .  181 

Trough,    Wood   for  ....  440 

Pine,  Scotch 208 

Plant   Lice 369,372 

Plants — Bocconia,  (cut)   ....  364 

Food   of 362 

How   grow   ....    210,304,409 

Language  of 19 


INDEX 


Plaster,  use  of 275,  276 

of  Paris,  does  it  pay?  ...  313 

old,  and  Lime 561 

Plougliina,   Autumn 576 

Plouglis  and  I'loughing  at  Paris 

Exposition     393 

Steam,  Aristocracy  of  .   .   .  421 

Plums,  Washington 517 

Raising,  with  Curculio  .   .   .  349 
Poetry, — 

A  Day  in  Autumn 539 

A  Man-of-War  in  the  Acorn  480 

Birds  and  Flowers 402 

By  the   Seaside 582 

Contentment 44 

Darning   Socks 54 

Farmers'   Girls 182 

Time 577 

Husking 579 

Hymn  for  the  Farmer.  .  .  120 

Indian  Corn 512 

Indian   Summer 500 

July      350 

La-e,  Our 222 

Old  Winter  is  Coming  ...  96 

Put  lip  the  Bars 546 

Seasons 240 

Snow  Birds 145 

Sugar  Making 323 

Summer 463 

Idleness 391 

The  Farmer  Feedeth  all  .  .  532 

The  Fire  on  ihe  Hearth.   .  521 

The  Golden  Grain 363 

Two  Little  Pairs  of  Boots  .  450 

Tobacco 613 

Up  in  the  Barn 343 

What  We  Will  Do  ...   .  47i 

Winter 41,166 

Morning 147 

Old  is  Coming 96 

Poison  of  the  Cobra 499 

Poisoning,  P.iiut 45 

Pollen,  i^ubftitute  for  .  .  .   470,  471 

Pomological  Society 509 

Pond,  a  singular,  in  Wilming- 
ton, Mass 84 

Poor  Man  on  a  Poor  Farm  .  .  .  230 

Pork  and  Beff  Curing 42 

Crop  in   Indiana 43 

Curing  Hams  in  Beef  Pickle  86 

Dairy 20S 

David  Buttrick's 37 

Pounds   of,  for  a  bushel  of 

Corn 95 

Shrinking,  to  Prevent  ...  63 
Potato  Field,  Mr.  vs.  Mr.  Green 

Grocer 560 

Potatoes,  amount  of  Seed  .    174,  331 

Apples  and  Drought  ....  580 

Best    Early 165 

Bug,  the   Colorado    ....  213 

Crop,   good 24V 

Compost  for,  or  Muck  .   .   .  164 
Cultivation  of .    145,  229,  277,  309 

Experiments  with  new  .  .  .  553 

on   Long  Island 276 

Raising 3.31 

in  Vermont 306,  310 

Seed  for   .   .   .    174,260,331,5.39 

Sorting 53 

Poultry,  Account  with 374 

and  Plus,  Profit  of 116 

at   Paris  Exposition  ....  410 

Biddi(  s,  a   Plea  for  ...   .  173 

ai  d   Girls 218 

Brahma  Co^k 181 

Care  of.  Winter 11 

Cott  of  Keeping 52 

Crev.--CcBur 411 

Diseased 274 

Dogs,   &c 512 

Goslings,  Twin 3.34 

Hens  eating  Eggs 230 

High    Prices,  protected   by 

Dogs 83 

Jersey   Blue  Fowls  ....  44 

Kept  on  a  large  Scale   ...  52 

La  Fleche 411 

Lame  Fowl 107 

Large  Establishment  for  .   .  267 

Plea  for  Progress 258 


Poultry,  Plea  Answered  ....  211 

Product 46 

Selling 440 

Produce,  Farm,  Price  of  ...   .  359 
Provost  Marshal  General's  Re- 
port    51 

Pruning  Apple  Trees 33 

Pump   and  Sprinkler 358 

Pumpkins  and  Squashes,  to  keep  46 

QUAILS  and  Grouse 229 
Quince,  culture  and  varieties 
of 562 


RADISH,  Long-tailed  ....   564 
Kake,  Warner's    Sulky  Re- 
volving     224 

Rat,  the 189 

Coal  Tar  for  the 379 

Training   cats  for 563 

Reading  for  Winter  Evenings  .  42 
Reaper,  Factory,   Wood's  .   .   .    525 

Rennet,  Preparing 252 

Rent  of  Land  in  England  ...  138 
Rheumatism,  Cure  for  ...  95,  526 
Rhode  Island,  Officers  of  Soc.  E. 

D.  1 188 

Richardson,  Ebenezer,  Farm  of  321 
Ringing  Fruit  Tree  ....    299,  309 

Robin,  the 221 

Roots 256 

Carrot  Crop,  large 52 

Raising 308 

on  Grass  Farms 377 

Ruta  Baga  Crop,  Vt.  .  .  .     46 

Storing 69 

Rotation  of  Crops  .  .   190,  280,  508 

in   England 190 

Rye  for  Cattle  Feed 498 

Crop  of 432 

for  Fattening 77 

Scattering  on  Oat  land  .   .   .    417 

Straw  for  Paper 430 

Winter  Crop 407 


SALT  and  Lime  for  Hay  .   .   515 
Sand  Beneficial  on  Clay  Soil    496 
Sandy  Soil  improved  by  Clay  .    469 

Sawdust,  uses  of 205 

School  House,  Plan  of  a  ...   .    320 

State   Reform 119 

Schools,  Winter 91 

Science,  Consolation  from  .  .   .    229 
Scraper,  Cast  Iron,  Horse  or  Ox  333 

Screw,  to  start  a 378 

Sea,  Chemistry  of  the 192 

Seeds,  Changing  .   .  181,  220,  2.35,  306 

Gathering      358 

Potatoes,  amount  of  ...   .    309 

Quantity  for  acre 30.3 

Saving 645 

Seeding  down  Land 139 

September,  Meteorology  for    .  .     19 

Suggestions  for 405 

Work  for 406 

Shall  I  Sell  my  Little  Farm  .  .     22 

Sheep,  a  sick 000 

Beans  for 138 

Browse 1(6 

Bucks,  age  of 46 

Use  and  Misuse  of  ...   .    180 

Catarrh 273 

Coal  Tar  for  Maggots  in  .  .  411 
Coarse  and  Fine  Wool  .  .  280 
Cushing  iS  Boynton's  Flock      68 

Dana's  Labels 74 

Diseases,  Discussion  on  .   .    349 

Docking  Lambs 335 

Fall  Management  of .   .    14,  185 

Feeding 11 

Foot  Rot 472 

How  to  Manage 163 

Hungarian   Hay  for  ....    467 

Inverted  Wombs 237 

Improve  Pastures 265 

Lambs,   care   of 278 

Disease  among 329 

Disowning 228 

Docking 290,335 


Sheep,  Goitre,  loss  by 173 

Healthy 334 

Killing  Ticks  on   ....  890 

Management  of 290 

Raising 207,  330 

Triple 32 

Warming  Chilled  ....    271 

Weaning  and  Pasturing  .    290 

Merino,   for  Mutton  ....     54 

Prices   of 241 

New  Hampshire  Flock  .   .   .    215 

Potatoes  for 318 

Productive    Leicester   ...     54 

Prolific 334,  468 

Pulling  Wool 273 

Remedy  for  biting  Wool  .  85 
Space  for  Winter  Quarters  .    117 

Swelled  Head  in 333 

Sheared,  the 399 

Shearing 468 

in  Maine 380 

in  Vermont 316 

Shoeing 334 

Tar  and  Sulphur  for  Grub 

Fly 319 

Tegs,   care  of 39 

Ticks 273,  279 

Vermont 178 

Winter  Feed  and  Care  of.    136 
Shingles,  Fire  Proof  Wash  for  .   435 

to  lay  Sawed 261 

Short  Horns,  Prices  of 241 

Sickness,  causes  of 49 

Silk  Manufacture  in  Massachu- 
setts      255 

Slate,  Plastic 140 

Snakes 316 

Snow,   Burials  under 57 

Drifts  in  Trees  and  Shrub- 
bery      185 

Soap,  an  excellent 237 

Suds 334 

Societies,  Mass.,  Worcester  .  .  24 
Vermont,  for  Improvement 

of  Horses 527 

Pomological 509 

Soils,  Cultivated,  capacity  of.  108 
Deepening,  for  Garden  .  .  263 
Dry,  as  an  Absorbent  .   .   .    260 

Lime  for 528 

Pulverizing,  Implement  for      95 

Running   out 474 

Worn   out 359 

Soiling,  Butter  from 49 

and  Pasturing 565 

Milch  Cows 238 

Vetches   for 343 

Sorghum,  raising  in  Connecticut    389 
Sows  destroying  young  ....    274 

Old   for   Breeding 212 

Spavin,  Bog  or  Blood  ...    84, 116 

Bone 84 

Cure  for 95, 130 

Spinet,  the 584 

Spruce,  the  White  Fir 573 

Squash  Bug's  Eggs 469 

Squashes  and  Pumpkins,  keep- 
ing         46 

Compost  for 214 

Two  years  old 497 

and  Watermelons 126 

Squirrels,  Ground,  inCalifornia    499 

Stanchions 231 

and  Stables 164 

Stifles,  cure   for 515 

Stock,  care  of  Winter 12 

Durham,  in   Vermont .   .   .    577 

Cost  of  Raising 291 

Feeding 503 

How  often  shall  it  be  fed  .    505 

Mr.   Hubbard's 107 

Improved,  in  Canada  .  .  .  307 
Improvement  of  .  284,  288,  463 
Neat,  Improvement  of  .   .   .    388 

Personal  care  of 550 

Stabling  in  Vermont  ....     95 

Tact  in  Fecduig 572 

too   much 65 

Wintering 12 

Stones  on  cultivated  Lands   .   .   482 

Stoves  and  Furnaces 651 

Straw  and  Hoot  Cutters  ....   527 


^10 


INDEX, 


Straw,  Musty,  bad  for  Horses  .    526 
Strawberries,  best  varieties    240,  539 

Cultivation 93,  307 

Plants,  to  prepare  for  trans- 
portation     558 

Raising 473 

Salt  Thatch  for 471 

Subscriber  an  Old,  and  a  Queer 

Fellow 495 

Farewell  of 84 

Subsoiling 124 

Sugar  Beets 203,  250,  488 

and  Fodder  Corn 488 

Sugar,  Grit  in  Maple  .   .  311,  331,  334 

Sunflower  Seed 526 

Superphosphate  of  Lime,  am't 

per  acre 417 

on  New  and  Old  Lands  .  .   496 

Trials  of 441 

Use  of 307 

Swallows 512 

Swans,   Geese,   &c 4->9 

Swine,   Breeds   of 67 

Care  of 11 

Chester  "White 241 

Swiss  Family 27 


TAXATION,  Valuation  for.    514 
Tea,  objection  to  use  of  .   .     39 

Teams,  over  loading 59 

Tenant  Farming  in  England  .  .  133 
Texas,  Wool-raising  in  ...  .  40 
Thistle,   Canada  ....    85,  343,  636 

at  the  West 335 

as  a  Subsoiler 291 

Tin  Ware,  mending 53 

Tires,  to  keep  on  Wheel  ....  435 
Toads  destroying  Bugs  on  Vines  380 
Tobacco  and  Bad  Habics  ...    513 

Crop 108 

Cultivation   of 429 

Tomatoes,  early 50 

Growing  at  Mich.  Ag.  Col.  .    576 

Introduction  of  the 561 

Keyes' 535 

Sweet  Pickle 514 

Training  of  the   ...   .    372,  376 

Tools,  care  of 32 

to  kiep  from   Kusting  .   .   .    525 

What  they  have  done  .   .   .    338 

Top-drefcsing  Grass  Lands  .   .   .    308 

Transplanting  Trees 216 

Trees,  Fuller's  Book  on  Cultiva- 
tion of 35 

Forest,  Cultivation  of.   .    23,31 
for  Transplanting  .   .    312,  324 

Fruit,  buying 73 

large   in   Missouri 499 

Mountain  Ash 24 

Pine     128 

for  Planting  in  place  of  lost 

Forests 283,  289 

and  Shrubs,  destruction  of  . 

227.  267 
square  feet  of  Foliage  of  .    550 

Transplanting 215 

Wai-h  for 318 

Tuttle,  Charles  D.,  Farm  in  Con- 
cord       187 

Turkeys,  Cock  setting  on  eggs  .    527 

Diseases  in 496 

Raising 86,  289 

Sick 5.'3 

Useful,  to  make 466 

Turnips,   Raising 440 

TTDDERS,  Swelled 117 


VEGETABLES,  early,  raised 
near  B')stoii 468 

Waste  of  Force  in 381 

Vermont  Agricultural  College.     25 

Durham   Ktock  in 577 

Society,  fctale 60 

Addison  Co 173 

Cakdoi  ia  Co.  .   .   .    132,  271 

Crops  in  Orange  Co.  ...      48 

Dai'y  Products  of 163 


Vermont,  Hops  in 168 

Horse,    a 156 

Irasburg  Farmers'  Club  .   .  227 

Sheep 178 

Wheat  growing  in  .   .   .    167,216 

Windsor  Co.,  Season  in   .   .  373 

Vetches  for   Soiling 314 

Virginia,  Letter  from 230 

West,  Crops  in 419 

Farming  in 464 


WAGES  of  Farm  Laborers.   191 
Warts  on  Cows'  Teats  .   .    376 

Washing  Fluid 468 

Waste  Lands,  Mowing  Pastures, 

Irrigation 434 

Water,  Conveniences  for  obtain- 
ing         95 

Watermelons  and  Squashes  .   .    123 
Water   Pipes,  Materials  for  .   .     50 

Wax,   Grafting 311,  331 

■Wedges,  to  prevent  Rebounding  578 

Weeds,  an  old  Story 249 

Extermination   of 331 

Usi-  of 229 

Weevils  in   Granaries 5i8 

Wens  on  Cattle 194 

Wheat,   Charcoal  for 490 

Crop   in  Vermont 52 

on   Hudson   River ....    578 

in  Kansas 578 

St.  George 376 

Crop,  a  lartie 183,  375 

Failure  of  in  Ohio  ....    379 

Culture 157 

Growing 305,  311 

in   Vermont 216 

Harvesting 537 

Lady  Grower,  another  .  .  495 
Maseachnsttts,  in  .  .  .  343,  442 
New  Hampshire,  in  ...  .  261 
Ohio,  Failure  of  Crops  in  .    379 

Salt  for 235 

Seed,  amount  of 335 

Sixteen  Crops  without  Fail- 
ure     231 

Spring,  amount  of .  .  .  277,535 
Spring  and  Winter,  time  of 

Sowing 132 

Turning  to  Chess 417 

Vermont,  in 52,  276 

St     George 376 

How  it  is  raised  in  .   .   .    167 

South  Straflbrd 495 

Was  it  a  Failure 473 

Winter 442 

Account  of 535 

How  to   Cultivate  ....    496 
and  Spring,  time  of  Sow- 
ing     132 

Winter,  sowing  in  Spring  .    182 

Yield  of,  in  Michigan    ...      53 

Whitewash,   10  make  fast  .   .   .    420 

Wilder,  Marshall  P ]5 

Wine,  eood,  needs  no  Bush  .   .    407 

Making 552 

How  to  make  from  Grapes  .    536 

Winter   Recreations :)7 

Wirt!  Worms       52,) 

Witcli   Grass 47 

Wives,  a  biautiful  Tribute  to.    404 

Farmers' 113 

Wood,  Elijah,  Farm   of .   .   .   .    193 

Hauling 277 

Woodchuek  Skins,  Tanning  .   .    178 
Wool,  Buying  and  Manufactur- 
ing     421 

Rules   for 23i 

Consumption  of 207 

Fleeces,    Scoured,     Spring- 
field,  Vt 475 

Heavy 378,  379 

Growers'  Association,    Cir- 

cul;ir  of  the 21 

New  York  State 206 

Ohio     13) 

Pennsylvania 130 

Convention,  Cleveland,  O.    35 

Growing,  Dark   Side   of .   .    447 

Good  i;ourage  about .   .   .    555 

l'ro^pect8 194 


Wool,  growing  at  the  West .  .   492 
Imports  of  in  1866, 1867  .   .    467 

Knit  Goods 240 

Marketing 4'il 

New  York,  Resolutions  .    339 

Oil,  use  of 569 

Raising  in  Texas 40 

Samples   of 258,  340 

Tariff,  Samples  of  .   .   .    276,  286 

Tariff 81,125,  145,  188 

No  present  results  ....    424 

of  June  30,  1867 262 

in  Danger 72 

Passage  of  Bill 106 

to  test  Quality  of 184 

at  the  Paris  Exposition  .   .    437 
and  Woolens,  Importations 

of 380 

Women  and  the  Fashions  .   .   .    583 

Worcester  Co.,  visit  to 364 

Work,  Spring's,  done  in  Fall .     44 

Systematically 249 

Worm.  Army 358 

Canker,  see  Canker  Worm. 
Currant,   Remedy   for  .   .   .    419 

Worms,   Cut,  the 377 

Web,  the,  or  Fall  Caterpil- 
lar      49T 

Wire,  Buckwheat  for  .   .   .    411 


YEAR,  Crops,  and  Health  of 
the 552 

Year,  close  of 552 

Yeast,  an  Agricultural  ...    15,  180 

Young  Olive  Plants 180 

Youths'       Department,      Very 
Proud  To-night 103 


PLANTS  and  Flowers,  House, 
Cultivation  of      100,  148,  195,  242 
247,  292,  351,  647 
List  of 
Alyssum,  or  Mad  wort  ,   .  .    152 
Amaryllis,    or     Belladonna 

Lily 162 

Auricula,  or  English   Prim- 
rose   152 

Azalea 162 

Begonia,  or  Beefsteak  plant    195 

Cactus 195 

Calceolaria,  or  Slipper  wort    196 

Calla  Ethiopica 196 

Camelia  Japonica 196 

Carnation 197 

Celosia 63 

Chrysanthemum 197 

Daisy 193 

Daphne 198 

Eupatorium 198 

Fuchsia 32, 199 

Forget-me-not 199 

Geranium 200 

Heliotrope     242 

Hoya,  or   Wax   Plant  ...    242 

Hyacinth 242,247 

Hydrangea 242 

Ivy 242 

Lantana 242 

Lemon 244 

Lily    of  the   Valley  ....    245 

Lobelia 245 

Mahernia 245 

Mignonette 246 

Mimulus 246 

Money   Plant 246 

Myrtle     246 

Oleander 292 

Oxalis      292 

Pansy 292 

Petunia 293 

Periwinkle 293 

Pink     293 

Primrose 293 

Pyrethrum 293 

Roses 294 

Salvia 295 

Verbena 295 

Violet 351 

Wall  Flower 351 

Gilllflower 351 


INDEX   TO    CONTRIBUTORS. 


A      487 

A.  A.B 179 

A.  C  ....  19,  182,  261 
A  Farmer's  Wif!  .  .  .  355 
A.  G.C..    126,163,214,  3'fi 

A.  K 95 

Albert 230,  5r-9 

Allbe,  H 278 

Allen,  C.  C 335 

Allen,  H.  G ^2S 

Allen,    William    ...    216 

Allen,  S.  11 573 

Alley,  H 472,  537 

Alpha 88 

A.  L.  T 7S,  130 

A.  L.  W.  .  .  471,  508,5ti3 
Ames,  J.  A.  .  .  .  181,. '8  » 
Andre:iB,  C.  N.    ...    332 

Arthur      90 

A.  W.  C 50 

A.  W.  M 127 


BACON,  W.  .  .     84,  3U 
Bard,  the  Peasant    120 

Barker,  S 579 

Barnes,  A.    L 166 

Bassett,  W.   G.    .   .   .    221 

Bates,  Caleb 78 

Baylies,  Alfred     ...    440 

B  D.  W 419 

Bennett,  J  G.  373,  417,  443 

Berry,  H.  T 3  '3 

Bicknell,  L.  E 560 

Bigelow.  F.  E 237 

Black,  W.  H 237 

Blake,  Edwin  E.  .   .   .    560 

Bos 389 

Boyden,  J.  P 273 

Breck,  Joseph  ....  559 
Breed,  Z.  .  .  116,  123,440 
Bridge,  Thomas  .  .  .  164 
Brigham,  Aaron  .  115,  276 
Brown,  James  P.  .  .  14i 
Brown,  Joseph  W.    47,  62 

Brown.  O ;!35 

Brown,  eimoti  187,  368,  4iT 
Brown,  W.  D.  .  .  1.'i3,  165 
Butfingfon.  .James  167,374 
Burnbam,  Royal  .  .  .  276 
Burnham  aid  Son  .  .  49i 
Butterfield,  .[esse  B.  •    5b0 


C.   .85,310,311,441,561 
.   Cain,  O.  F.  .    .   .    277 
Campbell,  Mandeville     334 

Card,  A.   B 215 

Carson,  Franklin  W.  .    165 

Caskin,  J.   M 450 

C.  D.  M 182 

Chamberlin,  g.  C.  .  .  211 
Chamberlin,  8.  8.  .  .  61 
Chandler,  L.  H.  .  .  .  309 
Chandler,  Stephen  .  .  537 
Cheever,  A.  \V.  37,  49,  50 
239 

Chiel 116,218,376 

C.  II.  \V 231 

Cilley,  J.  C 140 


Clark,  Samuel  ....  231 

Clifton,  John    ....  221 

Collamore,  Horace  .   .  45 

Colt,   Randolph,   Jr.  .  498 

Contributor,  an   V\d  .  387 

Cera 513 

Corliss,  L,  D 537 

C.    8.  P 3ii7 

Cutter,  B.F.  .   .   .    378,562 


DAVIS,  A.  B   .    139, 140 
Davis,  J.  N.  .   .   .    376 

Davis,  Peter 225 

Day,  L.  J 4P5 

Devereux,  A.  F.  &  Co.  135 

D.    F 275 

D.  L.  T 216,  274 

Down  in  Maine  .    3;4,  335 

D.  R 536 

Durant,  W.  A.  56,  79,  110 
Dwight,  D 127 

128 

.  Eaton,  Moses,  Jr.  116 
Eavesdropper    ....    441 

E.  B.  130,  165,  175,  261,  375 

435,  440 

Economy 450 

E.   E.   A 83 

Eldon 481 

Ellis,  Thomas  204,  330,  374 

E.  M.  E 663 

E.  R.  8 189,  287 

Es^ecker 57  > 

Experior  ...    50, 125,  139 


F. 


72,  98,  165,   334, 
441,446,477,514 


P.  A.  C.  N 

Fannie 

Fiirmer,  A 

Karmtr,  ANew   .   .   . 
Farmer,  an  A'  ologyfor 
Farm'  r's  Wife    .    .    67, 
Farmer,  Young  ,   .  50, 
216, 

F.  G.  G 

Fisk,F.  F 

Fitch,  Elijah 

Fitch,  Henry  C.  .  .  . 
Flanders,  W.A.  &  Co. 
Fleming,  John  156,  162, 

F.  M.  R 

Forty   Years'    Experi- 
ence   

Post.  r.  O.  416,469,  523, 

French, E 

French,  Henry  F.  .   . 
French,  Hiram  .   .  307, 
French,   Geo.  S.  .   .  . 
Friend,  An  0!d,  &c.   . 


G. 


G.  A.  A. 


94,  .355 
74,  111 


Gava f96 

G.  C 181,  229 

G 27> 

G.  B.  E.  227,  269,  284,  289 
313,  3:6 

G.  E.  H 496,  3-26 

G.  H 273 

G.  H.  T 353 

G.  M.  B 311 

Greeley,  A.  W,    .  311,  497 
Gregory,  J.  J.  H.     .   .    4S0 

Green,  A 471 

Green,  S.  W Ill 

Griffin,  H 46,  680 

Gu'in. Elijah 129 

G.  W.  C." 273 


H39,  48,   116,  231,  274 
359,  490,  512 
Hale,  Anne  G.  99, 1J8,  195 
212,  232,  351 

Hannah 4v3 

Hart,  T.  L 46 

Hartwell,  I.  B.  20,  173,  19.) 

219,    302,  3'  3,  331,  3:^5 

370,  373,    522,  523,  531 

536,  568 

Hay  ward 417 

H.  C 278 

II.hb,Edwardl91,236,  307 

Henrie      279 

H  wins,  L 237 

Hibhard,  G.L 330 

H.  H 515 

Hildreth   L.  H.     ...    210 

Hill.  J.  C 129 

H.  M 470 

Hoit,  F.  H '.37 

Hop  Gro-wer 94 

Howard,  II.  B       ...    311 
Howard  San  ford  ...      76 

Howland,  W 217 

H.P 443,  4  3 

Hubbard,  V.AI.    ..330,  35') 
Huhhard,  J.  G.     .   .   .    167 

Humphrey,  H 514 

Hutchinson,  Isaac  W.    168 


TDEX  .   .   .   .178,260,  349 

1  Inquirer   127,    237,    6^3, 

364,  581 


TACK 417 

J    J.  A.  H 3  8 

J.  A.R 523 

Jameson,  Z  E.  280, 387,  488 
545 

J.  B. 512,  522 

J   F.  D 134,  278 

J.  H   C 218 

J.  L.  R 218 

J.  M 471 

J.0 48 

Josephine 450 

J.  P 139 

J.  R 159,  414 

J.  R.  D 46 


J.  S.  C 67 

KATIE   8 102 
Keach,   8.  B.   .   .    662 

Kellogff,  M.  S 305 

King,  J.     .   .    273,  277,  334 
Kiniiiand,  Jones  .   .   .    439 

Kimball,  Benj 581 

K.  K 166 

K.  O.  384,  389,  395,  410,  415 
430,  440 

T       376 

.U.  Landor,  F.H.  .   .    181 

Lane,  J 681 

Lawrence,  Jonathan  180 
2;9 
Lawton,  Horace  .  .  .  495 
L^avitt,  A.  .  .  .  127,  489 
Lectum  43,  68,  130, 133,  276 

L   L.  P .^9 

L.  T.  T. 375 

Luther 164 

L.  W.  P 260 

Lyon,  W.  H 334 

MA.  C 4  5 

.  Mansfield,  C.  M.  474 

Mansfield,  Robert    .   .  214 

Marshall,  J.  H.     ...  442 

Mary 50,  65,  298 

Mason,  A.  F 93 

Mason,  H.  W 140 

Mattie 576 

MeN.,  C.  G 139 

W.I) H 

M'lcher 127 

Millie 126 

Montague 418 

Morton,Leander  .   .   .  377 

M.  P 37 

M.  P.  B 546 

M.  R.  C 181 

Mrs. 117 

Mrs.  S.  B   Sawyer  .   .  3  6 

Mrs.  Vermont  ....  546 


NELLIE     ....  55,  355 
Nichols,  J.  R.    .   .    4i3 
N.  O.  H 494 

N.  vS.  Jr 166 

N.8.  T.  56.79, 110,173,  2i2 

271,  3 '9     438,  487,  505 

Nutting,  Kufus  71,  77,  217 

220 


OF. 306,  .307 
.  O.  H.  P 334 

I  lid  Ned 411,  378 

O.  P. 522,564 

Ormsby,  E.  W.    .  .  .    274 

95,  465,  472 

.  P.  A.  P 218 


►12 


INDEX 


Parks,  E.  A 3T5 

Parker,  Capt.  Joel  .   .  497 

Parmentcr,  Ci.leb  E.  .  168 

Peasant  Bard,   ....  1-0 

Pettep,  W.  J 181 

PettiiJtiill,  «_)liver  .   .   .  37o 

P.  E.  S 94 

P.  H.  B 2 16 

P.  J 95,  Vi^ 

Poor,  H.  237,  277,  309,  -142 
535,  564 

Poultry.  Lover  of    .   .  410 

Pratt,  Phinens  49,  139,  329 

Puffer,  L.  W 45ti 


rvUERIST 48 

R3(1,   88,    115,    142,  216 

.     251.316,330,332,  333 

370,  410,  441,  48,  471 

486,510,  bcO,  1 44,  534 

Radical HO 

Ralph 167 

K.  B.  II 214 

Read,  L.  L ISO 

Readir,  a  .    .   .   .    306,  31 1 

Reader  of  ihe  Farmer,  a  94 

Richardson,  Ebenezer  321 

R.N 4'i 

Robert 2:35 

Rounds,  H.    .  334,  335,  4H 

Kowell,  E.  C 275 


Rowell,  J.  M 49 

K,.  P 218,  238 

R.  P.  F 181 

Ruby 45 1 

Hussell,  Andrew     .   .    274 
Rusticus  .   .   .  537,  560,  5<1 

218 

.  S.   A.    A 167 

Sanborn,  F.  G 416 

S.   H ^61 

.-^a-born,!  W 16o 

Sargeant,  Benj.    ...    16S 
Sawyer,  8.   B.,  Mrs  .    3,0 

8.  D 237 

S   E.  F 117 

gelrabc 21-:),  4;i 

Sheldon,  Asa  G.  .    483,417 
Sheldon,  U    A.    ...    496 

y.  H.    H 23 

Si'.ly,  A.  G 376 

Simonds,  W.I.  48,  277,  3i  6 
331 

Smith,  J.  K 33 

Siiiilh.  J.  N 330 

ypaulding,  D.  R.  .   .   .    3i2 

8.  8 496 

Stearns,  C 129 

8tetson,  B.  L 623 

Subscriber,  a  47,  67,93,140 
166,  167,  215,  '217,  ?30 
232,  236,  247,  275,  277 
308,  310,  331,  332,  334 


Subscriber,  a  375.  415,  417, 

418,  419,  473 

Subscriber,     An    Old  12S 

3  i7,  373 

Suh?criber,ANew  417,469 

Sum-rer,  A 115 

bumner,  11.  A.  .   .    83,  290 
Sylvester,  \V,  A.  .   .  .    562 


TABER,   A 115 
rp      o       Tji  Or 

Tirikham,  Charles  C  .    334 

I'inkhani,  Otis  ....    134 

True,   O.    W.  83,  140,  442, 

537 


V  .  Van  Doom  .   .   .    538 
Varney,  L.  77,  282,411,470 

Ver.ty 39 

Vermont  Farmer's 

Wife     582 

Vermont,  Mrs.  ....    646 
Vermont,    Old  ....      95 

Viiiing,  G 84 

V.  M 118,334 

W.  226,  236,  273,307,  .322 
.  326,418,434,439,515 

Waite,  Luke 562 

W.  B 659 


W.C.  B 230 

W.E.B 18,551 

Weeks,  W.  B 496 

Weis,  F 213 

Whatmore,  John  .   .   .    496 

Wheeler,   Curtis  ...    276 

White,  W.  H.  38,  143,  161 

278,   288,  315,  385,  478 

520 

W.  H.  W 278 

Wife,  A  Farmer's  .   .     67 

Wilcox 87 

Wilcox,  A.  II 47 

Williston.  Theo.  .  5(6,  5il 
Winter  Hill  .  .  .  68.232 
Winsor.  Ethelbert  .   .    276 

W.  J.  P 216 

Wm.   O  ,  Mrs 442 

Wood,  C.  E 19 

Wool  Grower  .  .  123,  494 
W.  S 335 

YF 472 
•  Young  Farmer  .    615 

ZE.  J 645, 566 
.  Zenas  ....    273,  417 

* 283 

** 464 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


APPLE 80 
Red  Astrachan .^56 

Tree   B  rers 390 

P-.  regrine  White's  ....    121 

Bantam   Fowls 640 

Bocconia 364 

BuildiiifS— 

Cottage,  English    ....    16, 17 
Farm  House,  a  Complete  .    112 

and   Stable 360,  3 il 

Villag.*  Residence 6v4 

Hop-kiln,  Ifouble 336 

School    House 320 

Canada  Thislle 344 

Celosia 03 

Clydesdale  Horse Ml 

Cut  Worm,  transformations  of.    377 
Devil's  Daroini.'  Kccdle  .   .   .   .    42S 

Devon  Bull  Calf 21 

Durham   Bull— Chicago  Duke  .    If'O 

Earl  Si-ahara 63S 

l-toan  Prince 444 

Fir,  Euiopean   Silver 4^2 

White  Sjiruce 673 

Fire  Kxtiuguiaher 317 


Gifford  Morgan  Colt 492 

Grafted  Stock 1^6 

Ilay   Rake,    Warner's 2. '4 

Hop  Bill  Frame 304 

Kiln,   Doulilc .336 

Picking  1?in 303 

PUi'its,    Trimmed    and   Un- 

trimmed     28o 

Planting,  manner  of  .   .  .   .    i;54 
Po  es.    Augur     for    making 

Holes   for .285 

Vine,  Male  and  Female  .   .    253 

Hot-bed 143,  160 

Jersey   Blue   Fowls 44 

Cow 184,  436,457 

Lily,  Japan 184 

Microscope,  a  convenient  .   .   .    212 

Mdkweed .396 

Pear  Tree,  Dwarf 2.i7 

Bartlett 460 

Glout    Morcran 328 

Pigs,  Chester  Wiiite 2U 

I'ine,  Seoicli 2  8 

Plum,  Columbia  Gage 167 

WashingloD 517 


Sheep  Labels 74 

Stanchions  for   Cattle 164 

Safford's   Swinging   ....     69 

Strawberries 93 

Tomato   Training 372,  376 

TNLTIAL  Letter  A  .   .   .   .    153,  201 

i  C 461 

D 528 

E 9,  4il 

F.   .  .    57,91,333 

H 170 

I  .  .    263,  357,  5j8 

L 297 

M  .   .    75,  105,  216 

N 6  1 

O  .   .   .   .    222,453 

P 408 

R 345 

S  .  .  .  .  185,  40.i 
T  .  .  .  .  249,348 
W    .   .   .    233,300 


DEVOTED  TO  AGRICULTURE,  HORTICUIjTURE,  AND  KESTDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  January,  1867.         VOL.  I.— NO.  1. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Row 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN, 
S.  FLETCHER, 


Editors. 


AM"   OLD    FRIEND,    IN  A  NEW  DRESS. 
NCOURAGED     h}'    the 

unprecedented  suc- 
cess of  the  weekly 
New  EngljVND  Far- 
mer, since  the  first 
of  January,  I860,  the 
proprietors  now  re- 
sume the  publication 
of  the  monthly  edi- 
tion of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer,  and 
intend  to  make  it  one 
fc=^  of  the  most  vahiable 
and  popular  maga- 
zines of  its  kind  in 
the  country.  As  will  be  seen,  it  is  enlarged 
beyond  the  size  of  the  old  series,  is  printed  on 
better  paper,  and  will  be  continually  improved 
by  adopting  such  changes  as  progress  in  the 
art  of  printing  may  present.  Especial  pains 
will  be  taken  to  condense  its  articles,  so  as  to 
introduce  as  much  variety  as  possible  upon  all 
the  leading  branches  of  agriculture,  such  as  the 
location  and  construction  of  faiin  buildings ; 
the  reclamation  of  lands  ;  the  science  and  prac- 
tice of  drainage ;  the  modes  of  seeding  lands ; 
the  cultivation  of  orchards  ;  gardening,  for  do- 
mestic and  market  purposes ;  the  raising  of 
small  fi-uits  ;  bee  culture,  and  the  principles  of 
breeding  stock,  and  the  modes  of  feeding  and 
tending,  so  as  to  secure  the  largest  amount  of 
growth  and  profit,  with  the  greatest  economy. 


To  these  will  be  added  notices  of  the  intro- 
duction of  new  and  valuable  farm  implements 
and  machinery,  such  as  will  be  supposed  to 
enable  the  farmer  to  produce  larger  and  better 
crops  than  heretofore,  at  a  less  cost  of  time  and 
labor.  Great  as  has  been  the  advance  in  these ' 
things  during  the  ten  years  just  past,  others  of 
much  value,  if  not  of  equal  impoi-tance,  will 
undoubtedly  succeed  them.  As  the  cost  of 
clothing,  groceries,  and  other  articles  which 
the  farmer  does  not  produce,  increases,  so  must 
the  products  of  his  fields  increase, — but  as  this 
will  not,  probably,  be  in  an  equal  proportion, 
he  must  be  constantly  advised  of  the  means  of 
producing  at  the  least  possible  cost,  so  as  to 
avail  himself  of  all  practical  labor-saving  helps 
as  they  are  introduced. 

The  Monthly  Farmer  will  also  be  a  suita- 
ble medium  through  which  to  disseminate  the 
improvements  which  are  continually  introduced 
in  domestic  industry, — in  the  house,  as  well  as 
in  the  field.  No  farm  is  entirely  well  conduct- 
ed, where  the  kitchen  is  not  well  managed. 
The  importance  of  this  department  of  labor  has 
been  somewhat  overlooked.  Valuable  receipts, 
notices  of  new  things  intended  for  the  kitchen, 
larder,  wash-room,  dairy,  and  other  portions 
of  the  house,  are  frequently  given  in  the  weekly 
journal,  but  before  they  can  fairly  be  consid- 
ered, the  paper  becomes  lost  or  destroyed.  It 
is  too  ephemeral  in  its  nature.  But  the  monthly 
issue  not  only  disseminates  information,  but 
brings  it  in  a  foiin  where  it  can  be  preserved 


10 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


and  referred  to  in  future  years  with  readiness 
and  ease. 

The  family,  for  instance,  wishes  to  avail  itself 
of  some  appliance  that  operates  well  and  saves 
the  strength  of  women,  already  overtasked. 
The  notice  of  such  appliance  comes  when  the 
attention  is  engrossed  with  present  and  oppres- 
sive cares,  and  little  notice  is  taken  of  it.  By- 
and-by  a  more  favorable  moment  occurs,  and 
the  mind  reverts  to  the  subject,  but  the  paper 
containing  it  is  gone,  and  with  it  all  the  neces- 
sary details.  The  montlily  issue,  however, 
being  in  the  form  of  a  book,  is  preserved  with- 
out trouble,  and  on  referring  to  it  the  complete 
index  which  it  contains  leads  at  once  to  the 
subject  desired.  Such  a  work  increases  in 
value  as  it  increases  in  age.  Indeed,  a  gen- 
tleman who  has  the  entire  volumes  of  the  old 
series,  informs  us  that  his  copies  go  about  his 
town  much  as  does  a  winnowing  mill  where 
there  is  but  one  in  a  neighborhood  !  If  a  well 
is  to  be  dug,  a  cistern  buUt,  a  field  drained, 
bam  or  house  erected,  garden  or  grounds  laid 
out,  horses  trained  or  shod,  or  any  other  work 
to  be  done,  he  says  some  information  may 
readily  be  found  in  the  Monthly  New  Eng- 
land Farjieu  in  relation  to  it. 

Such  15  the  fact, — and  this  information  is 
drawn  from  a  large  number  of  the  most  practi- 
cal and  intelligent  persons — men  and  women — 
in  the  community. 

The  Monthly  Farmer  for  the  year  1860, 
has  Jive  hundred  and  seventy-six  broad  and 
beautiful  pages,  printed  in  large,  clear  letters, 
and  treating  at  greater  or  less  length,  upon 
between  two  and  three  thousand  subjects,  or 
illustrating  or  elucidating  the  same  topics  in 
different  ways  and  by  different  persons.  There 
is  scarcely  a  subject  of  interest  to  the  farmer, 
gardener,  horticulturist,  mechanic,  housewife, 
philanthropist,  or  teacher,  but  is  noticed  in 
these  pages,  and  may  readily  be  referred  to  by 
the  aid  of  the  ample  index  given  at  the  opening 
of  the  volume ! 

In  addition  to  this  mass  of  matter  and  infor- 
mation, there  are  also  nearly  one  hundred 
illustrations,  not  pictures  picked  up  here  and 
there,  merely  to  please  the  eye  and  fill  a  page  ; 
but  engravings  that  truly  ilhistrat(!  flic  suljject 
in  hand,  made  expressly  for  the  work,  and  at 
a  very  considerable  outlay  of  money,  as  the 
designs  of  fruits,  cattle  and  buildings  will  at 
once  show.     It  is  intended  to  make  every  suc- 


ceeding volume  as  good  as  the  volume  for  1860, 
and  better  if  possible. 

The  old  series  of  the  Monthly  Farmer 
con.ia.ins  fifteen  volimies.  These  have  been  so 
popular  that  not  a  single  entire  set  can  be 
found  for  sale.  The  new  series  will  come  suf- 
ficiently near  them  in  size  to  preserve  unifor- 
mity and  a  good  appearance  upon  the  shelf,  and 
together  will  make  the  most  valuable  libraiy 
the  farmer  can  possess.  They  will  be  worth 
more  as  books  of  reference,  than  they  will  be 
as  mere  current  reading.  We  suggest,  there- 
fore, that  every  copy  taken  be  carefully  laid 
aside  for  binding,  and  preserved  as  a  record  of 
agricultural  practice  and  progress  at  the  time 
at  which  they  were  written  and  printed. 


FAKM  "WORK  FOK  JANUAKY, 
Accounts. — The  first  work  in  the  opening 
of  the  New  Year  should  be  to  close  all  accounts, 
if,  it  were  not  done  in  December.  Nothing 
tends  to  prosperity  and  harmony  among  neigh- 
bors more  than  a  perfect  understanding  between 
them  in  matters  of  business.  When  these  all 
go  smoothly,  there  will  usually  be  good  feelings 
and  reciprocal  kindness  in  the  neighborhood. 
Delays  are  dangerous. 

The  Stock. — Allow  no  sloven  to  have  care 
of  the  stock.  Fodder  is  too  valuable  this  year 
to  be  wasted.  Feed  a  little  at  a  time,  begin- 
ning with  the  poorest  fodder  in  the  morning, 
and  end  with  it  at  night.  Let  the  sheep  have 
a  choice  of  remaining  under  cover  or  going  out, 
as  they  please.  If  the  weather  is  cold  and 
damp,  they  will  generally  prefer  to  be  under 
cover.  If  clear  and  cold,  even  if  the  thermom- 
eter is  below  zero,  they  usually  prefer  the  open 
air.  Do  not  crowd  them  anywhere,  either  in 
pen  or  yard.  They  love  freedom.  Give  them 
a  variety  of  food,  if  possible.  No  animals  like 
it  better.  They  wiU  thrive  more  on  a  variety, 
if  a  portion  of  it  be  less  nutritious,  than  on  one 
kind  of  rich  food.  Let  them  have  access  to 
pure  water.  They  like  to  drink  very  slowly 
and  be  a  considerable  time  about  it.  Be  friend- 
ly with  them,  using  no  harsh  gestures  or  lan- 
guage, and  they  will  like  you  all  the  better  for 
it,  and  bring  you  heavier  lambs  and  more  wool. 
Let  the  colts  have  a  roomy  and  sunny  yard 
to  ramble  and  loU  in,  and  warm  quarters  for 
stormy  weather.  Have  no  ditches,  old  fences, 
or  cast-off  wheels,  carts,  sleds  or  rubbish  of 
any  kind  for  them  to  tumble  over  and  scar  their 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


11 


bodies  or  break  their  legs.  Feed  and  tend 
them  well,  and  they  will  make  your  purse  ple- 
thoric, by-and-by,  as  prices  for  horses  are  going 
now. 

Look  after  the  yearlings  and  two-year-olds 
carefully.  A  warm  place,  good  hay  and  a  little 
grain,  will  make  you  fond  of  showing  them  to 
your  neighbors  occasionally. 

The  Poultry. — This  branch  of  farm  stock 
probably  pa}-s  more  for  the  money  invested  in 
it  than  any  other.  Treat  the  poultry  fairly  and 
the  poultry  will  treat  you  to  flesh  and  eggs 
accordingly.  They  need  an  airy,  dry,  sunny 
place,  where  they  are  protected  from  winds 
and  dampness,  and  can  bask  in  the  winter  sun- 
shine, whenever  it  condescends  to  come  into 
their  windows.  They  like  variety  as  well  as 
sheep.  Boiled  potatoes,  mashed  with  corn  and 
cob-meal,  dry  com,  oats,  barley  and  butchers' 
scraps  arc  aU  excellent.  Corn  and  cob  meal  is 
better  than  clear  meal,  as  they  are  apt  to  get 
too  fat  on  the  latter. 

Swine. — Look  out  for  the  store  pigs.  They 
are  sometimes  "nasty  creatures,"  but  they  like 
good  victuals  and  warm  nests  notwithstanding. 
There  is  no  profit  in  keeping  them  meanly. 

The  House. — Pile  up  the  first  snow  about 
the  house,  and  you  will  save  fuel  by  it.  It  is 
a  fine  blanket. 

January  is  the  starting  point  on  our  jour- 
ney for  the  year.  If  we  begin  well,  we  shall 
be  more  more  likely  to  end  well.  Let  us  try 
it  this  year.     Certainly,  agreed,  all  round. 


ACQUATNTANCESHIP. 

Fifteen  years  have  now  gone  by,  friends, 
since  we  first  went  forth  to  meet  you  in  your 
fields  and  by  your  firesides,  and  began  to  record 
our  experiences  in  the  great  art  of  farming,  and 
to  collate  for  your  pleasure  or  profit  the  opin- 
ions of  those  among  you  who  have  communi- 
cated to  these  columns. 

The  profit  has  been  mutual.  They  certainly 
have  been  years  of  progress  and  profit  to  us. 

You  have  been  teachers  in  turn,  not  only  in 
the  excellent  articles  you  have  steadily  fur- 
nished, but  in  the  examples  so  often  witnessed 
in  your  agricultural  practice,  and  in  the  sound 
opinions  often  expressed  in  your  fields  and 
around  your  firesides,  during  our  numerous 
visits  among  you. 

Our  whole  intercourse  with  you  has  been 
pleasant.     Our  opinions  have  been  sincerely 


given,  and  have  been  received  for  all  they  were 
worth.  They  have  sometimes  been  contro- 
verted, but  in  that  spirit  of  comity  which  could 
give  no  offence. 

Most  of  the  articles  we  have  presented  have 
grown  directly  out  of  our  daily  practice  on  the 
farm,  either  in  personal  manipulations,  or  in 
the  supervision  of  others.  They  have  not  been 
transcriptions  from  books,  nor  the  theories  of 
those  who  write  from  the  representations  of 
others,  but,  as  every  practical  farmer  will  see, 
remind  one  of  the  soil  in  every  line.  We 
practice  what  we  preach. 

That  these  pleasant  relations  may  continue, 
and  that  the  Neic  Year  upon  which  we  have 
entered  may  be  one  of  great  moral  and  agri- 
cidtural  progress,  is  our  sincere  wish. 


Ferocious  Bees. — On  driving  into  liis  yard 
with  a  load  of  wood,  a  Mr.  Berry,  a  farmer  in 
Madison  county,  Illinois,  was  met,  as  we  learn 
by  the  Prairie  Farmer,  by  an  enormous  cloud 
of  bees,  and  before  he  could  possibly  turn  his 
team  out  of  the  way,  they  covered  himself  and 
his  horses  to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches, 
stinging  both  horses  to  death  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  greatly  endangering  his  own  life.  His 
men  hearing  his  trouble  came  to  his  relief  and 
carried  him  to  a  neighbor's  house.  A  physi- 
cian was  called,  and  by  the  use  of  proper  anti- 
dotes, his  life  was  saved.  They  also  attacked 
the  family  in  the  house  and  they  had  to  save 
themselves  by  flight.  Mr.  B.  is  an  old  and 
veiy  successful  bee  raiser,  and  could  handle 
them  in  ordinary  management  without  even 
gettmg  a  sting. 


Apples  in  New  Hampshire. — Last  Octo- 
ber we  published  a  paragraph  relating  to  the 
fruit  crop  in  New  Hampshire.  Since  that  time 
we  have  visited  two  or  three  of  the  eastern 
counties  of  that  State,  and  find  that  in  these 
counties  there  has  been  from  one-third  to  one- 
half  of  a  good  crop  of  apples.  In  June  there 
was  little  prospect  of  so  favorable  a  result. 
Then,  insects  were  abundant,  and  the  young 
fruit  was  falling  from  the  trees  in  great  num- 
bers. The  apples  which  we  saw  were  fairer 
than  they  are  in  Massachusetts,  and  more  highly 
colored.  The  best  Baldwins  were  selling  for 
$4  to  $4.50  per  baiTcl.  Considerable  cider 
was  being  made,  for  which  there  was  a  ready 
demand  on  every  hand,  at  rather  high  prices. 


12 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


■WINTERING   STOCK. 

Good  coimtiy  hay  is  now  selling  in  Boston 
for  thirty  dollars  a  ton,  and  Eastern  pressed 
hay  for  twenty-six  dollars  and  upwards.  Good 
English  hay  sells  at  twenty-two  to  twenty-six 
dollars  in  the  country  towns  in  the  vicinity  ot 
Boston,  where  it  had  averaged  about  sixteen 
dollars  per  ton  for  many  years  previous  to  the 
rebellion.  Corn  meal  is  now  retailed  at  $2.70 
a  bag,  and  all  other  articles  ordinarily  used  for 
feeding  neat  stock  and  horses  in  the  winter,  are 
proportionately  high. 

Under  this  condition  of  things,  two  points  oi 
interest  to  every  farmer  ought  to  be  carefully 
considered. 

The  first  of  these  is,  that  farming  cannot  be 
profitably  conducted  in  New  England  without 
the  use  of  considerable  manure, — and  that  the 
natural,  sure,  and  economical  mode  of  obtain- 
ing manure  is  by  keeping  stock.  Good,  pro- 
gressive farming,  ought  to  enable  us  to  add  one 
animal  to  our  herd  of  neat  stock  every  year, 
and  feed  them  all  well.  This  would  be  evi- 
dence of  progress  and  thrift.  If  we  kept  five 
last  year,  keep  six  this,  and  so  continue  to  do 
until  every  acre  is  brought  to  its  maximum 
power  of  production.  Under  such  a  practice 
of  farming,  there  would  be  no  want  of  manure 
after  the  system  was  once  in  operation,  and, 
with  careful  culture,  there  would  be  almost  a 
certainty  of  good  crops,  whatever  the  season 
might  be.  Seed  time  and  harvest  is  promised 
to  us,  and  the  promise  has  held  good  for  ages, 
and  will  so  continue.  With  our  part  judiciously 
performed,  there  should  be  no  apprehension 
that  the  result  will  not  be  favorable.  We  have 
no  recollection  of  a  season  when  the  bountiful 
soil  of  New  England  would  not  produce  suffi- 
ciently for  all  her  children,  provided  their  labor 
had  been  given  to  its  cultivation. 

The  next  point  of  interest  is,  how  shall  we 
sustain  our  stock,  and  still  spare  some  portion 
of  the  hay  and  grain  to  exchange  for  cash  to 
meet  bills  for  taxes,  groceries,  clothing,  and  a 
thousand  other  incidental  expenses  that  come 
into  every  family  ?     Let  us  see. 

The  hay  crop  of  last  summer  was  scarcely  an 
average  one,  but  was  generally  well  preserved, 
and  is,  therefore,  more  than  ordinarily  nutri- 
tious. As  a  partial  compensation  for  lack  of 
quantity,  tlie  llill  feed  has  bcM3n  abundant  and 
good,  so  that  cattle  will  come  to  their  stalls  this 
fall  in  good  condition.     We  have  rarely  noticed 


them  appearing  so  well.  The  com  crop  is  also 
good ;  the  corn  fodder,  buts  and  husks,  are 
unusually  heavy. 

The  fanner  can  bring  his  stock  to  their  win- 
ter quarters  this  fall,  therefore,  imder  quite 
favorable  circmnstances.  It  now  remains  with 
him  so  to  feed  out  what  he  has  so  carefully  laid 
up,  as  to  take  his  stock  through  the  winter  in 
a  growing  condition,  on  the  coarse  and  less 
valuable  portions  of  his  crop,  and  leave  a  sur- 
plus for  market,  or  to  be  fed  to  fattening  ani- 
mals, or  milch  cows,  which  would  be  only 
another,  and  perhaps  better,  form  of  selling 
the  hay. 

In  the  first  place,  we  earnestly  recommend 
the  cutting  of  as  mucJi  of  the  fodder  as  possi- 
ble— the  whole  of  it,  English  hay  and  all,  as 
far  as  it  can  be  done  consistently  with  other 
circumstances.  We  will  not  pause  here  to  give 
special  reasons  for  this  recommendation,  but 
will  make  them  the  subject  of  another  article 
hereafter. 

In  most  cases  the  farmer  has  a  variety  of 
fodder,  such  as  meadow  hay  of  two  or  three 
qualities,  herdsgrass,  redtop,  oat,  barley,  or 
rye  straw,  and  the  top  stalks  of  corn,  and  buts, 
and  husks.  Either  of  these,  except  the  Eng- 
lish hay,  fed  alone  would  soon  impair  the  appe- 
tite of  the  cattle,  and  they  would  fail  to  eat  it. 
If  the  coarse  kinds  of  fodder  were  changed 
from  day  to  day,  the  stock  would  select  the  best 
portions,  push  about  and  breathe  on  the  remain- 
der and  then  utterly  refuse  it,  unless  they  were 
kept  very  short — too  short  to  grow  fat  or  yield 
any  valuable  product.  But  if  all  kinds  are 
mingled  and  run  through  a  hay  cutter,  the 
whole  will  not  only  be  eaten  by  the  stock,  but 
they  will  thrive  upon  it  in  a  remarkable  degree. 

Our  practice  has  been  to  use  about  equal 
portions  of  the  various  kinds,  of  fodder,  cut 
and  mixed,  thro^\^l  into  a  heap,  sprinkled  with 
water,  and  then  thrown  over,  adding  a  little 
salt  as  the  process  is  continued.  AVlien  the 
weather  is  so  cold  as  to  prevent  fermentation, 
some  kind  of  meal  is  added  when  the  salt  is, 
and  the  heap  is  allowed  to  remain  a  day  or  two 
before  commencing  to  feed  from  it.  But  if  the 
weather  is  warm,  the  meal  is  mixed  with  it  as  it 
is  used. 

If  thci  farmer  has  raised  grain  of  any  kind,  it 
is  cheaper  to  use  a  portion  of  it  in  this  way, 
ground  into  meal,  than  to  sell  it, — selling  a 
portion  of  the  Ibdder  instead — if  he  must  dis- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARi\IER. 


13 


pose  of  one  or  the  other.  By  mixing  the  meal 
with  the  cut  fodder,  the  whole  becomes  flavored 
with  the  taste  and  smell  of  the  meal,  so  that 
the  cattle  will  eat  every  particle  of  the  hay  and 
straw,  and  leave  only  a  few  of  the  hard  joints 
of  the  corn  buts.  Fed  regularly  three  times  a 
day — about  as  much  as  they  will  readily  eat  at 
each  foddering — horses,  oxen  and  cows  thrive 
as  well  as  ever  they  did  on  as  much  uncut  Eng- 
lish hay  and  the  same  quantity  of  grain.  Every 
ton  of  good,  sweet  com  fodder  fed  in  this  way 
is  worth,  in  our  opinion,  nearly  as  much  as  a 
ton  of  English  hay.  The  cutting  is  done  at 
any  convenient  moment,  but  especially  in  stormy 
weather,  when  several  hundred  pounds  are  cut 
in  a  single  day,  sprinkled,  salted,  and  pjilednp. 

A  most  ample  expei-i'ence  in  this  mode  of 
feeding  stock,  has  convinced  us  beyond  a  doubt, 
that  it  is  a  much  cheaper  mode  of  using  winter 
fodder  than  the  old  one,  of  feeding  it  out  long 
and  unmixed  to  the  cattle. 

All  kinds  of  stock  like  a  variety  of  food,  and 
thrive  upon  it  better  than  they  wiU  upon  a  sin- 
gle kind,  even  if  a  portion  of  that  variety  is  not 
so  nutritious  as  the  one  kind  supposed.  There 
is  no  doubt  in  our  mind,  but  that  a  large  sav- 
ing is  made  in  using  winter  feed  by  the  mode 
we  have  described ;  more  than  enough  to  pay 
for  the  cutting,  if  a  man  were  hired  by  the  day 
to  do  it.  Any  kind  of  meal  may  be  used  in 
mixing — corn,  rye,  barley,  oats,  rice,  or  that 
of  oil  cake. 


FKUIT  STBALLNG. 
Very  many  people  are  deterred  from  plant- 
ing trees  and  vines  in  consequence  of  the 
insecurity  of  the  fruit,  residting  fiom  the  dep- 
redation of  poachers.  Even  here  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  in  other  sections  of  the  country  wliich 
enjoy  our  boasted  system  of  universal  educa- 
tion, our  home  influences,  and  our  religious 
and  moral  principles,  there  is  a  sad  laxity  of 
obligation  in  respect  to  "coveting"  this  species 
of  oiu"  neighbor's  goods.  The  following  state- 
ment by  a  New  York  correspondent  of  the 
Cotmtry  Oenileman,  illustrates  a  "barbarism"' 
which  is  altogether  too  prevalent,  and  which 
has  too  long  disgraced  our  civilization. 

A  few  days  ago  we  visited  a  vineyard  in  the 
eastern  part  of  this  State,  where  a  man  was 
kept  constantly,  night  and  day,  to  protect  it 
from  thieves.  And  we  know  a  village  in  this 
State  where,  some  years  ago,  an  enterprising 
citizen  set  out  a  vineyard  of  about  seven  acres. 


and  never  received  back  enough  to  pay  for  the 

vines,  owing  to  this  atrocious  system  of  thiev- 
ing. Nay  more :  while  he  lay  on  his  death- 
bed, a  vineyard  of  about  five  acres  was  nearly 
despoiled  ;  and  on  the  very  day  of  the  funeral, 
in  broad  daylight,  and  in  full  view  of  the  fimeial 
cortege,  parties  entered  a  small  vineyard  near 
his  homestead,  for  the  purpose  of  stealing,  and 
not  merely  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  single 
bunch  to  eat,  but  provided  with  baskets  to  can-y 
off  their  plunder ! 


Hay  Cutters. — Now  that  fodder  of  every 
kind  is  liigh,  every  means  of  making  it  go  as 
far  as  possible  ought  to  be  employed.  Among 
them  is  the  use  of  the  hay  cutter.  Those  who 
try  it,  and  mix  the  same  amount  of  grain  in  the 
fonn  of  meal,  that  they  gave  with  the  long  hay. 
will  become  satisfied  of  the  economy  of  its  use. 
But  do  not  purchase  a  small  one.  It  may  cost 
less  money  than  a  large  one,  but  it  will  not  be 
half  so  economical.  A  single  jerk  upon  it — 
when  crowded  with  hay,  straw,  or  com  fod- 
der— by  a  strong  man,  would  probably  render 
it  useless,  whereas  a  larger  one  would  withstand 
it.  But  such  violence  should  never  be  used 
upon  any  machine. 

The  saving  of  time  between  a  small  hay  cut- 
ter and  a  medium  or  large  one,  in  the  work 
which  they  would  do,  would  soon  pay  the  dif- 
ference in  their  cost.  If  there  is  only  a  small 
number  of  animals-to  be  fed,  the  large  or  me- 
dium machine  will  be  the  cheapest  in  the  end. 


Reason  foe  Draining  Land  in  Engl-otd. 
In  the  account  of  his  visit  to  Cheshii-e  county, 
England,  Mr.  Willard  remarks  that  there  are  a 
great  many  marl  pits,  or  places  where  the  eailh 
has  been  dug  out  and  used  for  composts,  years 
ago,  and  these  places  here  are  accumulations  of 
water  which  soaks  down  from  the  suiTounding 
soil,  and  furnishes  a  supply  for  stock  in  the 
different  fields.  Many  of  these  pits  are  seven 
or  eight  feet  deep,  and  cover  a  considerable 
space,  making  a  respectable  pond.  "I  was  told 
that  in  the  driest  weather  water  was  always  to 
be  found  in  these  pits,  the  nature  of  the  soil 
being  such  as  to  hold  not  only  the  water  soak- 
ing in  from  springs,  but  that  resulting  from 
rains.  In  this  respect  the  country  presents 
quite  a  marked  contrast  to  the  dairy  lands  in 
America,  since  to  see  upon  a  level  tract  of  land, 
ponds  of  water  in  the  different  fields,  with  no 
visible  outlet  or  inlet,  was,  to  me  at  least,  an 
unusual  sight." 


14 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEJ^IER. 


Jan. 


PRODUCTS    OP    MILCH   CO^VS^S. 

The  following  is  condensed  from  the  Hamp- 
shire Oazette's  report  of  the  Hampshire, 
Franklin  and  Hampden  Cattle  Show,  held  at 
Northampton,  Mass.,  Oct.  4  and  5,  18G6  : — 

The  first  premium  was  given  to  J.  L.  Bos- 
worth  of  Southampton,  for  a  cow  five  years  old. 
This  cow  was  dried  off  the  first  of  March  last, 
and  calved  Ajjril  2d.  During  the  week  com- 
mencing April  IGth,  she  gave  251  lbs.  of  milk, 
or  36  lbs.  per  day,  wliich  yielded  14  lbs.  ol 
butter.  During  the  week  commencing  July 
2d,  her  yield  of  milk  was  30  lbs.  per  day,  and 
the  butter  12  lbs.  Her  feed  was  rowen  hay  and 
grass.  Of  course,  such  a  cow  ought  to  take 
the  first  premium,  but  the  committee  were 
sorely  pressed  in  deciding  between  her  and  a 
cow  owned  by  Charles  S.  Marsh  of  Easthamp- 
ton.  Mr.  Marsh  exhibited  two  cows.  From 
May  17th  to  Oct.  1st,  (136  days,)  their  milk 
produced  280^  Ibsv,  butter.  This  is  at  the  rate 
of  a  little  more  than  two  lbs.  per  day,  or  a 
fraction  more  than  one  lb.  per  day  for  each 
cow.  Taking  the  length  of  time  and  the  season 
into  consideration,  this  is  doing  remarkably 
well,  though  much  less  than  what  Mr.  Bos- 
worth's  cow  did.  Yet  Mr.  B.'s  cow  might  not 
have  done  l^etter  for  the  same  length  of  time . 
The  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  has  very 
much  to  do  with  the  rising  of  cream,  and  we 
have  known  a  variation  of  three  pounds  of  but- 
ter in  the  product  of  one  cow  in  consecutive 
weeks  in  the  month  of  June.  There  are  few 
cows  that  yield  so  much  butter  as  those  ot 
Messrs.  Bosworth  and  Marsh.  But  Dea.  Eras- 
tus  Cowles,  of  Hatfield,  who  was  on  the 
grounds,  informed  us  that  he  has  a  cow  that 
has  produced  twenty  pounds  of  butter  in  one 
week.  The  mother  of  this  cow  yielded  twenty- 
two  pounds  in  one  week,  and  at  that  time  he 
had  two  cows,  fi'om  whose  milk  he  made  42 
lbs.  of  butter  in  seven  days.  The  Deacon  is  a 
truthful  man,  and  we  believe  him.  Such  cows 
should  be  exliibited  every  year,  and  we  hope 
that  next  year  Deacon  Cowles  will  have  his 
famous  cow  at  the  show.  His  cows,  like  the 
best  milkers  exhibited  at  this  and  several  pre- 
vious fairs  here,  are  grades,  mostly  high  grade 
Durhams.  Mr.  Marsh's  cows  are  grade  Dur- 
ham and  grade  Herefords,  the  former  averaging 
14  quarts  per  day  during  the  above  trial,  and 
at  times  giving  18  to  20  (juarts,  and  the  latter 
averaging  11  (juarts.  Had  he  made  a  fuller 
statement,  showing  what  (juantity  of  butter  the 
grade  Durham  cow  produced  alone,  the  com- 
mittee would  have  awarded  him  the  first  premi- 
um ;  as  it  was  he  took  the  2d  and  4th. 

M.  S.  Kellogg,  of  Chicopee  Falls,  a  dairy- 
man of  large  experience,  exliibited  seven  cows, 
four  of  which  j)ro(luced  as  follows  : — 1.  "Jen- 
ny," calved  Oct.  25,  1»65,  gave  from  Nov.  1'.) 
to  Dec.  19,  (31  days,)  V\l1  lbs.  of  milk,  or  38 
lbs.  per  day,  and  Nov.  1!),  20  and  21,  her  milk 
yielded  4(i  lbs.  of  l)utter,  or  nearly  10  Ilis.  per 
week.      Her  feed  was   clover  hay   and   corn 


fodder,  with  one  peck  of  turnips  and  three 
quarts  of  meal  per  day.  The  meal  was  three 
parts  of  broom-seed  and  one  of  ears  of  com, 
ground  together.  In  June,  she  gave  415  quarts 
of  milk,  or  nearly  14  quarts  per  day,  on  pas- 
ture feed  only.     She  calved  again  Sept.  24th. 

2.  "Myrtle,"  calved  Nov,  23, 1865,  gave  from 
Nov.  26  to  Dec.  26,  (30  days)  1253  lbs.  of 
milk,  or  nearly  42  lbs.  per  day.  Dec.  10,  11, 
and  12  she  produced  4  lbs.  and  5  oz.  of  butter. 
In  June  she  gave  291  qts.  of  milk,  or  nearly 
10  quarts  a  day.     Feed  same  as  "Jenny's." 

3.  "Duchess,"  calved  Dec.  16,  1865,  gave 
from  Dec.  25  to  Jan.  25,  (31  days,)  1335  lbs. 
of  milk,  or  about  43  lbs.  per  day.  Jan.  5,  6, 
and  7,  her  milk  produced  5  lbs.  5  ozs.  of  but- 
ter. Feed  same  as  above.  In  June  she  gave 
343i  quarts  of  milk,  or  about  11^  qts.  per  day, 
on  jaasture  feed  only.  4.  "Tulip,"  calved  May 
3,  1866,  gave  in  June  1146  lbs.  of  milk  on 
pasture  feed.  Mr.  Kellogg's  cows  are  Ayr- 
shire, and  he  thinks  this  the  best  breed  for 
milkers. 

The  little  Jerseys  came  in  for  a  goodly  share 
of  attention.  A  little  beauty  owned  by  George 
S.  Clark,  of  Easthampton,  two  years  old,  se- 
cured much  notice.  She  gave  9  to  10  <]narts 
of  milk  per  day  on  pasture  feed — not  a  large 
mess,  but  the  quality  makes  that  balance — 3 
pints  of  cream  produced  2^  lbs.  of  butter. 

Among  the  milkers,  though  not  entered  as 
such,  was  a  little  rusty-looking  black  Kerry 
cow,  with  tail  and  horns  disproportioncd  to  the 
rest  of  her  make — one  of  a  herd  of  four,  owned 
by  Dr.  F.  D.  Huntington,  of  Hadley.  This 
cow,  bad  as  she  looks,  gave  16  qts.  of  milk  per 
day,  for  three  months.  The  milk  is  said  to  be 
remarkably  rich. 

Spencer  Parsons,  of  Northampton,  showed  a 
very  large  native  cow,  8  years  old,  weight  1500 
lbs.  She  has  given,  with  best  pasture  feed,  40 
lbs.  of  milk  per  day,  and  produced  14  lbs.  of 
butter  in  a  week. 


FALL   MANAGEMENT   OF    SHEEP. 

It  requires  a  much  smaller  expenditure  of 
feed  to  keep  animals  in  good  condition  than  to 
restore  them  after  they  are  allowed  to  fall  away. 
Bring  your  sheep  to  the  barn  in  good  order, 
and  Avith  comfortable  quarters  and  good  hay 
they  may  easily  be  made  to  thrive  through  the 
winter.  If  permitted  to  lose  flesh  in  the  fall, 
they  lose  also  something  of  vigor  and  energy, 
and  come  up  with  appetites  less  keen  and 
healthful.  It  is  diflicult  to  make  them  fill 
themselves.  A  liberal  feeding  of  grain  is  ne- 
cessary to  bring  them  to  a  good  condition. 

Breeding  ewes,  especially,  should  be  attended 
to.  Keep  them  thriving  every  day  and  they 
will  bring  large,  well-developed,  lambs  and 
yield  plenty  of  milk.  Let  them  gi-ow  poor 
now,  and  the  loss  cannot  be  regaini'd  ;  niwt 
fall  you  will  have  a  thin  ewe  and  a  mean  lamb. 

Sliee])  should  not  be  exposed  to  the  tall  rains. 
They  are  very  sensitive  to  cold  and  wet.     The 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER 


15 


evident  discomfort  with  which  they  submit  to 
soaklug  rains,  even  in  the  warm  days  of  sum- 
mer time,  shows  that  it  is,  to  some  extent, 
injurious.  The  I'allinji;  rain  is  usually  cooler 
than  the  atmosphere.  The  evaporation  of  wa- 
ter retained  by  the  lle(>ce  liberates  heat  from 
the  body.  A  chill,  a  cold,  and  often  a  fever  is 
the  result.  If  all  of  these  evils  are  escaped, 
the  extra  consumption  of  food  to  sustain  the 
animal  heat  is  a  positive  and  a  considerable  loss. 
Do  not  leave  them  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
woods.  Bring  them  to  the  barn  in  every  cold 
storm.  Give  them  a  little  hay.  The  cost  ot 
a  few  bushels  of  grain  and  a  few  hours'  time  at 
this  season  will  "be  repaid  four-fold  in  the  im- 
proved condition  of  the  sheep. — N.  H.  Farmer. 


neighbor's  orchard  (apple)  owing  to  the  worm, 
will  not  mature  one-sixth  of  a  crop,  and  that 
will  be  knotty.  The  application  hastens  the 
growth  of  young  trees,  renders  the  bark  smooth, 
and  arrests  the  issue  of  gum. 


AN   AamCULTUBAIj   YEAST. 
Some   French  writer  as  long  ago  as  1G74 
stated  his  belief  that  the  soil  contained  the  el- 
ements  of   fertility   in   abundance,    and   that 
eventually   some   simple   substance  would  be 
found  to  act  upon  the  land  as  yeast  acts  on 
dough.     Mr.   P.   G.   Kenny,    "Near  Rahway, 
N.  J.,"  informs  the  Working  Farmer  that  he 
thinks  he  has  discovered  this  simple  substance 
which  is  not  only  to  supersede  manure,  but  to 
effect  such  a  "progression  of  the  soil,"  as  will 
cause  "weeds  to  disappear  from  our  fields,  and 
insects,  mildew,  &c.,  from  our  trees,  vines, 
grains  and  other  crops."     After  reading  the 
following  statement  of  his  success  in  the  use  of 
this  "great  fermenter,"  our  readers  will  feel 
disappointed  by  the  announcement  that  ten  years 
must  be  devoted  to  further  experiments,  before 
the  secret  can  be  divulged.     Can't  some  of  our 
Agricultural  Colleges  assist  IMr.  Kenny  in  the 
perfection  of  his  "yeast,"  so  that  we  may  set 
some  of  our  fields  "a  rising"  as  soon  as  may  be  ? 
In  the  spring  of  1865,  I  tested  a  substance 
on  three  trees  in  an  orchard  of  40  or  50  (peach)  ; 
the  leaves  soon  began  to  look  darker  than  the 
others,  fmit  more  healthy  and  large.     Before 
trying  it  on  these  trees  the  fi-uit  was  dropping 
off — this  arrested  the  dropping  of  the  liaiit  on 
the   three   trees.     They   matured  ma«cnificent 
fruit ;  there  were  not  5()  good  peaches  ol)tained 
from   the   balance   of   the   trees.     Early   this 
spring  I  applied  the  remedy  to  two  rows  ;  re- 
sult,  color  of  the  leaves  much  darker — later, 
applied  it  to  all  the  trees — the  leaves  soon  be- 
gan to  assume  a  darker  hue.     One  tree  was 
covered  with  leaves,  many  on  the  limbs  ^  to  | 
inches  long,  of  a  pale  light  yellow  color,  (pre- 
sume this  is  yellows) .     About  a  month  aga, 
tried  experiments  on  this  tree ;  in  two  Aveeks 
the  leaves  became  darker ;  are  now  threefold  in 
Kize  and  look  healthy. 

There  has  not  been  a  worm  or  cob-web  on  the 
orchard  this  year,  (this  may  be  chance) .     My 


TREATMENT    OP    CROUP. 

Croup  is  an  intlammationof  the;  inner  surface 
of  the  windpipe.     Inllammation  imjilies  heat, 
and  that  heat  must  be  sul)dued  or  the  patient 
will  inevitably  die.     If  prompt  eiibrts  are  made 
to  cool  the  parts  in  case  of  an  attack  of  croup, 
relief  will  be   as  prompt  as  it  is  suijirisiug  and 
delightful.     All  know  that  cold  water  appl  ied  to 
a  hot  skin  cools  it,  l)ut  all  do  not  as  well  know 
and  understand,  that  hot  water  applied  to  an  in- 
flamed skin  will  as  certainly  cool  it  off.     Hence 
the  application  of  cold  water  with  linen  cloths, 
or  of  almost  boiling  water  with  woolen  tlannel, 
is  very  efficient  m  the  cure  of  croup.     Take 
two  or  three  pieces  of  Avoolen  fiannel  or  two 
folds,  large  enough  to  cover  the  whole  throat 
and  upper  part  of'  the  chest ;  put  these  in  a  pan 
of  water  as  hot  as  the  hand  can  bear,  and  keep 
it  thus  hot,  by  adding  water  from  a  boiling  tea- 
kettle at  hand  ;  let  two  of  the  flannels  he  in  the 
hot  water  all  the  time,  and  one  on  the  throat 
all  the  time,  with  a  dry  fiannel  covering  the  wet 
one,  so  as  to  keep  the  steam  in  to  some  extent ; 
the  fiannels  should  not  be  so  wet,  wlien  put  on, 
as  to  dribble  the  water,  for  it  is-  important  to 
keep  the  clothing  as  dry  as  pos.sil)le,   and  the 
body  and   feet  of  the   child  e®mibrtable  and 
warm.     As  soon  as  one  flannel  gets  a  little 
cool,  put  on  another  hot  one,   with  as  little 
interval  of  exposure  as  possible,  and  keep  up 
this  process  until  the  doctor  comes,  or  until  the 
phlegm  is  loose,  the  child  easier,  and  begins  to 
fall  asleep  ;  then  gently  wi-ap  a  dry  fiannel  over 
the  wet  one  which  is  on.   so  as  to  cover  it  up 
thoroughly,  and  the  child  is  saved.     When  it 
wakes  up,  both  fiamiels  will  be  dry. — HalVs 
Journal  of  Health, 


A  Merited  Compliment. — Gov.  Bullock, 
in  a  speech  delivered  by  him  at  the  Norfolk 
County  Agricultural  Fair,  thus  speaks  of  the 
labors  of  President  Wilder,  who  has  given  for 
a  long  life,  his  wealth,  infiuence  and  energies, 
to  the  dissemination  of  horticultural  knowledge 
and  horticultural  acquisitions  : — 

I  meet  here  to-day  the  members  of  this  youth- 
ful and  prosperous"  society  of  Norfolk,  sitting 
and  rejoicing  under  the  presidency  of  one.  ( the 
Hon.  iVlAR!?HALL  P.  Wilder,)  who  has  applied 
the  results  of  well-eanied  commercial  fortune 
to*  the  development  of  the  capacities  of  the 
earth,  so  largely  and'  so  liberally  that  in  every 
household  and  at  every  fireside  in  America, 
where  the  golden  ft-uit  of  summer  and  autumn 
gladdens  the  side-board  or  the  hearth-stone, 
his  name,  his  generosity,  and  his  labors  are 
known  and  honored. 


16 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Jan. 


PBOSPECTIVE   VrE"W   OF   AM"  ENGLISH   COTTAGE. 


We  present  tliis  month  the  elevation,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  rooms  on  the  ground  and 
chamber  floors  of  a  "Gothic  cottage,"  trans- 
ferred and  engraved  for  the  New  England 
Farmer,  from  Loudon's  Encyclopedia  of  Ar- 
chitecture. We  have  not  done  so,  expensive 
as  it  is  to  reproduce  cuts,  with  the  expectation 
that  eveiy  body  will  be  pleased  with  every 
feature  of  this  house.  We  do  not  pretend  it  is 
faultless ;  we  anticipate  criticisms  and  objec- 
tions. StiU  we  believe  it  possesses  peculiarities 
and  advantages  which  may  be  adopted  by  those 


who  are  endeavoring  to  combine  in  one  plan  as 
many  conveniences  as  possible.  At  any  rate, 
we  hope  that  many  of  our  readers  will  find  some- 
thing in  it  to  meet  their  wants. 

In  the  ground-plan,  with  the  points  of  com- 
pass indicated  by  the  letters  N.  S.  E.  W.,  (a) 
is  the  entrance  porch,  which  is  to  be  finished 
with  a  covered  roof,  and  to  have  Gothic  niches 
at  the  angles,  for  statues,  or  vases  for  flowers. 
From  this  you  pass  to  the  hall  and  staircase  (6,) 
by  a  Venetian  door,  the  upper  part  of  wlaich  may 
be  glazed  with  stained  glass ;  thence  to  a  small 


Ground  Flan. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAM)    FARMER. 


17 


ante-room  (c,)  which  may  be  used  as  a  book- 
closet,  or,  having  a  good  southern  exposure, 
as  a  consei'vatoiy  for  plants.  From  this  there 
may  be  a  glazed  door  leading  to  a  piazza,  sur- 
rounding the  eastern  wing  of  the  cottage. 
From  the  hall  you  enter  the  dining  room  (d, ) 
the  two  windows  of  which  may  be  brought  down 
to  the  iioor  and  open  like  Fi'ench  casements,  so 
as  to  lead  out  to  the  piazza.  From  the  hall 
you  like^dse  enter  the  drawing  room,  (e,) 
which  may  have  a  glazed  door  opening  into  the 
conservatory.  K  preferred,  e  may  be  made 
the  dining-room,  and  then  a  commiuiication 
may  be  made  with  the  kitchen,  (f.)  From  the 
kitchen  there  is  a  door  leading  to  a  closet,  or 
pantry  (g,)  and  another  to  the  back  kitchen  or 
wash-house,  with  a  copper,   (h ;)  a  larder  for 


meats,  (i;)  a  place  for  cleaning  knives,  boots, 
lamps,  etc.,  (k-)  and  a  store  room,  (Z.) 
There  are  two  water-closets,  (m.  m.)  both 
under  cover ;  one  entering  from  the  porch,  the 
other  from  the  piazza.  Under  the  principal 
staircase  is  a  flight  of  steps,  (o,)  shut  in  by  a 
door  descendmg  to  the  cellar.  Behind  the 
wash-house,  (at  ]),)  is  a  kitchen  yard,  which 
may  he  surrounded  by  a  high  fence,  and  cov- 
ered with  shrubberj' ;  where  may  be  the  wood- 
house,  privy,  well,  etc. 

In  the  chamber  floor  plan,  g  and  r  show  the 
landing  and  stairs  ;  s,  a  balcony  over  the  con- 
servatory, entered  from  the  staircase  window  ; 
t,  u,  and  V,  bedrooms,  with  the  places  for  the 
beds ;  lo,  linen-closet ;  x,  passage-way. 


Chamber  Floor  Flan. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
XTKTDEK  LOCK   AND   KEY". 

Self-preservation  is  an  instinct  with  us  all, 
yet  there  is  a  wide  diversity  of  practice  as  to 
the  modes  of  securing  our  goods  and  chattels. 
There  are  certain  secluded  rural  districts  where 
the  good  folks  never  think  of  locking  their 
houses,  or  stables,  and  live  in  blissful  ignorance 
of  bolts  and  bars.  And  surely  it  is  no  trifling 
compensation  for  liv-ing  so  out  of  the  way  of 
the  "march  of  civilization,"  that  they  are 
spared  the  thieves  and  burglars  who  follow  in 
its  wake.  But  even  into  such  safe  nooks  and 
corners  of  creation,  the  fashion  of  locking  up 
is  gradually  intruding,  and  there  is  hardly  a 
community  now  in  our  own  New  England  where 
the  master  of  the  house  thinks  of  going  to  bed 


\vithout  looking  to  the  fastening  of  his  doors  and 
windows.  A  worthy  neighbor  told  me,  howev- 
er, that  he  never  locked  his  barn  or  granary,  be- 
cause it  was  too  much  bother,  and  he  had  never 
suflf'ered  by  the  neglect.  But  no  man  is  more 
careful  or  particular  about  making  his  house 
secure,  and  none  more  kind  and  merciful  to  his 
live  stock.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  no  mean 
horse-thief  will  ever  constrain  him  to  fasten  the 
door  upon  an  empty  stall,  but  I  could  not  help 
thinking  in  this  connection  of  the  old  adage 
about  locking  the  stable  door  after  the  steed 
was  stolen. 

There  is  a  feeling  of  security  when  we  have 
properly  secured  our  houses  and  bams,  that 
amply  compensates  for  the  trouble  and  expense. 
And  if,  in  spite  of  these  precautions,  we  suffer 


18 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


from  thieves  and  burglars,  -vve  have  them  only, 
and  not  ourselves  to  curse. 

Some  simple-minded  people  will,  to  tliis  day, 
insist  that  all  these  devices  for  the  protection  of 
our  persons  and  jjroperty  argue  distrust  both 
of  God  and  man.  So  they  object  to  lightning- 
rods,  as  well  as  front-door  locks,  and  feel  sure 
that  Providence  will  care  for  them  better  than 
for  those  who  act  on  the  principle  that  Provi- 
dence cares  for  those  who  care  for  themselves — 
until  some  day  the  house  is  struck  or  robbed, 
and  that  shock  shakes  pretty  effectually  the 
scales  from  their  eyes. 

LoLk:^  may  be  picked,  and  trunks  broken 
open,  and  cunning  rascals  seem  to  crawl  through 
key-ho'es  ;  the  lightning  may  now  and  then  set 
all  conductors  at  defiance,  and  the  devouring 
element  baffle  all  efforts  of  man  and  machine 
to  subdue  it,  but  this  only  reminds  us  that  hav- 
ing done  what  we  could,  above  all  God  is  our 
refuge  and  defence. 

Neither  does  this  resort  to  lock  and  key  nec- 
essarily impute  dishonesty  to  our  domestic  and 
farm  help.  Of  course  much  depends  on  their 
characters  as  developed  day  by  day.  Some 
prove  themselves  such  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vants that  we  could  almost  surrender  to  them 
the  keys,  and  give  them  the  freedom  of  the 
house  ;  while  others  have  a  mania  for  pilfering 
and  tliieving,  and  not  conscience  enough  to 
keep  from  lying  when  caught  in  the  ac'*.  To 
such  it  is  a  mercy  that  bolts  and  bars  have  been 
invented,  and  that  such  an  institution  as  the 
"lock-up"  was  devised.  And  even  the  former 
class  may  be  kept  safe  and  uncontaminated 
from  temptation  by  this  very  device  of  lock  and 
key. 

But  let  us  not  press  this  too  far.  To  my 
mind  there  always  seemed  something  ungra- 
cious in  the  policy  of  distrusting  every  man 
till  he  has  proved  himself  trustworthy.  To  be 
sure,  in  this  present  evil  world,  confidence 
must  be  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  and  no  stran- 
ger can  claim  at  once  our  trust.  But  how 
many  poor,  simple  souls  have  been  the  victims 
of  needless  suspicions.  How  many  originally 
honest  hearts  have  been  driven  into  dishonesty 
by  a  withdrawal  of  confidence.  And  into  how 
many  souls  is  iron  driven  by  the  bolted  lid  or 
door  that  bears  false  witness  to  their  real  in- 
tentions. 

1  remember  an  estimable  Kentucky  lady  who 
conceded  that  the  peculiar  institution  under 
which  she  had  been  born  and  educated  was  a 
great  inconvenience  because  it  obliged  her  to 
keep  everything  imder  lock  and  key,  conse- 
quently her  slaves  grew  up  with  the  idea  that 
they  were  all  a  thievish  set,  and  were  not  slow 
to  do  credit  to  their  training. 

But  even  our  Yankee  housewives  may  be  in 
danger  of  the  same  extreme  by  dividing  their 
time  between  tlie  "lock  stitch"  and  their  bunch 
of  keys.  IIowev(!r  it  is  better  to  err  on  the 
safe  .side  than  to  leave  everything  lying  around 

loose.  W.  K.  B. 

Longmeadow,  Mass.,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
OKCHAKD    OF   ISAAC   EMEBSON. 

We  were  much  pleased  with  a  visit  to  the 
orchard  of  Isaac  Emerson,  in  Windham,  Rock- 
ingham Co.,  N.  II.  This  gentleman  has  made 
a  business  of  cultivating  fruit,  apples  and 
peaches  in  particular ;  and  now  devotes  his 
whole  attention  to  this  branch  of  farming. 
His  tret^s  are  very  thrifty,  and  a  large  part  of 
them  show  a  most  remarkable  growth ;  not 
second,  in  this  resjject,  to  the  very  beautiful  or- 
chard of  Mr.  John  French,  of  Northampton, 
which  took  the  first  State  and  County  premi- 
ums. The  soil  on  which  a  large  part  of  Mr. 
Emerson's  trees  grow  is  not  well  adapted  to 
the  cultivation  of  ordinary  farm  crops,  as  there 
is  only  a  depth  of  from  one  to  three  feet  before 
striking  a  solid  ledge. 

One  orchard  of  four  acres  is  twenty  years 
old  from  the  bud  and  has  been  set  nineteen 
years.  In  the  winter  of  18i33-4  about  one- 
third  of  the  trees  were  killed  by  freezing  of  the 
trunks.  This  induced  Mr.  Emerson  to  con- 
trive some  method  to  j^rotect  them  for  the  fu- 
ture ;  and  he  thinks  he  has  a  complete  remedy, 
lie  places  rocks  on  the  Northwest  side  some 
eight  inches  from  the  trunks  and  piled  about 
Ih  feet  in  height.  This  causes  the  snow  to 
drift  about  the  trunk  and  thus  forms  a  protec- 
tion. Where  it  is  not  convenient  to  place 
rocks  in  this  way,  he  jjiles  muck  about  the 
same  distance  from  the  trees.  lie  thinks  that 
muck  should  never  be  heaped  up  against  the 
trees,  as  it  injures  the  bark.  In  the  spring, 
these  piles  of  muck  are  leveled  aromid  under 
the  branches. 

On  three  acres  of  this  orchard,  crops  have 
been  raised  every  year  until  the  two  last.  In 
cultivating,  care  should  be  taken  to  plough  the 
soil  towards  the  trees  rather  than  from  them. 
They  were  set  27  feet  apart  each  way,  and  a 
peach  tree  between  ;  but  Mr.  Emerson  thinks 
that  forty  feet  is  a  better  distance  even  if  no 
peach  trees  were  set  between  the  apple  trees. 
Mr.  French,  of  Northampton,  N.  II.  is  also  of 
the  same  opinion,  as  he  finds  his  orchard  has 
attained  such  a  luxuriant  growth  that  he  has 
had  to  remove  a  part  of"  his  trees.  One  acre 
of  this  orchard  has  been  kept  in  grass  con- 
stantly, but  the  trees  have  been  carefully  hoed 
around  under  the  branches.  This  acre  has 
made  a  growth  which  would  be  called  good  on 
most  farms,  as  trees  are  generally  cultivated  ; 
but  there  is  a  very  marked  difference  between 
tlu'm  and  those  on  the  part  that  has  been  cul- 
tivated ;  the  trees  being  much  smaller  and  have 
not  borne  as  wi'll  in  proportion  to  their  size. 
One  great  peculiarity  of  i\Ir.  Emerson's  trees, 
is,  that  they  have  not  been  trimmed  up,  but 
liave  been  allowed  to  branch  out  so  low  that 
the  limbs  reach  very  near  the  ground.  He 
thinks,  howevi'r,  as  the  result  of  his  experi- 
ence, that  he  should  not  have  them  quite  so  low, 
were  he  to  train  an  orchard  again.  The  peach 
trees,  from  eighteen  to  nineteen  vears  okl,  are 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   :PARMER. 


19 


ven^  thrifty,  with  large  tops.  They  are  mostly 
of  the  Early  Crawford,  Coolidge  Favorite,  and 
Seedling  varieties. 

Last  year  Mr.  Emerson  had  on  this  orchard 
from  sLxty  to  seventy  ban-els  of  apples.  This 
year  the  trees  blossomed  well  and  set  for  fiiiit, 
but  a  frost  killed  many  of  the  apples  when 
about  the  size  of  peas ;  and  many  of  those 
that  grew  were  one-sided,  caused  by  the  cold 
weather.  Mr.  Emerson  has,  however,  a  very 
good  share  of  apples  this  year.  He  has  other 
good  orchards,  but  I  have  given  a  particular 
description  of  tliis  as  it  illustrates  his  manage- 
ment, which  has  been  very  successful. 

]\Iuch  of  the  land  in  Windham  is  naturally 
well  adapted  for  farming  purposes  and  there 
are  some  good  farmers  and  fruit-growers ;  but 
many  of  the  farmers  devote  their  time  to 
teaming,  to  the  neglect  of  their  lands.  In  this, 
they  mistalce,  in  my  opinion,  their  true  inter- 
ests ;  for  the  same  labor  devoted  to  their  farms 
would  in  a  few  years  pay  them  much  larger 
profits.  If  they  would  try  feeding  grain  to 
stock,  either  to  make  milk  or  for  other  purposes, 
for  a  few  years,  they  would  find  it  so. 

Corbett's  pond,  in  Windham,  and  its  sur- 
voimdings  afford  a  most  delightful  prospect, 
and  it  would  well  repay  all  lovers  of  the  beau- 
tiful in  Nature  to  take  a  drive  around  the  pond 
in  an}^  pleasant  season  of  the  year,  especially 
in  October.  C.  E.  Wood. 

Nov.  1st,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Parmer. 
JVLETEOROLOGICAL   RECORD. 

These  observations  are  taken  for  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

August. 

The  average  temperature  of  August  was  61°  ; 
average  midday  temperature  72°.  The  corres- 
ponding averages  for  August,  1865,  were  68° 
and  78°.  Warmest  day  the  second,  averaging 
76°  ;  coldest  day  the  twenty-fourth,  averaging 
56° ;  coldest  morning  the  twenty-fourth,  ther- 
mometer 50°.  Range  of  temperature  from  5U° 
to  81''. 

Average  height  of  mercury  in  the  barometer 
29.16  ins.  ;  average  do.  for  August,  1865, 
29.25  ins.  ;  highest  daily  average  29.42  ins. 
lowest  do.  28.98  ins.  Range  of  mercury  from 
28.94  to  29.45  ins. 

Fifteen  rainy  days  ;  amount  of  rain  5.97  ins. 
Six  rainy  days  in  August,  1865,  and  1.47  ins. 
of  rain.  There  was  one  cloudless  day  ;  on  one 
day  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast.  No  cloudless 
days  nor  days  of  total  cloudiness  in  August, 
1865.  The  difference  between  the  tempera- 
ture and  also  the  amount  of  rain  in  August  this 
year  and  that  of  same  month  last  year  will  be 
noticed. 

September. 

The  average  temperature  of  September  was 
69®  ;  average  midday  temperature  67^^.  The 
corresponding  averages  for  September,  1865, 


wei*e  65^"and  75''.  Warmest  day  the  second, 
averaging  74" ;  coldest  day  the  twenty-third, 
averagitig  46°';  coldest  mornings  the  16th,  23d 
and  24th ;'  themit>meter  34°.  Range  of  tem- 
perature from  34'*  to  SC. 

Average  height  of  mercury  in  the  barometer 
29.26  ins. ;  average  do.  for  September,  1865, 
29.34  ins.  Highest  daily  average  29.56  ins. ; 
lowest  do.  28.92  ins.  Ran^e  of  mercury  from 
28.88  ins.  to  29.62  ins. 

Fifteen  rainy  days  ;  amount  of  rain  7.18  ins. 
Eight  rainy  days  and  3.38  ins.  of  rain  in  Sep- 
tember, 1865.  There  was  otte  cloudless  day ; 
on  five  days  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast. 
Five  cloudless  days  and  two  days  of  total  cloud- 
iness in  September,  1865. 

These  two  months,  August  and  September, 
will  be  long  remembered  as  cold  and  wet  all 
over  the  country,  and  especially  when  com- 
pared with  last  year.  The  earth,  having  become 
dried  to  a  great  depth  by  two  years  of  drought, 
is  now  filling  up  again  with  water,  of  which  we 
surely  cannot  complain,  though  some  loss  and 
suffering  be  caused  thereby.  a.  c. 

Claremont,  N.  H.,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    LANGUAGE    OP    FLO"WERS    AND 
PLANTS. 

We  do  not,  in  this  aiticle,  refer  to  the  defi- 
nitions given  in  some  glossaries  ;  for  such  defi- 
nitions are  arbitrary,  capricious  and  unnatural. 
But  we  refer  to  the  real  unequivocal  language 
of  nature,  in  this  her  most  beautiful  aspect. 

When  Mungo  Park,  one  of  the  early  explor- 
ers of  Africa,  sank  down  with  hunger,  fatigue 
and  sickness  on  the  banks  of  the  Niger — that 
geographical  mystery  of  his  age,  in  an  inhos- 
pitable climate  and  among  inhospitable  inhabi- 
tants, and  in  despair  of  succor,  resigned  him- 
self to  death,  a  beautiful  though  small  and 
modest  plant  caught  his  languid  and  almost 
dying  eye,  and  said  to  him,  "He  who  has  done 
so  much  to  sustain  and  adorn  so  humble  an  ob- 
ject as  myself,  will  not  forsake  thee."  Mark 
how  this  corresponds  with  the  language  of 
Scripture:  "If  God  so  clothe  the  grass,"  &c. 
Encouraged  and  invigorated  by  this  appeal,  he 
arose  and  reached  a  native  settlement,  where, 
among  pitiless  men,  the  pity  of  woman  came 
to  his  relief. 

What  was  the  language  of  that  modest  flow- 
er, a  few  years  ago  transplanted  at  Botany  Bay 
from  England?  I  think  it  was  the  common 
primrose  of  England, prmH?fflVM7<7ar;'5.  Would 
it  have  been  of  any  avail  to  have  told  the  peo- 
ple of  that  settlement,  that  according  to  our 
glossary  the  language  of  that  flower  was — 
Covfidence  ?  No.  To  the  hardened  ci'irainals 
of  that  penal  colony,  this  flower,  this  memento 
of  the  innocence  of  their  childhood,  spake  a 
lauguage  which  needed  no  intei-preter.  Before 
it  they  knelt  in  homage,  and  in  sobs  and  tears 
gave  vent  to  an  irrepressible  emotion. 

What  says   the  common  morning  glory  of 


20 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


summer,  Ipomcea  purpurea,  to  those  who 
awake  betimes  to  be  greeted  by  its  early  fresh- 
ness ?  Does  it  not  say, — there  is  a  land  of 
beauty  and  of  joy  foi-ever,  there  is  a  heaven  ? 
When  labors  and  cares  oppress  us,  when  friends 
forsake  and  disappoint  us,  when  misfortunes 
wound  and  gi-ieve  us,  let  us  ask  counsel  of  the 
smiling,  loving  flowers.  Will  they  not  say, 
"Peace  be  still.  In  your  patience  possess  ye 
your  souls.  God  is  good,  God  is  love  ;  all  will 
yet  be  well." 

Each  order  and  genus  of  plants  has  its  pecu- 
liar language.  A  few  only  say,  "Begone;" 
nearly  all  say,  "Come,  and  we  will  bless  you." 

We  will  briefly  notice  what  seems  to  be  the 
language  of  one  of  the  orders ;  the  Labiata, 
mint  family.  The  little  modest  flowers,  all  with 
open  mouths  are  saying:  "We  are  a  large, 
squai-e-stemmed  family  of  125  genera  and  2^550 
species.  Do  not  fear  us,  for  we  are  all  honest 
and  true ;  we  are  warm  and  cordial  in  our 
friendship,  and  our  mission  is  to  do  good.  Do 
not  rudely  trample  us  under  foot,  lest  we  be  com- 
pelled to  waste  our  perfume  in  unavailing  en- 
deavors to  attract  you.  For  your  g£)od  we 
will  surrender  our  pleasant  lives,  and  you  may 
pluck  us  in  the  bloom  of  youth  and  lay  us  by 
ibrgotten  ;  only  remember  us  when  you  are  in 
sickness  and  in  pain,  that  we  may  come  and 
bless  you." 

The  immortality  of  flowers.  Not  the  visible, 
tangible  flowers — nothing  is  more  perishable 
than  they.  The  things  that  are  seen  are  tem- 
poral, but  the  things  which  are  unseen  are 
eternal.  The  artist  may  have  such  an  accurate 
conception  of  a  beautiful  object  as  to  be  able 
to  paint  it,  or  construct  it  of  wax  or  other  ma- 
terial. Now  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  this  case 
which  is  the  perishable  and  which  the  durable, 
which  the  shadow  and  which  the  substance. 
The  materials  of  the  tangible  flower  are  not  its 
essence  in  any  sense.  They  are  mere  materi- 
als and  may  form  various  objects.  Nor  is 
their  combination,  merely,  the  essential  flower  ; 
but  their  combination  in  conformity  to  a  plan. 
Hence  the  plan — the  idea — is,  afler  all,  the 
essential,  indestructible,  immortal  flower.  Ev- 
ery essential  beauty  of  the  creation,  before  it  is 
shadowed  forth  in  materiality,  must  have  exist- 
ed in  the  Divine  mind,  and  must  continue  to 
exist  wliere  there  is  no  forgetfulness  or  oblit- 
eration. There  may  be  kinds  of  knowledge 
which  will  vanish  away,  but  the  knowledge  of 
such  things  as  are  essentially  invisible  and 
eternal  is  itself  eternal. 

It  is  a  most  encouraging  and  consoling  sen- 
timent, that  in  tracing  out  the  plans  of  the 
great  Creator,  and  thus  thinking  the  thoughts 
of  God,  we  are  making  mental  ac(|uisitions 
which  like  the  moral  and  religious  will  endure 
forever.  I.  J3.  IIautwell, 

Wdkinsonville,  Mass.,  186G. 


Tuio   fannei's   of  Ru])ert,   Vt.,   and  vicinity 
have  formed  an  association  for  making  cheese. 


CAPITAL   ANH   LABOB. 

The  great  objection  to  my  fanning  is,  that  I 
"spend  too  much  money  for  hired  help."  But 
I  cannot  get  along  with  less.  And  I  find  the 
best  farmers  expend  the  most  money  for  labor. 
"I  have  always  kept  a  great  many  men,"  said 
John  Johnson,  "but  I  was  always  with  them 
and  kept  them  at  work."  This  is  the  point. 
If  the  labor  Is  well  directed,  and  is  judiciously 
employed — If  the  farmer  plans  his  work  so  that 
there  will  be  no  loss  of  time,  he  can  better  af- 
ford to  hire  extra  help,  than  to  let  teams  lie  idle. 

We  cannot  fai-m  now  as  when  the  country 
was  new.  If  we  attempt  it  as  many  do,  poor 
crops  and  run  down  farms  will  be  the  result. 
We  must  expend  more  labor  and  more  capital. 
We  must  cultivate  our  land  better,  feed  higher, 
make  richer  manure,  and  see  that  it  does  not 
run  to  waste.  I  am  fatting  over  fifty  hogs. 
"It  would  pay  you,"  said  a  good  old-fashioned 
farmer  in  the  neic^hborhood,  "to  let  a  man  de- 
vote his  whole  time  to  feeding  them."  No 
doubt  about  that ;  but  you  say  I  keep  too  many 
men  already.  My  horse  barn  is  separate  from 
the  other  buildings.  The  litter  Is  thrown  out 
Into  a  loose  heap,  and  if  suffered  to  remain  so, 
soon  heats,  and  becomes  lire-fanged.  I  dra^ 
It  with  a  one-horse  cart  Into  the  barn-yard,  and 
the  pigs  work  it  over  and  make  it  into  the  rich- 
est kind  of  manure.  But  this  takes  labor.  I 
clean  out  the  pig-pens  every  day,  and  give  fresh 
litter.  But  this,  too,  takes  labor.  One  of  my 
neighbors  says,  I  wash  my  pigs  with  wann 
water  and  castlle  soap.  This  was  one  of  his 
jokes  ;  but  I  do  try  to  have  the  pigs  and  pens 
washed  occasionally,  by  throwing  water  on 
them  with  an  aquarius.  The  pigs  evidently 
enjoy  It,  and  thrive  better ;  but  this,  too,  takes 
labor.  I  am  drawing  the  potato  tops  into  the 
barn-yard  for  the  stock  to  tread  into  manure. 
It  will  pay  twice  over,  but  it  takes  time.  The 
diseased  potatoes  I  steam  up  ibr  the  hogs,  and 
mix  corn  and  barley  meal  with  them  while  hot, 
mashing  up  the  potatoes.  It  makes  splendid 
food,  and  is  the  Ijest  way  to  use  potatoes  par- 
tially decayed.  But  the  sorting  out  the  decayed 
ones,  washing  them  and  steaming  and  mashing 
with  meal,  involves  considerable  work.  It 
would  be  much  easier  to  have  a  pen  ol'  rails  on 
tlu3  ground,  to  throw  all  ears  of  corn  into  the 
mud,  and  let  the  ])igs  do  their  own  shelling, 
grinding,  and  cooking. 

To  farm  ])roperly,  we  need  capital  and  labor. 
The  latter  we  are  now  getting  at  fair  rates,  as 
compared  with  tlie  price  of  living.  We  have 
land  enough  and  work  enougli.  But  we  need 
moreca])ital  and  a  lower  rate  of  interest.  And 
suirly  these  men  are  to  be  honored  who,  hav- 
ing lai'ge  capital,  (1  could  wish  I  was  one  of 
tlieiii,)  go  on  to  a  farm  and  einjiloy  It  in  devel- 
oping the  resources  of  the  soil.  There  are 
huiKhcds  ol'  such  men,  and  the  number  is  rap- 
idly increasing.  Tlicir  influence  and  example 
must  tend  to  the  improvement  of  our  general 
system  of  agriculture. — Joseph  Harris,  in  Am. 
Agriculturist. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


21 


'''^  •'^^^r^/^'i^"*^ 


THE  DEVON  RACE  OF  CATTLE. 


Many  of  the  handsomest  and  best  oxen  now  in 
use  among  the  farmers  in  New  England  are  of 
the  Devon  blood.  They  are  straight  on  the 
back,  the  head  small  and  eyes  bright,  very 
quick  in  their  movements,  and  when  slaughtered, 
excellent  for  the  shambles.  Many  suppose  that 
the  origin  of  the  natives  was  largely  Devon. 

The  north  part  of  Devonshire,  in  England, 
has  long  been  celebrated  for  this  breed  of  cat- 
tle— beautiful  in  form  and  color,  in  the  highest 
degree  ;  and  in  activity  at  work,  and  facility  of 
fattening,  unrivaled.  The  color  of  the  Devon 
cattle  is  of  a  beautifully  bright,  full,  blood-red, 
often  with  a  clear  white  line  on  the  brisket, 
running  back  between  the  hind  legs,  sometimes 
reaching  to  the  flank,  with  a  white  brush.  The 
head  of  the  ox  is  singularly  small,  the  forehead 
broad,  the  eye  prominent  and  bright,  and  the 
forehead  hollow  between  them ;  the  muzzle 
very  light  and  clean  ;  no  dewlap  or  loose  flesh 
about  the  jaws  and  neck  ;  remarkably  straight, 
smooth,  well-turned  Umbs ;  a  light,  tapering 
tail ;  a  thin,  free  skin,  and  very  smooth  body. 
His  fore-legs  stand  farther  back  under  the  body 
than  those  of  other  breeds.  The  Devon  has 
rather  long  legs,  is  more  active  and  sprightly 
than  any  other,  and  may  be  made  to  trot  three 
or  four  miles  an  hour,  which  no  other  ox  can 
stand.  The  cow  is  quite  small ;  the  bull  is 
a  great  deal  less  than  the  ox,  and  the  cow 
smaller  than  thebull.  It  is  not  uncommon  for 
a  cow  to  bring  a  calf  which  becomes  twice  her 
own  size  and  weight. 


'WOOL   GRO"WEBS'   ASSO0LA.TIONS, 

We  have  received  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
National  Wool  Growers'  Association  the  fol- 
lowing circular  which  we  publish  with  pleasure. 
The  importance  of  the  measures  now  in  pro- 
gress, in  which  all  wool  growers  have  so  deep 
an  interest,  makes  it  very  desirable  that  the 
National  Association  should  be  able  to  commu- 
nicate readily  with  all  local  auxiliary  associa- 
tions, whether  State,  county,  or  town. 

To  the  Officers  of  all  Wool  Growers'  Associations  in 

the  United  States  : 

Gentlemen  : — Will  you  please  forward  to  my 
office,  at  the  earliest  moment  possible,  the  names 
and  Post  Office  addi-ess  of  the  Officers  of  your  so- 
cieties, with  the  number  of  members  you  have  en- 
rolled. 

We  desire  to  procure  the  address  of  officers,  and 
number  of  members  of  district,  county  and  town- 
ship associations  as  well  as  those  of  State  organi- 
zations ;  as  the  address  of  every  Wool  Growers' 
Association  in  the  United  States  is  desired. 

It    is    earnestly    hoped    that    all   will  respond 
promptly.    By  order  of  the  Executive  Committee. 
W.  F.  Gkeer,  Secretary 
National  Wool  Growers'  Association. 

Painesville,  Ohio,  Nov.  20,  1866. 


The  Editor  of  the  Hartford  Post  speaks 
favorably  of  the  following  varieties  of  the  newer 
pears  :  Andrews,  Sheldon,  Doyenne  Boussock, 
Pater  Noster,  Beurre  Langeher,  B.  Hardy, 
Emile  d'Hyest,  Merriam,  Clapp's  Favorite  and 
Dana's  Hovey.  The  following  are  mentioned 
as  among  the  best  of  the  old  standard  sorts  : 
Bartlett,  Flemish  Beauty,  Louise  Bonne  de 
Jersey,  Seckel,  BufFum,  Beurre  d'Anjou,  Vicar 
of  Winkfield,  Diel,  andDuchesse  d'Angouleme. 


22 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


SHAIjIi  I  SELL   MY  LITTLE  FAKM? 

Farmers  and  mechanics,  as  well  as  profes- 
sional men,  with  comfortable  homes  in  the 
comitry,  are  constantly  tempted  by  the  idea  of 
making  more  money,  to  abandon  old  friends, 
old  associations,  and  old  habits  of  life,  and  seek 
to  better  their  condition  by  removal  to  the 
cities  and  large  towns. 

Passing  by  for  the  present,  the  sacrifice  of 
home  feelings  and  enjoyments  which  everj-  man 
of  mature  age  surrenders  whenever  he  changes 
his  accustomed  home,  we  will  now  look  only  at 
the  financial  side  of  the  question,  and  see  what 
a  man,  on  any  New  England  farm,  great  or 
small,  gives  up  when  he  leaves  it  and  goes  to 
dwell  in  the  town  or  city.  We  are  always 
complaining  that  we  get  nothing  from  our  farms, 
and  we  fancy  if  we  could  only  get  somewhere 
where  money  is  more  abimdant,  where  wages 
are  higher,  where  there  is  more  going  on,  we 
should  have  some  chance  to  be  rich,  and  live 
more  independently. 

Perhaps  there  has  never  been  a  time  when, 
in  this  country,  a  farm,  or  even  a  field  or  gar- 
den contributed  so  much  to  the  independence 
of  a  family  of  moderate  means  as  in  these  times 
of  high  prices.  The  reason  is  obvious.  It  is 
because  all  that  we  buy,  whether  rent,  or  fuel, 
or  provisions,  costs  more  than  ever  before,  and 
all  that  we  do,  by  way  of  labor,  produces  a 
greater  value  in  the  crops  we  raise. 

You  say  you  get  little  or  nothing  from  your 
farm.  Let  us  consider  the  matter  and  see 
whether  we  do  not  underrate  the  profits  of  the 
homestead.  In  the  first  jilace,  you  get  your 
rent,  an  item  of  which  farmers  hardly  think. 
Go  to  any  large  town,  and  such  a  house  as 
will  be  as  respectable  for  your  family  there  as 
your  present  one  is  here,  will  cost  you  in  rent 
some  four  hundred  dollars.  It  may  be  newer 
and  nicer  than  the  old  homestead,  but  it  will  be 
no  more  comfortable  or  convenient. 

We  say  nothing  of  its  being  in  some  narrow, 
noisy  street,  where  you  don't  know  your  near- 
est neighbor,  and  where  you  must  hire  watch- 
ers in  case  of  sickness.  That  belongs  to  the 
sentimental  side  of  the  question,  which  to-day 
we  leave  out  of  sight. 

Next,  your  farm  gives  you  your  fuel, — ^you 
don't  know  how  much,  for  you  never  had  occa- 
sion to  measure  it.  A  farmer's  family  of  half 
a  dozen  persons  consumes  yearly  fjom  ten  to 
fifleen  cords  of  wood  at  least.     Less  fuel  would 


suflfice  in  the  city,  with  a  liberal  outlay  for  fur- 
naces, patent  stoves  and  heaters ;  but  with  coal 
at  ten  dollars  a  ton — a  ton  being  equivalent  to 
about  one  cord  of  the  best  hard  wood — when 
kindlings  are  paid  for,  another  hundred  dollars 
would  be  about  used  up. 

A  cow  or  two  afford  the  farmer  all  the  butter 
and  milk  he  can  use  for  his  family.  A  poimd 
of  butter  a  week  for  each  member  of  the  family 
is  a  fair  estimate,  and  at  fifty  cents  a  pound  we 
have  for  our  family  of  six,  three  dollars  a  week, 
or  $150  a  year,  and  if  we  add  only  two  wine 
quarts  of  nulk  daily,  at  the  city  price  of  ten 
cents,  we  have  $73  more. 

A  small  patch  supplies  you  with  potatoes,  of 
wliich  you  require  some  thirty  bushels,  which 
will  cost  you  at  retail  prices  as  many  dollars, 
although  if  you  want  to  sell  them  at  your  farm 
they  will  bring  much  less,  there  being  two  or 
three  profits  between  the  producer  and  the  city 
comsumer. 

A  very  few  trees  supply  your  apples,  worth 
four  or  five  dollars  a  barrel  if  you  buy  them. 
And  any  ordinary  garden  gives  the  family  veg- 
etables fresh  in  summer,  which  the  city  will  not 
do  at  any  price. 

The  small  matters  of  currants,  and  raspber- 
ries, and  strawbei'ries,  the  pears,  the  grapes, 
— all  become  large  matters  when  paid  for  in 
money.  The  fowls  that  give  abundance  of 
eggs,  and  a  supply  of  poultry  for  Thaukgiving 
and  Christmas,  seem  of  little  account  till  re- 
duced to  a  specie  basis ;  and  two  or  three 
porkers  grow  up  with  little  cost,  and  in  autumn 
are  worth  a  hundred  dollars  almost  before  we 
Iniow  it,  and  thus  our  bills  for  pork  and  lard 
and  fresh  meat  are  easily  balanced  with  the 
butcher. 

In  the  country,  everybody  has  a  horse.  We 
care  little  about  driving,  perhaps  ;  l:)ut  the  boys 
and  girls,  at  least  the  boys,  ought  to  learn  to 
ride  and  drive,  and  they  do  that  and  learn  how 
to  tend  the  horse  and  cow  without  going  to  an 
agricultural  college.  In  the  city  or  town,  only 
men  of  wealth  can  afford  to  keep  liorses,  and 
hiring  them  at  stable  prices  is  almost  as  expen- 
sive. 

So,  brothcM"  farmer,  when  you  have  got  into 
your  hired  house,  with  never  a  wood-lot,  nor  a 
garden,  nor  a  potato  patch,  nor  a  cow,  nor  a 
hen,  you  may  also  set  it  down  that  you  can 
have  no  horse  ;  and  if  yon,  however  prosperous 
in  money  matters,  do  not  sigh  for  the  Uesh-pots 


1867, 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


23 


of  the  old  homestead,  come  up  to  the  New 
England  Faumer  office  and  tell  us  the  other 
side  of  the  stow. 


CUIiTURE  OP  FOREST  TREES. 
The  late  war  gave  occasion  for  great  inroads 
upon  nearly  all  the  timber  lauds  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  especially  upon  its  forests  of  white 
oak.  ^^Iiether  near  a  raih-oad,  or  not,  scarce- 
ly a  farm  has  left  standing  upon  it  the  giant 
oaks  that  have  given  it  grandeur  and  value 
through  two  or  three  of  the  generations  just 
passed.  Their  oaks  now  float  upon  the  waters 
of  all  the  seas  of  the  world,  and  are  wrought 
into  the  powerful  engines  of  destruction  that 
protect  our  coasts  and  command  the  respect  of 
all  foreign  naval  powers. 

The  great  extent  of  manufacturing  through- 
out all  New  England,  has  also  drawn  upon  our 
forests  until  they  are  nearly  exhausted  in  all 
its  more  thickly-settled  portions.  There  is 
scarcel)-  any  conceivable  implement,  or  article 
of  machinery,  that  is  made  of  wood,  but  what 
is  manufactured  among  us,  from  a  lucifer  match 
to  the  mast  of  a  ship  or  her  keelson.  The  an- 
nual growth  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  enor- 
mous demand,  and  consequently  our  forests 
are  reduced,  and  manufacturers  are  forced  to 
seek  supplies  far  off  and  at  greatly  increased 
cost. 

It  is  time  to  look  at  this  matter  considerate- 
ly, and  do  something  to  secure  future  supplies. 
What  shall  it  be  ? 

1.  We  must  protect  and  manage  better  the 
young  forests  we  noio  have. 

This  may  be  done  by  enclosing  them  with 
substantial  fences,  so  as  to  keep  cattle  from 
browsing  and  breaking  do^vn  the  young  trees. 

Another  point  is,  to  commence  a  thinning 
process  at  an  early  period  and  continue  it  for 
many  years.  Foresters  of  great  experience  in 
England  state  that  "more  plantations  are  ru- 
ined from  neglect  of  thinning,  than  from  any 
other  cause."  If  the  trees  are  allowed  to 
stand  many  years  without  any  thinning,  the 
soil  becomes  exhausted,  and  the  trees  over-top 
and  destroy  each  other,  and  the  stems  of  the 
survivors  are  drawn  up  so  tall,  and  so  feeble, 
that  they  will  not  be  able  to  support  their  tops, 
after  dead  and  decaying  trees  are  removed. 
It  will  be  impossible  to  preserve  forests  of  that 
description  and  maintain  the  selected  trees  in 
a  healthy  condition. 


Whether  pruning  our  forests  is  advisable.  Is 
a  mooted  (juestion.  We  have  put  it  to  many 
excellent  fanners  without  gaining  any  well-es- 
tablished opinions.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Con- 
cord, Mass.,  Farmers'  Club,  which  we  recently 
attended,  several  statements  were  made  by 
gentlemen  owning  and  managing  forests,  all  of 
which  went  to  show  that  forests  may  be  man- 
aged with  as  much  advantage  to  them  as  to 
apple  or  pear  orchards.  One  statement,  by  a 
careful  and  entirely  reliable  farmer,  was  that, 
on  a  piece  of  land  which  he  plowed  and  plant- 
ed with  com  19  years  ago,  the  yellow  pine 
trees  standing  on  it  now  will  give  40  cords  of 
wood  per  acre  on  a  portion  ot  it  that  had  been 
carefully  pruned.  On  another  portion  not 
pruned,  the  growth  is  not  near  so  heavy.  The 
pruning  was  done  in  mid-winter. 

Thinning  and  pruning  must  be  commenced 
early  to  become  successful,  and  pruning  must 
be  done  with  care.  In  cutting  off  a  branch  the 
blow  must  be  upioard.  If  struck  down,  it  will 
break  the  fibres  of  the  wood  and  extend  it  into 
the  body  of  the  tree.  The  use  of  the  saw  is 
better  than  that  of  the  axe,  though  the  work 
may  not  proceed  so  rapidly. 

If  proper  attention  is  paid  to  the  trees  when 
young,  but  little  artificial  pruning  will  be  re- 
quired in  training  timber  trees.  Nothing  should 
prevent  the  light  and  air  from  freely  reaching 
the  strong  side  branches  of  the  selected  trees. 
If  these  side  branches  become  too  luxuriant, 
and  make  too  much  shade,  they  may  be  short- 
ened in  by  cutting  them  off  just  above  a  live 
secondary  branch. 

2.  We  must  make  forest  plantations,  and 
cidtivate  them  for  their  timber. 

It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  for  us  in  New 
England  that  there  is  scarcely  any  portion  of 
our  land,  except  swamps  and  large  tracts  of 
meadows  that  are  allowed  to  be  flowed,  that 
are  so  poor  and  unproductive  as  not  to  admit 
of  improvement,  provided  trees  suited  to  the 
quality  of  the  soil  and  the  nature  of  the  cli- 
mate are  selected,  and  the  proper  modes  of 
treating  them  are  practiced.  Most  of  our 
rocky  hUls  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  gi-owth 
of  trees.  The  rocks  themselves  afford  nutri- 
ment, probably  potash,  and  other  salts.  Roots 
know  where  to  find  these  and  will  cluster 
around  them,  sometimes  covering  them  with  a 
complete  network,  and  acting  as  so  many  little 
pumps,  sending  supplies  to  branches  that  are 


24 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


J.usr. 


waving  scores  of  feet  above  them  in  the  upper 
air. 

Two  modes  may  be  practiced  in  starting  a 
forest.  1 :  By  sowing  the  seed  where  the 
trees  are  to  remain, — and  2d.  By  raising  the 
plants  and  transplanting  them. 

The  young  plants  are  quite  tender,  and  if 
sowed  in  the  open  ground  must  have  some 
protection  in  order  to  make  them  entii'ely  suc- 
cessful. But  the  gain  made  in  not  disturbing 
the  tap  root,  will  be  a  partial  compensation  for 
this  trouble. 

If  a  niu-sery  Is  desired  it  should  be  made  in 
a  forest.  Select  a  spot  inclining  to  moisture 
rather  than  dryness,  and  where  the  sun  will 
find  its  way  through  the  surrounding  branches. 
Cut  away  the  underbrush,  rake  off  the  dry 
leaves,  and  then  stir  the  surface  with  the  rake 
until  it  is  fine  and  moist.  Upon  this  sow 
broadcast  many  varieties  of  small  seeds,  such 
as  pine,  elm,  maple,  birch,  arborvitse,  &c.,  and 
cover  slightly.  If  the  seeds  are  good,  nearly 
every  one  will  come  up  and  grow  well.  Most 
of  the  plants  from  these  seeds  will  be  extreme- 
ly small  at  first  and  will  scarcely  be  recognized 
as  germs  of  the  towering  elm  or  pine.  No 
weeds  must  grow  among  them.  In  such  a 
place  few,  if  any,  will  appear.  If  the  branches 
of  the  trees  around  the  plants  are  too  open, 
they  must  be  protected  from  a  too  hot  sun. 

It  is  said  by  some  that  nursery  trees  which 
have  the  tap-root  taken  off,  and  which  have 
been  transplanted  two  or  three  times,  succeed 
just  as  well  as  those  having  the  entire  tap-root 
upon  them.  This  does  not  seem  to  us  a  cor- 
rect theory.  The  oak,  walnut,  chestnut,  &c., 
extend  their  tap-roots  deep  into  the  earth, 
which  undoubtedly  furnish  large  supplies  of 
nutriment  to  the  tree  as  well  as  greatly  assist 
in  holding  it  firmly  in  its  place. 

Forests  not  only  furnish  us  with  fuel  and 
timber,  but  they  improve  the  climate  by  their 
condensing  power  and  the  shelter  they  afford  ; 
and  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  is  heightened  by 
covering  barren  rocks  and  bleak  hills  with  the 
verdure  of  woods. 


THE  MOUNTATN"  ASH. 
Two  or  three  of  these  fine  ornamental  trees 
are  near  us,  as  we  write,  filled  with  their  dark, 
reddish  or  scarlet-colored  fruit.  The  fruit 
hangs  In  large  bunches  all  around  the  outside 
of  the  tree,  and  when  the  sun  glances  upon 


them,  and  the  branches  are  slightly  moved  by 
the  wind,  the  sight  is  a  gorgeous  one.  "Were 
the  fruit  not  molested,  it  would  remain  on  the 
tree  aU  winter,  but  the  troop  of  robins  which 
have  been  reared  In  the  thick  Norway  spruces 
and  arborvitaes  near  by  through  the  summer, 
always  linger  about  us  until  most  of  the  berries 
of  the  mountain  ash  are  gone,  or  extremely 
cold  weather  sets  in. 

This  Ash  Is  quite  common  in  this  State,  and 
Is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  ornamental  trees. 
Its  habitat  is  low,  moist  places  or  mountainous 
situations,  but  it  thrives  well  on  most  soils.  It 
makes  a  height  of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet. 
The  leaves  are  of  a  soft  green  color,  and  a  lit- 
tle pale  underneath.  Young  trees  may  be  ob- 
tained of  most  nursery  men,  or  may  be  raised 
from  the  seeds.  The  tree  is  hardy,  requiring 
no  unusual  care,  and  will  remain  in  fine  con- 
dition for  many  years.  No  grounds  that  are 
ornamented  with  trees  or  shrubs  should  be 
without  it.  The  leaves  as  well  as  flowers  are 
ornamental.  Even  when  both  leaves  and  fruit 
are  absent,  the  fine,  spray-like  branches  are 
graceful  and  pleasant  to  look  at. 


PENTSrSYIiVANIA  AQRICULTUBAIi  COIi. 
LEGE. 

The  statement  which  we  recently  copied  from 
the  Country  Oentleman,  to  the  effect  that  this 
institution  had  fallen  so  low  that  the  Instruction 
of  Its  students  is  committed  to  the  care  of  y, 
single  farm  hand,  is  pronounced  incorrect  by  a 
correspondent  who  claims  to  have  been  officially  . 
connected  with  the  coUege  for  three  years. 
He  states  that  President  Allen,  who  retires  t/> 
private  life.  Is  succeeded  by  Professor  Eraser, 
a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  &a^ 
lately  Brigadier  General  of  Volunteers.  - 

Other  changes  wIU  be  made  in  the  Faculty,  J 
which.  It  is  believed,  will  greatly  add  to  the  | 
ability  and  efficiency  of  that  body — changes  | 
consisting  both  in  the  appointment  of  new  Pro-  ' 
fessors  for  chairs  already  In  existence,  and  for 
new  Professorships  ;  and  the  best  men  that  can 
be  had  will  be  put  In  these  places. 

In  relation  to  the  charge  that  the  farm  of 
four  hundred  acres,  though  situated  in  Centi'e 
county,  one  of  the  best  agricultui-al  districts  of 
the  State,  did  not  pay  expenses,  this  writer 
remarks  that  during  the  present  year  the  wheat 
crop,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  on 
the  farm,  hardly  yielded  the  seed  again — and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


25 


such  was  the  case  throughout  this  part  of  the 
valley, — so  that  the  expenses  were  in  excess  of 
the  receipts ;  but  he  asserts  that  it  has,  on  an 
average,  more  than  paid  expenses,  and  helped 
support  the  college  with  wliich  it  is  connected. 
In  relation  to  the  remark  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  college  farm  was  decidedly  inferior  to 
that  of  fanns  in  the  neighborhood,  the  writer 
says : — 

I  cannot  deny  that  the  manner  in  which  the 
farm  has  been  carried  on  was  not  creditable, 
and  that  it  could  not  be  compared  favorably 
with  other  farms  in  the  neighborhood.  But 
this  has  been  the  result,  in  a  great  measure,  of 
the  unreasonable  sy stein  according  to  which  it 
was  worked  by  the  forced,  uncompensated  labor 
of  the  students.  The  attemjit  was  made  here 
that  has  been  made  many  times  before,  to  give 
boys  as  good  an  education  as  in  other  institu- 
tions of  the  kind,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make 
them  devote  a  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
their  working  hours  to  hard  work,  and  very 
naturally  both  the  education  and  the  work  were 
imperfect.  The  attempt  has  failed  of  success 
here,  as  it  has  failed  everywhere.  Hereafter 
the  farm  will  be  worked  by  skilled  hired  labor, 
and,  we  trust,  in  such  a  manner  that  we  shall 
not  be  required  to  apologize  for  its  appearance. 

The  Country  Gentleman  also  furnishes  the 
following  abstract  of  a  pamphlet  giving  the 
particulars  of  the  plans  and  measures  lately 
approved  by  the  trustees. 

1.  The  repeal  of  the  rule  requiring  every 
student  to  work  three  hours  daily  on  the  faiin. 
This  rule,  it  is  stated,  has  "proved  uniformly 
injurious  to  the  financial  and  educational  inter- 
ests of  the  college."  Students  desiring  to  do 
so,  however,  will  be  permitted  to  perform  such 
labor  as  may  be  allotted  to  them,  receiving 
compensation  therefor,  in  part  payment  of  their 
expenses  for  tuition,  &c. 

2.  The  college  will  comprise  three  courses 
of  instruction — a  course  of  General  Science,  a 
course  of  Agriculture,  and  a  course  of  Litera- 
ture. Listruction  in  Agriculture  will  be  given 
under  the  charge  of  a  Professor  of  Agriculture, 
"by  means  of  books  and  lectures  in  the  class- 
room, numerous  experiments  on  the  fann,  and 
agricultural  excursions  throughout  the  coun- 
try." Students  will  assist  in  the  work  con- 
nected with  the  experiments.  '  'For  the  benefit 
of  the  farming  community,  an  Agricultural 
Journal,  under  the  editorship  of  the  College 
Faculty,  will  be  established  in  the  course  of 
the  ensuing  year.  In  the  journal,  will  be  pub- 
lished the  experiments  made  at  this  college, 
and  at  other  places  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Europe,  with  other  matter  of  interest  to  agii- 
culturists." 

These  and  other  changes,  with  the  details 
involved,  having  been  adopted  by  the  Trustees, 
were  submitted  at  the  annual  meeting  of  Dele- 


gates from  the  different  parts  of  the  State,  on 
the  5th  of  September  last.  At  this  meeting, 
resolutions  were  passed  approving  the  action 
of  the  Trustees,  and  recommending  them  to 
apply  to  the  Legislature  at  its  next  session, 
"lor  the  establishment  of  two  additional  exper- 
imental and  model  farms  East  and  West,  in 
Peimsylvania,  upon  lands  of  diversified  qual- 
ity," on  the  ground  that  the  present  college 
farm  "is  not  adapted  for  scientific  experiments 
sufiiciently  varied  to  benefit  agriculture  in  parts 
of  the  State  differing  widely  in  soil  and  cli- 
mate." It  was  also  voted  that  the  proposed 
Agricultural  Journal,  under  the  editorship  of 
the  College  Faculty,  is  "an  essential  means" 
of  usefulness  among  the  people  of  the  State. 

We  submit  the  foregoing  abstract  of  this  col- 
lege prospectus,  "without  comment,  other  than 
to  express  our  regret  at  what  seem  to  us  to  be 
the  impracticable  features  it  contains.  That 
an  institution  which,  justly  or  unjustly,  has  been 
open  to  criticism  for  its  management  of  a  single 
farm,  should  undertake  to  carry  on  three  at  the 
same  time  and  at  widely  distant  points,  strikes 
us  as  equally  promising  with  the  second  and 
associated  idea — that  the  College  Faculty,  who 
have  hitherto  had  their  hands  perhaps  somewhat 
over-full  with  the  instruction  of  their  students 
only,  should  endeavor  to  instruct  the  people  of 
the  whole  State,  by  going  into  the  business  of 
agricultural  editors  and  publishers." 


VERMONT   AGRICULTITBAL    COLLEGE. 

We  are  indebted  to  Henry  Clark,  Esq.,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Senate,  and  to  Mr.  I.  W.  San- 
born, for  valuable  legislatiA'e  and  other  State 
documents.  From  the  latter  gentleman  we 
have  just  received  a  copy  of  "The  First  Annu- 
al Report  of  the  University  of  Vei-mont  and 
State  Agi'icultural  College."  The  corporation 
of  the  University  of  Vermont,  an  old  institution 
at  Burlington,  and  the  corporation  of  the  Ag- 
ricultural College  were  united  in  one  body  cor- 
porate, last  November.  In  August,  the  oflS- 
cers  of  instruction  and  government  were  or- 
ganized as  follows : 

James  B.  Angell,  President;  Joseph  Tor- 
rey,  Professor  of  Moral  and  Intellectual  Phi- 
losophy ;  McKendree  Petty,  Professor  of  Math- 
ematics ;  Leonard  Marsh,  Professor  of  Vege- 
table and  Animal  Physiology  ;  Matthew  Henrj' 
Buckham,  Professor  of  the  Greek  Language 
and  Literature,  and  Professor  ^ro  tern  of  Eng- 
lish Literature ;  Alpheus  Benning  Crosby,  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  Surge- 
ry ;  John  Ordronaux,  Professor  of  Physiology 


26 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEIVIER. 


Jan. 


and  Pathology;  Eli  Whitney  Blake,  Jr.,  Pro- 
fessor 2'>'>'o  ^f™  of  Chemistry  and  Physics ; 
Charles  Wheeler  Thompson,  Pi'ofessor  ^jro  tern 
of  Latin  ;  and  James  Harvey  Hills,  Instructor 
in  Drawing. 

It  is  expected  that  the  President  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  wiU  detail  an  army  ofHcer  to  give  in- 
structions in  military  drill  and  tactics. 

On  a  circular  issued  by  the  corporation,  it  is 
said  that  instruction  will  be  provided, — 

1.  For  students  who  wish  to  pursue  a  course  of 
three  years  in  Analytical  and  Agricultural  Chemis- 
try, or  in  Civil  Engineering,  or  in  Mining  and  Met- 
allurgy, and  to  become  candidates  for  the  degree  of 
BaclieJor  of  Science.  By  a  four  years'  stud.v,  here- 
after described.  Bachelors  of  Science  may  attain  to 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy. 

2.  For  students  who  do  not  desire  to  take  a  full 
course  of  three  years,  or  of  four  years,  but  wish  to 
purstie  certain  portions  of  the  course. 

3.  For  young  men  who  wish  to  obtain  such  in- 
struction as  can  l)e  famished  them  by  a  course  of 
lectures  specially  adapted  to  the  wants  of  agricul- 
turists, and  to  be  given  in  Febi-uaiy  and  March. 

Applicant,s  for  admission  to  the  Agricultural 
College  must  be  at  least  fifteen  years  of  age,  and 
must  In-ing  satisfactory  testimonials  of  goocl  char- 
acter, and  1)6  able  to  sustain  an  examination  in  all 
the  parts  of  a  common  school  education,  and  par- 
ticularly in  English  Grammar,  Gco.gi-aphy,  Arith- 
metic and  Algebra,  as  far  as  Quadratic  Equations. 

The  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  stu- 
dents were  completed  only  four  weeks  previous 
to  the  beginning  of  the  present  term.  Conse- 
quently a  large  number  of  young  men  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  enter  the  institution  on 
so  brief  a  notice.  Five  young  men,  however, 
are  now  pursuing  the  studies  of  the  scientific 
course,  and  the  executive  committee  of  ihe 
trustees  say  they  "have  reason  to  believe  that 
a  larger  number  of  students  would  have  ap- 
plied for  admission  to  this  department,  if  it  had 
been  practicable  to  announce  at  an  early  day 
the  course  of  studies  to  be  pursued  in  it." 
They  also  add,  "We  may  be  permitted  to  say, 
from  this  brief  experiment,  that  we  are  con- 
firmed in  our  belief  that  the  academic  and  sci- 
entific departments  may  be  conducted  not  only 
harmoniously,  but  with  positive  advantage  to 
each  other."  A  subscription  has  been  started 
to  raise  the  additional  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  corporation  seem  determined 
to  do  all  in  their  power  to  make  the  institution 
deserving  of  the  support  of  all  friends  of  sound 
learning. 

Other  conditions  being  equal,  the  cow  that 
has  wanned  water  for  drink  in  severe  cold 
weather  will  yield  considerably  the  most  milk, 
especially  if  a  handful  of  meal  is  added  to  each 
bucketful. 


THE   MONTHIiT  FABMER. 

With  the  New  Year,  the  weekly  New  Eng- 
land Faiimer  is  to  be  enlarged  by  the  addition 
of  one  column  to  each  page,  and  by  a  corre- 
sponding increase  of  length.  It  is  also  to  be 
printed  on  entirely  new  t}-pe  throughout.  How 
shall  this  additional  space  be  occupied  ?  We 
hope  and  expect  it  will  be  filled  with  thoughts 
and  facts  from  the  pens  of  the  new  recruits  who 
have  recently  so  greatly  strengthened  our  old 
force  of  readers  and  writers.  During  the  past 
year,  notwithstanding  the  use  of  small  type 
and  a  severe  clipping  of  communications  for 
the  column  of  "Extracts,"  we  have  been  ima- 
ble  to  accommodate  seasonably  all  the  favors 
of  our  old  friends. 

In  addition  to  these  improvements  In  our 
weekly  sheets,  the  Monthly  New  England 
Farmer  is  to  be  revived.  This  pleases  the 
editors  more  than  all  the  other  improvements 
projected  by  the  publishers.  When  one  takes 
great  pains  in  writing  an  article, — one  which, 
perhaps,  embodies  the  result  of  costly  and 
long  continued  experiments,  observation  or 
study, — there  is  a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction  in 
committing  it  to  a  journal  which  perishes  in  its 
seven  days'  using.  The  Monthly  Farmer, 
printed  in  book  form,  will  give  permanence  to 
all  the  valuable  agricultural  and  horticultural 
articles  which  appear  in  the  weekly.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  a  title  page  and  an  alphebeti- 
cal  index  will  be  prepared,  and  arrangements 
made  for  binding.  It  will  then  take  its  place 
with  the  preceding  volmnes  of  the  old  series, 
in  public  and  private  libraries,  where  it  may  be 
consulted  "by  generations  yet  unborn,"  as  well 
as  by  ourselves  and  oin-  cotempories.  There- 
fore, "do  good,  and  communicate.  The  even- 
ings are  growing  long  purposely. 


IiAEGE  POULTRY  ESTABLISHMENTS. 
The  great  profits  which  are  occasionally  re- 
alized on  a  few  fowls  induce  many  people  to 
think  of  extending  the  business.  Frequent  in- 
quiries are  made  for  our  opinion  as  to  the  ex- 
pediency of  engaging  in  the  business  on  a  large 
scale.  From  our  observation  and  reading  we 
have  felt  obliged  to  advise  against  all  such  en- 
terprises. A  yoimg  man  from  Maine  recently 
called  at  our  ofl^ice  to  talk  over  the  matter, 
who  was  very  confident  of  a  successful  result. 
To  all  our  objections,  he  replied  that  people 
generally  failed  because  they  kept  the  hens  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


27 


especially  the  cocks  too  long.  We  introduced 
him  to  one  of  our  market  men  who  deals  largely 
in  live  poultry — frequently  bujing  several  tons 
per  week,  and  consequently  at  times  has  large 
numbers  on  hand.  His  advice  to  our  friend 
■was  direct :  "If  you  have  money  that  you  want 
to  get  rid  of,  go  ahead, — not  otherwise." 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers' 
Club,  Solon  Robinson  said  that  every  attempt 
of  that  kind  in  this  country  had  proved  a  la- 
mentable failure.  Dr.  Crowell  said  he  had  seen 
a  very  large  establishment  near  Paris,  which 
contained  two  hundred  thousand  young  chick- 
ens at  the  time  he  visited  it.  Another  gentle- 
man said  he  had  lately  seen  it  stated  that  this 
great  French  establishment,  about  which  so 
much  has  been  published,  had  proved  as  com- 
plete a  failure  as  any  which  has  been  attempted 
in  this  country. 

Mr.  Carpenter  said,  Warren  Leland  keeps 
a  thousand  or  moi-e  fowls  together  in  West- 
chester county,  which  are  fed  upon  orts  from 
the  Metropolitan  Hotel ;  and  that  the  poultry 
business  is  successful  and  profitable.  A  skill- 
ful man  is  employed  to  attend  to  it.  General- 
ly speaking,  people  keep  too  many  cocks  with 
their  hens.  1  have  only  two  for  seventy  hens 
which  are  sufficient. 

N.  C.  Meeker — I  have  been  traveling  for 
seven  years  as  a  coi-respondent  of  The  Tribune. 
During  that  time  I  have  visited  several  poultry 
factories.  Some  of  them  had  a  fair  start ;  the 
owners  were  encouraged.  They  have  all  failed. 
When  confined,  the  hens  ate  their  chickens ; 
where  they  had  no  chickens  to  eat,  they  ate 
one  another.  In  all  cases  they  ate  the  bot- 
toms out  of  the  pockets  of  their  owners. 

A  gentleman  whose  name  was  not  announced 
was  called  upon,  and  somewhat  reluctantly 
made  the  following  statement : 

I  have  probably  spent  five  thousand  dollars 
in  persevering  attempts  to  raise  poultry  upon 
a  large  scale.  I  have  tried  it  in  Westchester, 
Orange,  and  Columbia  counties,  N.  Y.,  where 
I  could  procui-e  cheap  food  from  the  city.  In 
one  case,  the  cost  of  keeping  a  thousand  fowls 
was  $1,100  and  the  net  results  $950.  I 
changed  my  location  twice,  hoping  for  better 
success.  Then  I  concluded  to  go  to  Illinois, 
where  grain  was  cheap.  The  result  was  the 
same.  I  have  spent  my  time  and  money,  and 
made,  as  Mr.  Robinson  says,  a  "lamentable 
failure."  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
raising  poultry  upon  a  large  scale  in  this  coun- 
try is  not  profitable.  If  others  think  it  is,  they 
can  easily  try  it. 


At  the  Fair  of  Russell  Co.,  C.  W.,  beside 
several  addresses,  two  young  ladies  read  essays 
on  "the  requirements  of  a  good  farmer's  ^vife." 


CATTLE   SHOWS  IN  KENTUCKY, 
A  correspondent  of  the  Canada  Farmer  who 
attended  the  late  Kentucky  State  Fair  at  Paris, 
remarks  as  follows  upon  certain  features  of  the 
exhibition  wliich  were  new  to  him  : 

All  the  stock  is  shown  inside  the  circle  of  a 
large  amphitheatre,  capable  of  seating  from 
ten  to  fil'teen  thousand  persons,  so  that  all  have 
a  fair  chance  of  seeing  the  animals.  In  the 
centre  of  the  circle  is  the  judges'  stand,  the 
upper  story  of  which  is  occupied  by  a  band, 
which  furnishes  music  at  intervals,  making  it 
pleasant  for  the  people,  as  well  as  causing  the 
stock  to  show  to  better  advantage.  The  ani- 
rnals  in  the  different  sections  are  called  in  by 
ringing  a  bell  which  is  hung  in  the  judges  stand, 
A  blue  ribbon  is  tied  on  lor  the  first  prize,  and 
a  red  one  for  the  second.  A  marshal  proclaims 
to  the  crowd  the  names  of  the  successful  com- 
petitors of  each  section.  When  the  names  of 
fortunate  men  are  announced  a  cheer  is  gener- 
ally got  up  by  their  friends,  or  those  partial  to 
the  prize  animal,  for  there  is  great  interest  ta- 
ken In  the  decisions  ;  a  good  deal  of  excitement 
prevails,  and  among  a  certain  class  considera- 
ble betting  is  indulged  in  on  the  chances  of  the 
judges'  decisions.  The  judo;es  are  appointed 
some  time  previous  to  the  Fair,  and  their  names 
appear  in  the  printed  prize  list.  If  any  of 
those  appointed  fail  to  appear,  others  are  cho- 
sen by  the  Board  of  Directors,  and  in  case  a 
majority  of  the  committee  fail  to  agree  as  to  a 
decision,  another  is  called  to  decide.  No  tick- 
ets are  placed  upon  the  animals.  The  judges 
ask  no  questions  with  regard  to  breeding  or 
owner,  but  take  the  animal  on  his  own  merits, 
and  are  not  supposed  to  know  who  is  the  own- 
er until  after  the  decision  is  given,  and  the 
marshal  enquires  of  the  groom  the  owner's 
name  and  announces  it  to  the  crowd. 


SWISS   FARMING. 

New  England  is  sometimes  called  the  Swit- 
zerland of  America.  However  striking  may 
be  the  similarity  of  the  scenery,  there  must  be, 
we  think,  quite  a  diversity  in  the  habits  of  the 
people,  judging  from  the  following  account  by 
"Carleton"  of  the  Swiss  style  of  "getting  up 
wood,"  "going  to  mill,"  and  "making  hay." 
In  approaching  Mont  Blanc,  he  says  : — 

We  meet  a  woman  with  a  great  basket 
strapped  upon  her  back  filled  with  faggots ; 
another  one  passes  us  on  her  way  to  mill,  her 
"grist"  in  a  bag  Ijing  on  her  shoulders  and  a 
strap  from  the  bag  crossing  her  forehead.  In 
the  field  opposite,  a  third  woman  is  mowing.. 
She  stops  to  sharpen  her  scythe,  and  we  have 
an  opportunity  to  inspect  the  implement.  No 
bushwhacker  in  the  United  States — no  farmer's 
boy  in  all  the  Union — swings  so  heavy  a  sc}'the 
— sixteen  inches  long,  four  wide,  and  thick 
enough  for  the  track  of  the  Metropolitan  horse 


28 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Jan. 


railroad  !  A  man  with  a  three-tined  wooden 
fork  tosses  up  the  grass  to  the  sun  wliich  the 
"weaker  vessel"  is  mowing!  While  watching 
the  operation  in  the  field,  a  damsel  passes  us 
with  a  wash-tub  on  her  head.  No  grenadier  of 
the  grand  army  of  France  ever  stood  more 
erect.  She  is  busy  with  her  knitting-work  the 
while. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
A  JOUBNAL   ON   DESTRUCTIVE   IN- 
SECTS. 

Mr.  Editor  : — Are  the  farmers  of  our  New 
England  States  generally  aware  that  there  is  a 
valuable  paper  published  monthly  in  Philadel- 
phia "for  the  dissemination  of  valuable  knowl' 
edge"  about  insects  all  over  the  land,  at  a  less 
annual  cost  to  the  subscriber  than  it  takes  us 
here  in  the  city  to  buy  a  pound  of  good  butter  ? 

Scientific  men  and  societies  with  scientific 
aims,  have  been  frequently  condemned  for  car- 
ing only  for  the  Greek  and  Latin  names  of 
things,  and  nothing  for  the  use  to  which  their 
knowledge  might  be  put  in  aid  of  the  common 
necessities  of  every-day  life.  Doubtless  the 
charge  has  some  truth  in  it,  but  labor  must  be 
divided  to  accomplish  much.  Now  here  is  a 
go-between,  published  by  a  scientific  body, 
which  invites  the  farmer  to  contribute  of  his 
knowledge  about  insects  to  the  entomologist, 
who,  in  return,  AviU  do  his  best  to  aid  the  cul- 
tivator of  the  soil.  It  is  an  admirable  plan,  well 
conceived,  very  practical  and  practicable,  and 
satisfactorily  carried  out ;  it  will  certainly  be 
no  less  for  their  detriment  than  their  discredit 
if  our  farmers  don''t  assist  in  its  support. 

I  send  j'ou  the  number  for  July  last,  a  du- 
plicate of  which  I  happen  to  have  in  hand,  that 
you  may  see  for  yourself  what  an  admirable 
thing  it  is.  It  commences,  you  will  see,  with 
an  article  illustrated  with  wood  cuts,  giving 
some  outlines  of  the  study  of  insects,  told  in 
clear,  simple  language,  so  that  any  of  our 
boys  may  ac(|uaint  themselves  with  the  general 
features  of  their  structure  ;  then  follow  differ- 
ent articles  of  a  column  or  two  in  length,  about 
various  insects  injurious  to  vegetation,  what 
they  are,  the  injury  they  do,  and  how  they  may 
best  be  destroyed.  One,  you  will  notice, 
brings  together  extracts  from  different  agricul- 
tural papers  about  the  same  insect,  and  clears 
up  their  apparent  incongruities  of  statement, 
or  exposes  the  mistakes  into  which  the  wi'iters 
had  fallen.  There  is,  in  this  number  also,  an 
article  on  scientific  names-,  to  show  why  natu- 
ralists are  obliged  to  use  them.  Then  foUow 
mor(!  than  three  pages  of  answers  to  corre- 
spondents, by  the  associate  editor,  one  of  the 
most  industrious  and  active  entomologists  in 
the  land,  witli  a  veiy  accurate  and  practical 
knowledge  of  insects  and  their  ravages.  This 
seems  to  me  the  best  feature  of  the  journal, 
and  is  admirably  sustained  in  each  number. 
In  this  way  the  farmer  is  made  accjuainted  with 
the  injuries  which  insects  are  doing  all  over  the 


country,  and  will  be  quite  sure  to  find  an  ac- 
count of  some  which  have  been  giving  him  par- 
ticular trouble,  and  be  informed  what  they  are, 
and  how  best  to  rid  himself  of  them.  In  this 
single  number  are  answers  to  communications 
from  no  less  than  thirteen  States,  extending 
from  Maine  to  Kentucky,  and  from  ^Maryland 
to  Missouri. 

The  paper  is  a  quarto  of  a  dozen  pages,  all 
but  two  of  which  contain  original  reading  mat- 
ter. Surely  144  pages  of  such  a  journal  as 
this  are  worth  fifty  cents  a  year.  They  have 
published  it  at  this  cheap  rate  in  the  hope  that 
they  may  receive  a  long  list  of  subscribers,  and 
state  that  it  cannot  be  supported  on  less  than 
5000  names.  The  year  commences  in  October, 
and  I  believe  every  subscriber  will  be  con- 
vinced, at  the  end  of  the  year,  that  he  has  re- 
ceived in  valuable  information,  ten  times  its 
cost.  Now  is  the  time  to  subscribe,  and  I  hope 
it  will  receive  the  coixlial  support  of  c^very  far- 
mer and  horticulturist  in  the  land.  The  paper 
is  called  ''The  Practical  Entomologist,''''  and  is 
published  monthly,  at  No.  618  South  Thir- 
teenth Street,  Philadelphia.  s.  H.  s. 

Remarks. — About  a  year  ago  we  received  a 
circular  from  the  "Entomological  Society  of 
Philadelphia,"  soliciting  subscriptions  towards 
a  fund  of  $50,000  which  it  was  proposed  to 
raise  "to  insure  the  permanence  of  the  society 
and  the  continuance  of  its  publication."  The 
publication  alluded  to  was  an  annual  volume  of 
"Proceedings,"  three  of  which  had  been  issued 
with  the  following  pecuniary  result,  as  stated 
by  its  publication  committee,  Jan.  1st,  1865  : 

Expenses $1,796  33 

Aggregate  income 550  00 

Deficiency $1,246  33 

In  connection  with  this  circular,  we  received 
the  first  number  of  a  new  monthly  publication, 
entitled  the  "■Practical  Entomologist,''''  to  be 
issued  GRATUITOUSLY,  by  an  association  of 
whose  fitness  for  prosecuting  the  business  of 
book  and  newspaper  publishing  we  had  no  oth- 
er means  of  judging  than  what  was  furnished 
by  the  above  account  current,  rendered  by  its 
own  special  committee.  In  connection  with 
these  documents  we  were  also  considerately 
furnished  with  a  plainly  written  editorial  for 
our  own  columns,  warmly  commending  both 
the  Society  at  Philadelphia  and  its  publications 
to  the  liberal  contributions  and  patronage  of 
the  readers  of  the  Nev^  England  Farjier. 

We  appreciate  as  highly  as  any  one  the  la- 
bors of  scientific  men.  We  anticipate  much 
from  their  cordial  and  hearty  co-operation  with 
what  .arc  usuallv  termed  the  laboring  classes. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR]MER. 


29 


Indeed,  we  include  them  in  our  list  of  the  in- 
dustrial professions,  believing  they  should  be 
considered  working  men.  Still,  our  experience 
and  our  observation  is  yearly  strengthening 
our  conviction  of  the  importance  of  the  truth 
expressed  by  the  aphorism  "Every  man  to  his 
trade."  On  this  principle  we  have  questioned 
the  expediency  of  such  institutions  and  associa- 
tions as  the  "Department"  at  Washington,  the 
Agricultural  College,  the  Entomological  Soci- 
ety in  Philadelphia,  or  any  similar  organiza- 
tion, engaging  in  the  book  or  periodical  pub- 
lishing business,  especially  on  the  gratuitous 
system.  In  our  notice  of  the  first  number  of 
the  Practical  Entomologist,  we  expressed  the 
same  opinion. 

This  publication  has  been  issued  one  year. 
The  fre^  system  has  been  abandoned,  and  an 
able  and  responsible  editor  announced  for  the 
year, — Dr.  Benj.  D.  Walsh,  of  Rock  Island, 
Illinois,  to  whose  careful  observations  and 
ready  pen  the  Entomologist  is  largely  indebted 
for  the  valuable  matter  wliich  fills  its  pages. 

In  his  "salutatory,"  Dr.  Walsh  says  :  "What 
little  I  have  hitherto  done  for  the  Practical 
Entomologist,  has  been  done  without  any  pe- 
cuniary benefit  to  myself,  and  solely  with  the 
object  of  furthering  the  interests  of  science, 
by  proving  to  the  people  that  scientific  truths 
are  often  of  real,  practical,  doUar-and-cents 
utility.  WTiether  my  present  position  will  be 
continued  beyond  the  current  year,  will  de- 
pend principally  upon  whether  the  American 
people  endorse  my  poor  efforts  for  their  bene- 
fit by  subscribing  liberally  to  the  Practical 
Entomologist. 

We  therefore  take  pleasure  in  publishing 
and  endorsing  the  foregoing  recommendation 
of  "S.  H.  S.,"  which  we  may  be  permitted  to 
say  comes  from  one  of  the  ablest  and  most 
devoted  entomologists  of  New  England. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"GOOD   ADVICE." 

I  was  interested  in  reading  the  article  in  the 
Farmer  of  Oct.  27,  with  the  above  heading, 
and  being  a  practical  mechanic  old  enough  to 
have  worn  glasses,  and  to  be  the  father  of  five 
boys  who  are  old  enough  to  be  tliinking  of  go- 
ing to  learn  trades  or  something  else,  I  pre- 
sume to  offer  a  few  hasty  words  upon  the  same 
subject. 

The  "extreme  scarcity  of  boys  who  are  de- 
sirous or  willing  to  learn  some  good  trade"  is 
owing  to  some  other  reasons,  in  part  at  least, 


besides  those  named,  i.  e.,  disinclination  to 
learning  a  trade  recpiiring  time  and  patience, 
and  the  absorption  of  so  many  by  the  war. 

The  general  use  of  machinery  to  so  much 
greater  extent  than  formerly,  has,  probably, 
done  much  more  in  producmg  the  result  than 
any  other  one  thing. 

When  I  was  in  my  teens,  the  cabinet  busi- 
ness— for  example — was  carried  on  entirely 
"by  hand,"  and  from  three  to  seven  years 
were  required  for  a  smart  boy  to  become  a 
"skillful  workman."  The  lumber,  hard  and 
soft  wood,  was  sawed  off  the  proper  length, 
sawed  or  hewed  the  right  width,  planed  the 
right  thickness,  scraped,  filed,  pomaced  and 
sand-papered  the  right  smoothness,  all  "by 
hand;"  and  a  deal  of  elbow-grease,  time  and 
patience  it  required.  But  while  doing  it,  a 
great  amount  of  mental  and  physical  discipline, 
besides  the  dexterous  use  of  all  manner  of 
wood-worker's  tools  was  required ;  so  that 
when  an  apprentice  graclnated  he  was  expected 
to  know  something  useful,  and  to  be  ready  to 
commence  the  doing  of  it.  With  his  "kit  of 
tools,"  and  a  hundred  feet  of  lumber  he  could 
set  up  cabinet  business  for  himself,  if  his  "in- 
tended's" father  would  let  him  have  room  in  his 
woodshed  to  set  up  his  bench.  He  was  an  in- 
dependent man,  and  could  make  and  finish 
ready  for  use  any  article  of  household  furniture, 
whether  bureau,  locker,  side-board,  book-case, 
table,  light-stand,  wash-stand,  bedstead,  chair, 
settee,  cricket,  clothes-horse,  bread-trough, 
rolling-pin  or  cradle ! 

But  now,  where  could  a  boy  go  to  learn  such 
a  trade  ?  Everything  is  done  by  machinery. 
The  manufacturer  don't  want  any  apprentices, 
he  gets  his  bureaus,  tables,  bedsteads,  sofas, 
&c.,  all  made  by  the  piece,  and  he  hires  hands 
to  tend  "machines  rather  than  to  make  furniture. 
A  boy  may  go  into  his  factory  (not  shop)  and 
tend  his  machines  while  the  machines  make  the 
furniture,  from  fourteen  to  twenty-one  years, 
and  when  he  gets  through,  he  don't  know 
enough  about  the  use  of  tools  to  make  a  decent 
milking-stool.  And  so  of  man}'  other  trades. 
But  still,  boys  are  wanted,  and  v.hy  the  scar- 
city ? 

Another  reason  is,  that  the  parents  of  the 
best  boys  do  not  want  to  have  their  sons  go 
into  such  company  as  is  found  in  too  many 
shops,  where  sv/earing,  drinking  sabbath- 
breaking,  gambling,  and  all  sorts  of  Hcentious- 
ness  are  common.  It  is  no  less  true  now  than 
heretofore  that  "evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners"  and  good  morals  !  and  if  man- 
ufacturers want  apprentices,  and  such  ones  as 
will  be  "good,  and  stay,"  they  must  be  more 
careful  as  to  the  company  they  put  them  into. 

Such  manufiicturers  as  Messrs.  Fairbanks, 
of  St  Johnsbury,  Esty  &  Green  of  Brattleboro, 
Vt.,  and  numerous  others,  who  will  have  no 
apprentices  or  journej'men  but  such  as  cheer- 
fully comply  with  their  wholesome  moral  regu- 
lations, find  no  difficulty  in  getting  all  the  ap- 
prentices they  want. 


30 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEJ^IER. 


Jan. 


No  boy,  who  has  been  well  brought  up, — 
and  such  make  the  best  apprentices — will  de- 
sire to  go  into  any  shop  of  an  opposite  charac- 
ter, however  much  he  may  desire  to  leaiui  a 
trade.  The  boys  who  are  not  so  well  brought 
up  are  the  ones,  most  generally,  that  would  go 
into  the  stores,  offices,  &c.,  where  they  will 
have  more  leisure  and  less  labor,  more  temp- 
tation and  less  restraint. 

To  sum  up  the  whole  case,  without  going 
further  into  particulars,  the  great  trouble  is  the 
multiplicity  of  machinery  and  the  laxity  of 
morals. 

It  is  a  broad  subject,  and  one  that  ought  to 
concern  farmers,  as  they  raise  many  of  the 
apprentices.  But  knowing  that  editors  dislike 
long  yarns,  and  that  others  are  better  opinion- 
ers  than  I  am,  I  will  stop,  ivith  the  wish  that 
some  expert  would  spin  a  thread  in  regard  to 
another  subject,  so  directly  bearing  upon  this, 
that  is,  the  scarcity  of  children, — three  chil- 
dren in  a  family,  now,  being  as  rarely  found  as 
six  or  eiglit,  thirty  years  ago  !         Radical. 


Remarks. — Our  correspondent  closes,  with 
an  allusion  to  a  very  important  subject,  and 
one  which  is  arresting  the  attention,  and  excit- 
ing the  fears  of  the  well-wishers  of  our  coun- 
try and  of  our  race. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
PEAT. 

The  present  is  the  best  time  to  throw  out 
peat  for  manure.  If  it  is  thrown  out  in  the 
summer,  much  of  it  will  become  dry  and  hard — 
more  fit  for  fuel  than  for  manure.  Every  one 
familiar  with  the  use  of  peat,  knows  that  when 
it  has  once  Ijccome  dry  and  hard,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  reduce  it  to  that  degree  of  fine- 
ness that  will  enable  it  to  mingle  with  the 
soil.  Who  has  not  seen  pieces  of  peat  tumbled 
about  for  two  or  three  years,  by  the  plow  and 
harrow  ?  And  when  it  crumbles,  it  is  into 
granules  almost  as  hard  as  pebbles.  The  val- 
ue of  peat  as  a  material  for  the  compost  heap, 
is  now  generally  admitted,  but  its  proper  prep- 
aration is  not  so  generally  known  or  attended 
to.  One  load  of  fine  dry  peat  is  certainly  worth 
two  loads  of  green  peat ;  and  it  is  an  important 
(luestion,  how  can  it  most  economically  be  re- 
duced to  that  state  of  fineness  and  dryness  that 
fits  it  to  mingle  most  readily  with  barn  manure, 
and  absorb  the  greatest  amount  of  urine.  In 
this  state  it  is  much  more  easily  handled  and 
transy)orted,  and  if  it  is  to  be  .spread  on  the  soil 
and  plouglied  in,  or  to  be  spread  as  a  top- 
dressing,  it  can  be  spread  more  evenly  and 
more  conveniently.  Peat  should  be  thrown  out 
at  least  one  year  before  it  is  to  be  used.  If  it 
is  thrown  out  at  a  season  when  it  will  be  ex- 
posed to  freezing  and  thawing,  it  will  soon  be- 
come fine  and  mellow.  It  sliould  be  put  in 
heaps  of  moilerate  dei)tli,  so  that  the  frost  may 
penetrate  to  the  bottom  of  it.     It  should  be 


thrown  over,  and  the  lumps  broken,  and  heaped 
up  into  a  compact  form  in  the  spring,  when  the 
frost  has  left  it,  and  m  a  year  it  will  be  fit  for 
use.  The  action  of  the  air  disintegrates  and 
sweetens  it.  In  this  state  it  may  be  used  as  a 
top-dressing  for  grass  land  to  great  advantage, 
especially  on  dry,  sandy  lands.  In  tliis  state 
it  becomes  the  best  deodorizer  the  farmer  can 
use  about  the  hogstye,  the  privy,  the  hen-house 
or  the  stable.  _  It  absorbs  and  retains  a  laro-e 
amount  of  liquid,  and  readily  mixes  with  and 
helps  to  disintegrate  the  barn  manures.  Every 
one  who  has  used  an  old  ditch  bank  that  has 
lain  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  frosts  for  sev- 
eral years,  knows  how  much  better  it  is  than 
peat  that  has  just  been  throwai  out.  Last  year 
i  used  j^eat  from  the  surface  of  a  meadow  that 
had  been  planted  in  potatoes  two  or  three  years. 
It  was  veiy  mellow  and  gave  me  entire  satis- 
faction. 

Li  preparing  peat  for  fuel,  the  surface 
should  always  be  taken  off  to  the  depth  to 
which  the  li'ost  usually  penetrates,  as  this 
portion  always  dries  in  a  loose  crumbly  state, 
showing  the  disintegrating  power  of  the  frost. 
Peat  from  some  localities  contains  so  much  acid 
that  it  is  unfit  for  manurial  uses  until  the  acid 
is  neutralized  by  the  action  of  the  rain  and  air 
or  by  alkalies.  Peat  of  this  description  may  be 
readily  prepared  for  use  by  the  help  of  quick 
lime.  The  best  way  is  to  make  a  Ijed  of  peat 
six  or  eight  inches  thick,  and  spread  over  it  a 
quantity  of  unslaked  lime  ;  then  cover  this  with 
a  layer  of  peat ;  then  another  portion  of  lime  ; 
then  another  layer  of  peat, — using  a  cask  of 
lime  to  about  a  cord  of  peat.  The  lime  is 
slaked  by  the  moistin-e  of  the  peat,  and  the  va- 
por given  off  pervades  the  whole  mass,  as  yeast 
pervades  the  whole  lump,  mellowing  and  sweet- 
ening it.  Peat  prepared  in  this  way  makes  a 
good  top-dressing  for  grain  or  clover.  It  is 
good  economy  for  every  farmer  to  have  a  year's 
stock  of  peat  on  hand  to  which  he  can  resort 
when  it  is  wanted,  and  never  to  use  it  until  it 
has  been  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  at  least  one 
year.  From  the  convenience  of  handling  and 
transportation,  this  will  be  found  more  eco- 
nomical than  the  use  of  green  peat.  If  a  por- 
tion of  it  is  kept  under  a  shed  or  roof,  that  it 
may  always  be  dry,  it  will  be  the  most  effectual 
deodorizer  and  absorbent  within  the  farmer's 
reach,  and  will  richly  repay  the  trouble  re- 
quired. If  a  good  supply  of  dry  peat  is  always 
on  liand,  much  more  will  l)e  used  than  at  pres- 
ent, and  consequently  more  good  compost  will 
he  made.  Fine  dry  peat  is  one  of  tlie  best  fer- 
tilizei's  for  strawberries,  grai)es,  and  the  small 
fruits  genei'ally,  aud  is  always  ready  for  use, 
and  may  lie  conveniently  applied  at  any  season. 
It  is  not  volatile,  and  is  not  lost  or  wasted  when 
left  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  like  ammoni- 
acal  manures.  Mr.  Bull,  the  originator  of  the 
Concord  grai)e,  is  extending  his  grape  culture, 
and  has  engaged  a  thousand  loads  of  peat  to  be 
brought  on  to  his  grounds,  that  he  may  have  a 
supply  of  fine  peat  on  hand. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


31 


We  commend  this  subject  of  the  proper 
preparation  of  peat,  to  the  attention  of  all  eco- 
nomical farmers  in  New  England,  where  peat 
so  universally  abounds,  and  where  manures  are 
so  universally  needed.  K. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Oct.,  1866. 


RAISING   FOREST    TREES. 

GATnEiiixG  Seeds. — Seeds  should  always 
be  gathered  in  dry  weather,  and  those  kinds 
which  are  enclosed  in  an  outer  covering,  like 
the  butteinut,  should  be  spread  out  in  an  airy 
situation  until  they  are  quite  dry,  before  being 
packed  lor  transportation.  It  is  also  advisable 
to  (.by  all  tree  seeds  a  little,  but  it  must  be  va- 
ried according  to  the  size  and  natural  amount 
of  moisture  they  contain.  Those  that  possess 
a  large  amount  either  in  their  covering  or  in  the 
seed  proper  are  liable  to  heat  if  packed  in  close 
air-tight  boxes.  Baskets  and  bags,  or  boxes 
with  small  holes  bored  in  them,  should  be  used 
for  the  purpose,  especially  if  the  seeds  are  to 
remain  in  them  for  several  days.  Sheets  of 
paper,  or  layers  of  dry  moss,  may  be  placed 
between  the  layers  of  seeds  to  absorb  the  mois- 
ture, when  necessary  to  pack  the  seeds  before 
they  are  sufficiently  dry.  These  remarks  only 
apply  to  the  larger  seeds  and  those  that  natu- 
rally contain  considerable  moisture  at  the  time 
of  gathering. 

The  smaller  seeds  as  well  as  larger  ones  that 
are  inclosed  in  a  dry  covering,  such  as  the  al- 
der, spi'uce,  and  pine,  among  the  smaller,  and 
beech  and  hickory  among  the  larger,  may  be 
transported  in  bags,  barrels  or  tight  boxes ; 
all  that  is  necessary  is  to  keep  them  dry  while 
on  transit. 

PRESER\aNG  Seeds. — Seeds  that  have  a  firm, 
horn-like  covering,  like  the  locust,  virgilia,  etc., 
generally  retain  their  vitality  the  longest,  while 
the  seeds  of  the  maple,  elm,  and  similar  trees 
that  have  a  very  porous  co\ering,  are  compar- 
atively short-lived.  The  size  of  the  seed  is  no 
indication  of  its  vitality  ;  the  largest  may  per- 
ish much  sooner  than  the  very  smallest. 

The  black  walnut,  horse  chesnut,  and  butter- 
nut will  seldom  if  ever  grow  after  the  first  sea- 
son, while  the  virgilia  and  locust,  wliich  are 
quite  small,  will  germinate  after  having  been 
kepi  for  a  dozen  j'ears.  The  vitality  of  all  seeds 
may  be  I'etained  lor  a  much  longer  time  than 
was  evidently  intended  by  Nature,  if  they  are 
placed  under  the  proper  conditions.  A  cool, 
dry,  and  equal  temperature  ajjpears  to  be  the 
best  adapted  for  the  preservation  of  all  seeds. 
The  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  has  also  much 
to  do  in  enabling  them  to  retain  their  vitality, 
for  while  a  warm,  moist  one  is  just  suited  to 
growth,  it  hastens  the  death  of  the  seeds.  For 
when  the  germinating  powers  of  the  seed  have 
once  been  excited  into  growth,  it  cannot  be 
checked  without  injuring,  if  not  wholly  destroy- 
ing, its  vitality.  A  warm,  dry,  atmosphere 
evaporates  the  moisture,  causing  them  to  shriv- 
el, and  thus  destroys  them. 


Some  seeds,  as  the  chestnut,  contain  such  a 
large  amount  of  albuminous  matter  that  it  is 
quite  difficult  to  keep  the  temperature  and 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  just  in  the  right 
state  for  their  preservation.  All  such  seeds 
should  be  placed  in  the  ground,  or  on  it,  soon 
after  they  are  ripe,  and  covered  with  leaves  or 
some  similar  material,  following  Nature's  meth- 
od, as  they  receive  there  the  jjroper  degree  of 
warmth  and  moisture  requisite  to  their  preser- 
vation, better  than  in  any  other  situation. 

Time  FOR  Sowing  Seeds. — There  can  be 
no  specified  time  given  for  sowing  all  kinds  of 
tree  seeds,  but  for  a  general  rule,  very  soon 
after  they  ripen  Is  the  best.  It  is  certainly  not 
always  convenient  to  do  so,  nor  Is  it  always 
necessary,  but  with  some  kinds  a  delay  of  a  few 
weeks  is  almost  certain  to  result  In  a  complete 
failure.  Some  kinds  of  seeds  retain  their  vi- 
tality for  years,  while  others  for  only  a  few 
months  at  most. 

The  want  of  specific  knowledge  upon  this 
point  has  been  the  cause  of  many  failures,  and 
will  probably  continue  to  be  so  until  more  gen- 
eral Information  is  disseminated. 

The  red  and  silver  maple  ripen  their  seeds 
in  spring  or  early  summer,  about  the  first  to 
the  middle  of  June  in  this  vicinity,  and  they 
retain  their  vitality  for  only  a  few  weeks.  If 
sowed  so  soon  as  ripe,  they  will  come  up  in  a 
few  days,  and  make  a  growth  of  one  to  three 
feet  by  the  time  the  sugar  and  Norway  majjle 
seeds  are  ripe  m  autumn.  These  two  varieties 
of  maples  are  among  the  few  forest  tree  seeds 
that  absolutely  demand  immediate  planting, 
and  then  they  grow  very  readily. — Fuller''s 
Forest  Tree  Culiurist. 


BARNS-MARKET   REPORTS. 

I  lost  considerable  from  not  having  barn 
room  for  all  my  barley.  That  which  was 
stacked  out  of  doors  was  weather-stained,  and 
will  not  bring  so  much  by  10  cents  a  bushel, 
as  that  put  in  the  barn — though  fully  as  good 
a  sample  in  other  respects.  My  loss  this  year 
from  stacking  would  pay  the  interest  on  a  good 
sized  barn. 

It  annoys  me  to  see  farmers  sacrificing  their 
barley,  simply  for  want  of  coi'rect  information. 
Large  quantities  have  been  sold  in  this  section 
at  85c.  to  90c.  per  bushel,  and  a  dollar  is  about 
the  outside  figure  for  choice  four-rowed.  Far- 
mers seem  to  have  been  seized  with  a  desire  to  sell 
at  once,  and  have  rushed  in  the  crop  and  taken 
just  what  they  could  get,  from  the  idea  that  as 
the  yield  was  large,  prices  must  be  low.  But 
they  forget  that  hitherto  a  great  portion  of  our 
barley  has  been  brought  from  Canada,  and  that, 
large  as  the  croj)  is  with  us,  it  Is  not  large 
enough  to  supply  the  demand,  and  that  the  de- 
ficiency must  l)e  obtained  from  Canada.  The 
jirlce  at  which  Canada  barley  can  be  bought, 
therefore,  will  determine  the  price  in  this  mar- 
ket. At  the  time  when  farmers  were  selling 
here  from  90c.  to  $1.00,  barley  in  Toi'onto 


32 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Jan. 


was  worth  60c.  in  gold — say  90c.  in  our  mon- 
ey. The  duty  is  15c.  more,  also  in  gold,  say 
22c.,  and  the  expenses  of  buying,  commission, 
freight  etc.  are  about  20c.  moi'e,  so  that  a 
Rochester  maltster  cannot  get  barley  from  Can- 
ada for  less  than  ,$1.32  per  bushel.  Had  our 
papers  given  this  information,  they  would  have 
saved  the  farmers  of  AVestern  New  York  over 
a  million  of  dollars.  As  it  is,  we  have  lost  all 
the  benefit  of  the  duty  on  barley. — Joseph 
Harris,  in  American  Agriculturist. 


PRESERVUsTG  MEAT. 
The  following  is  the  Knickerbocker  Pickle 
as  given  by  Judge  Buel  in  the  Albany  Cultiva- 
tor for  October,  1835.  We  have  tried  it 
ourselves  several  times  with  good  success,  us- 
ing, however,  only  about  half  an  ounce  of  salt- 
petre instead  of  three  ounces,  as  recommended. 

Take  six  gallons  of  water,  nine  pounds  of 
salt,  three  pounds  of  coarse  brown  sugar,  one 
quart  of  molasses,  three  ounces  salt-petre,  and 
one  ounce  of  pearlash — mix  and  boil  the  whole 
well,  taldng  care  to  skim  off  all  the  impurities 
which  rise  to  the  surface.  This  constitutes  the 
pickle.  When  the  meat  is  cut  it  should  be 
slightly  rubbed  with  fine  salt,  and  suffered  to 
laj'  a  day  or  two,  that  the  salt  may  extract  the 
blood  ;  it  may  then  be  packed  tight  in  the  cask, 
and  the  pickle,  having  liecome  cold,  may  be 
turned  upon  and  cover  the  meat.  A  follower, 
to  tit  the  inside  of  the  cask,  should  then  be  laid 
on,  and  a  weight  put  on  it,  in  order  to  keep 
the  meat  at  all  times  covered  with  pickle.  The 
sugar  may  be  omitted  without  material  detri- 
ment. In  the  spring  the  pickle  must  be  turned 
off,  boiled  with  some  additional  salt  and  mo- 
lasses, skimmed,  and  when  cold,  returned  to 
the  cask. 

For  domestic  use,  beef  and  pork  hams  should 
not  be  salted  the  day  the  animals  are  killed, 
but  kept  until  its  fibre  has  become  short  and 
tender,  as  these  changes  do  not  take  place  after 
it  has  been  acted  upon  by  the  salt. 


HORTICULTURAL   HINTS. 

FusCHiAS,  commonly  called  Lady's  Eardrop, 
are  easily  kept  throughout  the  winter,  and  if 
planted  where  they  receive  only  the  morning 
sun,  form  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  summei'- 
blooming  plants  that  decorate  the  garden. 
When  taken  up  in  the  fall,  all  that  is  requisite 
is  to  sec  that  the  roots  are  covered  in  the  soil, 
and  that  during  the  Avinler  they  are  just  a  little 
moist,  never  wet,  and  always  free  from  frost. 
An  ordinarily  dry  cellar,  dark,  will  generally 
keep  them  perfectly,  without  any  atti'ution. 

In  forming  footpaths  or  carriage-drives  in  a 
new  place,  if  you  have  not  obtained  the  advice 
or  aid  of  a  landscape  gardener,  which  you 
should  have  done,  l)e  careful  not  to  get  the 
curves  too  strong.     A  crooked  path  is,  if  any- 


thing, more  objectionable  to  the  eye  of  taste 
than  a  straight  line.  Let  all  your  curved  lines 
exhibit  a  reason  for  diverging  from  a  straight 
course,  and  let  that  reason  be  apparent  to  the 
mind  of  the  most  thoughtless. 

Always  have  a  work  bench  in  your  wood 
shed  or  a  part  of  your  barn,  if  you  cannot  af- 
ford a  room  pui'posely  as  a  tool  and  work- 
room. A  few  tools  of  the  common  kinds,  saws, 
chisels,  planes,  &c.,  Avill  enable  you  to  fit  up 
and  repair,  or  make  many  a  thing  that  if  you 
had  to  hire  a  carpenter,  you  would  never  think 
of  having,  because  of  its  cost.  Labels,  stakes, 
melon  boxes,  &c.,  can  be  made  up  in  stormy 
days  of  fall  and  winter,  at  a  great  saving. 

All  clay  lands,  and  we  may  say  all  good 
garden  lands,  if  dug  or  plowed  deeply,  and 
turned  up  rough,  and  exposed  to  the  Avinter's 
frost,  will  improve  in  quality  full  as  much  as 
the  covering  of  one  coat  of  manure  given  and 
worked  in  in  spring. 

All  the  paths  around  the  house  and  grounds 
should  be  carefully  cleaned  this  month,  and  any 
little  repairs  requisite  to  comfort  about  the 
house  and  grounds  made,  that  comfort  and  se- 
curity from  storms,  &c.,  may  be  had  during 
the  cold  frost  and  storms  of  winter. 

As  every  ruralist  is  supposed  to  have  a  horse 
and  cow,  we  must  remind  them  that  warm  and 
dry  stables  are  a  great  preser\'ative  of  their 
health,  and  that  all  saving  of  animal  heat,  by 
having  a  warm  room,  is  a  saving  of  food. 

Bean  poles,  dahlia  stakes,  &c,,  should  be 
gathered  together,  and  stacked  away  carefully 
for  another  season. — N,  Y.  Horticulturist. 


IvEEPiNG  Cabbages. — Cabbages  in  the  spring 
are  a  great  scarcity,  yet  there  is  no  reason  that 
they  should  not  be  as  plentifid  then  as  in  the 
fall.  Only  a  little  care  is  necessary.  We  have 
generally  kept  them  fresh  and  crisp  through 
the  winter,  and  the  plan  we  adopted  was  this. 
We  dug  a  trench  out  of  doors,  aljont  three 
feet  deep  and  boxed  it  all  around  with  loose 
boards.  In  this  we  put  the  cabbages,  standing 
them  on  end  with  the  roots  downwards,  not  al- 
lowing the  heads  to  touch.  The  whole  was 
then  covered  with  boards,  placing  them  close 
enough  together  to  keep  out  the  wet ;  the  earth 
was  then  heai)cd  upon  the  top,  forming  of 
course  a  mound  of  about  two  feet  in  height. 
In  this  state  the  cab])age  kept  all  winter  long 
in  most  excellent  c(5ndition.  No  frost  i-eached 
them  and  they  were  as  fresh  in  the  spring  as 
when  first  put  away. — Frederickton  Farmer. 


Mr.  B.  F.  Allen,  of  Vienna,  writes  to  the 
Maine  Farmi'.r,  Nov.  Sth,  that  he  now  has  five 
lambs, — three  bucks  and  two  ewes, — which  were 
dropped  last  Jmic!  by  one  sheep.  Tiie  lambs 
ai'c  v(!ry  similar  in  a])pearance,  and  are  nearly 
as  large  as  lambs  usually  are  of  the  same  age. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


33 


PBirNXKrG   APPLE   TREES. 

I  perceive  that  you  and  the  Editor  of  the  Manchester 
Mirror  do  not  agree  as  to  the  best  time  for  pruning  ap- 
ple trees.  Will  you  please  publish  your  reasons  for  pre- 
ferring the  autumu  to  the  spring  for  that  purpose,  and 
oblige  yours  truly.  JONA.  K.  SMITH. 

Dublin,  N.  H.,  Nov.,  1866. 


Remakks. — Certainly,  and  with  pleasure,  al- 
though it  will  be  an  "oft-told  tale."  The 
opinions  we  shall  give  are  based,  _^rsi,  upon  a 
long  and  careM  study  of  the  physiology  of 
trees, — that  is,  a  study  of  their  organs  and 
lunctions.  Secondly,  the  corroborative  evi- 
dence of  the  highest  authorities  on  the  subject, 
in  this  and  other  countries.  And  thirdly,  a 
practice  which  has  been  continued  nearly  twenty 
years,  in  pruning  trees  at  all  seasons,  carefully 
watching  the  effect  of  the  operation  upon  them, 
and  making  a  record  of  the  facts. 

When  we  graft  an  apple  tree  we  change  its 
habit.  It  then  becomes,  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, a  thing  of  art,  and  must  be  treated  after- 
ward in  an  artificial  manner.  It  assumes  new 
forms  in  its  growth,  has  smooth  and  more  deli- 
cate branches,  loses  its  sharp  spikes  or  thorns, 
has  a  larger  and  finer  foliage,  and  is  less  able 
to  bear  injuries  or  extreme  temperature.  Con- 
sequently the  tree  requires  a  more  delicate 
handling. 

There  is  now  frequent  complaint  that  the  or- 
chards of  New  England  are  rapidly  failing. 
It  is  no  doubt  true  that  they  are  failmg,  alto- 
gether too  fast.  One  leading  cause  of  this  is 
cropping  tiiem  too  heavily  with  grass  and  other 
crops,  and  another,  pruning  them  miskilfully 
and  at  a  wroiig  season  of  the  year.  We  will 
say  nothing  of  damage  done  by  insects,  at 
present. 

Nearly  all  the  orchards  of  New  England 
that  are  twenty-five  years  old  and  upwards, 
present  the  clearest  evidence  of  premature  de- 
cay. Our  fathers  probably  pruned  apple  trees 
in  March  and  April,  because  they  found  it  a 
comparatively  leisure  season.  Most  of  it  was 
done  in  March .  But  in  this  age  of  progress  their 
sons  ought  to  know  better  than  to  begin  the 
destruction  of  their  orchards  just  as  they  are 
coming  to  maturity.  There  is  just  as  much  a 
pi-oper  time  to  prune  apple  trees  as  to  prune 
grape  vines.  Who  ever  heard  of  pruning  the 
latter  in  March  or  April  ?  And  yet  the  princi- 
ple involved  is  the  same.  Nature  works  alike 
in  each,  so  far  as  the  circulation  of  the  sap  is 
concerned. 

The  true  rule  for  pruning  is  a  simple  one. 


Prune  when  there  is  the  least  sap  in  the  sap 

vessels,  or  sap  wood,  as  it  is  called.  That  oc- 
curs about  midsummer,  when  the  thin  watery 
sap,  having  visited  the  most  remote  twigs  and 
leaves,  has  become  elaborated  into  a  substance 
entirely  imlike  that  which  so  recently  passed 
up,  and  is  going  down  directly  under  the  outer 
bark  of  the  branches  and  trunk  of  the  tree, 
and  plainly  increasing  their  diameter.  This  is 
the  favorable  time  to  prune,  because  there  is 
comparatively  little  sap  left  in  the  vessels  to 
run  out  if  they  are  cut  off.  This  period  occurs 
not  only  about  midsummer,  but  in  the  autumn 
after  the  leaves  have  fallen,  and  will  continue 
until  warm  and  genial  days  intervene,  when  the 
sap  will  sensibly  feel  their  invigorating  power, 
and  especially  so  if  the  ground  at  the  time  is 
not  frozen.  If  a  succession  of  warm  and  sun- 
ny days  occur  in  February,  the  sap  will  start 
where  trees  stand  in  sheltered  places,  but  open 
to  the  south. 

A  bright  sun  has  a  wonderful  power  upon 
trees.  It  makes  the  sap  active  at  once,  but  it 
seems  to  become  dull  again  on  the  approach  of 
cold, — acting,  in  this  respect,  much  as  animals 
do  in  sudden  changes  of  temperature.  When 
set  in  motion  by  a  proper  degree  of  warmth, 
the  tree  goes  directly  about  its  work,  roots  and 
branches  co-operating  with  each  other.  A  thin, 
watery  fluid  is  collected  by  the  fine  roots,  and 
by  some  wonderful  agency  carried  along  through 
inniunerable  tubes,  or  sap-vessels,  as  they  are 
called,  which  are  in  the  wood  that  lies  next  to 
the  albm-num,  or  that  white,  soft  substance  be- 
tween the  outer  bark  and  the  hard  wood.  First 
comes  the  outer  bark,  then  alburnmn  or  sap- 
wood,  and  lastly  the  heart  of  the  tree  where  no 
sap-vessels  can  be  found. 

As  we  have  said  above,  the  roots  begin  to 
fill  these  sap-vessels  upon  the  approach  of  clear 
suns  and  warm  weather,  and  the  sap  is  carried 
by  them  to  the  remotest  branch  and  smallest 
twig  of  the  tree.  Buds  were  formed  the  pre- 
ceding year,  and  are  ready  to  receive  and  use 
the  sap  as  it  comes  along  to  them.  K  they  are 
blossom  buds  the  sap  expands  the  blossom,  if 
leaf  buds  it  establishes  the  leaf,  and  then  the 
tree  is  ready  to  go  to  work  to  increase  its 
length  and  size  in  diameter. 

The  bright  days  in  March  usually  excite  the 
tree  to  decided  action,  and  this  continues  until 
near  mid-summer,  or  until  the  leaves  have 
nearly  attained  their  full  size.     Of  course,  ev- 


34 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan 


ery  sap-vessel  is  full  of  a  thin,  watery  fluid  in- 
tent on  its  errand  to  furnish  every  branch  and 
twig  its  needed  supplies,  and  swelling  and 
pushing  every  bud  to  its  utmost  size  and  pow- 
er of  action.  8vch  is  the  condition  of  the 
tree  in  the  spring.  Is  it,  then,  a  proper  time 
to  prune  it — to  cut  off  thousands  of  these  sap- 
vi'ssels  and  cause  them  to  pour  out  the  fluid 
which  the  whole  tree  is  waiting  for,  and  cannot 
live  without  ?  It  needs  no  argument  to  show 
that  trees  cut  when  in  such  a  state  must  bleed. 

But  the  loss  of  the  sap  to  the  tree  is  not  all 
— perhaps  not  the  worst  of  it.  As  the  sap 
flows  out  and  comes  in  contact  with  the  atmos- 
phere, it  becomes  pungent  and  bitter,  and  poi- 
sons the  tree,  wherever  much  of  it  runs.  The 
face  of  the  wound  becomes  black,  and  is  some- 
tunes  partly  covered  with  a  grayish-ljlack  mould 
or  fmigus.  If  the  sap  runs  down  upon  the 
bark  it  is  so  powerful  as  frequently  to  destroy 
it  in  to  the  wood,  turning  it  black  and  giving  it 
an  offensive  taste  and  smell.  When  this  is  the 
case,  the  sap-wood  soon  becomes  inactive  and 
dies  in  turn. 

These  statements  are  made  not  from  the  re- 
sults of  single  cases  or  experiments,  but  from 
thousands  of  cases,  extending  tlirough  many 
years.  A  single  tree  has  been  practiced  upon 
for  ten  years  in  succession,  pruning  some  jjor- 
tion  of  it  at  different  seasons,  and  the  results 
have  been  uniformly  as  stated  above. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  the  other  side  of  the  ques- 
tion. 

The  tree  has  been  left  untouched.  The  sap 
has  gone  on  in  its  course  rejoicing,  and  has  im- 
parted life,  action,  beauty  and  vigor  to  every 
part  of  the  tree.  Buds  have  swollen,  blossoms 
expanded,  and  the  tree  is  covered  with  large 
and  healthy  leaves.  These  are  the  lungs  of  the 
tree.  They  have  been  formed  for  action,  and 
now  comes  the  time  for  the  perfonnance  of 
of  their  part  of  the  duty  of  building  up  that 
wonderful  thing  which  we  call  a  tree. 

Tlie  petals  of  the  blossoms  have  fallen,  fruit 
is  set,  and  the  tree  requires  some  aliment  more 
nutritious  and  sul^stantial  than  the  thin  sap 
which  was  first  sent  up.  The  leaves  prepare 
this.  They  receive  the  sap  stored  up  in  the 
cells,  work  it  over  in  their  laboratories,  and 
send  it  back,  thick  and  energizing,  to  give 
bri'a(hh  to  the  trunk,  and  stoutness  and  .strength 
to  the  branches.  But  this  docs  not  pass  thromjh 
the  sap-vessels,  but  outside  of  them,  between 


the  sap-wood  and  the  outer  bark.  This  is 
called  the  alburnum,  and  makes  the  annual 
growth  in  the  diameter  of  trunk  and  branches. 

Now  prune  the  tree,  and  what  will  happen  ? 
There  is  little  fluid  in  the  sap-vessels.  It  has 
mostly  gone  off  to  do  its  work  among  the 
branches,  and  hundreds  of  them  may  be  taken 
away  without  the  slightest  appearance  of  sap. 
This  has  been  verified  in  hundreds  of  instances 
in  our  practice.  An  examination  of  as  many 
trees  to-day,  will  confirm  the  statement. 

There  is  still  another  advantage  in  pruning 
after  the  leaves  are  fully  formed.  The  inspis- 
sated or  thickened  sap  is  descending,  and  wiU 
at  once  commence  a  covering  of  smooth,  green 
bark  over  the  wound  which  has  been  made. 
Some  of  the  small  places  will  be  covered  the 
same  year,  and  those  of  an  inch  in  diameter  in 
healthy  trees  will  be  covered  the  second  year. 

So  far  as  the  flowing  of  the  sap  is  concerned, 
these  conditions  exist  in  the  tree  after  the  leaves 
have  fallen  in  the  autumn,  and  they  may  then 
be  piiined  consistently.  The  surface  of  the 
wounds  will  dry  before  the  sap  flows  in  the 
spring,  so  as  to  prevent  its  passing  out.  All 
wounds,  however,  should  be  covered  with  paint, 
or  what  is  better  but  more  expensive,  gum 
shellac  dissolved  in  alcohol. 

The  observing  farmer  always  has  the  true 
rule  for  pruning  before  him.  It  is  this.  Nev- 
er prune  when  your  saw  will  keep  bright  and 
clean.  Always  prune  when  the  saw  "gums 
up,"  so  that  it  becomes  necessary  to  wash  it 
occasionally  in  order  to  have  it  run  easy. 

The  collateral  evidence  that  these  conclusions 
are  correct  is  abundant  and  conclusive.  We 
have  enough  of  it  before  us  to  fill  a  page,  but 
our  article  has  grown  so  long  that  we  defer  cit- 
ing much  of  it  at  present.  Prof.  Lindley  has 
given  the  best  portion  of  his  life  to  the  study  of 
plants  and  particularly  trees.  He  says, — "The 
only  mode  of  avoiding  l)k'eding  is  never  to 
wound  trees  when  their  first  sap  begins  to  flow  ; 
after  a  time  the  demand  upon  the  system  by 
the  leaves  becomes  so  great  that  there  is  no 
surplus,  and  therefore  bleeding  does  not  take 
place  when  a  wound  is  inflicted." 

On  all  matters  of  tliis  kind.  Downing  is  us- 
ually recorded  as  a  safe  guide  ;  let  us  see  what 
he  says  in  relation  to  the  particular  time  of 
pruning.  In  his  work  on  the  "Fruits  and 
Fruit  Trees  of  America,''''  he  says,  "w(>.  should 
especially  avoid  pruning  at  that  period  in  spring 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


35 


when  the  buds  are  swelling  and  the  sap  is  in 
full  flow,  as  the  loss  of  sap  by  bleeding  is  very 
injurious  to  most  trees,  and  in  some  brings  on 
a  serious  and  incurable  canker  in  the  buds." 
Again  he  says,  "our  own  experience  has  led  us 
to  believe  that  practically  a  iortnight  before 
inid-summer  is  by  far  the  best  season  on  the 
whole  for  pruning  in  the  Northern  and  Middle 
States.  Wounds  made  at  this  season  heal  over 
freely  and  rapidly."  Both  these  authorities 
state  that  winter  pruning  may  be  safely  done. 
We  do  not  recommend  it,  as  it  is  too  nice  work 
for  cold  and  windy  weather. 


"WOOL   GROOVERS'    COITVBNTION". 

The  convention  of  the  National  Wool  Grow- 
ers' Association  held  at  Cleveland  on  the  14th 
of  November,  was  largely  attended  and  its  ac- 
tion was  harmonious  and  spirited.  We  have 
not  yet  seen  a  full  report  of  its  proceedings 
and  speeches.  By  a  letter  from  W.  F.  Greer, 
Secretary  of  the  Association,  we  learn  that 
twelve  States  were  represented  by  authorized 
delegations.  A  committee  consisting  of  Hon. 
E.  B.  Pottle,  of  New  York;  Hon.  Edwin 
Hammond,  of  Vermont;  Hon.  Victor  Wright, 
Representative  of  the  New  England  Wool 
Grower''s  Association;  Hon.  Norton  S.  Town- 
shend,  of  Ohio,  Dr.  F.  Julius  LeMoyne,  of 
Pennsylvania;  Franklin  Fassett,  Esq.,  of  Illi- 
nois;  Eli  Stillson,  Esq.,  of  Wisconsin;  Lewis 
Willey,  Esq. ,  of  Michigan ;  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  draft  resolutions  expressing  the 
views  of  this  Association  relative  to  the  Tariff 
upon  wool  and  woolens,  who  reported  the  fol- 
lowing, which  were  severally  discussed,  and 
unanimouslii  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  that  the  steps  taken  by 
the  National  Association  of  Wool  Growers  and 
Manufacturers  to  secure  a  recognition  of  the  mu- 
tuality of  their  interests,  will,  if  followed  out  in 
good  faith,  insure  the  increased  prosperity  of  l>oth. 

Resolved,  That  the  citizen  who  bears  the  burdens 
of  the  Government  is  entitled  to  the  advantages  of 
the  markets  of  his  own  country — and  to  compel 
him  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  such  markets  more 
than  is  required  of  foreigners,  is  unwise,  unjust, 
and  in  the  end  will  prove  disastrous. 

Resolved,  That  the  tariff  bill,  as  it  relates  to  wool 
and  woolens,  agreed  upon  l)y  the  Joint  Committee 
of  Wool  Growers  and  Wool  Manufacturers,  now 
before  Congress,  is  one  calculated  to  insure  in- 
creased prosperity  to  the  grower  and  manufacturer, 
and  will  tend  to  the  general  prosperity  of  the  coun- 
try, and  that  we  will  stand  firmlij  by  it,  and  seek 
by  all  proper  means  to  secure  its  early  adoption  as 
a  law. 

Of  the  character  of  the  convention  Mr.  G. 

D.  Bragdon,  a  correspondent  of  the  Rural  New 


Yorker,  writes, — "I  have  never  seen  a  body  of 
industrious  men  of  equal  number  together, 
whose  appearance,  demeanor,  and  intelligence 
excelled  that  of  this  Association  gathered  here. 
The  men  embraced  in  this  Convention  were 
mostly  men  of  fine  physical  character,  with 
mental  calibre  and  force  to  correspond.  The 
temper  of  the  Association  was  excellent.  Ev- 
ery man  meant  business  ;  every  word  was  full 
of  self-asserting  emphasis.  And  if  the  influ- 
ence of  this  Convention  is  not  felt  in  Washing- 
ton, it  will  not  be  because  of  any  want  of  force 
in  its  composition  and  action." 


]SrEW    PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Forest  Tree  Cclturist.  A  Treatise  on  the  Cul- 
tivation of  American  Forest  Trees,  with  Notes  on  the 
Most  Valuable  Foreign  Species.  By  Andrew  S.  Ful- 
ler. Illustrated.  New  York  :  Geo.  E.  &.F.  W.Wood- 
ward. Boston :  A.  Williams  &  Co.  1866.  Pp.  188. 
Price  $1.50. 

Since  preparing  our  remarks  upon  this  sub- 
ject, on  another  page,  we  have  received  a 
copy  of  the  above  named  work.  The  author 
is  a  practical  horticulturist  and  has  given  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  cultivation  of  forest 
trees.  Though  he  does  not  claim  to  have 
raised  trees  of  all  species  and  varieties,  he  says 
he  has  experimented  sufficiently  to  know 
whereof  he  writes.  As  specimens  of  the  style 
of  the  book,  and  as  containing  valuable  infor- 
mation, we  copy  a  few  paragraphs  on  gather- 
ing, preserving,  and  sowing  the  seeds  of  for- 
est trees,  which  will  be  found  in  this  number  of 
the  Monthly  New  England  Farmek. 

The  Old  Farmer's  Almanac  for  1867.  Established 
in  1793,  by  iiobert  B.  Thomas.  Boston  :  Brewer  & 
Tileston. 

Though  his  hair  may  be  turning  gray,  what 

New  Englander  is  not  reminded  of  some  scrap 

of  poetry  or  anecdote  stored  up  in  memory 

from  the  pages  of  this  familiar  annual,   as  his 

eyes  fall  on  the  image  of  Father  Time,  whose 

urn  still  flows  as  freely  as  in  days  of  yore  ?    As 

we  look,   up  come  a  verse    that  we  could  no 

more  forget  than  we  could  the  name  of  Robert 

B.  Thomas : 

"Landlord  to  thy  bar  room  skip, 
Fetch  a  foaming  mug  of  flip ; 
Make  it  of  our  country's  staple, 
Rum,  New  England;  sugar,  maple." 

If  not  exactly  tee-total,  that  is  at  least  pat- 
riotic. Great  then  is  the  responsibility  of  those 
who  furnish  reading  matter  for  the  young,  even 
so  much  as  an  almanac  contains  !  To  a  prop- 
er appreciation  of  this  responsibility  we  be- 
lieve the  Old  Farmer's  Almanac  is  greatly  in- 


36 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER, 


Jan. 


debtee!  for  its  unexampled  prosperity  during 
the  last  seventy-five  years.  And  we  are  confi- 
dent that  a  comparison  of  the  later  with  the 
ealier  numbers  will  furnish  strong  confirmation 
of  the  sentiment  which  heads  the  calendar  for 
December,  1867 : 

The  world  improves ;  with  slow,  unequal  pace, 
"The  Good  Time's  comiug"  to  our  hapless  race; 
The  general  tide  beneath  the  refulgent  surge 
Rolls  on  resistless  to  its  destined  verge. 


AGRICULTTJIlAIi   COLLEO-E. 

The  Executive  and  Building  committees  of 
the  Agricultm-al  College  of  Massachusetts,  at 
a  meeting,  Nov.  21st,  voted,  as  we  learn  from 
the  Amherst  Express,  to  have  the  College 
ready  to  receive  students  on  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember next."  Abandoning  the  idea  of  one 
large  structure,  the  committee  have  adopted  the 
plan  recommended  by  Mr.  Olmstead  and  Judge 
French,  and  have  decided  to  erect  five  small 
buildings:  1.  a  dormitory  for  50  students, 
with  recitation  rooms  ;  2.  a  chemical  laborato- 
ry;  o.  a  boarding  house;  4.  a  model  barn; 
5.  a  President's  house.  The  whole  estimated 
cost  of  these  buildings  is  $G5,000.  The  Ex- 
press says:  "the  utmost  harmony  of  purpose 
prevailed  at  the  meeting,  and  every  one  of  the 
trustees  seemed  determined  to  do  his  part  to 
make  the  College  popular  and  successful.  Pres- 
ident Chadbourne  shows  himself  to  be  fully 
competent  to  the  position  and  is  fast  bringing 
order  out  of  chaos.  He  promises  to  and 
doubtless  will,  within  nine  months  of  the  time 
of  his  election,  have  the  College  in  operation." 


CAKE   OP   BEES   Of   WINTER. 

If  the  weather  is  cold  and  snow  has  fiillen, 
all  stocks  should  be  put  into  winter  quarters. 
I  am  often  asked  "What  is  the  best  method  of 
wintering  bees?"  I  would  say,  any  method 
that  will  secure  the  following  conditions  : — an 
even  temperature,  neither  too  cold,  nor  too 
warm  ;  proper  ventilation  ;  freedom  from  mois- 
ture ;  pei-l'ect  darkness  and  quietness.  A  good 
cellar  or  room  away  from  the  fire  may  answer 
very  well,  or  a  house  built  for  the  purpose 
would  probaljly  be  still  better.  To  secure 
proper  ventilation  with  common  box  hives, 
they  may  be  inverted,  and  wire  cloth,  or  stifi 
net  tacked  on  the  bottom  of  the  hives  to  keep 
the  liees  in.  Moveable  comb  hives  should  have 
the  honey  board  removed  and  wire  cloth  or 
stiir  net  put  on  in  its  place.  Stocks  that  are  to 
be  wintered  out  of  doors,  if  in  box  hives, 
should  be  so  ventilated  tliat  there  will  !)e  no 
danger  of  the  ventilation  being  closed  up  by 
snow   or  ice ;  if  in  moveable  comb  hives,  all 


under  ventilation  should  be  closed  up,  the  hon- 
ey board  should  be  removed,  and  after  putting 
on  the  wire  cloth,  it  should  be  covered  Avith 
corn  cobs  or  dry  straw — all  that  the  cap  or 
cover  of  the  hive  will  shut  over.  It  having 
been  a  very  bad  season  for  bees,  where  natu- 
ral swarming  was  allowed,  nearly  all  swarms 
will  require  feeding,  and  if  not  ab-eady  fed, 
should  at  once  be  removed  to  a  warm  room  and 
fed  enough  to  winter  them,  so  that  it  will  not 
be  necessary  to  disturb  them  during  the  winter. 
It  would  be  better  to  feed  a  stock  two  dollars 
worth  of  sugar,  rather  than  lose  it.  Where 
artificial  swarming  was  practiced,  and  swarms 
were  made  early,  not  much  if  any  feeding  will 
be  necessary.  I  would  impress  upon  the 
minds  of  bee-keepers  generally,  the  necessity  * 
of  examining  their  stocks,  as  many  will  perish 
if  not  fed,  and  though  feeding  should  be  at- 
tended to  in  September,  yet,  by  following  the 
directions  given  above,  many  stocks  may  be 
saved  even  now. — J.  H.  Thomas,  in  Canada 
Farmer. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
PRESEKVnSTG   MILK   AND   RAISING 
CREAM. 

Among  the  other  celebrities  at  the  "Weld 
Farm  Festival"  of  last  July,  was  a  Mr.  N.  W. 
Clark  from  Detroit,  Michigan,  who  was  at  that 
time  travelling  in  the  Eastern  States  for  the 
purpose  of  introducing  a  new  and  patented 
invention  of  his,  for  the  better  preservation  of 
milk,  butter,  eggs,  &c.  Both  of  us  happening 
to  be  an  hour  or  two  ahead  of  the  appointed 
time,  I  had  a  chance  to  examine  his  plans  and 
drawings,  and  to  hear  from  him  a  detailed  ac- 
count of  what  he  claimed  to  be  new  discov- 
eries in  the  art  of  preserving  milk  and  making 
butter. 

Mr.  Clark  has  erected  in  Detroit  a  very 
large  building  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
sweet  milk  to  the  city.  It  consists  of  a  two 
story  ice-house,  the  upper  fioor  of  which  is  of 
galvanized  iron,  on  which  the  ice  rests.  In  the 
lower  story  are  large  tin  cans  for  holding  the 
milk.  These  are  placed  in  tanks  that  are  con- 
stantly full  of  cold  water  from  the  melting  ice 
above.  The  cans  are  filled  from  an  office  room 
through  a  funnel  which  passes  through  the  thick 
walls  of  the  preserving-room.  A  pipe  and 
faucet  from  the  bottom  of  the  cans,  also  reach- 
ing through  the  Avail  into  the  office,  allows  of 
the  milk  being  drawn  out  for  sale,  without  the 
attendant's  entering  the  cold  apartment.  The 
milk  can  be  cooled  down  to  the  temperature  of 
34°. 

The  cans  each  contain  an  agitator  Avhich  is 
moved  by  a  small  steam  engine.  When  cream 
is  to  be  taken  off  and  sold  separately  the  agi- 
tator is  not  used. 

Mr.  Clark  claims  that  he  can  keep  milk  sweet 
a  whole  year  if  he  chooses.  As  it  never  gets 
sour,  the  cans  do  not  require  to  be  washed. 
The  conducting  pipes  are  arranged  with  valves, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


37 


so  that  they  may  be  cleansed,  which  is  done  by 
swabbing  out  with  lime  water. 

He  also  claims  that  lime  water  is  better  than 
hot  soap-suds  to  clean  anel  purify  all  milk  uten- 
sils ;  an  experiment  1  have  not  yet  tried,  but 
intend  to.  He  says  he  has  found  out  many  new 
things  about  the  nature  of  milk  and  butter. 
He  claims  that  milk  several  i'eet  deep  will 
throw  up  all  its  cream  in  twenty-four  hours  at 
a  temperature  of  34°,  only  2°  above  the  freez- 
ing point. 

Having  occasion  to  make  some  alterations  in 
my  fall  and  winter  milk-rooms,  while  waiting 
for  paint  to  diy  before  using  them,  I  found  it 
convenient  to  try  the  experiment  of  keeping  milk 
in  a  cold  room  while  the  cream  was  rising.  I 
have  used  my  dwelling-house  cellar  for  milk 
during  the  warm  months,  keeping  the  windows 
constantly  opened  to  admit  fresh,  pure  air. 
This  season  1  kept  my  milk  in  the  cellar  till 
into  November,  letting  the  windows  remain 
■  open  as  usual,  with  the  temperature  some 
mornings  down  to  40°  and  less.  And  I  am 
satisfied  I  shall  not  try  that  experiment  again 
at  present,  unless  1  am  obliged  to.  I  find  I 
have  lost  as  much  as  15  per  cent,  of  the  cream, 
by  letting  it  rise  in  a  cold  room.  Then  it  takes 
twice  as  long  to  churn  sweet  cream  as  it  does 
that  which  is  sour  and  thick  as  cream  will  be,  if 
kept  in  a  warm  place. 

I  am  not  entirely  satisfied  yet  that  an  under- 
ground cellar  is  the  best  place  in  which  to  keep 
milk  at  any  time  of  the  year.  Mr.  Jason 
Tower,  a  very  successful  butter  maker,  of 
Franklin,  Mass.,  has  kept  his  milk  on  the  first 
floor  above  the  cellar  all  through  the  hot  months 
lor  several  years  past,  having  a  slat  floor  to  al- 
low some  circulation  of  air  between  this  and 
the  cellar  room  below. 

He  thinks  his  ujjper  room  is  a  little  too  warm 
during  the  hottest  weather  in  July  and  August, 
but  he  certainly  has  been  able  to  make  a  con- 
siderably larger  amount  of  Isutter  per  cow  dur- 
ing the  season,  than  I  have,  although  other 
circumstances  do  not  seem  to  be  much  in  his 
favor.  A.  W.  Ciieever. 

Sheldonville,  Mass.,  Nov.  15,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

MY  draust  tile. 

Mr.  Editor  : — I  have  just  had  a  little  expe- 
rience in  draining  under  difficulties,  which  I 
will  state  to  you. 

One  corner  of  my  flirm  has  been  very  wet. 
The  top  soil  is  a  tenacious  mud.  Next  comes 
a  thin,  clayey  stratum.  Under  this  is  a  very 
lively  quicksand.  An  open  ditch  has  been 
kept  through  the  centre,  the  slope  of  the  land 
being  sufficient  to  give  the  water  a  rapid  run. 
Last  fall  this  ditch  was  cleaned  out  a  little  too 
deep,  reaching  into  the  quicksand  a  good  part 
of  the  way.  Heavy  rains  followed,  making  a 
strong  brook  in  the  ditch.  This  carried  off  the 
quicksand  to  such  an  extent  that  in  some  places 


the  banks  were  imdermined  on  each  side  for  four 
or  five  feet,  and  fell  down.  I  think  that  not 
less  than  one  hundi'cd  cartloads  of  this  under 
soil,  were,  during  the  fall  and  winter,  carried 
to  the  lower  level,  thus  making  a  very  wide 
chasm  in  the  field,  and  filling  up  the  ditch  on 
the  more  level  ground  for  some  forty  or  fifty 
rods  ;  and  any  attempt  to  clean  out  this  lower 
portion  would  set  the  sands  in  motion  to  fill  it 
up  again.  To  prevent  this  lor  the  future,  I 
have  laid  tiles  in  the  ditch.  This  was  not  an 
easy  job,  owing  to  the  liveliness  of  the  quick- 
sand. To  keep  this  from  flowing  into  the  pipe, 
I  placed  bog  moss  at  the  joints,  and  filled  up 
with  the  surface  sods  pressed  around  the  pipe. 
Great  caution  had  to  be  used  to  make  the  pack- 
ing so  compact  that  no  current  could  run 
outside  the  pipe.  In  the  softer  places  it  was 
necessary  also  to  lay  a  board  on  the  bottom  to 
keep  the  pipe  steady.  There  are  side  drains 
leading  into  the  main  one,  in  all  of  which  this 
quicksand  was  more  or  less  troublesome. 

At  present,  so  far  as  finished,  the  drain  works 
to  niy  great  satisfaction.  The  water  flows 
freely,  and  the  land  is  already  perceptibly  drier 
than  1  have  known  it  in  the  driest  times  for 
more  than  twenty  years.  But  I  have  one  cause 
for  fear,  that  I  have  seen  no  account  of  else- 
where. There  is  constantly  growing  in  the 
pipe  a  slimy  fungus,  that  collects  and  comes 
away  in  masses.  I  have  several  times  pulled 
it  out  of  the  pipe  with  a  stick.  A  few  days  ago 
I  found  a  good  half  bushel  of  this  matter  col- 
lected near  the  mouth  of  the  pipe.  Some 
pieces  were  more  than  a  foot  long,  and  as  they 
lay  closely  in  the  water,  were  at  least  an  inch 
in  diameter.  My  fear  is,  that  at  some  time 
this  will  collect  in  the  pipe  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  obstruct  the  water.  I  think  it  has  already, 
at  least  once,  temporarily  choked  the  pipe  near 
the  upper  end,  as  the  gravel  carted  to  fill  up 
the  ditch  was  for  a  short  distance  so  saturated 
with  water  that  a  man  would  sink  over  shoes  in 
it.  But  that  soon  became  drier.  There  is, 
however,  fall  enough  to  bring  a  strong  pressure 
of  water  against  any  obstruction,  and  I  hope 
this  will  keep  it  clean. 

Have  you,  Mr.  Editor,  ever  seen  anything 
like  this  in  your  experience  ?  Can  anything 
be  done  to  prevent  the  growth  of  this  fungus  ? 

Concord,  Oct.  22,  1866.  m.  p. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WnSTTER  EECREATIONS. 
As  a  general  thing,  farmers  labor  too  un- 
ceasingly ;  spend  too  little  time  in  recreation 
with  their  families.  Many  so  arrange  their 
work  that  a  rainy  day  finds  them  with  as  much 
on  band  as  at  any  other  time.  Simimer  and 
winter  is  the  same  with  them ;  the  system  al- 
ways strained  to  its  utmost  capacity,  either  in 
physical  labor  or  in  planning  for  the  future. 
Now,  while  it  is  well  to  be  diligent  in  business, 
and  to  have  an  eye  to  the  future,  a  constant 
tension  wears  out  elasticity,  the  system  becomes 


38 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


prematurely  old,  and  the  aim  of  life  is  often 
defeated. 

A  man  dependent  upon  his  labor  of  to-day 
for  his  bread  of  the  morrow,  must  necessarily 
be  more  economical  of  his  time  than  he  who 
has  a  comfortable  property  ahead,  and  labors 
to  add  thereto ;  but  often,  here,  we  find  that 
the  man  with  the  least  of  this  world's  goods 
takes  moi'e  recreation  and  enjoyment  than  his 
more  worldly  and  better-to-do  neighbor.  By 
his  recreation  he  loses  nothing,  for  he  is  better 
able  to  accomplish  a  certain  amount  of  labor 
in  five  days,  than  he  whose  system  is  strained 
to  the  utmost  by  constant  labor  is  in  six  days. 
His  recreation  relaxes  the  strain  and  gives  him 
rest,  so  that  he  is  better  prepared  to  perform  a 
given  task  than  in  the  other  case.  In  summer, 
when  crops  and  fields  require  a  more  constant 
attention,  little  time  can  be  afibrded,  although 
a  relaxation  of  a  day  occasionally  would  be  re- 
freshing. The  winter  is  also  a  busy  time  with 
the  thriving  farmer,  but  there  are  times  when  a 
day  spent  in  recreation  is  less  felt  than  during 
the  other  seasons.  The  long  evenings  and 
short  days  give  the  farmer  more  time  to  recruit 
the  system  ibr  the  next  season's  work  ;  and  to 
the  proper  improvement  of  these  evenings  he 
must  look  mainly  for  recreation  and  amusement 
with  his  I'amily. 

But  what  shall  this  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment consist  in  ?  The  large  class  of  farmers 
live  at  a  distance  from  villages  and  thickly  set- 
tled towns  where  concerts,  lectures,  etc.,  are  to 
be  enjoyed,  and  consequently  cannot  be  ex- 
pected often  to  go  the  distance  for  an  evening's 
entertainment.  In  the  first  place  then,  under 
such  circumstances,  let  him  provide  a  choice 
selection  of  books,  periodicals  etc., — and  what 
better  periodicals  can  he  provide  than  a  good 
agricultural  and  family  paper  ? — to  give  food  to 
the  mind  of  himself  ancl  family  ;  these  read  and 
discussed  will  furnish  food  for  refiection  at  odd 
hours  as  well  as  entertainment. 

If  lighter  recreation  be  desirable,  get  up  a 
miniature  concert, — a  family  generally  have  the 
elements  necessary, — if  the  parents  and  older 
ones  will  relax  a  little  and  join  with  the  young- 
ci"  in  some  innocent  amusement.  This  may 
I  ombine  instruction  to  the  young,  as  well,  and 
will  be  enjoyed  by  all.  .  A  social  family  call  at 
■■X  neighbors,  of  an  evening,  to  be  spent  in  so- 
ial  converse,  singing,  innocent  games  of 
.cuiusement,  etc. 

Form  farmei's'  clubs,  and  meet  at  one  anoth- 
er's houses  weekly,  not  forgetting  to  take  tlie 
.vile  and  older  daughters  as  well  as  sons  along  : 
ompare  notes,  discuss  questions  of  interest  m 
I.  familiar  way.  An  essay  on  some  subject  of 
;cneral  interest,  prepared  and  read  by  one  of 
■.he  members,  gives  variety,  while;  at  the  same 
iime  it  improves  the  parti!i])ators  in  composi- 
ion,  etc.  To  give  tlie  leuude  portion  time  to 
jiarticipate  in  such  cDtertaimiients,  without  in- 
.  onvenlence,  provide  suital)le  conveniences  ihr 
iliem  to  perform  tlicir  daily  tasks;  a  sewing 
jiiachlne    to    do    u])    tlie    sewing    wiUiout   tliat 


"everlasting  stitch,  stitch."  Other  provisions 
there  are  which  will  suggest  themselves  readily 
to  the  thoughtful,  which  should  be  made  to  give 
the  women  an  opportunity  of  better  enjoying 
any  recreation.  Provide  them,  and  lighten 
their  toils  and  cares. 

The  farmer  can  at  other  leisure  times  make 
a  plan  of  his  farm ;  a  record  of  his  operations 
on  each  field  during  the  past  season,  to  be 
studied  over  and  improved  upon  the  next.  A 
complete  farm  record  and  account  kept  and  well 
studied,  will  give  a  farmer  a  better  insight  into, 
and  a  better  understanding  of  his  business,  than 
can  be  obtained  in  any  other  way ;  and  relax- 
ation will  be  found  in  making  it  up  and  in  its 
study. 

The  farmer  has  the  means  of  making  his  lot 
the  most  agreeable  and  delightful  of  all  pur- 
suits, if  he  but  so  wills  it ;  while  on  the  other 
hand  he  can  make  it  quite  the  reverse.  Let  us 
then  make  a  proper  use  of  the  faculties  that 
nature  hjs  endowed  us  with,  and  make  our- 
selves and  our  families  comlbrtable  and  happy ; 
and  at  the  same  time  make  fiimiing  a  pleasing 
occupation  desirable  to  be  followed  by  our 
children.  By  so  doing  we  shall  hold  out  strong 
inducements  to  the  young  to  remain  on  the  farm 
away  from  the  temptations  of  city  life,  where 
health  and  morals  are  liable  to  be  corrupted. 
W.  H.  White. 

So.  Windsor,  Conn.,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
MURIATE    O'F   LIME. 

Your  journal  being  open  as  one  of  the  great 
highways  to  the  empire  of  agriculture,  let  us 
mingle  with  the  industrious  crowd  and  if  j^ossi- 
h\c,  contribute  some  facts  to  the  great  granary 
of  truth. 

In  1858,  I  planted  a  little  swell  of  land,  nat- 
urally poor,  in  Lake  Village,  N.  II.,  near 
"Little  Bay."  There  was  no  spring  of  water 
in  the  swell.  I  mention  this  because  in  time  of 
drought  it  would  be  unnatural  to  expect  a  fair 
crop.  The  garden  had  been  under  the  culti- 
vation of  Thos.  Plummer,  Esq.,  for  eight  years 
previous,  and  treated  to  lime  and  salt,  no  ma- 
nures being  used.  The  venerable  man  had 
good  crops  and  the  land  improved.  Could  I 
raise  corn  on  that  crown  of  gravel  H  was  the 
question.  From  his  instruction,  I  compounded 
a  muriate  of  lime  composted  with  loam,  and 
planted  1.50  hills,  using  the  compost  as  common 
dressing  in  the  hills,  and  as  I  planted,  spread 
about  a  common  tablespoonful  over  the  surface. 
The  result  was  a  crop  at  the  rate  of  70  bushels 
to  the  acre.  The  season  was  late  and  dry. 
Many  well-mamu'cd  fields  in  the  intervale  did 
not  produce  average  crops.  On  a  I'lose  exam- 
ination, I  found  a  thin  suli-soil  of  lime  had 
formed,  by  the  use  of  the  same  material  for 
several  years  in  succession.  This  undoubtedly 
was  the  cause  of  its  keeping  up  so  well  during 
the  long,  dry  season. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


39 


The  second  experiment  was  at  Guilford, 
N.  H.,  the  next  year.  From  52  hills  (about  one 
rod  and  a  half,)  the  result  was  one  bushel  and 
one  peck  of  shelled  corn.  Quite  a  number  of 
gentlemen  in  Guilford  and  Laconia,  witnessed 
the  result,  and  the  editor,  Mr.  Wali-ace,  of 
the  Winnipiseogee  Gazette,  in  an  article  on  the 
fruitful  yield,  after  the  a<xricultural  premiums 
of  that  fall  were  awarded  for  the  best  speci- 
mens of  corn,  stated  he  had  a  handsome  show 
at  his  office  raised  by  a  gentleman  in  Guilford. 

I  have  used  a  muriate  of  lime  of  my  own 
preparing  for  several  years  past,  with  good  re- 
sults. This  season  I  tried  an  article  1  had 
seen  advertised  in  the  Fakmer  and  other  jour- 
nals, patented  in  February  last  by  a  gentleman 
of  this  city  ;  it  being  offered  at  much  less  cost 
than  I  could  prepare  it  in  small  quantities. 
With  this  I  planted  sweet  corn  from  the  De- 
partment at  Washington.  I  used  this  new  com- 
pound, composted  with  loam  about  one  to  six. 
Planted  as  in  previous  }'ears  ;  the  result  shows 
a  decided  improvement  in  the  Muriate  of  Lime 
referred  to,  containing  as  it  does  some  proper- 
ties which  proved  obnoxious  to  worms  and 
garden  insects.  From  40  hills  1  had  360  ears 
of  corn,  every  ear  filled  out  to  the  tip,  and 
much  of  it  was  tasseled  on  the  end  and  corn 
matured  in  the  tassels.  I  used  it  throughout 
my  garden,  and  my  potatoes  are  perfectly 
sound  and  untouched  by  worms.  I  send  you 
a  few  specimens  of  corn,  as  vouchers  for  my 
experiment.  Verity. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  Nov.  12,  1866. 


Rerl^rks. — With  the  above  article  we  re- 
ceived several  handsome  ears  of  sweet  com. 
They  are  of  fair  size,  appear  to  be  well  ma- 
tured, and  are  not  only  filled  to  the  tip,  but  a 
strong  tendency  is  manifested  to  pile  up  the 
kernels  one  on  another,  foi-ming  a  little  ball  or 
cap  on  the  extremity  of  the  cob. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
TEA. 

Ailer  reading  an  article  on  "How  to  use  Tea 
and  Coffee"  in  the  issue  of  the  Farmer  of  Nov. 
3d,  Avhich  speaks  of  the  "nutriment"'  in  tea, 
and  the  care  necessary  to  obtain  it,  I  wish  to 
offer  a  few  thoughts. 

Being  a  Yankee,  I  would  like  to  know  the 
value,  in  greenbacks,  of  the  nutriment  in  a 
pound  of  the  best  kind  of  tea  ?  or,  in  other 
Avords,  if  the  nutriment  in  a  jwund  of  wheat 
flour  is  worth,  say  8  cts.,  what  is  the  nutriment 
in  a  pound  of  dried  tea  leaves  worth  ? 

It  is  very  common  to  judge  of  the  nutriment 
in  food  by  the  ease  of  digesting  it ;  but  it 
woidd  be  just  as  correct  to  judge  by  the  heat 
that  it  takes  to  cook  it.  It  is  still  worse  to 
judge  by  the  degree  it  stimulates  us.  I  douljt 
the  power  of  stimulants  to  create  vital  power 
under  any  circumstances — they  only  call  it  out, 


as  the  whip  does  the  greater  speed  of  the  horse. 

It  is  a  good  rule  to  judge  of  the  injury  that  a 
stimulant  is  doing  us  by  the  bad  effects  we  ex- 
perience when  we  omit  it.  I  do  not  suppose  that 
a  robust  person  v/ho  had  drank  moderately  of 
tea,  would  feel  any  very  unpleasant  sensations 
from  omitting  his  "cup  of  tea,  but  a  person  of  a 
nervoiis  or  susceptible  temperament  who  has 
been  in  the  habit  of  drinking  strong  tea,  would 
rather  omit  his  dinner  than  his  tea. 

Of  the  effect  of  coffee  I  have  seen  less,  and 
so  will  not  speak  of  it. 

Again  the  writer  says,  "unlike  most  cerebral 
excitants,  tea  acts  beneficially  rather  than  oth- 
ei-wise, — preventing  waste  of  the  whole  liody 
and  especially  of  the  nenous  system."  This 
is  assertion  without  proof,  but  I  think  a  little 
proof  is  essential  before  we  admit  it  is  ''unlike 
most  cerebral  excitants."  Are  you  sure  it 
"prevents  the  waste  of  the  nervous  system?" 
and  if  it  does,  are  you  sure  it  is  an  improve- 
ment on  nature  ?  From  a  limited  knowledge 
of  physiology  I  had  gathered  the  idea  that  waste 
was  the  natural  result  of  action  ;  but  here  we 
are  taught  that  tea  excites  to  greater  action, 
and  the  result  is  a  diminished  amount  of  waste. 
_  I  clo  not  object  to  any  infoimation  that  will 
aid  in  the  preparation  of  tea ;  but  I  do  pi-otest 
against  lauding  a  useless  and  sometimes  injuri- 
ous drink  as  a  nutritious  and  beneficial  excitant. 

Concord,  Vf.,  Nov.  10,  1866.  ii. 


TAKE    CARE   OP    THE    TEGS. 

November  is  a  trying  month  for  tegs.  Its 
stornis  and  rapid  alternations  of  temperature 
do  not  favorably  affect  the  strongest  of  them, 
if  exposed  to  their  effects,  and  they  fall  with 
destructive  severity  on  those  which  lack  strength 
and  condition,  especially  if  dropped  late  in  the 
season.  The  annual  destruction  of  tegs  by  a 
wasting  winter  decline  is  enormous.  A  large 
portion  of  this  is  due  to  exposure  and  want  of 
proper  feed  in  the  fall.  They  should  be  housed 
from  all  cold  or  prolonged  storms,  and  in 
damp,  chilly  nights. 

The  great  secret  of  rearing  tegs  is  to  keep 
them  growing  from  the  time  they  are  weaned 
until  they  are  sheared.  Pampering — high  grain 
feed  in  the  fall  and  winter — is  apt  to  lead  to 
destructive  effects.  But  after  the  grass  has 
been  withered  and  deprived  of  its  nutritious- 
ness  by  frost,  a  small  allowance  of  grain, 
pumpkins,  &c.,  is  highly  beneficial  to  them. 
One  of  the  best  feeds  in  the  world  for  tegs  is 
wheat  bran.  In  the  Eastern  States  oats  are 
considered  a  better  feed  for  them  than  coi-n  ; 
in  the  West,  corn  is  the  favorite  feed  for  sheep 
of  every  description.  We  think  the  teg  as 
much  as  the  breeding  ewe  is  better  for  having 
some  winter  "range,"  and  it  is  vmnecessarv  to 
say  that  it  requires  good  winter  shelter. 

The  quality  and  kind  of  its  hay  feed  is  also 
a  matter  of  the  first  importance.  Hay  of  any 
kind  blanched  by  rains  while  curing  is  unfit  for 
it.     It  cannot  be  made  to  winter  well  on  coarse 


40 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


over-ripe  timothy  or  clover.  Grain  will  not 
supply  the  deficiency.  The  teg  thrives  best  on 
early  cut  hay.  It  should  be  of  fine  quality. 
It  should  be  cured  bright  and  green.  None 
need  be  told  that  the  best  feed  requires  to  be 
given  with  regularity — that  sheep  of  all  ages 
should  get  Avater  in  the  winter — that  stables 
should  be  spacious,  well  ventilated,  and  occa- 
sionally cleared  of  festering  accumulations  of 
manure.  With  a  due  attention  to  all  the  above 
circumstances  the  loss  of  tegs  in  our  countiy 
would  be  materially  diminished. — Eiiral  New 
Yoi'ker. 

HEDGES  AT  THE  WEST. 
After  a  full  and  patient  trial  of  the  osage 
orange,  since  its  first  introduction  as  a  hedge 
plant,  with  careful  observation  of  the  success 
obtained  by  others  with  it  in  Iowa  and  Illinois, 
a  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  comes 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  hedge  system  of  fenc- 
ing is  totally  unsuited  to  the  protection  of  fields 
against  the  droves  of  cattle  which  run  at  large 
on  the  Western  commons,  and  that  money, 
time,  and  labor  expended  on  the  osage  orange 
are  a  dead  loss.     He  says  : 

I  would  ask  of  your  many  intelligent  corres- 
pondents if  they  know  of  a  single  hedge  that  is 
stock  proof?  I  have  examined  them  all  over 
several  of  the  Western  States,  and  have  not 
seen  one  that  could  be  relied  on  lor  keejjing 
out  hogs,  much  less  smaller  animals.  I  have 
seen  very  many  beautiful  thorn  hedges  in  the 
State  of  Delaware,  and  also  in  Great  Britain  ; 
but  in  both  these  cases  no  stock  was  permitted 
to  run  at  large  and  no  such  severe  te^t  could 
be  made  as  we  apply  to  hedges  in  this  country. 
Had  such  been  made,  these  doubtless  would 
also  have  fiiiled. 

When  osage  orange  was  first  introduced  we 
were  told  that  its  thorns  were  so  powerful  and 
persuading,  that  no  stock  of  any  description 
would  go  within  yards  of  it.  This  was  certain- 
ly a  mistake.  I  have  seen  cows  rvin  and  butt  at 
a  hedge  now  in  my  sight,  breaking  it  down 
precisely  as  they  do  an  evergreen  when  they 
have  the  chance.  To  such  an  extent  was  this 
carried,  that  the  owner  was  obliged  to  put  up 
a  wire  fence  outside  to  keep  stock  off ;  and  now 
they  poke  their  lieads  between  these  and  browse 
upon  it  with  perfect  impunity. 

At  a  late  interesting  discussion  of  this  sub- 
ject by  the  New  York  Institute  Farmer's  Club, 
statements  were  make  tar  more  favorable  to  the 
success  of  the  osage  orange  as  a  fencing  plant 
at  the  West  than  the  loregoing.  It  is  certainly 
to  be  hoped  that  the  unfavorable  opinion  of  tin; 
correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  will 
|)rove  unfounded,  and  that  the  broad  praii'ies 
of  the   West  may  yet  be    "suitably   divided'' 


into  convenient  fields  by  a  living,  cattle-proof 
hedge.     At  the  discussion  alluded  to, — 

Mx.  Crane  said  his  brother  fenced  half  a  sec- 
tion of  land  in  Henry  County,  111.,  with  the 
osage,  which  is  a  perfect  fence  against  all  stock. 
When  the  plants  were  two  years  old,  they  were 
frozen  down  to  the  ground.  The  dead  brush 
was  left  standing  and  made  a  partial  fence, 
while  the  new  shoots  came  up  ten  times  as 
thick  as  the  old  ones,  making  the  hedge  closer 
and  better.  He  has  a  ten-acre  hog-pasture 
fenced  in  this  way,  which  holds  the  animals 
better  than  a  board  fence.  Alongside  an  or- 
chard, it  has  been  left  to  grow  untrimmed,  and 
is  there  oO  feet  high.  It  is  a  valuable  wind 
screen.  A  machine  for  trimming  hedges  has 
been  invented,  which  will  enable  farmers  to 
keep  their  hedges  in  order. 

This  machine  may  obviate  one  of  the  great 
objections  to  live  fences, — the  constant  care 
which  is  necessary  to  keep  them  in  order. 

Mr.  S.  E.  Todd  said  that  the  osage  orange 
winter  kills  in  New  York,  but  that  there  are 
miles  of  hedges  in  Onondaga  County  made  of 
English  hawthorn,  which  have  been  in  existence 
more  than  40  years,  and  are  perfect  fences 
against  all  stock. 

Dr.  Trimble  had  known  of  miles  and  miles 
of  hawthorn  hedges  in  Delaware  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, which,  after  serving  the  jjurpose  some 
years,  were  destroyed  by  insects  ;  first  in  gaps 
that  were  stopped  by  rails ;  then  the  interven- 
ing spaces  of  plants  were  neglected,  grew -un- 
sightly, were  abandoned  for  a  time,  and  finally 
uprooted. 

This  agrees  with  oiu-  o%vn  observation  of  the 
experiments  which  have  been  made  in  hedge- 
growing  in  New  England.  For  some  twenty 
years  we  have  watched  the  results  of  experi- 
ments on  the  "Brooks  estate"  in  Medford,  on 
the  line  of  the  Lowell  railroad,  with  several 
kinds  of  plants.  These  experiments,  conduct- 
ed at  considerable  expense,  have  resulted  much 
as  Dr.  Trimble  says  those  in  Delaware  and 
Pennsylvania  have  done. 


■WOOL   RAISING   IN    TEXAS. 

We  noticed  a  few  weeks  since  the  departure 
of  Dr.  Boynton,  for  Texas,  with  a  drove  of  the 
Vermont  iNIerino  sheeiJ.  From  a  letter  written 
by  him  in  Bell  county,  Texas,  and  2:)ublished 
in  the  Mirror  and  Farmer,  we  copy  the  fol- 
lowing paragraphs : 

The  profits  of  the  business  here  and  in  the 
North  are  not  to  be  compared.  There  it  costs 
from  thirty  to  forty  cents  to  raise  a  pound  of 
wool ;  here  it  can  be  produced  for  ten  cents. 
But  then  no  northern  man  must  suppose  that  he 
can  come  here  and  rapidly  grow  rich  by  keep- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


41 


ing  sheep,  without  labor.  I  yesterday  saw  a 
farmer  Avho  had  made  $9000  in  lour  years  from 
a  dock  of  a  few  hundred  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
I  fiml  numbers  who  have  lost  as  much  in  as 
man>-  years,  because  they  ha^e  not  given  their 
flocks  the  needed  care.  The  scab  and  the 
screw  worm  are  the  great  enemies  of  the  wool- 
grower  in  this  coimtry,  and  they  must  be  fought 
with  a  watchful  and  tireless  energy,  or  they 
will  soon  be  the  victors. 

Among  the  most  successful  men  whom  I 
have  met,  are  H.J.  Chamberlain  and  Brother, 
of  Bell  County,  who  Avere  born  and  reared 
under  the  shadow  of  "old  Ascutney,"  in  Ver- 
mont. Mr.  Chamberlain  came  to  this  country 
in  1860,  bringing  with  him  some  fine  stock  from 
Vermont,  his  native  (State.  Lie  improved  the 
stock  he  brought  out  with  him,  and  used  it  in 
crossing  upon  the  best  Hocks  he  could  find 
hci'c,  until  he  now  grazes  about  four  thousand 
head.  Such  has  been  his  success  in  breeding, 
that  by  general  consent  his  Hock  stands  at  the 
head  of  all  in  central  Texas,  il  not  in  the  State. 
His  ranch  contains  about  twenty-one  thousand 
ac7-es,  well  watered,  and  is  capable  of  feeding, 
summer  and  Avinter,  40,000  head  of  sheep. 

There  are  aljundant  opportunities  lor  }oung 
men  to  secure  places  as  herdsmen,  and  thus 
learn  the  details  of  the  business  as  it  must  he 
carried  on  here,  and  in  a  few  years,  with  only 
a  little  capital,  and  a  good  supply  ol'  pluck, 
they  Avould  find  themselves  owners  of  good 
flocks.  I  Avould,  however,  advise  no  man  to 
come  here  unless  he  feels  himself  able  to  en- 
dure the  hardships  and  privations  of  a  ncAv 
country. 

I  am  satisfied  that  when  the  Avool-growers  of 
Texas  will  give  their  flocks  the  necessary  care, 
they  can  compete  Avith  any  section  of  the  Avorld 
in  producing  avooI. 

The  Aveather  here  during  the  present  season 
has  been  hke  the  long  Indian  Summer  days 
with  us  in  the  North,  minus  the  smoky  haze 
that  always  attends  that  season  in  Ncav  Eng- 
land. 

The  farmers  have  made  a  good  crop  of  com 
the  past  season,  but  only  a  medium  amount  of 
cotton  Avill  be  secured.  INlany  acres  of  cotton 
will  be  entirely  lost  for  the  want  of  hands  to 
pick  it.  On  account  of  the  heavy  rains  the 
past  season,  the  "chills"  have  prevailed  exten- 
sivel}'  through  this  country,  where  they  have 
never  been  knoAA'n  before.  The  blacks  are 
great  sufferers  from  this  disease.  1  visited  a 
plantation  last  Aveek  Avhere  twenty  hands  are 
employed,  and  only  two  are  able  to  Avork. 
Add  to  this  the  natural  disinclination  of  the 
blacks  to  Avork  unless  by  compulsion,  and  you 
can  in  a  measure  understand  the  difficulties 
under  AA'hich  the  planter  must  labor. 

The  people  generally  in  this  State  seem  to 
accept  the  "situation"  AAith  cheerfulness  and 
courage,  and  are  hopeful  for  the  future.  In 
fact,  their  sufferings  under  the  Confederacy 
had  prepared  them  to  accept  any  situation,  and 
to  be  thankful  for  any  condition  the   United 


States  government  might  impose,  as  they  well 
knew  the  change  coidd  not  possibly  be  lor  the 
Avorse.  There  is  but  little  money  in  the  coun- 
try, and  that  gold  and  silver.  I  have  not  seen 
a^  "greenback"  since  I  left  the  tide  Avater. 
Tavo  or  three  years  of  prosperity  will  put  Tex- 
as all  right  again,  and  enable  her  to  take  her 
place  among  the  leading  agricultural  States  of 
the  countrv.  h   r 


THOUGHTS    FOR   THE   FIRST    OF   JAN- 
UARY. 

E'en  Winter  has  its  charms.    Hoav  pure  the  gloAV, 
That  decks  the  pensive  broAv  of  evening's  queen  I 
The  spotless  hills,  adorned  in  robes  of  snow, 
Ascend  in  light  and  loveliness  serene. 
Far  in  the  tranquil  distance  may  be  seen 
The  hoary  forests  and  the  mountain  pile. 
Shut  to  the  door  I     The  outer  air  is  keen ; 
And  'neath  the  cottage  roof  repose  awhile, 
Where,  round  its  joyous  hearth,  the  happy  inmates  smile. 

T.  C.  Upham. 

Jakuary  1,  1867. — In  ancient  Rome  there 
Avas  a  temple,  called  the  Temjjle  of  Janus, 
where  festivals  Avere  held  on  this  day,  each 
year.  Janus  Avas  an  old  Italian  deity,  the  god 
of  the  sun  and  the  year.  Our  Avord  January, 
was  derived  from  his  name.  The  Romans 
were  great  observers  of  the  custom  of  New 
Year's  presents,  and  the  first  day  of  January 
was  the  time  when  they  were  mostly  made. 
The  English  nobility  Avere  long  in  the  practice 
of  sending  the  king  a  purse  Avith  gold  in  it,  on 
New  Year's  day,  and  so  the  custom  has  been 
passed  along  to  us  by  our  English  ancestry. 

These  reciprocal  greetings  of  esteem  or  af- 
fection, and  presentations  of  tokens  of  regard, 
have  a  purifying  influence  upon  the  mind. 
Reason  may  be  joined  to  custom  to  justify 
the  practice.  We  rejoice  Avith  our  friends,  af- 
ter having  escaped  the  dangers  that  attend  ev- 
ery year ;  and  congratulate  each  other  for  the 
future,  by  presents  and  Avishcs  for  the  happy 
continuance  of  that  course.  The  very  wishing 
our  Inends  A  Happy  New  Year,  Avill  .help  us 
to  make  it  so  to  them.  If  we,  unfortunately, 
forget  that  charity  towards  them,  which  "bear- 
eth  all  things,"  our  New  Year's  wishes  come 
back  to  us  and  solten  or  expel  our  prejudice, 
and  we  repeat  the  wish  again  as  heartily  as  ev- 
er and  croAvn  it  Avith  corresponding  acts.  Thus, 
forbearance,  charity  and  love  are  often  the 
groAvth  of  our  Avishes  for  a  happy  new  year  to 
others. 

January  is  the  portal  of  the  year.  How 
we  shall  enter  it,  and  live  in  it,  is  matter  of  no 
small  consideration.     If  we  form  no  resolutions 


42 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


for  higher,  purer,  and  more  useful  lives,  it  is 
doubtl'ul  whether  we  shall  make  much  pro- 
gress in  that  direction.  The  thought  must  pre- 
cede the  act.  No  month  in  the  twelve  offers 
more  opportunities,  or  more  appropriate  ones, 
for  mental  or  physical  improvement. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  C.  Upham,  of  Bruns- 
wick, Maine,  has  written  much  and  well  upon 
American  Cottage  Life,  and  in  the  introduc- 
tion to  a  chamiing  poem,  entitled  The  Winter 
Evening,  he  says: — "The  Winter  Evening 
constitutes  in  the  farmer's  hfe,  more  truly  and 
emphatically  than  in  the  life  of  any  other  class 
of  persons,  a  period  by  itself,  a  select  season, 
a  portion  of  time,  known  and  recognized  by  its 
disthictive  traits,  and  blessed  with  its  peculiar 
pleasures.  It  is  a  season  of  the  year,  when 
there  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  a  relaxation 
from  that  constant  toil,  which  occupies  him  in 
the  more  genial  months.  He  is  at  hofne.  In 
the  bosom  of  his  family ;  and  in  the  exercise 
and  interchange  of  domestic  feelings  enjoys 
a.  degree  of  humble  happiness  of  which  the 
wealthy  and  luxurious  have  little  conception." 

This  is  true,  and  every  farmer,  whatever  his 
tastes  or  amount  of  information  may  be,  can, 
by  a  little  systematic  effort,  so  turn  his  winter 
evenings  to  account,  as  to  make  them  the  road 
to  distinction,  to  pecuniary  profit,  and  the  gate- 
way to  heaven !  There  is  no  school  like  that  of 
the  family, — none  where  the  mind  is  in  so  genial 
a  mood  to  learn,  so  unrestrained  and  capable 
of  exercising  its  full  powers.  It  only  needs 
one  steady,  persistent,  intelligent  mind  to  take 
the  lead — not  a  highly-educated  mind.  Where 
is  the  family  without  such  an  one,  man  or  wo- 
man, daughter  or  son ! 

The  sydem  must  be,  to  give  a  certain  amount 
of  time  to  the  work,  and  fix  the  mind  intently 
upon  the  subject  before  it.  There  will  be  no 
need  of  laying  out  a  course  of  study ;  that 
would  probably  embarrass,  rather  than  advance 
the  object  in  view.  Take  some  book  upon 
farm  work, — French's  Farm  Drainage,  for  in- 
stance, or  Flint's  Grasses  and  Forage  Plants, 
and  read  and  discuss,  in  open  meeting,  every 
chapter  of  each  of  them,  until  their  topics  are 
well  understood.  In  going  through  either  of 
these,  other  books  will  be  referred  to,  from 
which  selections  may  be  made,  and  the  study 
and  pleasure  continued  from  evening  to  even- 
ing. It  would  not  be  long  before  neigh'oors 
would  be  attracted  to  such  a  circle,    and   the 


amount  of  soUd  and  valuable  information  ac- 
quired during  the  evenings  of  a  single  winter 
would  surprise  all ;  indeed,  it  would  be  more 
than  has  been  gained  in  a  whole  life-tune  by 
thousands  who  are  hving  to-day  ! 

Then  more  begets  more.  The  mind,  having 
drank  deeply  once  at  the  perennial  spring  of 
knowledge,  would  seek  higher  and  wider  sour- 
ces of  information,  until  fitted  to  discharge 
most  of  the  duties  of  hfe,  in  the  field,  in  the 
forum,  or  on  the  bench  ! 

Happy  the  man,  in  winter's  stormy  hour, 

When  woods  and  plains  with  angry  snows  are  strewn, 

Who  is  not  doomed  to  feel  their  hostile  power, 

But  hath  a  shelter  he  can  call  his  own, 

The  cheerful  hearth,  the  amicable  chair. 

He,  with  his  gossip  neighbors  side  by  side, 

Spreads  cheerfully  the /armer's  homely  fare. 

They  deal  the  mutual  jest.     Then  venturing  wide, 

With  patriotic  zeal  elate,  the  nation's  fate  decide. 

T.  C.  Upham. 


CURINQ  AND  PRESERVING  BEEF 
AND  PORK. 

The  season  has  come  when  it  is  customary 
for  most  farmers  to  slaughter  their  cattle  and 
swine,  and  salt  down  beef  and  pork  for  the  en- 
suing winter  and  summer  use.  These  articles 
are  to  be  the  substantial  "deposits"  of  the 
kitchen  department,  the  nucleus  of  unnumbered 
meals,  and  are  not  only  destined  to  sustain  artd 
strengthen,  but  to  give  tone  and  relish  to  veg- 
etables and  other  food. 

Holding  this  important  place,  it  is  not  only 
of  consequence  to  get  good  animals  to  start 
with,  but  when  procured  to  preserve  their  flesh 
in  the  best  manner  to  retain  its  juices  and  fla- 
vor. 

Every  year  thousands  of  inexperienced  per- 
sons are  coming  forward  to  conduct  household 
affairs,  and  Vjecome  responsible  for  the  condi- 
tion in  which  food  for  the  family  is  to  come 
upon  the  table.  To  many  of  these,  the  ques- 
tion, "How  shall  this  beef  or  pork  be  pre- 
served?" has  never  been  propounded.  They 
are  aware  that  there  may  be  a  right  and  a 
wrong  Avay  of  doing  it,  and  that  when  well 
done  there  are  few  people  who  do  not  relish  a 
slice  of  nice  ham  or  corned  beef;  and  that 
many  a  good  housewife  can  speak  of  the  vari- 
ous advantages,  in  the  mysteries  of  cookery, 
which  belong  to  the  well-cured,  clear,  pickled 
pork.  When  we  know  hotv,  it  is  an  easy  mat- 
ter to  have  these  things  of  good  (Hiallty,  yet  it 
is  too  often  the  case  that  they  are  put  up  in  so 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


43 


careless  a  manner  that  they  are  either  actually 
unwholesome,  or  in  such  condition  that  they 
can  only  be  eaten  by  persons  of  the  strongest 
appetites. 

For  salting  heef,  the  following  is  recommend- 
ed :  The  best  pieces  are  the  plates,  ribs  and 
brisket.  Pack  the  pieces  in  casks,  giving  a 
very  slight  sprinkling  of  salt  between  each 
piece.  Then  cover  the  meat  with  a  pickle,  by 
boiling  together,  in  4  gallons  of  water,  8  lbs. 
of  salt,  3  lbs.  brown  sugar,  3  ozs.  saltpetre,  1 
oz.  pearlash,  for  100  lbs.  meat.  Keep  a  heavy 
Hat  stone  on  the  meat,  that  it  may  be  well  im- 
mersed in  the  pickle.  It  is  said  that  beef  pack- 
ed in  this  way  will  keep  a  year,  and  will  rather 
improve  than  grow  worse. 

Another  mode  recommended  for  beef  is  to 
take  4  qts.  rock  salt,  pounded  fine,  8  ozs.  salt- 
petre and  5  lbs.  of  brown  sugar,  mix  them  well 
together,  and  with  these  ingretlients  pack  the 
meat  down  very  closely,  so  that  they  will  of 
themselves  cover  the  whole  with  brine.  The 
next  spring  draw  off  the  brine,  boil  and  take 
olF  the  scum  till  it  becomes  clean,  adding  a 
little  salt  to  it,  and  apply  it  again,  and  the  beef 
will  keep  very  sweet  and  fine  tasted  during  the 
whole  summer  following. 

We  should  advise  leaving  out  the  saltpetre 
in  all  cases.  It  is  a  dangerous  article  to  use. 
Those  who  pack  large  quantities  of  beef  for 
market,  state  that  saltpetre  is  used  to  fix  or 
give  a  natural  cherry  red  color  to  the  lean  of 
meats ;  too  much  imparts  a  fiery,  dark  red  col- 
or to  beef,  detrimental  to  its  sale,  and  injuri- 
ous to  its  flavor.  Sugar  or  molasses  may  be 
safely  used,  and  they  are  thought  by  many  jier- 
sons  to  add  to  the  flavor  of  the  meat.  Small 
quantities  of  saleratus  are  also  frequently  em- 
ployed. The  object  in  salting,  however,  seems 
to  us  to  be,  to  preserve  in  the  greatest  degree 
the  fine  qualities  and  flavor  of  the  beef  or  hams. 

Saltixg  Poek. — Perhaps  as  good  a  jilan  as 
can  be  found  is  to  cut  the  pork  into  five  or  six 
pound  pieces,  take  off  all  the  lean,  and  then 
pack  the  pieces  in  a  barrel,  with  a  plenty  of 
rock  salt  at  bottom  and  between  the  layers.  A 
brine  as  strong  as  salt  will  make  it,  boiled  and 
skimmed,  should  then  be  poured  boiling  hot  on 
to  the  pork — enough  of  the  brine  to  cover  the 
pork.  It  will  require  nearly  a  bushel  of  salt 
to  a  barrel  of  pork,  besides  what  is  used  for 
making  the  brine.  All  this  may  not  be  dis- 
solved, but  is  not  wasted,  as  it  remains  good 


for  future  use.     This  plan  is  extensively  prac- 
ticed and  we  believe  is  universally  successful. 

Cueing  Hams. — A  mode  highly  recunimend- 
ed  is  the  following : — For  every  100  pounds  of 
meat,  take  5  pints  of  molasses,  or  5  lbs.  brown 
sugar,  8  lbs.  rock  salt — add  3  gallons  of  water, 
and  boil  the  ingredients  over  a  gentle  fire, 
skinmiing  oil'  the  scum  as  it  arises.  Continue 
the  boiling  till  all  is  dissolved.  Pack  the  hams 
in  a  cask,  with  the  shank  ends  down.  When 
the  pickle  is  cool,  pour  it  over  the  hams  ;  some 
persons  use  it  boiling  hot.  They  may  lie  in 
pickle  from  two  to  six  weeks,  according  to  their 
size,  state  of  the  weather  and  as  the  taste  for 
saltness  may  be. 

Beet  or  Mutton  Hams,  intended  for  smok- 
ing or  drying,  may  be  cured  in  this  way,  and 
be  found  excellent. 

Much  of  the  goodness,  however,  of  either 
depends  upon  how  they  are  smoked.  They 
should  not  be  heated,  and  should  be  hung  shank 
end  down,  as  this  will  prevent  the  escape  of 
their  juices  by  dripping.  Some  persons  smoke 
hams  two  or  three  weeks, — as  many  days  are 
sufficient  for  us  ;  and  not  a  few  prefer  the  meat 
without  any  smoke  at  all. 

The  matter  of  preserving  meat  so  as  to  pre- 
serve its  fine  flavor  and  qualities,  is  too  little 
understood.  A  more  careful  examination  of  it 
would  not  only  give  us  more  nutritious  and 
palatable  food,  but  would  save  an  immense  ag- 
gregate loss. 


Pork.  —  According  to  the  New  Albany, 
(Ind.,)  Ledger,  there  will  be  a  large  hog  crop 
the  present  season.  There  is  an  abundance  of 
the  best  com  to  feed  them  on.  It  believes  that 
nearly  400,000  hogs  will  be  slaughtered  in  the 
cities  around  the  Falls  during  the  packing  sea- 
son of  1866-67.  The  probable  price  will  be  be- 
tween six-and-a-half  and  seven-and-a-half  cents. 
The  New  England  reader  will  remember,  how- 
ever, that  these  hogs  are  not  like  those  usually 
slaughtered  among  us,  which  rarely  weigh  less 
than  300  pounds,  and  so  along  up  to  600.  The 
average  weight  of  the  Western  hogs  would 
probably  be  somewhere  between  200  and  250 
pounds,  making  the  finest  hams,  and  excellent 
pork  when  cured  well. 


— Abraham  Logan,  of  Union  Mills,  Ind.,  writes 
to  the  New  York  Fanners'  Club  that  he  has  lost 
two  cattle  this  season  by  eating  smutty  com. 


44 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Jan. 


JERSEY   BIiUE   FO"WLS. 


The  truth  of  the  old  adage  that  "every  dog 
must  have  his  day,"  is  acknowledged  by  bi'eeds 
of  hens  as  well  as  by  other  subjects  of  capri- 
cious fashion.  The  "Blues,"  which  originated 
in  New  Jersey,  from  a  cross  of  some  of  the 
large  foreign  races  with  some  of  our  native 
breeds,  were  once  quite  popular  with  the  "fan- 
ciers," as  well  as  with  the  more  business-like 
breeders  of  fowls.  But  since  the  great  and 
notable  hen-fever,  which  introduced  the  Shang- 
haes  and  Cochin  Chinas,  the  Jersey  Blues  seem 
to  have  been  much  neglected,  and  but  little 
has  been  heard  of  them  for  many  years. 

Dr.  Kerr,  in  his  "Ornamental  and  Domestic 
Poultry,"  says  : — "The  color  of  this  variety  is 
hght-blue,  sometimes  approaching  to  dun  ;  the 
tail  and  wings  rather  shorter  than  those  of  the 
common  fowl ;  its  legs  are  of  various  colors, 
generally  dark,  sometimes  Hghtly  feathered. 
Of  superior  specimens,  the  cocks  weigh  from 
seven  to  nine  pounds,  and  the  hens  from  six 
to  eight  pounds." 


Down  E.'VST. — A  correspondent  of  the  Maine 
Farmer  at  Sarsfield,  Aroostook  County,  says 
that  Plantation  was  lotted  out  only  six  years 
ago,  and  now  it  is  nearly  all  settled.  The  soil 
is  of  a  I'cddish  color,  varying  I'rom  one  to  two 


feet  deep.  The  price  of  farms  varies  accord- 
ing to  location  and  quality,  from  $300  to  $600. 
Wild  land  belonging  to  proprietors,  is  worth 
from  $1.50  to  $2.00  per  acre;  State  land  50 
cents  per  acre,  to  be  paid  in  building  roads  in 
the  township,  where  the  land  is  situated.  Wa- 
ges twenty-five  dollars  per  month  for  farm  la- 
bor, and  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  dollars  to 
work  in  the  woods  in  the  winter  season.  Me- 
chanics' wages  vaiy  from  $2.00  to  $2.50  per 
day.  The  principal  crops  are  oats,  buckwheat 
and  iJotatoes.  Oats  from  40  to  50  cents  per 
bushel ;  buckwheat  45  to  50  cents ;  potatoes 
30  to  50c.  Average  yield  of  oats  and  buck- 
wheat forty  bushels  per  acre. 


Doing  Spiung's  Work  in  the  Fall. — 
Work  always  crowds  in  the  spring,  and  farmers 
intend  to  do  all  that  is  possible  to  be  done  in 
the  fall  to  lighten  and  facilitate  the  labor  of  the 
more  busy  seasons.  A  late  number  of  the 
Eastern  Mail  speaks  of  a  method  of  jirepar- 
ing  corn  fields  in  the  fall  which  is  practiced  in 
that  part  of  Maine,  and  called  the  Daniel  Bun- 
ker system.  The  land  is  ploughed  and  fur- 
rowed in  the  fall  and  the  manure  api)]ied  in  the 
hill  and  covered ;  leaving  nothing  to  be  done 
in  the  sprmg  but  to  drop  the  seed  and  cover  it. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGL^VND    FARIVIER. 


45 


EXTRACTS   AND   KEPLEES. 

LEAD    rOISOXIXG. 

A  correspondent  sends  the  following  caution  from 
the  Middlesex  Journal,  published  in  Woliurn,  Mass., 
with  the  request  that  we  give  it  the  wide  publicity 
of  tlic  circulation  of  the  New  England  Fahmer: 

Look  out  for  Lead  Paint. — E.  W.  Hudson, 
Esq.,  of  this  town,  recently  lost  two  nice  young 
heifers,  by  being  poisoned  from  licking  lead  paint. 
The  heifers  had  been  running  about  the  buildings 
where  the  painters  had  been  at  work,  the  owner 
not  thinking  of  their  licking  the  paint.  As  soon  as 
they  took  the  poison  on  their  tongue,  it  wa<>  ab- 
sorbed into  the  system,  causing  partial  paralysis, 
and  ending  its  work  in  convulsions  and  death. 
This  ca.-e  makes  the  third  that  I  have  seen  this 
season.  All  three  proved  fatal.  There  is  no  known 
cure  for  this  disease,  and  people  should  be  very 
careful  abuat  having  their  cattle  about  where  they 
can  gel  at  this  deadly  poison ;  for  it  is  certain 
death. — L.  F.  Gerald,  Veterinary  Surgeon,  Woburn, 
Oct.  22,  1866. 

Remarks. — Similar  statements  have  been  pub- 
lished within  our  recollection,  but  we  are  not  able 
to  refer  to  any  now.  We  believe,  however,  the 
caution  to  "look  out  for  lead  paint,"  a  very  prop- 
er one  indeed.  The  American  Encyclopajdia  says 
that  "the  soluble  salts  of  lead  possess  highly 
poisonous  properties.  The  preparations  of  lead 
vary  greatly  in  their  intensity  of  action,  though 
their  effects  as  poisons  are  similar ;  the  semi-vitri- 
fied oxide  (litharge,)  the  carbonate  (white  lead,) 
and  the  diacetate  (Gourland's  extract,)  arc  the 
most  active."  In  his  work  on  the  horse,  Mr.  You- 
att  remarks  that  numerous  instances  are  recorded 
of  the  fatal  effects  of  the  oxide  and  carbonate  of 
this  metal  upon  horses  and  cattle  in  the  vicinity  of 
lead-works  and  rifle-buts.  When  the  poison  is 
thus  imbibed  in  small  quantities,  the  symptoms 
generally  extend  over  a  considerable  length  of  time, 
and  consist  in  general  derangement  of  the  diges- 
tive system,  such  as  loss  of  appetite,  falling  away 
in  strength  and  condition,  frequent  attacks  of 
cholic,  with  obstinate  constij)ation  of  the  bowels. 
The  latter  is  not  always  present,  but  sometimes 
continued  diarrhoea.  The  animal  will  also  fre- 
quently suffer  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  from  par- 
alysis. "The  remedial  agents  for  lead  poison 
eonsist,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  "of  active  purgatives, 
sulphate  of  magnesia  and  croton  oil  being  best; 
this  should  be  followed  by  opium.  If  diarrhoea  be 
present  we  may  give  the  diluted  sulphuric  acid  and 
opium,  with  an  occasional  dose  of  oil ;  the  animal 
in  the  mean  time,  being  kept  on  the  most  nutri- 
tious diet."  But  when  so  lai-ge  a  quantity  is  taken 
into  the  system  as  is  done  in  case  of  lapping  fresh 
paint  with  the  tongue,  it  is  probably,  as  Mr.  Gerald 
says,  certain  death. 

THANKSGIVING. 

One  day  recently  a  good  stout  express-man 
came  tugging  up  our  office  stairs  with  a  headed-up 
baiTei,  which  he  set  down  with  the  remark,  "there 
are  more  below."  After  bringing  in  another  bar- 
rel and  a  full  sack  about  as  large  as  a  banel,  he 


handed  us  a  note,  adding — "paid,  all  right."    The 
note  on  being  opened,  reatl  as  follows : — 

North  Pembroke,  Mass.,  Oct.  29,  1866. 
Gents  : — We  nave  no  mammoth  vegetables  to 
send  you  this  year,   therefore  we  send  you  some 
apples,  potatoes  and  pumpkins ;  presuming  you  are 
all  Yankees  and  like  pumpkin  jjies. 

Veiy  respectfully,  yours, 

Horace  Collamore. 
Messrs.  R.  P.  Eaton  1$  Co.,  34  Merchants'  Row, 

Boston. 

One  of  the  barrels  we  found  to  be  filled  with  as- 
sorted apples ;  the  other,  with  assorted  potatoes, 
and  the  sack  with  as  handsome  sugar  pumpkins  as 
we  ever  saw.  Of  course  the  apples  and  the  pota- 
toes were  also  of  fine  size  and  of  the  best  varieties 
— none  others  are  sent  to  the  editors  and  proprie- 
tors of  agricultural  papers.  If  it  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive,  Mr.  Collamore  shoukl  be 
entitled  to  the  hearty  congratulations  of  his  friends, 
on  this  occasion.  He  certainly  has  our  thanks  for 
these  tokens  of  his  friendship  and  liberality. 


bone  dust. 

How  is  it,  Mr.  Editor,  when  publishers  of  news- 
papers get  a  big  jol)  of  advertising  by  the  year,  for 
a  pecuniarily  responsible  company,  that  they  are 
obligated  not  to  admit  anything,  good  or  bad,  in  re- 
gard to  the  article  advertised,  from  those  who  have 
been  induced  to  invest  their  money  for  the  article, 
by  the  advertisements  ?  There  have  been  advertis- 
ing, pufls,  &c.  in  regard  to  "bone  dust,"  or  "bone 
flour,"  in  most  or  all  the  agricultural  papers,  for 
about  a  year — enough  to  cost,  probably,  something 
like  fifty  thousand  dollars — in  consequence  of 
which  much  of  the  article  has  been  sold  to,  and 
used  by  farmers.  So  much  could  not  have  been 
used  the  past  season  without  producing,  in  those 
who  paid  so  high  a  price  for  it,  some  opinion  as  to 
whether  the  like  investment  will  pay  another  year, 
based  upon  their  experience  of  the  present  year ; 
but  I  have  yet  to  see  the  first  allusion  to  it,  goocl 
or  bad,  by  any  one  of  your  numerous  correspon- 
dents, or  in  any  agricultural  paper;  and  I  read 
three  eveiy  week,  and  often  several  others. 

The  agent  for  its  sale  in  this  section,  who  did  a 
good  business  at  it  last  season,  and  no  doubt  would 
be  glad  to  make  twice  as  much  the  next,  is  anxious 
to  see  some  testimonials  in  the  Farmer  from  some 
of  his  customers,  but  doubting  whether  you  would 
publish  them,  I  will  not  send  them  at  present. 

Anything  possessing  the  merits  claimed  for  "bone 
flour"  ought  to  be  more  generally  known — should 
be  accessible  to  every  farmer — at  a  reasonaljle  price, 
and  if  it  is  especially  adapted  to  particular  kinds  of 
soil,  that  fact  also"  should  be  clearly  set  forth. 
Why  not  devote  one  comer  of  the  Farmer  to  farm- 
ers' experience  with  commercial  fertilizers  ? 

Lectum. 

Remarks. — Every  corner  of  the  Farmer  is,  and 
always  has  been,  open  to  the  experience — good  or 
bad — of  fanners,  "with  commercial  fertilizers,"  or 
any  other  article  or  system  advertised  or  not  adver- 
tised in  its  columns.  And  if  we  have  not  pub- 
lished "allusions"  to  the  efiects  of  fiour  of  bone,  it 
is  because  the  statements  have  been  withheld  from 
us.  And  we  are  much  surprised  that  our  corres- 
pondent should  express  doubt  as  to  our  willing- 
ness to  publish  the  testimonials  alluded  to,  when 
we  have  so  frequently  invited  the  freest  discussion 
on  all  agi-icultural   subjects.     Indeed,  we   have 


46 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Jan. 


feared  that  our  exhortation,  "formers,  write  for 
your  paper,"  would  tire  and  offend  the  reader, 
^  from  its  too  frequent  repetition,  though  we  have 
souglit  to  give  the  invitation  in  the  most  attractive 
dress  and  in  the  least  offensive  form  possible.  The 
manufacturers  have  paid  us  liberally  for  all  the 
space  which  their  "advertisements,  puffs,  &c." 
have  occupied,  and  now  we  will  gladly  publish, 
gi-atuitously,  the  statement  of  any  farmer  who  has 
purchased  and  experimented  with  this  fertilizer, 
whether  the  result  has  been  favorable  or  unfavor- 
able. The  only  condition  we  make  is  that  the 
writer's  real  name  shall  accompany  his  communi- 
cation, in  this  as  in  other  cases.  The  manufacturer 
endorses  his  statements — the  fanner  should  do  as 
much.  We  invite  "Lectum"  to  forward  his  testi- 
monials, and  hope  that  his  strictures  may  prompt 
others  to  test  the  sincerity  of  our  professions,  by 
furaishing  us  with  such  facts  as  the  labors  and  ex- 
periments of  the  year  have  developed. 


WEATHER   AND    CROPS   IN    ORANGE    COTNTY,  VT. 

After  a  drought  of  three  weeks,  we  have  just  had 
a  twenty-four  hours'  rain,  measuring  two  inches 
on  all  the  face  of  the  earth,  hereabouts.  The  pre- 
vious dry  time  gave  the  farmers  an  excellent  op- 
portunity to  finish  up  "fall  work" — and  do  some 
extra  jobs  of  shingling,  making  fences,  &c.,  which 
has  been  well  improved. 

The  early  frosts  prevented  the  com  from  fully 
maturing,  so  that  there  is  a  much  greater  propor- 
tion of  soft  corn  than  usual,  and  seed  com  will  be 
scarce  next  spring.  A  great  promise  of  potatoes, 
judging  from  the  vines,  turned  out  a  decent  yield, 
but  inferior  quality.  A  very  good  growtli  of  pump- 
kins was  badly  injured  by  the  untimely  visits 
of  Jack  Frost,  and  "fall  feed"  being  ditto,  store 
stock  generally  does  not  look  as  well  as  it  ought, 
and  dairy  titock,  especially,  do  a  "tale  unfold"  in 
regard  to  "choice  butter.''  We  have  had  rather  an 
unusual  crop  of  wheat  and  oats ;  barley,  India- 
wheat  and  rye  were  good.  r.  n. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  Oct.  31,  1866. 

A  GREAT  CROP  OF  RUTA  KAGAS. 

I  have  raised  77o  bushels  of  rutabagas  from  one- 
half  acre  of  gromid,  this  season.  J.  R.  D. 
Derbi/  Line,  Vt.,  Oct.  22,  1866. 

Remarks. — That's  a  rather  small  boo  for  so  large 
a  colt.  Those  of  us  who  have  been  satisfied  with 
one  bushel  to  your  three  woukl  like  to  know  some- 
thing aliout  how  you  fed  and  lodged  bagas  at  the 
rate  of  over  1500  bushels  per  acre. 


FARM   TOPICS. 


I  take  a  few  minutes  this  evening,  to  write  you  a 
short  letter  on  different  subjects,  commencing  with 


I  planted  ninety  rods  to  corn.  I  furrowed  it  out, 
and  on  a  part  of  it  I  put  hen  dro})i)in,^s  ami  dry 
ashes  mixed  together.  I  put  a  small  iiandl'ui  in 
the  hill.  In  some  <ases  I  i)ut  the  corn  first  and  the 
mixture  on  it;  in  otlier  cases  I  put  the  corn  on  the 
mixture.  In  inci)aring  the  seed,  I  put  a  little  tar 
mio  i)oiling  water  and  turned  the  corn  into  the  wa- 
ter, stirring  it  constantly  while  in.  Then  turned 
off  the  water  and  rolled  the  corn  in  jilaster.  For 
experiment,  I  jdantcd  a  i)art  without  this  prejjara- 
tion.    The  worms  ate  that  badly  which  was  tarred. 


On  a  portion  of  the  field  I  put  plaster  in  the  hill, 
and  although  it  did  well,  it  did  not  equal  that  to 
which  the  hen-dropping  mixture  was  applied.  Af- 
ter the  com  came  up,  and  when  it  was  hoed  the 
first  time,  a  little  plaster  was  applied  to  the  hill.  It 
was  hoed  twice,  but  the  weeds  were  large  at  har- 
vest time.  A  part  of  my  seed  corn  was  carefully 
saved  from  stalks  which  produced  two  ears  last 
year,  but  I  could  not  see  that  the  yield  was  any 
way  superior. 

On  the  ninety  rods  of  land  I  harvested  eighty 
bushels  of  ears  of  good  com,  and  ten  of  poorer;  so 
that  I  have  some  to  fatten  my  pigs  with,  without 
exchanging  hard  for  soft  com  with  my  neighbors. 

MUCK   ON    POTATOES. 

I  tried  muck  on  some  potatoes,  but  did  not  see  as 
it  did  any  good ;  perhaps  the  season  was  too  wet. 

POULTRY. 

From  the  first  of  December  last,  to  October  1,  I 
sold  and  used  thirty  dollars'  worth  of  eggs,  and 
raised  fifty  chickens  from  eighteen  hens,  though 
two  of  them  died  during  the  summer. 

SQUASHES  AND   PUMPKINS. 

I  wish  to  remind  the  many  readers  of  the  Farm- 
er that  I  told  them  last  winter  to  keep  their  squash- 
es and  pumpkins  where  they  will  not  freeze,  but 
not  to  keep  them  in  the  cellar. 

WRINKLES   ON    THE    HORNS   OF   CATTLE. 

I  was  asked  the  other  day  whether  the  wrinkles, 
or  rings,  on  the  horns  of  cattle,  come  from  the  head 
yearly,  or,  as  the  first  one  comes  on,  does  the  next 
one  form  above  that,  and  so  on  ?  I  think  one  comes 
above  another,  year  after  year.  H.  Griffin. 

Essex  Junction,  Vt.,  Oct.  23,  1866. 


AGE    OF   BUCKS. 

I  will  give  you  the  result  of  my  experience  in 
breeding  both  from  old  and  young  bucks,  in  my 
flock  of  Cotswold  sheep.  Until  last  year,  whenevei 
it  became  necessary  for  me  to  change  my  bucks,  I 
uniformly  bought  a  lamb  and  used  him  for  three 
years,  when  I  changed  again.  But  last  year  I 
bought  a  two-year-old  buck,  at  large  expense, 
which  weighed  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  live 
weight ;  the  result  is  that  my  lambs  arc  this  yeai 
from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  each  heavier  than  usual. 

I  would  therefore  advise  all  breeders  who  expect 
to  want  a  buck  next  year,  to  buy  a  first-class  lamb 
this  year  and  keep  him  well  until  needed. 

My  communication  published  in  the  Farmer  ol 
week  before  last,  was  incorrectly  dated  West  Corn- 
wall, Vt.  T.  L.  H-VRT. 

IVcst  Cornwall,  Ct.,  Oct.  29,  1866. 


ANIMAL   PHOSPHATE. 

Having  usedTwell's  Animal  Phosphate  the  pres- 
ent season,  I  wish  to  state  that  on  high  ground,  for 
all  crops  used,  it  answered  every  expectation ;  that 
is,  the  crops  were  very  good  and  sound.  On  low 
ground,  for  potatoes,  it  did  nearly  as  well  as  bam 
manure  used  in  the  same  numncr.  On  grass,  ow- 
ing pr(;bably,  to  the  weather  being  so  dry  in  the 
spring,  I  could  perceive  no  benefit  from  the  appli- 
cation of  it.  The  corn  was  as  good,  I  think,  as  I 
ever  raised  on  the  same  kind  of  ground.  It  was 
planlcel  about  May  oth,  and  came  up  well ;  though 
perhaps  not  very  quick,  as  rain  was  ni'cilcd  to  start 
it.  Crows  pnlk'il  u))  some  before  the  lines  \vei"e  put 
up.  Hoed  the  first  time  about  the  middle  of  June 
and  again  the  last  of  the  month. 

This  piece  of  corn  was  let  out  on  shares,  which 
was  to  me  a  very  unsatisfactory  operation  ;  as  much 
so  as  anything  in  the  farming  line  that  I  have  ever 
done.  Mr.  Editor,  docs  tlie  man  that  takes  land 
and  has  the  best  i)art  of  the  crop,  (of  course  he 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


47 


does  not  tiike  the  meanest  share  when  he  divides  it 
hiiiiseit',)  and  has  his  team  found  luni,  expect  to  do 
all  the  ni'cessary  worlc  and  in  good  season,  or  only 
a  certain  part  ?  Is  there  any  rule  about  this,  or  is 
it  left  with  the  parties  to  agree  ?  How  is  it  where 
nothing  is  said  about  every  particular  part  of  the 
work  ?  Joseph  W.  Buown. 

Kensington,  N.  H.,  Nov.  1,  1866. 

Remarks. — There  is  comparatively  so  little  land 
cultivated  on  shares,  or  on  lease,  in  this  eountrj-, 
that  the  relations  of  landlord  and  tenant  are  not 
well  defined,  either  in  practice  or  law.  In  England, 
where  a  large  part  of  the  land  is  rented,  the  busi- 
ness of  leasing  has  been  reduced  to  a  system. 
There  they  have  printed  forms  which  descend  to 
particulars  with  almost  ludicrous  minuteness ; 
many  of  them,  says  Mr.  Stevens  in  his  Farmer's 
Guide,  include  conditions  relative  to  the  payment 
of  ''kain  fowls,"  and  personal  service,  such  as  driv- 
ing coals  for  the  landlord's  use — remnants  of  the 
spirit  and  practice  of  feudalism.  Reservations  in 
relation  to  the  hunting  and  shooting  privileges  of 
the  landlord  and  his  friends  are  constant  sources  of 
dispute  and  litigation.  But  after  all  the  perfec- 
tion of  covenants  and  conditions,  each  party  finds 
its  greatest  security  in  the  character  of  the  con- 
tracting parties. 

In  relation  to  the  specific  inquiries  of  our  corres- 
pondent, we  would  say  that  we  suppose  the  com- 
mon practice  of  the  neighborhood  should  be  taken 
as  the  governing  principle.  If  these  questions 
were  put  to  a  judge  or  jury,  the  inquiry  would  not 
be  what  is  the  rule  in  England,  or  in  Massachusetts, 
hut  how  arc  the  farmers  of  Kensington,  New 
Hampshire,  and  of  its  vicinity,  in  the  habit  of 
managing  these  things  ?  As  we  cannot  anticipate 
what  the  testimony  would  show  on  this  point,  we 
cannot  answer  his  questions  satisfactorily.  We  do 
not  suppose,  however,  the  one  who  takes  a  field  on 
shares  would  be  justified  in  omitting  to  do  any  part 
of  the  work  which  is  usually  done  by  those  who 
cultivate  on  shares,  on  the  plea  that  there  was 
nothing  said  about  that  particular  work  in  the 
agreement. 


A   BADLY    CORKED   OX. 

I  have  a  pair  of  nice  workers,  one  of  which,  last 
winter  got  corked  on  one  claw.  It  was  cut  very 
badly,  and  now  is  grown  down  so  that  he  is  lame. 
I  wish  to  learn  through  you,  or  from  some  of  your 
correspondents,  what  to  put  on  to  the  hoof  in  order 
to  grow  it  ott'  as  sewn  as  possible,  and  how  to  have 
him  shod ;  and  whether  a  whole  shoe  in  the  shape 
of  a  horse  shoe  would  work  or  not. 

Littleton,  N.  H.,  Nov.  4,  1866.    A  St'BSCRiBER. 

Remarks. — One  great  inducement  to  the  use  of 
oxen  instead  of  horses,  is  the  fact  that  oxen  when 
lamed  or  injured  may  generally  be  disposed  of  for 
beef  by  feeding  them  awhile,  when  not  kept  in  beef 
order  all  the  time.  And  this  consideration  is  a 
strong  argument  in  favor  of  keeping  working  oxen 
constantly  in  the  best  possible  condition.  The 
horse,  however  highly  fed  he  may  be,  is  valueless 
in  case  of  injury  which  unfits  him  for  further  labor. 
But  our  correspondent  wishes  to  cure  his  ox,  and 


we  wish  we  could  give  him  the  desired  information. 
Wc  hope  some  one  who  understands  the  nature  and 
operation  of  medicines  better  than  we  do.  and  who 
has  had  better  success  in  "doctoring"  than  we  have 
had,  will  respond  to  the  request  of  our  Littleton 
"suljscriber."  Our  own  experience  and  observa- 
tion has  forced  upon  us  the  conviction  that  most 
people  have  too  much  confidence  in  medicine.  One 
of  the  best  physicians  we  ever  knew,  and  one  who 
shared  largely  the  confidence  of  the  community  in 
which  he  lived,  once  remarked  that,  when  visiting 
his  patients,  and  realizing  how  much  more  they 
and  their  friends  expected  of  him  than  he  was  able 
to  perfonn,  he  often  felt  like  throwing  away  his 
saddle  bags  and  deserting  the  neighborhood  and 
his  profession  forever.  Medical  science  is  far 
less  potent  for  the  cure  of  disease  than  is  generally 
believed.  Nature  does  the  work,  while  the  doctor 
gets  the  credit.  Our  correspondent's  ox  may  get 
well — his  wounded  foot  may  heal,  but  we  doubt 
whether  anything  put  "on  to  the  hoof"  will  ever 
"grow  it  off."  By  the  spontaneous  operation  of 
nature,  the  old  hoof  will  be  gradually  crowded  ofF, 
as  the  new  forms,  an  operation  we  may  facilitate 
by  proper  care  and  management,  and  by  soothing 
and  cleansing  applications.  Perhaps  also  it  may 
be  necessary  that  the  ox  should  i-est,  and  possibly 
the  whole  shoe  might  prove  beneficial, — the  idea 
strikes  us  favorably, — but  we  have  had  no  person- 
al experience  with  it. 

WITCH    GRASS. 

Last  spring  I  had  about  two  acres  of  rich  inter- 
vale land  that  was  so  filled  with  witch  grass  that  I 
considered  it  almost  worthless  for  till  age  purposes, 
but  not  for  grass,  for  it  makes  the  best  of  hay,  and  a 
pile  of  it  if  you  will  feed  it.  But  Ijeing  determined 
to  eradicate  it  if  possible,  I  let  it  lie  till  the  first 
week  in  June,  when  the  grass  was  up,  say  six 
inches  or  more.  I  then  planted  it  deep  and  sowed 
two  Ijushels  India  wheat.  The  growth  was  very 
large,  and  I  threshed  80  bushels  of  good  wheat. 
To  all  appearances,  I  have  made  a  perfect  cure  of  the 
witch  grass.  But  if  this  does  not  prove  a  pei'fect 
killer,  I  will  sow  as  early  I  can  and  clear  frosts, 
and  at  proper  time  plow  in,  sow  again,  and  in  October 
plow  in  again,  and  by  so  doing  I  will  give  my  land 
a  big  manuring,  and  will  warrant  a  sure  cure  of 
witch  grass.  In  so  doing,  I  should  recommend  five 
pecks  per  .acre  to  plow  in. 

If  the  farmers  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  will  try 
this  thoroughly,  they  will  find  it  worth  more  to 
them  than  the  Farmer  will  cost  them  for  twenty- 
five  years.  A.  H.  Wilcox. 

St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  Oct.  29,  1866. 


a   cow   OVER-FED   ON    CORN. 

Four  weeks  ago  I  had  a  valuable  cow  eat  all  the 
coi-n  she  wished.  Contrary  to  expectation  she  did 
not  bloat,  yet  I  physicked  her  well,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  she  began  to  cat  and  has  had  a.  good  appetite, 
ever  since,  and  apjicMrs  bright  ami  healthy,  only 
that  she  cannut  raise  herself  IVom  the  ground.  She 
can  use  her  fore  legs,  but  has  not  sufficient  strength 
m  her  back  or  hind  legs,  I  don't  know  which,  to 
get  up.  I  fixed  a  tackling  and  got  her  up  each  day, 
for  a  while ;  she  could  only  bear  her  weight  for  a 
minute  or  so  on  her  hind  feet,  then  depended  en- 
tirely on  the  rigging  for  support.  I  could  not  see 
that  she  gained  much,  and  thinking  perhaps  if  the 


48 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


trouble  was  in  her  back,  this  course  would  do  her 
no  good,  I  have  discontinued  it.    Can  you,  or  any 
of  the  readers  of  the  Farmer,  tell  where  the 
trouble  is,  and  what  course  to  pursue  with  her  ? 
West  Hartford,  Vt.,  Nov.  5,  1866.  H. 

Remarks. — Not  being  well  satisfied  what  course 
to  recommend  in  this  case,  we  have  consulted  sev- 
eral men  of  large  experience  in  the  management  of 
cows.  Like  ourselves,  most  of  them  are  undecided 
as  to  the  character  of  the  disease,  and  even  to  its 
location.  Some  spoke  of  it  as  "founder;"  others 
thought  it  was  the  result  of  "inflammation."  But 
whether  caused  by  the  over-dose  of  corn  or  by  the 
physic  administered,  was  another  question  on 
which  our  advisers  were  in  doubt,  as  we  are  not 
informed  what  medicine  was  used.  Among  the 
causes  of  inflammation  of  the  kidneys,  mentioned 
by  Dr.  Dadd,  are  "cold,  external  injury,  or  inju- 
ry from  irritating  substances  often  sent  full  tilt 
through  the  kidneys — as  spirits  of  turpentine,  gin 
and  molasses,  saltpetre,  saleratus,"  &e.  In  speak- 
ing of  founder  in  horses.  Dr.  Gunther,  in  his 
Homoeopathic  Veterinary  Manual,  remarks  that 
founder  "frequently  supervenes  on  hard  riding  or 
driving ;  and  more  especially  if  the  horse  has  had 
a  purgative  administered,  ft-om  which  cause  I  re- 
collect three  well  marked  cases."  He  also  mentions 
"heating,  and  indigestible  food"  as  a  cause  of 
founder.  In  case  of  founder  from  excess  of  food, 
Dr.  G.  recommends,  "If  signs  of  inflammation  are 
observed,  a  dose  of  aconitum  immediately,  and  af- 
ter some  hours,  arsenicum  is  to  be  employed.  Ar- 
nica may  be  administered  in  case  of  rigidity  of  the 
limbs  and  inflammation  of  the  feet ;  bryonia,  in 
doses  frequently  repeated  in  hydarthrus  ;  mix  vomi- 
ca, when  there  is  paralysis,  abdomen  tucked  up, 
and  an  aversion  to  food."  So  much  for  founder 
and  homoeopathic  treatment. 

For  inflammation  of  the  kidneys.  Dr.  Dadd  says  : 
"Relax  the  muscular  structure  by  the  application 
of  a  blanket  or  horse-cloth  wrung  out  in  hot  wa- 
ter. Injections  of  a  mild,  soothing  chai-actei" — 
slippery  elm,  or  flax-seed-tea — should  be  used,  but 
not  purgatives.  The  application  of  a  poultice  of 
ground  hemlock — as  near  the  parts  affected  as  pos- 
sible, will  generally  be  found  useful ;  the  object 
being  to  invite  the  blood  to  the  surface  and  extrem- 
ities." 

The  cow  did  not  bloat  probably  because  the  com 
was  in  an  undried  condition,  and  we  are  inclined 
to  the  opinion  that  the  cow  would  have  recovei'cd 
had  she  been  properly  exercised,  instead  of  taking 
the  medicine. 


WATCHING   FOR   THE    METEORS. 

After  dreaming  of  clouds  of  shooting  stars  and 
brilliant  meteors,  I  have  risen  in  the  small  hours  of 
the  morning  to  find  that  tills  my  last,  like  some 
other  dreams  of  a  life  of  more  than  forty  years, 
has  not  l)een  realized.  The  night  is  clear  and 
quite  light  for  a  moonless  one,  but  tlie  stars  seem 
content  tills  year  at  least,  on  the  thirteenth  of  No- 
veaiher,  to  follow  their  accustomed  orbits  quietl.y, 
I  know  that  this  is  always  so,  though  appearances, 
which  arc  often  deceitful,  might  sometimes  lead 


one  to  think  they  were  suddenly  leaving  for  parts 
unknown.  Our  Heavenly  Father  holds  and  guides 
them  all  by  His  almighty  power,,  so  that  there  is 
no  jarring  or  discord.  Would  He  do  less  for  us,  if 
we  would  submit  to  His  control  ? 

Six  months  have  come  and  gone  since  my  last 
comnuinication  for  the  Farmer.  The  dittcrent 
varieties  of  seed  have  been  sowed  or  planted,  have 
germinated,  sprung  up  and  ijorne,  some  thirty, 
some  sixty,  and  some  a  hundred  fold.  While  we 
farmers  have  been  cultivating  the  earth  thus  care- 
fully and  successfully,  have  any  of  us  neglected 
the  good  seed  of  the  word  and  teachings  of  our 
Heavenly  Father,  which  has  been  sown  in  our 
hearts  from  time  to  time  ?  Now  that  our  harvests 
are  gathered  in,  let  us  inquire  whether  we  are  pre- 
pared for  a  harvest  of  eternal  blessedness. 

W.    I.    SiMONDS. 

Roxhury,  Vt.,  Nov.  13,  1866. 

Remarks. — Now  that  we  are  soon  to  be  able  to 
offer  our  friends  better  accommodations  than  here- 
tofore, may  we  not  hope  that  your  calls  will  be 
much  more  frequent  than  once  in  six  months  ? 


rowER  cider  mill. 

Can  you  infonri  me  who  has  a  power  mill  in  your 
State  for  griniling  and  pressing  apples  tor  cider, 
driven  by  water  or  steam  ?  I  have  been  told  that 
two  or  three  were  owned  in  Essex  Co.  I  would 
like  to  know  how  they  work,  and  the  price  of  them, 
and  whether  the)'  make  as  good  cider  as  the  old 
wooden  mill.  I  supposed  that  the  cider  coming  in 
contact  with  the  iron  mill  would  discolor  and  give 
it  an  odd  taste.  j.  o. 

Portland,  Me.,  Nov.  12,  1866. 

Remarks. — Messrs.  WTiittemore  &  Belcher,  34 
Merchants'  Row,  Boston,  have  "Emery's  Portable 
Hand  or  Power  Cider  Mill,"  complete,  with  triple 
screw  press — capacity  6  to  10  barrels  of  cider  per 
day,  $65.  It  is  said  that,  practically,  there  is  no 
injurious  effect  from  the  iron,  as  the  pomace  or 
juice  does  not  remain  long  enough  in  contact  with 
the  metal  to  be  perceptibly  injured.  We  have  no 
knowledge  of  either  steam  or  water  power  having 
been  used  in  cider-making,  either  in  Essex  County, 
or  elsewhere ;  although  either  might  readily  be 
applied  to  this  and  perhaps  to  other  mills. 


barn  building. 

In  a  recent  nuinber  of  the  Farmer  a  correspon- 
dent recommends  tight  barns  for  keeping  hay,  on 
the  same  principle  as  fruit  is  preserved  by  "can- 
ning." An  acquaintance  of  mine  in  an  adjoining 
town  put  in  his  hay,  or  stored  it,  on  that  piunciple, 
not  long  ago,  excluding  the  air  as  much  as  possible. 
The  hay  kept  first  rate  till  it  was  almost  rotten, 
when  he  gave  up  his  theory,  called  in  neighboring 
help  and  itncanned  it  as  rapidly  as  possible.  But 
possibly  he  did  not  cure  it  enough,  or  can  it  right. 
I  hope  to  sec  more  upon  the  question  whether  tight 
or  open  barns  are  best  for  keeping  hay ;  and  is  it  a 
fact  that  liay  requires  to  be  better  cured  for  stack- 
ing than  for  housing  ?  Querist. 


WRINKLES   ON    HORNS,    AND    GRAINS    IN   WOOD. 

From  an  obsciwation  of  more  than  forty  years,  I 
find  that  wrinkles  commence  at  the  head  of  the  an- 
imal and  work  nj)  towards  the  end  of  the  liorn. 
l'!ach  year  a  new  one  begins  at  the  head,  caused  by 
cheeking  the  growth.  If  an  animal  was  kept  at  an 
equal  stage  of  growing  the  yeari-ound,  there  would 
not  be  any  Avrinkles  in  its  horns.    It  is  usually 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARTHER. 


49 


said  that  the  first  wrinkle  commences  at  the  third 
year.  I  have  a  i)air  of  steers,  two  years  old  last 
spring,  that  have  one  wrinkle  now. 

In  luy  opinion  the  grains  of  wood  are  the  rcsnlt 
of  a  siinilar  cause.  If  forest  trees  grew  the  year 
round,  there  would  be  no  grains  in  the  wood.  I 
have  cut  off  the  stock  of  an  oleander  tree,  seven 
\-ears  of  age,  which  was  kejrt  in  the  house  and 
growing  the  year  round,  and  found  the  wood  to  be 
tirm  and  witiiout  any  visible  grain. 

John  M.  Rowell. 

Tunhridge,  Vt.,  Nov.  12,  1866. 


BVTTER  FROM  COWS  KEPT  OX  THE  "SOILING" 


Mr.  R.  p.  Eaton  : — You  said  you  would  like  to 
see  a  sample  of  my  fall  butter.  This  is  late  tall, 
but  I  could  not  get  round  any  earlier.  You  know 
I  engage  custom  differently  from  most  others.  I 
agree  to  supply  whatever  amoimt  they  engage, 
without  fail,  regardless  of  short  crops  or  bad 
weather.  And  it  is  on  that  account,  in  part,  that  I 
am  enabled  to  olitainthe  price  I  do :  60  cents,  since 
last  May.  I  could  not  make  this  arrangement  if  I 
did  not  depend  almost  wholly  on  soiling,  and  had 
iiot  learned  to  make  butter  every  time  from  a  pail 
of  cream. 

Wherever  the  milk  or  cream  has  been  kept,  the 
cream  is  made  to  indicate  the  right  temperature  by 
the  thermometer  before  I  commence  churning. 
The  temperature  varies  according  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  tlie  room  in  which  I  am  at  work,  and  a 
little  regard  is  had  to  the  sourness  of  the  cream — 
as  sour  cream  comes  quicker  than  sweet,  and  may 
be  churned  a  little  cooler.  But  63  degi'ces  is  very 
near  the  medium. 

Our  hay  this  year  is  largely  rowen.  You  remem- 
ber that  handful  of  grass  I  sent  you  last  July, 
grown  from  seed  sown  April  15th  ?  We  have 
mowed  that  lot  twice  since  then,  cutting  three  very 
good  crops  in  one  year,  and  all  within  six  nnmths 
of  seeding.  The  timothy  produced  much  the  best 
Arst  crop,  the  orchard  grass  the  best  three  crops, 
all  being  quite  uniform.  The  Northern  clover  did 
not  produce  as  much  as  either  of  the  others. 

A.  W.  Cheever. 

Sheldonville,  Mass.,  Nov.  15,  1866. 

Note. — The  beautiful  balls  of  butter,  neatly 
stamped  and  compactly  packed,  sweet  and  fragrant, 
sufficiently  explain  to  our  mind  the  reason  why 
our  friend  Cheever's  customers  buy  all  he  can 
make  at  a  rate  above  the  regular  market  price. 
The  secret  of  his  success  he  has  made  clear  in  the 
above  Extract,  and  in  the  communication  which 
we  publish  in  another  column.  We  hope  he  will 
devote  a  part  of  his  leisure  hours  during  the  ap- 
proaching winter  evenings,  in  transcribing  for  us 
the  records  of  other  successful  farming  operations 
— particularly  as  regards  the  daiiy. 


But  it  appears  to  me  that  there  is  one  great  canse 
of  sickness  and  death  that  people  are  not  sufficiently 
awai'c  of,  viz :  bad  or  impure  water.  Of  the  bad 
effects  of  impure  water,  I  may  be  i)ermitted  to  give 
an  illustration  from  my  own  experience.  Many 
years  ago,  when  in  Montreal  a  few  days  on  liusi- 
ness,  I  was  taken  very  sick.  A  friend  told  me  it 
was  the  water  from  the  River  St.  Lawrence  that 
made  me  sick,  as  it  did  all  Yankees.  My  symp- 
toms were  very  severe,  and  similar  to  those  of  the 
cholera.  I  walked  out  in  the  open  air,  took  no 
food,  drink  or  medicine  from  the  evening  until 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day, 
and  then  not  one-fourth  of  a  meal.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  was  fit  for  business.  I  went  to  another  hotel 
which  was  supplied  with  water  from  the  main  land. 
Another  boarder  at  the  first  hotel  was  taken  sick 
as  I  was,  but  he  stayed,  ate,  drank,  doctored,  and 
died.  The  cholera  soon  after  appeared  there  and 
swept  off  many  of  the  inhabitants,  of  all  classes. 

Many  healthy  people  go  from  these  parts  to  pla- 
ces at  the  South  and  West,  and  die  of  what  is  called 
dysenteiw ;  others  come  back  and  say  the  water  is 
so  limy  they  can't  drink  it.  The  trouble  may  be 
from  lime ;  it  may  be  from  something  worse.  Rain 
water  when  it  first  falls  is  good,  but  stagnant  water 
soon  becomes  unwholesome. 

There  is  an  excellent  piece  in  the  Farmer  of 
May  3,  1862,  which  I  wish  was  published  through- 
out the  whole  country,  on  charcoal  as  a  purilier  of 
water.  In  hilly  countries  good  water  may  be  ob- 
tained by  digging  wells  on  high  ground  from  which 
it  may  be  conveyed  to  the  l^arn,  garden,  or  house. 

Pestilence  may  arise  from  diff'ei'ent  causes.  Its 
seeds  may  float  on  the  water  or  in  the  air,  but  is 
most  prevalent  in  low  places  by  rivers  and  marshes. 

In  my  opinion  the  use  of  blood  is  another  cause 
of  sickness.  The  cholera  and  plague  always  come 
from  the  places  wliei'c  they  save  it  for  food.  If 
fresh,  it  enters  the  system,  in  man  or  lieast,  with- 
out digestion  and  becomes  a  part  of  the  same. 
Hogs  that  have  the  distemper  come  from  slaughter 
houses,  and  are  worthless  to  f;xt,  if  not  distempered. 

Among  the  conclusions  which  the  oliservation 
and  experience  of  a  long  life  have  forced  upon  me, 
are  the  following:  That  typhus  fevers,  measles, 
&c.,  mostly  pi-evail  in  hog-harvest  time ;  that  beef, 
though  a  wholesome  food  when  cooked,  often  causes 
the  dysentery,  when  eaten  I'aw ;  that  great  sickness 
and  death  often  prevails  near  low,  stagnant  rivers, 
while  health  and  long  life  are  enjoyed  on  high 
ground  near  by ;  that  the  people  who  live  the  long- 
est are  those  who  live  a  busj^  life,  and  whose  food 
is  plain ;  that  the  cause  of  murrain  in  cattle  is  an 
insect  taken  into  the  system  alive. 

What  will  be  the  condition  of  this  country  if  it 
advances  for  the  next  seventy-five  years  as  it  has 
during  the  past  seventy-five  years  over  which  my 
memory  extends  ?  Are  the  usual  effects  of  wealth, 
idleness  and  luxuiy  to  be  witnessed,  or  will  Jesus 
Christ  take  to  Himself  and  rule  and  reign,  whose 
right  it  is  ?  Phineas  Pratt. 

Deep  River,  Conn.,  1866. 


CAUSES   OF   sickness — SUGGESTIONS    OF  AGE. 

I  have  taken  the  Farmer  about  ten  years,  much 
to  my  satisfaction,  and  have  most  of  them  now  on 
hand.  I  have  been  an  interested  observer  of  the 
imi)rovements  in  agriculture,  manufactures,  and 
modes  of  living  in  twelve  of  the  States  of  the 
Union,  and  in  Canada,  and  have  tried  many  expe- 
riments myself,  some  of  which  were  successful, 
some  far  otherwise.  And  now,  in  my  eighty-third 
year,  as  I  look  back  and  think  of  those  who  started 
in  lif^e  with  me,  it  is  sad  to  reflect  how  many  have 
fallen  by  the  i-avages  of  war,  by  pestilence,  impris- 
onment, intemperance,  and  by  living  too  fast  and 
exercising  too  little. 


A    MUCK   BED. 

I  have  a  muck  bed  in  the  middle  of  my  farm, 
containing  perhaps,  one-eighth  of  an  acre.  A  few 
years  ago  it  was  covered  with  large  oak  trees,  with 
no  underbrush  at  all.  It  was  covered  with  water 
perhaps-  one-quarter  of  the  year.  The  trees  have 
been  cut,  the  land  drained,  or  partially  so,  (it  can 
be  completely,)  and  it  is  now  fine  feeding  gi-ound. 
Now,  will  you  and  the  readers  of  the  Farmer  tell 
me  v/hether  it  wotild  be  the  most  profitalile  for  me 
to  let  it  remain  in  pasture,  of  which  I  have  no 
more  tha.Ti  I  need,  or  dig  it  out  to  enrich  my  im- 
proved land  ? 

I  have  a  field  of  two  and  a  half  acres,  too  wet  to 
plough,  except  in  a  dry  season,  which  bears  a  fine 


50 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Jan. 


burden  of  timothy.  Last  winter  the  grass  was 
winter-killed  in  spots.  On  these  spots  I  intend  to 
sow  rcdtop  and  timothy  in  the  spring.  I  also  in- 
tend to  sow  bone.  When  is  the  best  time  to  sow 
the  bone,  now  or  in  the  early  spring  ?  I  should  have 
sown  it  before,  but  could  not  get  it  wliere  I  k)wwit 
is  pure.  Would  it  be  better  to  mix  ashes  with  it, 
say  two  parts  bone  and  one  part  ashes  ? 

Is  there  any  way  in  which  I  can  underdrain  it  ? 
The  upper  end  of  the  field  is  only  two  i'eet  higher 
than  a  ditch  at  the  other  end,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
one  rods. 

I  have  many  other  questions  I  would  like  to  ask, 
but  would  not  give  too  many  at  a  time. 

EXPEKIOR. 

Ml/  Farm  in  Old  Connectimit ,  Nov.  15,  1866. 

Remarks. — Your  one-eighth  of  an  acre  may  l^e 
worth  to  you  for  one  season,  two  or  three  dollars  as 
pasture  land.  Every  cord  of  muek  you  haul  out — 
if  it  is  of  good  quality — is  worth  ^2,  deposited  on 
the  field  where  you  are  to  use  it.  The  muck  may 
be  ten  or  even  twenty  feet  deep.  If  so,  you  can 
figure  yourself  into  a  large  property  in  a  hurry ! 
At  any  rate,  do  not  hesitate  to  haul  out — use  the 
inuck! 

Sow  the  bone  at  the  time  you  put  on  the  grass 
seed.    Sow  the  ashes  by  itself,  this  fall  or  winter. 

YoiT  can  partially  drain  the  piece  spoken  of  by 
the  use  of  stones.  The  ditches  may  be  made  as 
deep  as  you  please,  leaving  a  clear  outlet  for  what 
fall  there  is. 


MATERIAL   FOR  WATER  PIPE. 

I  am  especially  desirous  of  learning  what  is  re- 
garded at  the  present  time,  the  most  seiwiceable 
and  enduring  pipe  to  be  used  as  a  substitute  for 
lead,  in  conducting  water  from  wells,  springs,  &c. ; 
also,  where  obtainable,  and  price,  if  known  to  you. 
My  thought  is,  you  published  this  knowledge 
awhile  since  in  your  valuable  journal,  but  I  find 
my^^clf  unable  to  refer  to  it.  Vv'hen  your  greatly 
coveted  "Monthly"  issue  shall  again  appear,  this 
difflcidty,  I  well  know  from  a  long  past  experience, 
will  be  obviated. 

Ax  Old  Friend  and  Subscriber. 

Pepperell,  Mass.,  Nov.  15,  1866. 


UOW   TO   FATTEN   AND    WHEN    TO   KILL   HOGS. 

Will  some  one  of  the  readers  or  Editors  of  the 
New  England  Farmer  ])lease  inform  me  if  it 
makes  any  dilfci'cnce  what  hogs  are  fed  on  the  last 
four  weeks  before  they  are  killed  ?  If  it  does, 
please  say  what  is  best.  Docs  it  make  any  differ- 
ence when  it  is  killed  }  If  it  does,  when  is  the  Ijcst 
time,  especially  with  reference  to  its  shrinking 
when  cooked.  I  find  some  pork  will  shrink  nearly 
one-half,  whilst  some  others  will  swell  a  little. 
Tlie  dittcrcnce  must  ])e  in  the  feeding,  killing,  or 
breed  of  hogs.  I  i)refer  that  pork  should  gain  in 
cooking  rather  than  lose.  Young  Farmer. 

RuxOury,  Vt.,  Nov.  16,  1866. 


EARLY   TOMATOES. 

Last  year,  my  father  covered  his  asparagus  l)ed 
thickly  with  horse  numure  atul  some  frozen  toma- 
to vines  which  had  by  some  accident  grown  there. 
Last  spring  the  coarse  parts  that  remained  were 
raked  olf,  when  numberless  tomato  plants  came  up, 
strong  and  vigorous.  Some  of  them  were  trans- 
planted ;  a  few  were  left,  which  ripened  fruit  a 
week  or  two  earlier  than  any  in  the  neighborhood 
started  under  glass,  or  in  t)oxes  in  the  house.  The 
transplanted  plants  grew  rapidly,  and  bore  abun- 


dantly.   Might  not  a  useful  hint  be  taken  from  this 
chance  experiment  ?  Mary. 

Parsonsjield,  Me.,  Nov.  10,  1866. 

salting   MUTTON. 

A  sitbscriber  in  Maine,  who  lost  a  lot  of  mutton 
that  he  put  into  the  same  pickle  which  preserved 
beef  perfectly  good,  wishes  to  know  the  cause  of 
his  failure,  and  how  to  succeed  next  time.  If  the 
meat  was  perfectly  good,  the  pickle  new,  and  the 
tub  sweet — important  "ifs" — we  cannot  divine  the 
cause  of  his  failure.  We  generally  use  rather  less 
salt  for  mutton  than  for  beef.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  meat  was  a  little  tainted,  if  the  same  pickle 
had  been  used  for  beef  or  pork,  or  if  the  barrel 
was  foul,  we  need  not  search  further  for  the  cause 
of  failure. 


TEMPERATURE    OF   "WATER  FOR   SCALDING   HOGS. 

I  have  learned  by  many  experiments  that  165  de- 
grees is  about  the  right  temperature  of  water  for 
scalding  hogs.  Many  "bad  scalds"  may  be  avoid- 
ed by  observing  this  rule.  a.  w.  c. 

Sheldonville,  Mass.,  Nov.  15,  1866. 


HOP    CULTURE. 

A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  World 
says  that  England  is  now  paying  irom  £10  to 
£l2  per  cwt. — equal  to  70  to  80c  per  pound 
in  our  currency.  Such  extravagant  prices  will 
be  likely  to  stir  the  Yankee  blood  to  a  fever 
heat.  True,  hops  are  subject  to  diseases,  and 
so  are  our  other  crops.  Like  our  grains  and 
fruits  they  have  enemies  that  prey  upon  them, 
and  we  should  learn  to  contend  with  these  diffi- 
culties. The  English  hop  planter  destroys  the 
hop  louse  by  an  apjjlication  of  strong  tobacco 
water.  We  can  do  the  same.  He  cures  the 
mould  with  Hour  of  sulphur.  We  have  not  yet 
been  troubled  with  that  disease,  and  there  are 
many  others  which  have  not  afflicted  us. 

The  following  remarks  on  the  cultivation  of 
this  crop  are  by  the  Rural  American : — 

"The  ground  intended  for  the  hop  yard 
should  be  well  manured,  then  ploughed  in 
April,  dragged  and  marked  four  feet  each  way  : 
then  with  a  hoe  on  every  other  mark  each  way 
dig  a  hole  about  three  inches  deep,  into  which 
drop  a  hop  root  from  three  to  six  inches  long ; 
then  cover  with  dirt  to  make  it  level.  The 
root,  if  it  does  well,  will  throw  up  a  sprout 
from  eacli  joint.  Every  other  hill  on  the  hop 
row,  and  next  row  entire,  can  be  planted  to 
corn  or  beans,  as  the  hops  do  not  require  to  be 
poled  the  iirst  summer.  Every  fall  each  hill  of 
hops  must  have  two  or  three  shovels  full  of 
manure  put  on  it,  to  enrich  the  ground,  and 
prote(;t  the  roots  from  freezing.  The  follow- 
ing spring  the  manure  nnist  be  pitched  off  from 
tlie  hills,  and  the  runners,  if  any,  dug  out  and 
cut  off,  to  prevent  them  from  spreading  all  over 
the  ground,  and  to  preserve  the  hills  in  their 
places.  There  are  l)ut  few  runners  tlie  first 
spring,  but  a  plenty  afterwards.  After  the 
runners  are  removed,  the  poles  can  be  set,  two 
to  each  hill,  about  one  foot  apart  at  the  bottom, 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


51 


with  the  tops  spread  far  enough  apart  to  pre- 
vent the  vines  from  running  from  one  pole  to 
the  other,  and  to  make  the  tops  of  the  poles  in 
the  yard  an  equal  distance  from  each  other. 

The  next  thing  is  to  plough,  commencing  in 
the  centre  between  the  rows,  and  turning  the 
furrows  from  the  hill  until  you  get  near  enough 
to  each  row,  then  turn  and  plough  the  furrow 
the  other  way ;  after  that  reverse  the  furrow, 
turning  toward  the  hill ;  the  rest  can  be  done 
with  the  cultivator  or  hoe,  keeping  the  ground 
clean  and  mellow.  Put  the  vines  around  the 
poles  from  right  to  left,  and  tie  with  the  yarn 
ravelled  from  an  old  stocking.  This  is  full  of 
kinks  and  will  stretch  and  not  damage  the  vine 
as  it  grows.  The  hops  are  generally  ready  to 
pick  the  last  of  August  or  first  of  September. 
From  ten  to  fifteen  hundred  pounds  is  the  yield 
per  acre." 


PKOVOST    MARSHAL    GENEBAL'S    RE- 
PORT. 

The  report  of  this  officer  which  has  just  ap- 
peared, is  full  of  interesting  statistics.  The  to- 
tal enrollment  under  the  Act  of  March  3  (the 
year  is  not  given),  was,  in  the  loyal  States, 
2,264,063  men,  not  including  1,000,516  then 
under  arras.  Under  the  Bureau  1,120,621 
men  were  raised  at  a  cost  of  $9.84  per  man. 
Before  the  Bureau  was  organized,  1,356, .593 
cost  $34.01  per  man.  The  deserters  arrested 
and  returned  to  the  army  numbered  76,526. 
As  to  desertion  the  rej^ort  says : 

It  appears,  beyond  dispute,  that  the  crime 
of  desertion  is  especially  characteristic  of 
troops  from  large  cities,  and  of  the  districts 
which  they  supply  with  recruits.  The  ratio 
per  thousand  of  desertion  to  credits  through- 
out the  loyal  States  is  62.51.  In  the  State  of 
New  York  it  rises  to  89.06,  and  in  the  small 
States  near  New  York  City  it  is  still  higher. 
In  New  Jersey  it  is  107  ;  in  Connecticut,  117.- 
23  ;  in  New  Hampshire  112.22.  Yet  the  gen- 
eral ratio  of  New  England  is  but  74.24;  the 
ratio  of  Massachusetts  being  66.68,  that  of 
Vermont  51.75,  and  that  of  Maine  4.390.  In 
the  West,  where  large  cities  are  rare,  the  av- 
erage ratio  sinks  to  45.51. 

It  is  probable  that  a  more  minute  examina- 
tion of  the  statistics  of  the  anny  than  has  yet 
been  made,  would  reveal  the  fact  that  deser- 
tion is  a  crime  of  foreign,  rather  than  native 
birth,  and  that  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 
men  who  forsook  then'  colors  were  Americans. 
It  is  a  notorious  circumstance  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  professional  bounty-jumpers  were 
Europeans.  In  general,  the  manufacturing 
States,  as,  for  instance,  Massachusetts,  Con- 
necticut, Rhode  Island,  New  York,  and  New 
Jersey,  rank  high  in  the  column  of  desertion  ; 
and  this  result  is  to  be  attributed  not  only  to 
the  fact  that  such  States  are  dotted  with  towns 
and  cities,  but  to  the  secondary  fact  that  these 
towns  and  cities  are  crowded  with  foreigners. 
The  respectable  and  industrious  part  of  this 


population  did,  indeed,  produce  a  mass  of 
faithi'ul  troops ;  but  with  these  were  mixed  a 
vast  number  of  adventurers,  unworthy  of  any 
country,  who  had  no  alfection  for  the  Republic, 
and  who  enlisted  for  money. 

It  is  singular,  and  at  first  sight,  a  puzzling 
fact,  that  two  extreme  AVestern  States,  Kansas 
and  California,  are  distinguished,  respectively, 
by  the  higji  ratios  in  desertions  of  117.54  and 
101 .86.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  more 
than  half  the  male  population  of  Kansas  en- 
terecl  the  service,  and  that,  consequently,  its 
contingent  contained  an  unusually  large  per- 
centage of  men  whose  presence  was  necessary 
to  the  subsistence  and  protection  of  their  fam- 
ilies. In  further  explanation  of  this  fact, 
something  may  be  attributed  to  a  lax  state  of 
discipline  natural  in  border  regiments,  serving 
for  the  most  part  in  a  somewhat  irregular  de- 
fence of  their  own  frontiers.  As  for  Califor- 
nia, it  is  to  be  observed  that  a  portion  of  the 
contingent  of  that  State  consisted  of  men  levied 
in  the  large  cities  of  the  East,  or  of  adventurers 
from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  collected  in  the 
cosmopolitan  thoroughfares  of  San  Francisco. 

The  most  fruitful  source  of  casualties  in  the 
regular  army  is  desertion  ;  it  reaches  the  high 
ratio  of  244.25  per  thousand,  while  in  the  vol- 
imteers  it  is  but  62.51.  The  inference  is  irre- 
sistible that  the  men  who  enlisted  in  the  regu- 
lar service  were  far  inferior  in  character  to  the 
troops  furnished  by  the  States ;  and  it  will 
probably  be  found,  on  examination,  that  they 
were  more  commonly  levied  in  the  large  cities, 
and  embraced  a  far  larger  proportion  of  for- 
eigners. The  regular  service  did  not  secure 
that  noble  class  of  native-born  soldiers  which 
local  pride  and  State  patriotism  poui'ed  into  the 
volunteer  organizations. 

The  casualties  of  the  entire  military  force  of 
the  nation  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  as 
shown  by  the  official  muster  rolls  and  monthly 
returns  have  been  compiled,  showing,  among 
other  items,  5221  commissioned  officers,  and 
90,868  enlisted  men  killed  in  action,  or  died 
of  wounds  while  in  service  ;  2321  commissioned 
officers,  and  182,329  enlisted  men  who  died 
from  disease  or  accident ;  making  an  aggregate 
of  280,739  officers  and  men  of  the  army  who 
lost  their  lives  in  service. 

From  carefully  prepared  tables,  it  appears 
the  proportion  per  thousand  which  each  loyal 
State,  or  group  of  States,  furnished  to  the 
mortality  list  was  as  follows  :  Maine,  44.37  ; 
New  Hampshire,  44.27 ;  Vermont,  58.22 ; 
Massachusetts,  47.76;  Rhode  Island,  22.34; 
Connecticut,  35.48 ;  New  York,  35.68 ;  New 
Jersey,  25,21;  Pennsylvania,  31.75;  Dela- 
ware, 25.63;  Maryland,  17.04;  District  of 
Columbia,  3.62  ;  Ohio,  36,55  ;  Indiana,  30.01 ; 
Ilhnois,  34.80  ;  Michigan,  44.82  ;  Wisconsin, 
42.01;  Minnesota,  25.33;  Iowa,  45.44;  Kan- 
sas, 61.01;  Cahfornia,  12.34;  West  Virginia, 
37.90;  Kentucky,  25.10;  Mis.souri,  21.74. 

The  general  average  for  the  groups  of  States 
was  as  follows  :  New  England  States,  44.76 ; 


62 


NEW   ENGLAIST)    FARMER. 


Jan. 


Middle  States,  31.79;  Loyal  States  (general 
ratio)  35.10;  Border  States,  25.32;  Western 
States,  36.81.     The  report  says  : 

"As  an  explanation  of  the  superior  battle 
mortality  of  the  extreme  Northern  section  of 
the  country,  I  suggest  the  fact  that  this  region 
being  far  removed  from  the  seat  of  war,  it 
was  not  necessaiy  for  any  portion  of  the 
troops  raised  in  it  to  remain  at  home  on  garri- 
son duty,  and  they  were  therefore  kept  almost 
constantly  at  the  front.  Hence,  also,  at  least 
in  part,  the  high  rate  of  this  section  under  oth- 
er heads  of  casualty  resulting  in  an  especial 
manner  from  field  service,  such  as  deaths  by 
disease  and  discharges  for  disability. 

A  remarkable  exception  of  the  rule  above 
noticed  is  Kansas,  which  was  a  frontier  State 
during  nearly  the  whole  contest,  and  which, 
nevertheless,  shows  the  highest  battle  mortality 
of  the  table.  But  the  population  of  Kansas 
is  a  peculiarly  pugnacious  one,  rendered  such 
by  its  origin  and  history.  The  same  singular- 
ly martial  disposition  which  induced  above 
half  the  able-bodied  men  of  the  State  to  enter 
the  army  without  bounty,  may  be  supposed  to 
have  increased  their  exposure  to  the  casualties 
of  battle  after  they  were  in  the  service. 

Among  the  colored  troops  the  deaths  by  dis- 
ease were  largely  disproportioned  to  those  by 
the  casualty  of  war.     The  report  says  : 

"The  ratio  is  no  less  than  141.39  per  thou- 
sand, while  the  highest  ratio  on  the  volunteer 
list  is  124.02  (Iowa)  and  the  general  volunteer 
ratio  is  59.22.  This  disparity  is  the  more  re- 
markable because  the  colored  troops  were  not 
so  severely  exposed  during  the  Avar  to  the 
hardships  of  field  service  proper,  as  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  their  battle  mortality  is  but 
16.11  per  thousand,  while  that  of  the  volunteer  is 
35.10.  The  ratio  of  deaths  by  disease  among 
the  colored  troops  compares  still  more  unfa- 
vorably with  that  of  the  regulars,  which  is  but 
42.27  per  thousand.  It  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  negro,  in  the  condition  in  which  the  war 
found  him,  was  less  able  than  the  white  to  en- 
dure the  exposure  and  annoyances  of  military 
service.  It  may  be  assumed  that  where  one 
man  dies  of  disease,  at  least  five  others  are  se- 
riously sick,  so  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
colored  ti'oops  must  have  been  constantly  upon 
the  sick  list." 


Keeping  Fowls. — Mr.  Albert  C.  Vose, 
near  Manville,  pursues  what  seems  to  us  a  rea- 
sonable and  profitable  course  in  keeping  fowls. 
He  has  enclosed  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of  land 
with  a  high  fence  ;  and  in  this  enclosure  he 
keeps  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  hens.  lie  in- 
forms us  that  during  nine  months  of  the  year 
these  fowls  gave  a  net  profit  of  two  dollars  per 
day,  or  say  five  hundred  dollars  per  year.  Is 
not  this  keeping  fowls  to  some  purpose  ?  In 
Mr.  Vose's  enclosure  is  a  running  stream  and 
fruit  trees.  The  trees  afford  shade,  while 
their  fruit-bearing  is  improved  by  the  fowls. — 
Woonsocket  Patriot. 


AGRICTJLTURAIi  ITEMS, 

— There  are  about  25,000  bees  in  a  swarm. 

— Gail  Hamilton  says,  we  do  not  know  how  to 
work  until  we  know  how  to  play. 

— It  is  said  there  is  a  com  field  of  160  acres  in 
extent  within  the  city  limits  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 

— Good  fences  always  pay  better  than  lawsuits 
with  neighljors. 

— In  Denmark,  one  cannot  cut  down  his  ovm.  trees 
without  a  permit  from  Government. 

— "Where  do  house  flies  come  from  ?  Who  can 
tell  when,  where,  and  how  they  are  propagated  ? 

— Mr.  Andrew  McLaughlin,  of  Peacham,  Vt., 
raised  58  bushels  of  wheat  on  1  >^  acres  of  land. 

— Potato  starch  factories  in  Maine  have  paid  30 
cents  per  bushel  for  potatoes  this  fall. 

— A  writer  in  the  Country  Gentleman  says  it 
costs  him  $1.75  each,  a  year  to  keep  hens. 

— Mr.  A.  Noyes,  of  Mears,  Mich.,  claims  to  have  a 
potato  which  weighs  six  pounds. 

— The  Maine  Farmer  says  the  hay  crop  of  that 
State  this  year  was  about  two-thirds  its  usual  av- 
erage. 

— W.  W.  Chenery,  of  Belmont,  Mass.,  recently 
harvested  1022  bushels  of  carrots  ft-om  one  acre  and 
five  rods  of  ground. 

— Drained  laud  is  generally  ten  to  twenty  degrees 
warmer  in  summer,  than  that  in  which  water 
stands  stagnant. 

— H.  Hopkins,  Jr.,  Montgomery,  Vt.,  has  a  March 
Durham  calf  that  weighed  750  lbs.  on  the  first  of 
October. 

— In  England  and  Scotland  land  is  o^med  by  the 
large  landlords.  This  leaves  the  entire  capital  of 
the  fanner  free  for  active  employment. 

— A  "steam  shovel"  has  been  put  in  operation  in 
raising  the  Squankum  Marl,  so  highly  prized  in 
New  Jersey  for  its  manurial  value. 

—A  late  well-informed  writer  says  #300,000,000 
a  year,  will  not  cover  the  damage  done  to  farmers 
in  this  countiy  by  insects. 

— About  1,500  acres  of  flax  weregi-own  this  sum- 
mer in  Kankakee  Co.,  111.  The  average  price  re- 
ceived for  the  crop  per  acre  was  over  |>'30. 

— "Josh,  I  say,  I  was  going  down  street  t'other 
day,  and  I  seed  a  tree  bark."  "Golly,  Sam,  I  seed 
it  hollow."  "I  seed  the  same  one  leave."  "Did  it 
take  its  trank  with  it  ?    "Oh,  it  left  that  for  board." 

— Mr.  Bright,  in  one  of  his  late  speeches,  said 
that  one-half  of  Scotland  is  owned  by  twelve  per- 
sons, and  one-half  of  England  by  one  hundred  and 
fifty. 

— On  the  great  grain  growing  region  of  the  Cam- 
pagna,  near  Rome,  where  the  extensive  plains  af- 
ford the  finest  field  in  the  world  for  the  use  of  the 
reaping  machine,  the  old  sickle  is  still  used,  and 
the  ox  "that  trcadeth  out  the  com"  is  the  only 


1867. 


KEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


53 


threshing  machine  known  or  believed  in.  The 
grain  is  cnltivated  and  harvested  just  as  it  was 
5000  years  ago. 

— A  letter  from  Buenos  Ayres  says  the  wool  clip 
in  that  country  will  probably  exceed  that  of  last 
year.  It  is  estimated  that  it  will  be  worth  twelve 
million  of  silver  dollars. 

—The  prize  of  $100  offered  by  Mr.  Greeley  for  the 
best  grape  for  general  cultivation  has  been  awarded 
to  the  Concord,  as  raised  by  William  H.  Goldsmith, 
of  Newark,  N.  J. 

— Quince  cuttings  are  generally  successful  when 
set  in  the  fall.  They  are  not  so  sure  in  the  spring. 
Put  them  in  the  ground  as  soon  as  possible  and 
protect  them  by  a  covering  of  barnyard  manure. 

— The  average  yield  of  wheat  per  acre  in  Michi- 
gan is  believed  not  to  exceed  ten  bushels  per  acre 
by  a  Marshall  county  correspondent  of  the  Western 
Rural. 

— Mr.  Meehan,  editor  of  the  Gardener's  Monthly, 
says  that  he  has  discovered  long  ago  that  the  roots 
of  ti-ees  die  in  proportion  to  the  severity  with  which 
the  tops  are  pruned. 

— In  some  of  the  large  dairies  of  Devonshire, 
each  milker  has  three  buckets,  and  divides  each 
cow's  milk  into  three  poi-tions,  which,  with  their 
cream,  arc  kept  entirely  separate. 

— To  keep  wann  feet,  line  your  boot  with  calf- 
skin dressed  soft  with  the  hair  on,  or  with  young 
lamb  skin.  Every  man  should  have  tWo  pairs  in 
use,  and  change  every  day. 

— J.  A4  Pollard,  Esq.,  Superintendent  of  Ver- 
mont State  prison,  at  Windsor,  raised  large  vege- 
tables this  yeai".  A  marrowfat  squash  73 'j'  lbs.; 
a  cabbage  23)2  ;  a  turnip  beet  Qli ;  a  blood  beet 
&%  lbs. 

— A  hole  in  a  tin  pan  or  dish  may  be  mended  by 
cleaning  around  its  edges,  sprinkling  on  a  little 
rosin,  putting  on  a  lump  of  solder  and  heating  the 
other  tide  with  a  lamp,  or  otherwise,  until  the  sol- 
der melts. 

— The  people  of  Southbridge,  Mass.,  are  rejoic- 
ing exuberantly  over  their  new  railroad ;  but  the 
Boston  Journal  says  the  fanners'  wives  who  live 
near  the  track  "think  the  engine  whistle  sours  milk 
worse  than  thunder." 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
thinks  it  will  be  found  that  ewes  will  yield  more 
mutton  from  a  ton  of  hay  or  grain  than  will 
any  male  sheep.  It  has  been  shown  that  they  yield 
more  wool  in  proportion  to  weight. 

— A  man,  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  says  no 
one  need  tell  him  that  advertising  won't  cause  a 
big  rush,  for  he  advertised  ten  bushels  of  gi-apes 
for  sale,  and  the  next  morning  there  wasn't  one 
left — the  boys  stole  'em  all. 

— A  good  substitute  for  buffalo  robes,  which  are 
now  very  costly,  may  be  made  from  the  skin  of  a 
bullock,  which  is  natttrally  soft  and  woolly,  or  of 


sheep  skins  tanned  with  salt  and  alum  and  rubbed 
until  pliable. 

— ^The  Editor  of  the  Turf,  Field  and  Farm  re- 
gi'ets  that  "the  turf  is  on  a  decline  in  Louisville, 
Ky.  The  people  take  no  interest  in  racing,  and  it 
is  thought  that  the  beautiful  Woodland  course  will 
have  to  be  abandoned  to  the  plow." 

— T.  C.  Peters,  of  Maryland,  says  that  the  aver- 
age yield  of  wool  from  an  ordinary  flock  of  sheep 
will  be  about  one  pound  to  twenty  pounds  of  car- 
cass, live  weight,  and  that  if  more  is  obtained,  it 
must  be  paid  for  in  better  care  and  keeping. 

— A  large  number  of  horses  have  been  sold  in 
Maine  within  a  few  weeks  at  prices  varying  from 
$500  to  $3350.  These  prices  ought  to  secure  excel- 
lent horses,  and  they  certainly  encourage  persons 
to  raise  blood  horses  of  good  quality. 

— What  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well.  Do 
not  keep  stock,  if  you  cannot  keep  them  properly. 

"Let  the  flock's  good  feed 
Be  the  master's  heed ; 
What  at  fii'F.t  he  may  cast 
Will  be  doubled  at  last." 

— In  Brittany,  the  milk  of  the  previous  evening 
is  mixed  with  the  morning's  milk,  and  after  stand- 
ing a  few  hours,  the  whole  is  churned,  and  is  said 
to  produce  a  large  amount  of  butter,  of  a  better 
qualit}',  and  will  keep  longer,  than  that  treated  in 
the  usual  manner. 

— For  the  relief,  but  not  complete  cure,  of  the 
heaves,  a  correspondent  of  the  Rural  American  re- 
commends the  outside  of  shell  bark,  burnt  to  ashes 
and  mixed  with  the  horse's  feed,  as  much  as  he  can 
be  made  to  eat,  and  allow  him  to  eat  no  dusty  hay, 
especially  clover  hay. 

— It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  there  would 
be  great  difficulty  in  rearing  chickens  hatched  in 
February  and  March,  on  account  of  the  cold,  but, 
with  proper  accommodations  or  conveniences,  Mr. 
Bement  says  he  has  found  it  more  certain  than 
those  hatched  in  June. 

— By  warmth  and  judicious  feeding,  says  Mr. 
Bement,  a  hen  may  be  made  to  lay  as  many  eggs 
in  two  years  as  she  would  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances in  three;  and  every  one  knows,  or  ought  to 
know,  that  a  fowl  fatted  at  two  years  old,  is  much 
more  tender  and  palatable,  than  one  that  is  older. 

—To  sort  potatoes  or  apples,  stand  upright  and 
save  the  backache.  It  is  more  healthy.  Make  a 
platform  3x3  feet,  with  sides  4  or  6  inches  high. 
Leave  a  gap  at  one  comer,  to  pour  out  from.  Set 
the  foi-m  on  a  ban-el,  or  other  support,  and  pour  a 
bushel  at  a  time  of  apples  on  it,  and  sort  them 
standing.    It  is  easier  to  lift  up  than  stoop  down. 

—A  Northern  cotton  planter  in  Florida,  says  the 
Tribune,  had  a  dairy  of  three  cows  this  summer, 
and  they  made  a  pound  of  butter  a  week,  besides 
having  some  cream  for  coffee.  This  is  what  it  is  to 
live  in  a  country  without  grass.  A  Maine  farmer 
speaks  of  having  one  cow  from  which  two  potinds 


54 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


of  butter  were  made  every  day  through  the  sum- 
mer. This  is  what  it  is  to  live  in  a  country  where 
there  is  grass. 

— After  admitting  the  superiority  of  the  coarse 
wooled  sheep  for  mutton,  generally,  and  especially 
for  rearing  early  lambs  for  which  butchers  pay 
large  prices,  a  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Far- 
mer claims  that  "one  hundred  bushels  of  corn  fed 
to  good  full  aged  merinos  will  produce  as  much 
value  in  meat  as  in  any  other  breed."  Four  years 
is  regarded  by  him  as  the  earliest  age  at  which  me- 
rino sheep  are  fit  for  the  feed  yards. 

—Mr.  W.  C.  Schofield  of  Coventry,  Vt.,  has  two 
Leicester  ewes  which  for  the  past  three  years  have 
each  brought  him  two  lambs  each  year.  He 
sold  the  lambs  for  sixty  dollars,  and  the  wool  for 
twenty.  His  four  lambs  this  year  weighed  59,  60, 
57,  and  50  pounds.  He  has  also  eight  cows  from 
which  he  has  made,  since  the  first  of  April,  1200 
pounds  of  butter,  and  reared  four  calves.  The 
butter  brought  him  $490.22.  So  says  the  Vermont 
Partner. 

— 'When  on  a  tramp  last  summer,  says  S.  P.  May- 
berry,  in  the  Maine  Farmer,  there  was  pointed  out 
to  me  a  farmer  who  seemed  to  get  his  work  along 
without  much  fuss  and  had  more  leisure  time  than 
his  neighbors,  and  still  produced  as  large  crops. 
In  conversation  with  him  I  found  his  mode  of  cul- 
tivation was  to  have  no  old  ground,  consequently 
no  weeds  to  contend  with.  He  planted  his  com 
and  potatoes  on  broken  up  ground  manured  in  the 
hill,  and  in  the  fall  spread  on  manure  and  plowed 
it  under  some  three  inches,  then  sowed  it  down  to 
grass. 

— After  recording  the  death  of  a  man  in  Dixfield, 
who  was  killed  by  being  struck  by  the  hook  of  a 
chain  of  a  stump  pulling  machine,  which  gave  way, 
the  editor  of  the  Maine  Farmer  adds :  "We  came 
veiy  near  losing  our  own  life  last  summer  by  the 
giving  way  of  a  bolt  while  using  the  horse  pitch 
fork.  The  bolt  was  fastened  into  the  floor,  to  which 
a  pully  was  attached,  under  which  a  rope  run.  As 
this  was  put  to  the  highest  tension,  the  bolt  flew  out, 
passing  near  our  head  with  great  velocity."  Mow- 
ing, threshing  and  other  machines,  hay-presses, 
stump-pullers,  horse  forks,  &c.,  should  be  operated 
with  the  greatest  care. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  writes 
from  the  southern  part  of  Illinois,  that  the  abun- 
dance of  acorns,  &c.,  in  the  woods,  is  equivalent  in 
way  of  hog  feed  to  doubling  the  corn  crop,  and  is 
not  equalled  once  in  forty  years.  They  are  exempt 
from  hog  cholera,  Itccause  hogs  in  the  woods  never 
have  it.  Sweet  and  Irish  potatoes,  turnips  and 
cal)l)agcs  are  excellent.  No  potato  rot.  Much  to- 
bacco, with  low  prices,  and  a  dead  market.  Half 
a  cotton  crop,  at  half  of  last  year's  prices.  Hops 
fine,  not  attected  by  the  bad  season,  no  insects.  I 
have  picked  many  l)urs  three  inches  long.  This 
crop  promises  to  go  ahead  in  "Egypt." 


From  the  Western  Rural. 
DAENING   SOCKS. 

BY  MRS.   S.  E.  BUHTON. 


Lucy  alone  at  the  window 

Softly  and  cosily  rocks. 
Busily  plying  the  needle. 

Darning  her  husband's  old  socks; 
Loving  and  sweet  little  woman. 

Fond  of  each  housewifely  care, 
No  queen  in  her  royal  palace 

With  Lucy  in  wealth  can  compare. 

White  is  the  floor  of  the  kitchen. 

Soft  sings  the  kettle  for  tea. 
And  out  in  the  bright  Summer  garden 

Children  are  sporting  in  glee. 
Down  in  the  clover-clad  meadows 

Loud  rings  the  blithe  mower's  steel, 
Musical  sounds  of  dear  home-life 

As  sweet,  artless  Lucy  can  feel. 

Skilfully  plying  the  needle 

Over  and  under  the  yarn, 
Klling  sad  rents  with  a  patience 

Known  to  those  only  who  dam ; 
Lucy  hems  in  with  her  stitches 

Thoughts  bright  with  love  as  a  gem,    , 
Happily  toiling  for  Richard, 

The  dearest  .and  noblest  of  men  I 

Swift,  and  more  swift  flies  the  needle, 

The  meshes  are  filled  one  by  one; 
At  last  the  big  holes  are  all  mended,      4 

The  week's  task  of  darning  is  done. 
But  will  Dick — ah  I  the  dear  careless  fellow  l-^ 

Know  when  his  wife  sings  and  rocks, 
She  fastens  her  heart  in  the  stitches 

She  weaves  in  his  old,  worn-out  sockfl? 
South  Haven,  Mich.,  1866. 

HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 

CONTRIBCTED  FOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Mr.   Editor  : — I  send  a  few  well-tried  re- 
ceipts for  your  domestic  department. 

Bread  and  Butter  Pudding, 
Five  or  six  slices  of  stale  bread  should  be 
buttered  and  cut  about  two  inches  square. 
Warm  a  quart  of  milk ;  pour  a  pint  over  the 
bread  ;  to  the  other  pint  add  two  tablespoon- 
I'uls  of  fine  sugar ;  a  quarter  of  a  nutmeg,  and 
the  yolks  of  four  eggs.  Pour  the  whole  into 
a  buttered  dish  and  bake  twenty  minutes. 
Then  cover  it  with  the  beaten  white  of  the  eggs  ; 
set  it  back  and  brown.  Eat  with  hard  sauce  ; 
a  tablespooniiil  of  butter  beaten  with  nine 
spoonfuls  of  sugar. 


18fi7. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAHMER. 


55 


Cake  Pudding. 

Three  tablespoonfuls  of  molted  butter,  mixed 
while  warm,  with  a  cup  of  powdered  sugar ; 
one  pint  of  sifted  flour;  two  teaspoons  ol' 
cream  of  tartar ;  one  of  soda ;  one  teacup  ol 
sweet  milk ;  one  egg.  Beat  hard,  and  bake 
twenty  minutes  in  a  small  oval  or  round  dish. 

Sauce.  Two  cups  of  sugar  worked  with 
half  a  cup  of  butter ;  one  cup  of  wine,  a  tea- 
spoonful  at  a  time.  Beat  bard;  set  it  into  a 
pan  of  hot  water  ten  or  fifteen  minutes ;  serve 

hot. 

Ginger  Pudding,  (from  Kentucky.) 

Three  cups  of  molasses  ;  one  cup  of  butter ; 
two  teaspoons  of  saleratus ;  lour  eggs ;  four 
and  a  half  cups  of  flour ;  ginger  and  nutmeg. 
Steam  or  bake.  To  be  eaten  with  any  kind  of 
nice  sauce.  This  pudding  will  keep  any  rea- 
sonable length  of  time,  and  is  good  either  hot 
or  cold.  Mary. 

Parsonsfield,  Me.,  Nov.  12,  1866. 


Cheap  Cookies. 

One  cup  of  cream ;  one-half  cup  of  butter ; 
one  and  a  half  cups  of  sugar ;  two  eggs  ;  one 
teaspoonful  saleratus.  Mould  as  soft  as  you 
can  roll,  and  bake  in  a  quick  oven. 

Newport,  N.  H.,  Oct.,  1866.        Nellie. 

Remarks. — We  hope  that  our  lady  readers 
will  see  that  this  department  of  our  paper  is  well 
supplied  during  the  coming  volume. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HOUSEHOLD    COjSTVENIEKCES. 

Backwardness  of  Farmers  in  the  adoption  of  facilities — 
Growing  distaste  for  household  duties — Domestics  af- 
ford little  relief — Ambition  for  display — Tendency  to  a 
system  of  communism — Failure  of  labor-saving  ma- 
chines— Simplicity  of  living  and  the  exercise  of  com- 
mon sense  suggested  as  a  remedy. 

I  fully  agree  with  Jenny  and  other  corres- 
pondents, who  wrote  upon  this  subject  last 
winter,  that  farmers  are  too  slow  in  adopting 
the  modern  improvements  and  convenient  ar- 
rangements for  facilitating  house  work ;  that 
either  they  fail  to  see  and  appreciate  the  bene- 
fits which  science  and  art  are  continually  olFer- 
ing  to  man  to  administer  to  his  comfort  and  al- 
leviate his  toils,  or  they  are  luiwilling  to  make 
the  eflbrt  to  possess  them.  In  this  respect  far- 
mers fall  behind  residents  of  cities  and  villages  ; 
still,  there  is  visible  progress  in  the  way  of  im- 

f)rovement,  and  in  the  older  States,  woman's 
abor  in  the  farmer's  household  is  becoming 
more  limited  every  year.  Our  grandmothers 
performed  many  kinds  of  work  that  are  not 
now  required  of  their  grand-daughters.     Spin- 


ning, weaving,  most  of  the  tailoring  and  dress- 
making for  the  family,  milking,  bringing  in 
wood,  water,  &c.,  are  no  longer  her  unavoida- 
ble duties.  Besides  this  aliridgment  of  labor, 
our  young  farmer's  wife  can  command  helps 
and  conveniences  that  the  women  of  two  gen- 
erations ago  never  dreamed  of.  And  there  are 
fair  prospects  that  the  farm-house  will  be  re- 
lieved ol  the  care  and  labor  of  the  dairy,  by 
selling  milk  to  supply  the  cities,  and  by  trans- 
ferring butter  and  cheese-making  to  large  es- 
tablishments. 

While  these  improvements  are  going  for- 
ward, there  are  heard  from  every  side  loud 
lamentations  over  the  drudgery  of  house  work, 
especially  over  the  hard  lot  of  fanners'  wives 
and  daughters.  House-work  is  becoming  de- 
cidedly unpopular.  American  girls  scorn  the 
idea  of  doing  it  for  others,  and  are  hardly  wil- 
ling to  do  it  for  themselves,  though  perfectly 
able.  Even  the  foreign  help  who  are  now  do- 
ing it,  c[uit  it  at  the  first  opportunity.  Women 
are  breaking  down  early  in  life,  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  abridgment  of  their  labors  and  the 
conveniences  that  have  been  introduced  into 
our  houses,  and  they  ask  for  a  further  relief. 

The  truth  is  we  are  departing  from  the  sim- 
plicity of  life  of  our  forefathers,  and  are  rapid- 
ly adopting  the  ways  of  a  luxuriant  and  extrav- 
agant people.  Ambition  and  pride  bind  upon 
us  burdens  grievous  to  be  borne.  No  one  is 
willing  to  be  outdone  by  his  neighbor.  The 
poor  imitate  the  example  of  the  rich.  Those 
without  servants  think  they  must  do  as  those 
who  have  them,  and  those  with  one  must  do  as 
well  as  those  who  have  two  or  more.  House- 
keeping is  a  wearisome  complication  of  cares, 
anxieties  and  labors,  and  no  wonder  woman  is 
breaking  down  early  in  life,  and  sighs  for  fur- 
ther I'clief.  Something,  it  is  evident,  must  be 
done,  if  men  Avish  to  avoid  boarding  houses  and 
maintain  households  at  moderate  expense. 

Whence  shall  come  this  desired  relief.*^  Will 
it  be  found  in  keeping  domestics  ?  The  ex- 
pense question  decides  this  mode  at  once  for 
the  majority  of  families,  and  many  women  who 
are  so  favored  as  to  have  them,  talk  of  their 
care  and  trouble  as  a  burden.  Will  it  come  in 
a  further  limitation  of  the  kinds  of  work  done 
in  the  house  ?  Whoever  reads  the  Atlantic  for 
1806  will  perceive  that  Mrs.  St  owe  in  her 
"Chimney  Comer  Talks,"  proposes  a  great 
change  by  advocating  the  adoption  of  the 
French  mode  of  living.  Society  is  rapidly  pre- 
paring for  the  change,  and  I  expect,  ere  long, 
house-keepers  will  demand  that  washing,  iron- 
ing, bread-making  and  the  greater  part  or  the 
whole  of  cooking  shall  be  done  out  of  the  house. 
In  cities  and  villages  this  may  be  a  judicious 
and  economical  arrangement ;  but  among  far- 
mers the  plan  has  some  serious  objections,  ap- 
parent to  all. 

Will  the  desired  relief  be  found  in  greater 
facilities  for  doing  work  ?  Would  that  it  were 
in  the  power  of  cunning  craftsmen  to  devise 
means  to  carry  on  the  household  machinery 


56 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Jan. 


smoothly,  pleasantly  and  easily.  Here  arises 
the  great  difficulty  ;  no  sooner  are  means  de- 
veloped lor  relieving  the  necessities  or  promot- 
ing the  comfort  of  man,  than  new  wants  and 
demands  are  created.  To  illustrate  :  it  might 
seem  a  natural  supposition  that  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  cook-stove  would  have  materially 
lessened  the  labor  of  coolcing.  Is  this  the  fact  ? 
Are  not  more  hours  spent  now  in  preparing 
food  than  in  the  days  of  the  brick  oven  and 
fire-place  ?  In  those  times  baking  day  was  a 
reality ;  it  meant,  in  cool  weather,  at  least  a 
week's  supply.  When  the  huge  pot  was  hung 
for  a  boiled  dish,  the  good  house-keeper  had 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  she  was  not  obliged 
to  repeat  the  operation  the  next  day.  With 
the  stove  has  come  a  multiplicity  of  dishes ;  a 
desire  for  a  great  variety  at  every  meal,  and 
the  habit  of  serving  everything  freshly  cooked 
and  smoking  hot.  Hence  the  work  of  cooking 
is  constantly  on  hand,  and  the  kitchen  fires  sel- 
dom go  out,  even  in  hot  weather.  The  care, 
vexation  and  time  spent  in  this  perpetual  prep- 
aration of  little  messes,  none  can  tell  who  have 
not  been  fully  engaged  in  it.  Three  times  a 
day  must  mother  or  daughter  bow  down  before 
that  ruthless  tyrant  of  a  cook-stove,  to  do  the 
hardest  and  most  unhealthy  part  of  house-keep- 
ing, because  custom  has  dictated  that  every 
meal  must  be  freshly  cooked.  No  matter  how 
warm  and  bright  the  weather,  how  inviting  the 
fields  or  garden,  how  urgent  may  be  other  du- 
ties, how  great  the  longing  for  the  recreations 
and  pleasures  of  society,  of  reading  or  study, 
cooking  must  be  first,  and  receive  the  woman's 
best  energies. 

Again,  when  the  sewing  machine  was  invent- 
ed, it  was  thought  the  sewing  of  a  family  would 
be  a  pastime,  and  needle  women  began  to  fear 
their  occupation  was  gone.  But  no  sooner  was 
it  brought  into  general  use,  than  fashion  or  fol- 
ly dictated  there  shall  be  more  work  put  into 
every  garment.  There  must  be  quilting,  trim- 
ming and  embroidery,  so  that  as  much  time  as 


ever  is  required  to  supply  a  lady's  wardrobe. 

Again,  when  our  good  wives  and  daughters 
have  toiled  faithfully  six  days  in  the  week, 
ought  not  the  seventh  to  be  to  them  a  day  of 
rest  as  well  as  to  man  ?  But  in  how  many  fam- 
ilies is  there  a  wide  departure  from  the  Jewish 
strictness  of  observing  the  Sabbath.  The  grow- 
ing custom  of  making  the  dinner  of  that  day 
the  best  ot  the  week,  well  nigh  deprives  woman 
of  this  brief  respite  from  cooking.  Add  to  this 
exti-a  work  in  the  kitchen,  the  time  and  atten- 
tion bestowed  upon  the  elaborate  toilet,  now 
considered  necessary  to  appear  respectable  at 
church,  and  the  entertaining  of  callers  and  vis- 
itors, which  are  expected  in  many  famihes,  and 
the  day  brings  only  excitement  and  fatigue, 
leaving  the  house-keeper  to  rise  Monday  morn- 
ing, refreshed  neither  in  body  nor  spirit.  Will 
greater  household  facilities  bring  relief  here  ? 

From  these  and  similar  illustrations  which 
might  be  given,  it  is  apparent  that  inventive 
genius  cannot  furnish  the  relief  which  women 
need.  House-keeiDlng  is  pretty  much  what  we 
make  it,  and  for  its  easy  and  successful  accom- 
plishment, more  depends  upon  the  controlling 
mind,  than  the  material  agencies  at  command. 
These  latter  are  highly  useful  in  their  place, 
but  are  only  helps  or  secondary  means.  Here, 
as  in  every  department  of  labor,  knowledge  is 
all  powerlul ;  the  knowledge  and  ability  to  per- 
form the  varied  work  of  the  house  quietly  and 
expeditiously,  and  she  who  aspires  to  be  at  its 
head  has  not  half  learned  her  task  unless  she 
has  thoroughly  studied  and  can  practice  strict 
economy  of  time  and  strength. 

It  is  equally  plain  that  woman's  labors  in- 
crease or  diminish  with  the  slightest  variation 
in  the  style  of  living  ;  and  that  wherever  both 
heads  of  the  family  aim  at  simplicity  of  life,  en- 
deavor to  adopt  ideas  and  habits  that  accord 
with  their  circumstances,  and  are  becoming  en- 
lightened men  and  women,  our  mothers  and 
wives  need  not  be  overburdened  with  the  legit- 
imate duties  of  the  household.  n.  s.  t. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGRICULTUKE,  HORTICULTURE,  AND  KINDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES.         Boston,  Febniary,  1807.        VOL.  I.— NO.  2. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Row 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN, 
S.  FLETCHER, 


Editors. 


FEBRUARY   THOUGHTS. 

I'm  the  spirit  of  snow,  and  my  compass  is  wide ; 
I  can  fall  in  the  storm,  in  the  wind  I  can  ride; 
I  am  white,  I  am  pure,  I  am  tender,  I'm  fair, 
I  was  horn  in  the  seas,  to  the  seas  I  repair; 
By  frost  I  am  harden'd,  by  wet  I'm  destroyed. 
And,  united  with  liquid,  to  Ocean  decoy'd. 

J.  R.  Prior. 

EBRUARY 

in       New 
England 
is    usually 
a     rough, 
cold 
month. 
Snows 
have     ac- 
c  u  m  u  1  a- 
ted,      so 
that    the 
roads  are 
often  ob- 
structfed, 
and  trav- 
elling on 
them       is 
tedious 
and  slow. 

Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  hilly  and 
mountainous  parts  of  New  England,  where 
the  population  is  thin,  and  travel  has  not  been 
sufficiently  constant  to  keep  the  roads  open. 
To  do  this,  however,  would  be  a  task  of  no 
ordinary  kind.  Old  Boreas  is  king.  He 
roams  where  he  pleases.     Sweeps  through  the 


valleys,  scoiu-s  the  plains,  or  roars  over  the 
mountain  tops  unrestricted  in  his  vagaries, 
heajiing  the  snow  into  fantastic  forms,  or  send- 
ing it  in  whirling  clouds  tlirough  the  freezing- 
air. 

Those  who  live  in  thickly-settled  communi- 
ties, where  the  public  road  is  always  kept  open 
from  nearly  every  farm-house  in  the  town  to 
the  centre  of  the  village,  can  have  only  a  slight 
appreciation  of  the  difficulties  with  which  those 
have  to  contend  who  live  where  the  population 
is  sparse.  In  some  districts,  if  one  rides  a 
dozen  miles,  he  will  be  obliged  to  pass  over 
pastures  and  meadows,  through  swamps  and 
woods,  cross  doubtful  streams,  and  go  circuit- 
ous routes  through  valleys  and  over  hills,  in 
order  to  reach  his  destined  goal.  He  will  not 
be  able  to  keep  in  the  highway  half  the  time. 
Then,  if  night  approaches,  and  his  faithful 
steed  shows  signs  of  fatigue,,  those  dismal  fore- 
bodings will  be  likely  to  take  possession  of  the 
mind,  which  poets,  speaking  of .  night-bound 
and  snow-bewildered  travellers,  have  so  vividly 
portrayed  in  the  books : 

"See,  how  the  traveller  scarce  resists  the  storm  t 
Mark,  how  he  strives  along  with  fainting  feet  I 
And  doomed,  without  the  friendly  welcome  warm. 
To  perish  in  its  freezing  winding-sheet  I" 

Scarcely  anything  is  more  bewildering  to 
the  mind,  than  to  be  abroad  in  a  winter  night, 
when  the  earth  is  covered  with  snow,  and  we 
lose  the  points  of  compass,  and  the  well-known 
landmarks  are  covered  up,  or  only  stand  like 
dim  and  imcertain  spectres  in  the  dusky  gloom 


58 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


of  night.  When,  added  to  this  uncertainty,  one 
is  benumbed  with  cold  and  fatigued  with  exer- 
tion, the  sensation  becomes  one  of  almost  utter 
hopelessness  and  despondency,  and  it  requires 
all  the  energy  and  courage  we  can  command, 
not  to  give  way  to  the  stupor  which  steals  over 
us  like  the  power  of  some  potent  drug. 

A  painful  occurrence  took  place  several 
years  ago  in  the  Green  Mountains  of  Ver- 
mont, where  a  man,  his  wife  and  a  young  babe 
perished  in  the  snow,  by  bewilderment  and  fa- 
tigue. 

A  wonderful  story  is  also  told  of  one  Eliza- 
beth Woodcock,  who  was  buried  in  the  snow, 
near  Cambridge,  England,  on  the  2d  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1799,  where  she  remained  eight  days 
and  nights!  She  was  taken  out  alive,  but 
somewhat  frozen,  and  lived  until  the  13th  of 
the  following  July. 

In  mountainous  regions  in  Europe,  among 
the  Alps,  for  instance,  and  it  is  quite  probable 
among  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  our  o^vn  coun- 
try, snow  slides  occur,  which  sometimes  cover 
large  tracts,  overwhelming  everything  in  their 
course,  as  did  the  land-slide  in  the  White 
Mountains. 

On  the  19th  of  March,  1755,  a  small  cluster 
of  houses  at  a  place  called  Bergemotetto,  in 
the  upper  valley  of  Stura,  was  entirely  over- 
whelmed by  two  vast  bodies  of  snow  that  tum- 
bled down  from  a  neighboring  mountain. 
Several  houses  were  engulphed.  In  which  were 
twenty-two  persons  in  all,  covered  with  a  high 
mountain  of  snow.  Great  efforts  were  made 
to  rescue  them,  but  without  success,  until  on 
the  25th  day  of  April,  thirty-seven  days  after 
they  were  buried !  the  astonished  laborers 
heard  a  feeble  cry  of  "help,  my  brother!"  A 
large  opening  was  then  made,  when  Joseph 
Rochia  went  down  and  found  his  wife,  alive, 
whose  age  was  about  forty-five,  a  sister  thirty- 
five,  and  a  daughter  thirteen  years  old.  These 
were  raised  on  their  shoulders  to  men  above, 
who  pulled  them  up  as  if  from  the  grave,  and 
so  wasted  that  they  appeared  like  skeletons. 
A  boy  six  years  old  had  died. 

All  these  persons  happened  to  be  in  a  stable 
where  there  were  six  goats,  an  ass,  and  some 
fowls.  On  looking  out,  the  wife  perceived  an 
avalanche  breaking  down,  ran  back  into  the 
stable,  and  all  got  Into  the  rack  and  manger. 
In  three  minutes  the  mass  descended  and  the 
roof  broke  over  their  heads,  but  the  manger 
was  under  the  main  prop  of  the  stable  and  re- 


sisted the  weight  of  the  snow  above.  The  sister 
had  fifteen  chestnuts  in  her  pocket ;  two  of  the 
goats  gave  milk,  and  by  great  efforts  they  got 
hay  from  over  their  heads  for  them,  and  thus 
sustained  their  lives.  During  the  whole  thirty- 
seven  days  they  saw  not  one  ray  of  light ;  yet 
for  about  twenty  days  they  had  some  notice  of 
night  and  day  from  the  crowing  of  the  fowls, 
until  the  latter  died. 

All  these  facts  were  related  and  attested  on 
the  16th  of  May,  1755,  the  next  month  afler 
the  persons  were  exhumed. 

Hapi^Ily  for  us  in  our  beloved  New  England, 
in  our  delightfid  climate,  marked  by  no  great 
extreme  of  heat  or  cold  of  long  continuance, 
nature  has  greatly  exempted  us  from  the  terri- 
ble revulsions  which  agitate  and  terrify  the 
mind  in  less  favored  regions  of  the  world.  In 
those  countries  where  earthquakes  occur,  the 
people  must  live  in  a  constant  state  of  fear  and 
apprehension,  as  though  the  sword  of  Damocles 
were  hung  over  them ;  or  in  China,  where  al- 
most every  movable  thing  is  instantly  swept 
from  the  earth,  or  navies  engulphed  In  the 
boiling  ocean  by  the  terrible  'I  yphoon ;  or  in 
Arabia,  where  the  air  becomes  red,  and  the 
day  is  darkened  by  the  clouds  of  sand  which 
fill  the  air,  sent  up  by  the  stifling  and  pestifer- 
ous Simoom;  or,  nearer  home,  where  hurri- 
canes and  tornados  give  little  warning  of  the 
terrible  destruction  they  are  about  to  make  ! 

Let  us  be  grateful,  then,  that  our  "lot  is 
cast  in  pleasant  places ;"  that  we  lie  down  and 
sleep  without  fear  that  the  solid  earth  may  be 
shaken  and  rent  under  us,  or  that  the  mountain 
will  fall  on  us,  or  that  the  mighty  atmosphere 
will  sweep  ourselves  and  our  goods  away  ! 

Febkuary  affords  opportunity  for  such 
trains  of  thought,  and  they  will  enrich  us  as 
much  as  abundant  products  of  the  soil  or  in- 
come from  notes  or  bonds.  We  want  a  con- 
tented mind,  because  that  is  a  continual  feast. 
Nothino-  so  much  tends  to  this  as  the  study  of 
Nature  about  us,  the  5tudy  of  ourselves,  and  a 
cheerful,  loving  heart,  ever  overflowing  with 
grateful  emotions. 

FARMING  IN  FEBRUABY, 
There  Is  an  old  story  about  St.  Anihony,  the 
Patriarch  of  Monks,  who  lived  in  Egypt  a  great 
many  years  ago,  who  was  particularly  solicitous 
about  animals.  It  was  probably  from  his 
practices  that  the  custom  arose  of  blessings 
passed  on  animals,   as  is  still  practiced  at 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


59 


Rome.  He  regarded  no  beasts,  birds  or  fish 
as  hateful.  So  on  a  particular  day  the  ''Bene- 
diction of  Beasts''''  is  annually  performed  at 
Rome !  It  lasts  for  some  days,  and  every  Ro- 
man, from  the  Pope  to  the  peasant,  who  has  a 
horse,  a  mule,  or  an  ass,  sends  them  to  be 
blessed  at  St.  Anthony's  shrine.  Even  the 
English  go  with  their  job  horses  and  favorite 
dogs,  get  them  sprinkled,  sanctified,  and  placed 
under  the  protection  of  this  saint.  The  same 
practice  exists  in  Madrid,  Spain,  where  mules 
and  other  useful  animals  receive  a  blessing  in 
St.  Anthony's  church! 

We  cannot  but  have  some  respect  for  such 
customs,  when  they  tend  to  foster  good  feel- 
ings, and  increase  kind  treatment  to  the  ani- 
mals under  our  charge,  which  are  indispen- 
sable to  our  comfort  and  happiness. 

Some  of  the  days  in  February  could  not  be 
better  spent  by  certain  persons  who  hire  horses 
at  livery  stables,  by  teamsters  in  cities,  and  by 
some  farmers  who  feed  light  and  load  heavy, 
than  by  attending  upon  the  services  at  St.  An- 
thony's church ! 

Reform  among  us,  as  farmers,  is  still  needed 
in  regard  to  the  management  of  farm  stock,  as 
relates  to  treatment, — that  is,  influence  over 
them, — as  well  as  to  the  modes  of  feeding. 
An  angry  word  and  then  a  blow,  is  still  the 
]iractice  with  some  persons,  whenever  an  ani- 
mal varies  from  the  strict  line  of  practice  re- 
quired of  it.  This  does  not  arise  so  much  from 
violent  temper,  or  ill-feeling,  as  from  a 
thoughtless  habit, — ^but  it  tells  upon  the  ani- 
mals, nevertheless. 

A  little  practice  will  enable  an  observing 
person  to  decide  what  herds  of  cattle,  in  the 
barn,  are  treated  with  kindness  and  considera- 
tion, and  those  which  are  controlled  with  harsh 
words  and  blows.  It  cannot  be  possible  that 
animals  who  live  in  constant  fear,  who  are  ex- 
cited whenever  their  master  is  present,  and 
tremble  at  his  approach,  can  be  in  that  state 
of  rest  and  composure  which  is  necessary  to 
secure  the  greatest  product  from  them  in  flesh, 
work  or  milk. 

An  inconsiderate  overloading  of  horses  and 
oxen  is  one  of  the  most  common  cruelties  in- 
flicted upon  them.  More  good  horses  are 
spoiled  in  this  way  than  in  any  other  ;  and  the 
better  they  are  to  begin  with,  the  more  likely 
they  are  to  be  ruined. 

Every  farmer  should  know  the  dimensions 
of  the  cart  or  wagon  he  uses,  and  then  what  a 


square  foot  or  a  cubic  yard  of  sand,  gravel, 
stone,  lumber  or  manure  will  weigh.  Of 
course,  these  will  vary  under  certain  circum- 
stances,— as  a  cart  full  of  green  manure  will 
weigh  twice  as  much  as  the  same  cart  full  of 
that  which  has  been  composted.  A  cord  of 
fresh  dung  will  weigh  about  9289  pounds !  or 
nearly ybwr  and  a  half  tons!  And  yet  half  a 
cord  is  often  the  load  which  a  pair  of  oxen  are 
expected  to  haul  over  ploughed  ground,  where 
the  feet  of  the  cattle  and  the  wheels  of  the  cart 
sink  into  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight 
inches  !  Is  that  merciful  treatment  ?  A  third 
of  a  cord  is  thrown  upon  a  cart  for  a  single 
horse  to  drag  over  or  through  a  similar  surface, 
where  he  can  get  no  substantial  foothold,  and 
where  the  wheels  are  trigged  at  every  step  by 
the  great  unevenness  of  the  furrows.  And  yet 
he  is  required  to  haul  over  such  a  place  more 
than  a  ton  and  a  half. 

Is  it  a  matter  of  wonder  that  so  many  of  our 
horses  are  afflicted  with  sjyring  halt,  hone  and" 
bog  spavin,  ringbone,  fisitdous  withers,  false 
quarter,  sandcrack,  broken  knees,  heaves,  quit- 
tor,  and  a  host  of  other  diseases,  some  of  which 
are  common  to  half  the  horses  we  see  !: 

Let  us,  farmers,  think  more  of  these  things, 
now  that  we  have  comparative  leisure,  and  are 
enjoying  arouiad  our  firesides  the  delights  of 
home,  kindi-ed  and  friends.  Let  us  not  only 
think,  brit  talk  them  over,  recall  past  prac- 
tices, and  decide  whether  we  have  heretofore 
given  to  our  business  such  powers  of  the  mind, 
and  such  skill,  as  will  bring  us  the  largest  re- 
wards for  our  labor. 

February  winds  and  snows  are  not  our 
care.  Let  them  whistle  and  fly,  while  we 
mark  out  our  duties  and  form  our  resolutions 
for  the  future. 


Nice  Pork  on  a  Good  Farm. — We  saw, 
the  other  day,  at  Mr.  David  Buttrick's,  in 
Concord,  Mass.,  three  very  fine  hogs,  that 
must  dress  between  400  and  500  lbs.  each. 
They  are  thirteen  months  old,  have  always  been 
fed  together  and  are  so  nearly  equal  in  size, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  decide  which  will  weigh 
the  most.  Not  only  his  hogs  but  his  fields, 
buildings,  and  other  stock,  with  the  numerous 
conveniences  of  a  good  farm,  show  excellent 
management,  and  are  evidence  of  what  can  be 
accomplished  by  an  industrious,  persevering 
man  on  the  "worn-out"  soil  of  old  Massachu- 
setts, at  plain,  ordinary  fanning. 


60 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Feb. 


VEBMONT   STATE  AGKICUIiTUBAL 
SOCIETY. 

The  annual  meeting  of  this  society  was  held 
in  Rutland,  Jan.  2d,  President  J.  W.  Colbum 
in  the  chair.  The  treasurer's  report  shows 
$2015.00  surplus  receipts  sifter  deducting  ex- 
penses paid  for  the  year,  and  $8094.15  now  in 
the  treasury.  Resolutions  in  favor  of  protec- 
tion of  the  wool-growing  interest  to  the  extent 
of  the  House  tariflf  bill  were  passed.  The  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected : 

President — John  Gregory,  Northfield. 

Vice-Presidents — Henry  Keyes,  Newbury ;  Henry 
G.  Root,  Bennington ;  Henry  S.  Morse,  Shelburne ; 
Victor  Wright,  Middlebury. 

Treaszirer — Joseph  W.  Colbum,  Smithfield. 

Secretary/ — Henry  Clark,  Rutland. 

Board  of  Directors — Edwin  Hammond,  Middle- 
bury  ;  Win.  R.  Sanford,  Orwell ;  George  Campbell, 
Westminster;  Elijah  Cleaveland,  Coventry;  Hen- 
ry Hayward,  Clarendon;  Henry  B.  Kent,  Dorset; 
Wm.  Q.  Brown,  Fairhaven;  N.  B.  Safford,  Wliite 
River  Junction ;  Crosby  Miller,  Pomfret ;  Law- 
rence Brainard,  Jr.,  St.  Albans ;  David  Goodall, 
Brattlcboro ;  Henry  Chase,  Lyndon ;  Henry  Boyn- 
ton,  Woodstock;  Pitt  W.  Hyde,  Hydeville;  E.  S. 
Stowell,  Cornwall;  James  A  Shedd,  Burlington. 

Hon.  Joseph  W.  Colbum,  the  retiring  Pres- 
ident, was  invited  to  deliver  the  address  at  the 
next  annual  meeting  of  the  Society.  He  also 
presented  a  memorial  to  Congress  which  was 
unanimously  adopted. 

Hon.  Edwin  Hammond  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  National  Wool-Growers'  Association, 
and  the  Society  accepted  the  provisions  of  the 
legislature,  changing  the  name  of  the  Society 
to  the  "Vermont  State  Agricultural  Society 
and  Wool-Growers'  Association." 


Our  cattle  reporter  informs  us  that  he  has  not 
heard  of  any  being  bought  for  this  purpose,  as 
yet,  either  at  Brighton  or  Cambridge. 


"Feeding." — The  farmers  of  the  Connecti 
cut  valley  have  been  in  the  habit  of  buying 
oxen  in  the  fall  which  were  only  in  fair,  thrifty 
condition,  and  feeding  out  to  them  not  only  their 
own  surplus  grain,  but  buying  western  com  in 
large  quantities.  One  of  the  great  items  of 
profit  from  this  course  is  the  rich  manure  which 
is  thus  produced.  Last  faU  these  feeders  paid 
as  high  as  14c.  per  lb.  for  much  of  their  stock. 
After  feeding  on  meal  through  the  winter,  and 
transforming  these  "stores"  into  the  celebrated 
"River  cattle,"  the  market  had  so  declined  that 
these  fanners  were  obliged  to  sell  at  a  less 
price  per  pound  than  they  gave.  Those  who 
fed  sheep  suffered  greater  losses  even  than 
those  who  fed  cattle.  In  consequence  of  these 
reverses,  and  also  in  consequence  of  the  great 
advance  in  the  price  of  corn,  we  understand 
that  but  very  few  of  these  River  farmers  will 
feed  either  cattle  or  sheep  the  coming  winter. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

FIRST  AGRICUIiTURAL   FAIR   AT 
CHESTER,  N.  H. 

Mr.  Editor  : — Thoughts,  like  seeds,  sprout, 
but  often  wither  away  through  neglect,  or  a 
barren  soil.  Yet,  by  digging  into  the  soil  and 
turning  it  over  and  over  to  the  sun  and  air,  the 
earth  may  at  last  be  so  enriched  that  the  feelile 
roots  are  enabled  to  draw  sufficient  nourish- 
ment to  force  the  buds  into  shoots,  and,  in 
time,  by  constant  labor  and  watchfulness,  such 
as  pinching  in,  pruning,  and  spading  up  the 
soil,  it  attains  its  growth  and  greets  the  eye 
with  its  fi'uits. 

A  few  years  since,  in  this  town,  some  indi- 
viduals endeavored  to  plant  a  seed  called 
'■'■Agricultural  Society,''''  and  thought  it  would 
grow,  even  if  it  were  not  watched  and  pro- 
tected, and  as  is  too  often  the  case  when  trans- 
planting a  seedling  from  the  nursery,  either 
owing  to  the  mental  soil  of  this  town  at  that 
time,  or  lack  of  energy  on  the  part  of  those 
who  planted  the  seed,  it  grew  feebly  and  at 
last  apparently  died, — a  death  called  "  .5me 
die."  But  this  fall,  about  the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber, to  the  surprise  of  those  who  planted  the 
seed,  and  amazement  of  those  who  would  not, 
or  did  not,  assist  in  keeping  the  feeble  plant 
from  pining  away,  it  started  out  anew  and  grew 
rapidly  into  a  tree,  which  bore  such  a  great 
abundance,  and  so  large  a  variety,  as  almost  to 
endanger  the  branches  !  But  the  inhabitants 
of  the  town,  seeing  its  danger,  rallied  to  its 
support,  and  with  the  aid  of  tables,  benches, 
settees,  cord  and  t'svine,  so  secured  its  brittle 
limbs  that  the  fruit  hung  on,  and  ripened  to 
the  satisfaction  of  all  interested. 

I  have  heard  it  said,  that  if  the  farmers  of  this 
town  Avill  keep  up  their  energy,  with  the 
aid  of  God,  and  the  ladies  of  this  town, — who, 
by  the  way,  are  never  backward  in  a  good 
cause,  or  niggardly  of  their  time, — it  will 
again  display  its  fiiiits,  even  if  it  takes  the 
Town  Hall  and  horse  sheds  to  hold  it !  What 
is  most  astonishing  about  the  tree,  is,  that  it 
only  required  eight  or  ten  days  to  stir  the  earth 
about  its  roots,  before  it  blossomed  and  ripened 
the  fruit !  The  blossoms  were  but  few,  yet  by 
a  miracle  its  fruit  was  so  abundant  as  to  fill  the 
Town  Hall,  and  barely  afford  room  for  the  as- 
tonish(!d  visitors  to  look  and  express  their 
gi-atitudc.  And  that  the  names  of  those  who 
so  readily  came  forward  to  its  support  may  not 
be  lost,  I  pray  you  to  find  room  in  your  widely 
circulating  journal,  not  only  for  their  names, 
but  also  lor  the  wonderful  variety  of  fruits, 
flowers,  grain  and  vegetables ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  the  nccdle-work  and  drawings  that 
were  wrap[)ed  around  its  trunk,  lor  its  future 
support  and  protection  from  the  chilling  winds 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


61 


wbich  this  town  is  at  times  liable  to,  when  a 
break  occurs  in  the  minds  of  its  inhabitants  : — 
James  M.  Kent  presented  potatoes,  mongrel 
pumpkins — a  curious  freak  of  nature ;  Lucien 
Kent,  Wiimingstadt  and  flat  Dutch  cabbage, 
parsnips,  beets,  2  varieties  tomatoes,  8  do. 
apples ;  David  L.  Bachelder,  a  new  variety 
of  parching  corn;  Mrs.  Marden,  giant  English 
turnips,  blood  beets  ;  Page  Long,  seed  cucum- 
bers, extra  long ;  C.  IL  Knowles,  2  varie- 
ties potatoes,  seed  corn,  7  varieties  apples, 
giant  Savoy  cabbages,  a  sample  of  13  qts. 
of  beans,  which  grew  on  15  square  feet  of 
ground,  being  at  the  rate  of  90  bushels  to  an 
acre  !  George  Hook,  6  varieties  apples,  extra 
large  Dutch  cabbages  ;  Gcoi-ge  Cammet,  beans, 
and  2  fine  samples  of  seed  corn ;  Charles  Kent, 

4  new  varieties  potatoes,  from  the  seed  balls  ; 
George  Bell,  field,  sweet,  and  California  pump- 
kins, 3  varieties  of  fowls,  3  do.  monstrous  po- 
tatoes, average  16  inches  in  circumference, 
being  an  average  sample  of  200  bushels ! 
George  Weeks,  sorghum  cane,  2  varieties 
parching  corn ;  Charles  Willcomb,  carrots, 
large  pumpkins,  squashes,  onions,  beets,  6 
varieties  apples ;  Arthur  S.  Leonard,  9  do. 
potatoes,  seed  corn,  7  varieties  apples,  fancy 
baskets  for  house  plants,  Brahma,  Chittagongs, 
black  Spanish  and  white  Leghorn  fowls,  fan- 
tailed  doves;  Thomas  I.  Melvin,  15  varieties 
apples,  4  do.  mammoth  blood  and  mangel 
wurzel  beets,  carrots,  turnips,  seed  corn, 
planted  May  25,  harvested  Sept.  1 ;  Wm. 
Crawford,  French  turnips,  carrots,  onions, 
white-flint  corn,  and  potatoes  of  the  Orono  spe- 
cies— I  saw  a  few  hills  of  these  potatoes  dug ; 
the  product  of  a  hill  weighed  9^  lbs.  ;  they 
were  planted  very  near  together,  and  turned 
out  at  the  rate  of  GOO  bushels  to  an  acre  !  J. 
L.  Lovett  exhibited  5  varieties  seed  potatoes  ; 
Josiah  Fitts,  garden  vegetables,  4  varieties  ap- 
ples, and  pears  ;  Francis  Hazelton,  7  varieties 
apples,  ehickory  roots,  extra  large  pumpkins, 
squashes ;  N.  S.  Morse,  2  very  nice  plates 
apples  and  potatoes ;  John  W.  Noyes,  Hub- 
bard squashes,  21  varieties  apples.  Concord, 
Delaware,  Diana,  Maine  and  Rogers  hybrid 
grapes,  No.  19 ;  I.  T.  Kendall,  5  varieties 
beautiful  apples,  French  turnips,  splendid 
watermelons,  French  squash;  J.  S.  Corning, 
watermelons,  squashes,  trace  corn  ;  H.  Knights, 

5  varieties  seedling  potatoes  ;  C.  L.  Weymouth, 
large  Hubbard  squashes ;  S.  V.  Osgood,  giant 
Swedish  turnips  ;  D.  C.  Swain,  mongrel  crook- 
neck  s(juash;  G.  C.  Fitts,  French  squash, 
ground  almonds,  seed  com ;  Fred.  Morse, 
pumpkins,  5  varieties  apples ;  George  Will- 
coml),  large  pumpkuis,  corn  and  cabbages ; 
Amos  Ball,  trace  com,  beans,  large  potatoes  ; 
John  Wason,  broom  corn,  extra  large  French 
turnips,  13  varieties  splendid  apples;  Roxanna 
Stevens,  2  do.  tomatoes ;  Elienezer  Marden, 
early  Canada  corn,  citron  melons,  French  tur- 
nips, 13  varieties  apples,  basket  chestnuts  in 
the  burr  opened  by  frost ;  Wm.  P.  W.  Whitti- 
more,  5  varieties   seed   potatoes,    buckwheat 


raised  on  pine  plains  at  the  rate  of  45  bushels 
to  an  acre,  peppers  ;  Wm.  Tennc}-,  white  win- 
ter wheat,  corn,  18  varieties  apples,  very  nice 
and  large,  3  do.  pears,  Duchess,  Vicar  of 
Winkfield,  L.  B.  DeJersey ;  G.  W.  Dolben,  a 
sample  of  seedling  apples,  or  natural  Baldwin  ; 
Wm.  True,  a  very  curious  and  interesting 
freak  of  nature  on  a  turnip ;  C.  S.  Dolf,  cab- 
bages ;  John  Robinson,  (i  varieties  apples, 
good  ;  James  R.  Gordon,  (i  do.  potatoes,  lai-ge 
and  nice ;  S.  S.  Chamberlin,  pumpkins,  Hub- 
bard and  marrow  squashes,  3  varieties  pota- 
toes, 3  do.  tomatoes,  cabbages,  4  varieties 
beans,  champion  peas,  brown,  parching  and 
StowelPs  evergreen  sweet  corn, — 19  ears 
weighed  18|  lbs., — carrots,  mangel  wurzels, 
onions,  French  turnips,  Isabella  grapes,  apples, 
and  potatoes  "from  the  moon,"  orange  gourds. 
S.  F.  Leonard :  this  gentleman  was  first  and 
foremost  in  the  management  of  the  fair,  and 
entered  a  large  variety  of  fruits,  grain  and 
vegetables ;  the  name  of  each  I  should  be 
pleased  to  give,  but  as  he  neglected  to  hand 
them  in,  I  am  unable  to  do  so. 

Ladies''  Department. 

Mrs.  L.  Moore,  house  plants,  flowers  and 
home-made  rug;  Mrs.  L.  Lawrence,  flowers 
and  house  plants  ;  Mrs.  H.  M.  Hazelton,  E.  I. 
Hazelton,  L.  Hazelton,  I.  Corning,  C.  H. 
Knowles,  home-made  rugs,  each ;  Miss  N.  A. 
Noyes,  worsted  work ;  Miss  S.  E.  Bell,  paint- 
ings ;  Mrs.  Kent,  pressed  flowers,  moss  bas- 
kets, flowers,  house  plants  ;  ]\'Irs.  Jno.  Hazel- 
ton, house  plants,  worsted  work  and  fancy  arti- 
cles ;  Miss  A.  Mitchel,  flowers  and  baskets; 
Mrs.  F.  Page,  Mrs.  Willcomb,  Mrs.  Rollins, 
quilts,  each. 

Several  others  entered  articles  too  late  to 
take  their  names,  or  contest  for  the  premiums. 
The  names  of  those  who  were  awarded  pre- 
miums I  have  becii  unable  to  obtain,  after  a 
number  of  weeks  of  incjuiry,  so  that  part  I 
must  omit  to  give  you.  I  will  write  you  about 
grapes  in  a  few  weeks,  if  I  have  not  already 
worn  your  patience  out  at  this  time. 

S.   S.  Chamberlin. 

Chester,  N.  H.,  Dec.  25,  1866. 

Remarks. — In  a  lecture  to  which  we  once 
listened,  the  speaker  pressed  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  his  hearers  the  idea  that,  ' '  when  we 
work  for  man,  we  are  working  for  God."  So 
our  correspondent  labored — and  labored  well — 
on  Christmas  Bay,  to  present  to  us,  and  the 
numerous  readers  of  the  Farmer  in  his  own 
and  the  neighboring  towns,  an  account  of  the 
first  agricultural  fair  in  the  ' '  ancient  and 
honorable  "  town  of  Chester.  We  have  heard 
it  spoken  of  as  a  success  which  greatly  surprised 
the  movers  themselves.  It  was  like  "getting 
into  law ;"  when  they  had  got  it  started  they 
couldn't  stop  it.     The  example  Mill  be  valua- 


62 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


Feb. 


ble  to  the  towns  in  that  region.  The  towns  of 
Chester,  Deny,  Hampstead,  Candia,  Auburn 
and  Ra\'mond  could  get  up  an  annual  fair,  and 
make  a  display  of  stock,  crops  and  fruits  that 
would  be  creditable  to  any  county  in  New 
England.  We  are  obliged  to  our  correspond- 
ent for  this  favor,  and  hope  he  will  soon  send 
us  an  account  of  his  grapes. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
TIGHT   BABNS. 

I  have  noticed  lately  that  some  of  your  cor- 
respondents have  again  brought  up  the  subject 
of  tight  barns,  contending  that  hay  will  keep 
better  in  such ;  also,  that  it  will  keep  better, 
and  as  I  understand  them  to  say  would  dry 
better  in  the  barn  than  in  the  stack.  However 
the  flicts  or  theories  in  the  case  may  be,  it  is 
certain  that  the  opinion  of  most  farmers  is 
against  all  this. 

Some  farmers  put  their  early  cut  hay,  which 
is  supposed  to  contain  more  sap  than  that  which 
is  cut  later,  on  the  scaiibld  side  of  the  barn. 
And  I  think  farmers  generally  put  their  green- 
est ha}'  on  the  scaffolds  or  lofts,  rather  than 
into  bays  which  are  generally  much  wider  and 
deeper.  So  in  the  season  of  haying,  barns  are 
left  more  open  for  the  draught  of  air  than  at 
other  seasons  of  the  year. 

I  have  put  good  sweet  hay  into  the  tight, 
nicely  built  stables  in  the  village,  where  there 
was  no  ventilation,  and  in  a  few  weeks  the  out- 
side would  be  mouldy  and  bad.  And  I  have 
heard  other  villagers  that  had  tight  barns  say, 
that  they  did  not  buy  hay  out  of  the  fields  be- 
cause they  had  found  that  it  would  not  keep  in 
their  barns. 

We  universally  find  that  corn  bams  are  made 
very  open,  and  the  cribs  narrow,  for  the  better 
circulation  of  air.  I  think  that  both  hay  and 
corn  Ijarns  should  have  ventilation  at  the  top  as 
well  as  near  the  bottom. 

Hay  from  the  salt  marsh  is  usually  stacked 
out ;  and  many  a  time  I  have  heard  farmers 
say  their  hay  was  not  dry  enough  to  put  into 
the  bam  so  they  would  stack  it.  Hay  in  the 
stack  ■H'ill  dry  better  by  being  raised  up  from 
the  ground,  to  secure  a  draught  of  air  under- 
neath. Many  even  go  so  far  as  to  build  the 
stack  hollow  ;  that  is,  they  fill  a  l)ag  full  of  hay, 
and  on  commencing  a  stack  set  the  hag  upright 
in  the  middle  of  the  stack,  and  as  they  proceed 
draw  the  bag  up  until  nearly  finished  when 
some  small  sticks  are  laid  over  the  iiole  after 
the  bag  is  drawn  out,  and  a  little  more  hay  is 
pitchefl  on,  and  the  top  finished.  This  method 
of  stacking  hay  has  been  found  to  work  admir- 
ably where  hay  must  lie  put  up  not  more  than 
half  cured,  as  it  is  sometimes  on  the  marshes 
on  account  of  tides. 

1  am  aware  that  much  depends  on  the  weath- 
er about  drying  hay  that  is  stacked  green  ;  but 
I  think  the  more  air  we  get,  either  by  stacking 


hollow,  or  by  big  cracks  in  the  bam,  the  better 
for  hay,  unless  it  is  perfectl}'  dry. 

J.  'W.  Brown. 

Kensington,  N.  H.,  Nov.  19,  18G6. 


Barometers. — In  connection  with  the  un- 
qualified condemnation  of  the  barometer  by 
the  Solons  of  the  New  York  Institute,  the 
following  statement  is  made  in  the  Bural  Amer- 
ican, by  W.  S.  Langdon,  of  Lisbon,  lU. : — 

First,  a  person  having  one  must  ascertain 
from  observation  the  average,  or  mean  height 
of  the  mercurial  column ;  then  knowing  that 
he  will  find  that  his  barometer,  (if  a  good  one) 
will  indicate  unnd,  as  well  as  rain  ;  but  gener- 
ally the  fall  is  more  rapid  for  wind  than  for 
rain.  If  the  mercury  is  from  any  cause  above 
the  mean,  and  it  begins  to  fall,  he  should  not 
expect  a  storm ;  but  if  at  the  mean,  or  below 
it,  a  storm  of  some  degree  of  severity  will 
surely  follow  a  fall.  A  storm  will  follow  a 
great  and  rapid  rise,  when  the  wind  is  north- 
east, and  also  the  same  with  a  fall  in  the  mercui-y, 
with  the  wind  in  that  quarter  ;  but  never  during 
my  three  years'  observation  has  a  stonu  occur- 
red (with  the  above  exception)  without  notice 
of  from  three  hours  to  two  days  beforehand. 


A  Hint  in  Breeding. — Mr.  Torr,  the  well- 
known  breeder  of  Short-Horn  cattle  and 
Leicester  sheep,  in  the  course  of  some  remarks 
at  the  recent  letting  of  the  latter,  touching  on 
breeding  in  general,  said  : 

"The  way  to  establish  uniformity  or  family 
likeness  is  to  begin  by  putting  the  best  male  to 
the  best  female,  and  to  continue  to  put  i/ie  best 
to  the  best;"  secondly,  "not  to  put  opposite 
characters  together,  or  the  ti'aits  of  both  will 
be  lost ;  but  if  any  fresh  characteristic  is  re- 
c^uired  to  be  imparted  to  the  issue  of  present 
stock  animals,  this  must  be  done  by  degrees, 
or  by  that  discreet  selection  which  will  yield  a 
little  more  wool,  or  size  and  substance,  the  first 
}ear,  and  a  little  more  and  more  in  the  second 
and  third  generations,  and  so  on." 


Caxada  Thistles. — A  writer  in  the  West- 
ern Rural  tells  how  he  killed  acres  of  Canada 
thistles,  thus: — "Plough  early  in  the  spring, 
as  soon  as  they  are  all  out  of  the  ground.  As 
soon  as  they  are  up  the  second  time,  plough  or 
cultivate  with  a  wheeled  cultivator,  and  so  con- 
tinue as  often  as  they  come  in  sight,  which  will 
be  about  three  or  four  times  during  the  sum- 
mer. If  the  season  is  wet  it  is  all  the  more 
favorable  for  killing — others  don't  agree  with 
me — because  they  sprout  and  make  their  ap- 
pearance much  more  certainly  than  in  a  dry 
season.  In  a  dry  season  the  roots  lie  in  the 
ground  without  coming  up ;  in  a  warm,  wet 
season  they  come  up  three  or  four  times,  and 
that  is  their  end  if  they  are  as  often  plowed." 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARTHER. 


63 


CELOSIA.— [Aurea  Pyramidalis.] 
This  magnilicent,  free-flowering,  graceful- 
growing  plant,  belongs,  with  cocks-comb,  to 
the  natural  order  Amarantaccce.     It  produ- 
ces in  the  greatest  profusion  spikes  of  the  most 
beautiful  feath- 
ery-looking 
flowers,  which 
are  well  repre- 
sented in    the 
annexed      en- 
graving, copied 
from       Wash- 
burn   &   Co/s 
Catalogue     of 
Flower        and 
Vegetable 
Seeds, in  which 
three  varieties 
are  described. 
The       variety 
Celosia  Argen- 
tea     produces 
its   flowers    in 
spikes,    like   a 
G  o  m  p  h  r  e  n  a 
{Glube    Ama- 
rantlais,)    but 
much    longer ; 
and,    if    gath- 
ered        when 
young,       they 
are      valuable 
for  winter  bou- 
quets.    Plants 
of  the  Celosia 
flower  freely  if  planted  out  in  June  in  a  warm, 
sheltered  situation.     Grown  in  pots,  they  are 
the  most  elegant  of  greenhouse  and  conserva- 
tory plants,   where,  with  a  little  management, 
they  may  be  had  in  flower  the  whole  winter, 
growing  freely  in  rich  loamy  soil.     Half-hardy 
annuals. 


mg  the  city  of  Canterbury.  In  18G2  there 
were  in  these  forty-flve  parishes  3269iJ  acres 
of  hop  gardens.  In  the  present  year  there  are 
41951  acres,  showing  an  increase  of  over  thirty 
per  cent.,  besides  411  acres  of  young  hops  not 
yet  come  into  bearing.     Of  the  41 95^  acres, 

2715:1  are  en- 
gaged in  grow- 
ing "  Gold- 
ings,"  which 
are  reputed  to 
be  the  highest 
class  grown  in 
England ;  the 
remaining 
1480  acres  are 
devoted  to 
"G  rape  s," 
"Jones  ," 
"CuUings,"  a 
few  "  Cole- 
gates,'"  and 
some  less 

known  descrip- 
tions. The 
growers  have 
made  no  com- 
plaints since 
the  duty  ,was 
remove  d ; 
there  could 
hardly  be  nam- 
ed five  years  in 
succession  that 
prices  have 
stood  so  high 
as  during  the 
last  five,  and  it 
is  computed 
that  the  pro- 
duce of  each 
of  those  years 
would  pay  for 
the  land  on  which  it  was  grown.  Looking  to 
current  prices,  it  would  seem  there  is  still 
abundant  room  for  further  increase. 


»m 


HOP   CULTUKE   IN   ENGLAND. 

A  careful  attempt  has  been  made  by  a  cor- 
respondent of  the  London  Times  to  ascertain 
the  number  of  acres  of  hops  under  cultivation 
in  18G6.  As  long  as  the  duties  on  hops  contin- 
ued, a  P  arliamentary  return  was  published  ev- 
ery year,  showing  the  acreage  devoted  to  that 
cultivation.  The  duty  was  abolished  in  1862, 
and  since  that  time  there  have  been  no  statis- 
tics taken  of  the  area  under  cultivation. 

The  present  inquiry  has  embraced  a  survey 
of  forty-five  parishes  in  East  Kent,  surround- 


The  Cattle  Plague  in  England. — At 
last  the  cattle  plague  in  Britain  has  come  to  an 
end,  after  destroying  upward  of  two  hundred 
thousand  animals — the  aggregate  value  of  which 
must  have  been  considerably  upward  of  a  mil- 
lion sterling.  It  is  estimated  that  about  five 
per  cent,  of  the  cattle  of  England  perished 
throuc;h  this  di-eadful  murrain. 


Crops. — The  Commissioner  of  Agriculture 
estimates  the  crops  as  follows :  wheat,  180,- 
000,000  bushels;  corn,  880,000,000,  an  in- 
crease of  400,000,000  bushels  over  that  of 
1859 ;  cotton,  1,750,000  bales  of  400  pounds 
each, 


64 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR]\IER. 


Feb. 


WINTER  MANAGEMENT  OF  MANTJBE. 

There  are  many  things  necessary  to  be  ob- 
served in  good  fanning,  many  minor  details, 
which,  if  neglected,  are  quite  sure  to  result  in 
loss  in  the  crops,  rather  than  profit.  There 
are  two  things  that  are  absolutely  indispensa- 
ble, without  the  employment  of  which  we 
doubt  whether  profitable  crops  can  be  raised 
on  any  New  England  soils,  for  many  years  in 
succession.  The  first  of  these  and  the  only 
one  to  which  we  propose  to  give  attention  at 
the  present  time,  is  the  Winter  Management  of 
Manure. 

Considerable  change  has  taken  place  in  this 
item  of  farm  husbandry  during  the  last  twenty 
years,  but  there  is  nothing  yet  like  a  system  of 
management  in  it.  On  many  farms  very  good 
practices  prevail  one  year  that  are  utterly  neg- 
lected the  next — although  it  is  admitted  by 
the  operator,  that  a  system  has  many  advan- 
tages over  a  chance  practice.  Some  of  the 
difficulties  attending  the  handling  and  applica- 
tion of  manures  are  : — 

1.  That  it  is  impleasant  and  expensive  to 
overhaul  and  apply  manure  in  a  green  condi- 
tion, mingled  with  refuse  fodder,  such  as  com 
stalks  and  buts,  meadow  hay  and  straw. 

2.  Manure  in  such  condition  is  in  a  form  too 
adhesive  and  compact  to  be  used  with  the 
greatest  advantage.  The  object  should  be  to 
get  the  largest  possible  crop  from  the  manure, 
the  first  year  it  is  applied.  In  order  to  secure 
this,  it  must  be  fermented,  and  made  fine  and 
easily  separated  by  that  process,  or  it  must  be 
divided  by  the  admixture  of  some  other  sub- 
stance, such  as  loam,  sand,  sawdust,  or  muck 
— the  latter  being  altogether  the  best. 

Before  proceeding  further,  let  us  solve  the 
qnestion,  What  is  Muck?  and  then  we  shall 
be  able  to  decide  whether  the  process  which 
we  intend  to  describe  for  the  winter  manage- 
ment of  manure,  will  commend  itself  to  the 
judgment  of  most  farmers.  Muck  is  any  mass 
of  decaying  vegetable  matter.  Not  mud,  as 
some  term  it,  which  is  a  mixture  of  soil  and 
sand,  or  gravel.  In  enlarging  the  manure 
heaj)s,  we  add  vegetable  matter,  in  various 
forms,  such  as  the  refuse  of  the  barn,  to  wliich 
weeds  are  added,  brakes,  rushes,  coarse  grass, 
moss  leaves,  and  even  small  bushes — every- 
thing that  will  readily  decay  and  become  muck. 

What  we  atteui{)t  to  do  in  our  limited  and 
painstaking  way.  Nature  has  already  done  for 
us  on  an  extended  scale.     She  began  her  work 


centuries  ago,  and  now  has  completed  it,  left 
it  at  our  hands,  and  invites  us  to  gather  it  up 
and  use  it.  It  is  scattered  over  the  New  Eng- 
land States  in  endless  quantity,  in  the  mead- 
ows, in  the  swamps,  and  in  the  valleys  be- 
tween the  hills — the  muck  beds  of  New  Eng- 
land— and  worth  more  to  us  than  all  the  gold 
beds  of  California. 

Muck  is  manure.  No  proverb  has  more 
truth  than  this,  that  "Muck  is  the  mother  of 
the  meal  chest.''''  With  umvearled  pains  we  fill 
our  barns  annually  with  vegetable  matter,  not 
only  to  sustain  our  animals,  but  to  convert 
that  mass  of  vegetable  matter  into  manure,  or 
muck.  The  process  is  a  quicker  one  than  Na- 
ture's, but  how  trifling  in  extent  compared 
with  hers  !  The  result  of  that  conversion  is  a 
heavy,  highly-concentrated  fertilizer,  without 
the  use  of  which  little  can  be  pi'ofitably  done 
In  New  England  farming,  or  the  West  either, 
eventually. 

How  much  this  vegetable  matter  is  "animal- 
ized,"  as  it  is  called,  if  any,  bypassing  through 
the  cattle,  we  do  not  know.  But  that  it  has  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  condition  of  the  soil 
and  the  gi-owth  of  plants,  is  established  be- 
yond dispute. 

Nature's  process  is  a  slower  one,  but  she 
comes  at  last  to  something  like  the  same  re- 
sults. She  sends  upon  the  sandy  plain  or 
gravelly  knoll,  a  coarse,  scanty  herbage,  which 
dies,  falls  to  the  ground,  decays,  and  becomes 
muck,  humus,  or  earth.  This  quickens  the 
soil,  the  next  crop  is  larger,  and  dies  and  de- 
cays as  did  the  first;  but  now  the  soil  has 
power  to  germinate  seeds  which  are  brought 
upon  it  by  winds  or  animals,  and  soon  bushes, 
or  young  trees  appear.  These  are  partially 
sustained  by  the  atmosphere,  and  become 
clothed  with  a  rank  foliage  which  they  annually 
shed  upon  and  completely  cover  the  surface. 
This  process  has  been  repeated  in  thousands 
of  instances,  when,  at  length,  some  flood  has 
covered  the  surface  until  all  vegetable  life  was 
extinct,  or  some  raging  fire  swept  through  the 
forest,  burning  everything  but  the  larger 
trunks  of  the  trees.  The  ravages  of  Insects 
and  the  tooth  of  time  graduall}'  bring  these  to 
the  ground,  where  they  lose  all  their  form  and 
mingle  with  the  common  mass.  In  muck 
meadows,  the  accunuilation  has  been  gradually 
formed  by  the  annual  dei'ay  of  .•<mall  bushea 
and  the  rank  grasses  which  have  grown  upon 
them;    though    in  many  Instances   there   are 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


65 


abundant  evidences  that  the  surface  was  once 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  trees. 

Through  the  aid  of  our  stock,  we  convert 
vegetable  matter  into  muck  in  twenty-four 
hours.  Nature,  in  her  process,  has  probably 
occupied  half  as  many  thousand  years  !  We 
cannot  wait  for  her,  and  will  therefore  avail 
ourselves  of  her  free-will  offering  as  a  help  to 
our  own  exertions. 

As  perfect  an  analysis  as  can  well  be  made — 
repeatedly  tried — shows  that  cow  dung  and 
good  muck  are  nearly  the  same  thing.  Dr. 
Dana  says  : — ' '  Departing  from  cow  dung  and 
wandering  through  all  the  varieties  of  animal 
and  vegetable  manures,  we  land  in  a  peat  bog. 
The  substance  vinder  our  feet  is  analyzed  and 
found  to  be  cow  dung  Avithout  its  musky  breath 
of  cow  odor,  or  the  power  of  generating  am- 
monia, except  in  some  varieties  of  peat.  Add 
three  per  cent,  of  potash  to  muck  and  it  be- 
comes the  same  as  cow  dung."  If  this  be  so, 
■will  you  not  grasp  it  as  the  miner  does  the  glit- 
tering gold  that  he  turns  up  with  infinite  labor 
from  the  bowels  of  the  eai'th  ?  Now  that  we 
have  examined  the  materials  to  be  used,  let  us 
suggest  how  to 

Compound  them  during  the  "Winter. 

In  the  first  place,  the  muck  to  be  used 
ishould  be  thrown  out  a  year  beforehand,  and 
carted  into  the  cellar  when  as  dry  as  it  can  be, 
in  the  open  air.  It  is  estunated  that  a  cord  of 
green  peat  weighs  9216  lbs. ;  but  if  quite  dry 
loses  three-fourths  of  its  weight.  So  that  more 
than  one-half  the  cost  of  hauling  is  saved  by 
carting  it  when  dry.  Besides  this,  wet  muck 
will  not  perform  the  service  desired,  that  of 
absorbing  and  holding  the  fluid  portions  of  the 
manure. 

Cart  the  muck  in,  therefore,  when  it  is  dry, 
and  leave  it  in  a  long  window,  where  it  will  be 
at  a  convenient  shovelling  distance  from  the 
fresh  droppings  after  they  are  removed  from 
the  stalls.  Then,  as  oflen  as  twice  a  week — 
each  day  is  better — cover  the  di-oppings  with 
the  muck.  The  heap  should  have  no  long  lit- 
ter with  it.  K  not  convenient  to  cut  it,  keep 
it  as  much  by  itself  as  possible,  and  cart  it  out 
in  the  spring  and  fei-ment  it.  If  the  hay, 
straw,  corn  buts  and  stalks  are  cut  before  being 
fed  out,  what  are  left  may  go  down  with  the 
droppings,  as  they  will  not  interfere  with  the 
shovelling  the  heap  in  the  spring. 

Under  such  management,  a  heap  of  manure 
may  be  secured  retaining  all  its  rich  qualities ; 


even  the  volatile  ammonia  is  saved.  It  will 
require  no  fermentation,  no  overhauling  two 
or  three  times  in  the  spring  before  it  is  fit  to 
be  used,  can  be  handled  rapidly  and  comforta- 
bly, and  will  be  suitable  for  any  crop, — the 
flower  garden,  corn  field  or  for  broad-casting. 
It  will  be  black,  unctuous  and  strong.  On  a 
fai'm  made  up  of  heavy  loams,  a  slight  cover- 
ing will  answer  the  purpose  of  saving  the 
fluids  and  volatile  parts,  but  where  the  farm  is 
a  sandy  loam,  the  peat  may  be  used  with  great 
freedom.  Indeed,  as  it  is  adding  manure  to 
manure,  pile  it  on,  if  the  expense  of  carting  in 
and  out  is  not  thought  too  great. 

Where  this  practice  is  observed  the  barn 
will  have  none  of  those  sickening  odors  which 
disgust  the  visitor,  endanger  the  health  of  the 
stock,  and  taint  the  fodder  they  ai'e  to  eat,  as 
well  as  carriages,  harness,  and  the  clothing  of 
those  who  have  charge  of  the  barn. ,  If  muck 
cannot  be  obtained,  use  loam  ;  sand  is  infinitely 
better  than  nothing ;  on  heavy  granite  soils  it 
is  decidedly  beneficial,  and  if  the  manure  is 
intended  for  top-dressing  meadows,  no  other 
material  is  so  good. 

Great  care  must  be  observed  in  the  selection 
of  muck,  as  some  of  it  contains  salts  that  actu- 
ally prevent  the.  growth  of  plants.  This  may 
be  ascertained  by  exposing  it  to  the  air  during 
a  growing  season.  Most  specimens,  however, 
that  are  highly  decomposed  and  of  a  dark 
color,  will  be  found  to  be  good. 

If  the  muck  beds  of  New  England  should 
attract  om-  farmers  as  gold  did  the  soldiers  of 
Cortes,  its  farms  would  soon  teem  with  an  un- 
paralleled fertility. 


TOO  MUCH  STOCK. 
It  should  ever  be  a  rule  with  the  farmer  to 
winter  no  more  stock  than  he  can  winter  well. 
A  single  sheep  or  cow,  properly  cared  for,  and 
provided  with  a  sufficiency  of  wholesome  and 
nutritious  food,  water,  and  comfortable  shel- 
ter, will  be  of  more  value  to  the  owner  than 
two,  poorly  kept.  It  is  a  singular  error  in 
domestic  policy,  to  appropriate  to  two  or  more 
animals  the  food  necessary  for  one.  Yet  this 
singular  mistake  is  often  noticeable  among 
those  who  consider  themselves — and  are  called 
— good  farmers  ;  and,  indeed,  is,  or  has  been, 
often  practiced  by  whole  communities.  In 
seasons  of  scarcity,  more  stock  is  kept  than 
there  is  food  to  supply  their  wants ;  conse- 
quently the  price  of  hay  is  unduly  raised,  and 


66 


NEW   ENGLAND    FABMER. 


Feb. 


suffering,  often  irremediable  and  ruinous 
to  the  community,  is  the  result.  The  true 
policy  is,  to  keep  just  as  many  animals  as  will 
consume  the  fodder  produced  on  the  farm,  and 
no  more.  But  this  would  not  preclude  the 
plan  of  purchasing  fodder — were  the  money  at 
hand  to  do  so — with  the  intention  of  increas- 
ing the  quantity  of  manure  and  the  productive 
power  of  the  farm. 

Practices  on  the  farm  have  greatly  changed 
in  this  respect,  as  in  many  others.  We  have 
heard  men  boast  of  wintering  a  cow  of  com- 
mon size  on  a  single  ton  of  ordinary  hay. 
Under  such  a  practice,  nearly  every  farm  in 
the  neighborhood  would  lose  one  or  more  ani- 
mals every  spring,  by  some  disease  induced  by 
want  of  food  and  exposure  to  cold.  Swine 
died,  and  so  did  nearly  one-half  the  lambs 
and  calves.  Cows  and  working  oxen  came 
out  of  the  winter  poor  and  weak,  the  former 
giving  but  little  milk  after  calving,  and  the 
oxen  entirely  unfit  for  performing  the  spring 
work  on  the  farm.  It  was  a  wretched  policy. 
We  trust  that  it  is  abandoned  among  all  enter- 
prising farmers.  Feed  your  stock  well,  and 
they  will  feed  you. 


New  Hampshire  State  Agricultural  So- 
ciety.— The  annual  meeting  of  this  society 
was  held  in  Nashua,  Wednesday,  26th  ult., 
when  the  following  board  of  officers  was  electa 
ed :  President,  Frederick  Smyth  of  Manches- 
ter ;  Treasurer,  George  W.  Riddle  of  Bedford ; 
Secretary,  Aaron  Young  of  Portsmouth  ;  Di- 
rectors, Natt  Head  of  Hooksett,  David  Gillis 
of  Nashua,  Edward  Gustine  of  Keene,  War- 
ren F.  Daniel  of  Franklin,  James  W.  Coggs- 
well  of  Gilmanton.  It  was  voted  that  the  next 
fair  be  held  on  the  10th  of  September,  1867, 
and  the  two  following  days.  The  treasurer  re- 
ported that  there  were  $978.26  in  the  treasury, 
and  that  the  late  fair  at  Nashua,  (when  the 
weather  was  extremely  wet  and  stormy)  just 
paid  its  expenses. 

Canker-worm  in  Michigan.  —  Sanford 
Howard,  Secretary  of  the  Michigan  Board  of 
Agriculture,  furnishes  a  valuable  communica- 
tion to  the  Westerii  Rural  in  relation  to  the 
appearance  of  the  canker-worm  in  Calhoun 
Co.,  in  that  State.  Six  different  orchards 
!iave  been  infested,  and  the  insect  is  extend- 
iig.  It  appears  there  are  also  some  other 
,>arts  of  the  State  where  it  has  been  found. 


AQBICULTiniAL   ITEMS. 

— Good  fences  always  pay  better  than  lawsuits 
with  neighbors. 

— In  Denmark  one  cannot  cut  down  his  own 
trees  without  a  permit  from  Government. 

— The  Maine  Farmer  says  the  hay  crop  of  ihat 
State  this  year  was  about  two-thirds  of  its  usual 
average. 

— Drained  land  is  generally  ten  to  twenty  de- 
grees wanner  in  summer,  than  that  in  which  water 
stands  stagnant. 

— The  average  yield  of  wheat  per  acre  in  Michi- 
gan is  believed  not  to  exceed  ten  bushels  per  acre 
by  a  Marshall  county  correspondent  of  the  Western 
Rural. 

— To  keep  warm  feet,  line  your  boots  with  calf- 
skin dressed  soft  with  the  hair  on,  or  with  young 
lamb-skin.  Eveiy  man  should  have  two  pairs  in 
use,  and  change  every  day. 

— As  layers,  we  consider  the  Spanish  and  the 
Black  Poland  Top-knots  altogether  unrivalled  as 
abundant  layers.  The  whole  family  of  Hamburgs, 
including  the  Bolton  Greys,  arc  prolitic,  and  are 
known  as  everlasting  layers. 

— It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  there 
would  be  great  difficulty  in  rearing  chickens 
hatched  in  Fcbnaary  and  March,  on  account  of  the 
cold,  but,  with  proper  accommodations  or  conven- 
iences, Mr.  Bemcnt  says  he  has  found  it  more  cer- 
tain than  those  hatched  in  June. 

— To  sort  potatoes  or  apples,  stand  upright  and 
save  the  backache.  It  is  more  healthy.  Make  a 
platform  3x3  feet,  with  sides  4  or  6  inches  high. 
Leave  a  gap  at  one  comer,  to  pour  out  from.  Set 
the  fonn  on  a  barrel,  or  other  support,  and  pour  a 
bushel  at  a  time  of  apples  on  it,  and  sort  them 
standing.    It  is  easier  to  lift  up  than  stoop  down. 

— For  the  relief,  but  not  complete  cure,  of  the 
heaves,  a  correspondent  of  the  Rural  American 
recommends  the  outside  of  shell  bark,  burnt  to 
ashes  and  mixed  with  the  horse's  feed,  as  much  as 
he  can  be  made  to  eat,  and  allow  him  to  eat  no 
dusty  hay,  especially  clover  hay. 

— Horseman,  spnri'  that  tree  I 

'Tis  not  A  hitching  post; 
Though  in  its  infancy, 

"i'etsoon  'twill  shade  a  host; 
Then  spare,  0,  .^paie  that  tree. 

For  ho  who  placed  it  there 
Meant  not  that  it  sluinld  lie 

By  beast  of  thine  gnawed  hare. 

—Mr.  W.  C.  Ripley,  of  Green,  N.  Y.,  says  that 
he  has  practiced  with  perfect  success  the  following 
plan  for  wintering  cabbages:  "Sink  a  barrel  in 
the  ground  to  within  an  inch  or  two  of  the  top, 
cut  off  the  heads  and  till  the  barrel  full,  put  on  a 
board  to  keep  out  water,  and  that  is  all  the  cover- 
ing that  is  needed." 

—Mr.  W.  C.  Schofield,  of  Coventry,  Vt.,  has  two 
Leicester  ewes  which  for  the  past  three  years  have 
each  brought  him  two  lambs  each  year.  lie  sold 
the  lambs  for  sixty  dollars,  and   the  wool   for 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


67 


twenty.  His  four  Lambs  this  year  weighed  59,  60, 
67  and  50  lbs.  He  has  also  eight  cov/s  from  which 
he  has  made,  since  the  first  of  April,  1200  lbs.  of 
butter,  and  reared  four  calves.  The  butter  brought 
him  $490  22.    So  says  the  Vermont  Farmer. 

— The  temperature  of  the  surrounding  air  has  a 
great  effect  upon  the  time  required  for  the  rising  of 
the  ci'eam ;  experiment  has  demonstrated  that  with 
the  thermometer  at 

80  degrees,  all  the  cream  will  rise  in  10  hours. 


77 
68 
55 
50 
45 


12 
18 
24 
36 
43 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

WHITE    BEANS — SEED    CORN — BREEDS    OF    SWINE — 
ESSEX   PIGS. 

What  kind  of  white  beans  are  the  best  for  table 
use,  and  at  the  same  time  bring  the  highest  price 
in  market  ?  Where  can  I  obtain  a  seed  of  corn 
that  will  yield  a  large  crop,  and  ripen  early  in  the 
State  of  Maine  ?  Is  the  Columbia  County  pig 
equal  to  the  Chester,  Suffolk  or  Cheshire,  in  qual- 
ity of  pork  and  ease  of  fattening  ? 

What  is  the  best  Ijreed  of  pigs  in  all  respects  ? 

Will  the  Essex  pig  dress  white  ? 

Norton,  Dec,  1866.  A  Subscriber. 

Remarks. — The  white  "pea  bean,"  as  it  is 
called,  is  probably  the  best  bean  known,  all  things 
considered.  That  is,  most  people  prefer  this  to 
any  other  bean.  It  is  easily  raised,  ripens  before 
frosts  usually  come,  is  always  in  demand  in  the 
market,  and  at  the  highest  price  paid  for  beans. 

Seed  corn  may  be  obtained  at  the  seed  stores  in 
Boston,  and  probably  in  any  of  the  cities  in  Maine, 
that  will  yield  a  large  crop  if  managed  properly, 
and  will  ripen  in  about  ninety  days  from  the  time 
of  planting — provided  the  seed  is  put  into  the 
ground  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  suitable  in  the  spring. 

We  have  no  knowledge  that  is  sufficiently  relia- 
ble on  j'our  question  about  the  swine.  The  pure 
Chester  and  the  Suffolk  fatten  quite  rapidly,  and 
the  poi-k  sometimes  lacks  that  firmness  which  we 
find  in  breeds  of  larger  frames. 

The  question  as  to  what  is  the  best  breed  of 
Bwine  in  all  respect,  is  probably  as  much  unsettled 
as  it  would  be  if  applied  to  cattle  or  horses. 

The  Essex  swine  do  dress  white. 


Since  then  I  have  kept  them  on  their  summer 
stand. 

I  have  a  few  hives  that  stand  on  a  platform, 
with  wire  cloth  for  a  bottom.  I  think  Ihcy  winter 
nnich  better  than  those  in  hives  standing  on  a 
board.  During  the  i)ast  winter  I  examined  the 
bees  a  number  of  times  in  the  hives  standing  on  a 
board  bottom,  and  found  many  of  them  on  the 
l)Ottom,  sometimes  being  frozen  iogethcr ;  at  others 
they  were  wet,  having  a  very  disagreeable  smell. 
On  the  wire  bottom  there  were  a  few  dead  bees, 
but  the  wire  was  dry.  To  the  wire  bottom,  how- 
ever, I  have  two  objections:  First,  the  expense; 
and  second,  the  bees  will  seal  it  over  so  as  to  make 
it  water-tight. 

1  intend  this  winter  to  make  a  box  or  frame  two. 
inches  deep,  just  the  size  of  the  hive ;  then  remove 
the  hive  from  Ihe  liotiom  board,  put  on  the  frame, 
fill  ii^  wiih  coarse  pine  sawdiu  t,  and  then  replace 
the  hive.  This,  I  think,  will  help  to  keep  the  bees 
dry,  as  the  water  lliat  drops  from  the  comb  will 
pars  through  the  sawdust.  For  the  top  of  the  hive 
I  intend  to  lay  six  small  sticks  about  one-fourth 
longer  than  liie  widih  of  the  hive,  on  the  top  of 
the  hive,  crosswise  the  frames,  then  fill  the  top 
with  dean  rye  straw.  This  will  give  the  bees  an 
air  chamber  and  a  passage  over  the  frapies.  Should 
any  person  give  this  arrangement  a  trial,  I  should 
be  pleased  to  hear  of  it  through  the  New  England 
Farmer.  For  the  last  six  years  I  have  made  my 
honey  boxes  to  fit  on  the  frames,  using  no  honey 
board.  J.  s.  c. 

Manchester,  Mass.,  Nov.,  1866. 

Remarks. — We  hope  "J.  S.  C."  will  not  fail  to 
communicate  the  result  of  the  proposed  experi- 
ment, whether  others  do  so  or  not.  We  shall  be 
pleased  to  give  our  readers  the  benefit  of  other 
facts  which  the  experience  of  these  fifteen  years 
may  have  developed. 


treatment  of  croup. 

Noticing  a  statement  in  your  paper  in  regard  to 
the  treatment  of  croup,  I  will  say  that,  in  my 
opinion,  when  any  one  has  an  attack  of  the  croup, 
or  diptheria,  as  it  is  termed,  be  it  a  child  or  an 
adult,  just  drink  freely  of  wann  water  only,  until 
relief  is  obtained;  at  the  same  time  keeping  the 
whole  body  warm,  not  by  wet  cloths,  but  dry  ones, 
especially  the  batk  of  the  neck.  Mothers,  try  it 
for  your  little  ones.  It  cannot  harm,  if  it  does  not 
cure.  I  have  tried  it  in  the  first  stages  of  croup, 
in  my  family,  and  found  it  gave  speedy  relief. 

A  Farmer's  Wife. 

North  Hadley,  Mass.,  1866. 


care  of  bees  in  winter. 

Having  kept  bees  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  profits  of  bee- 
keeping depend  more  on  keeping  them  weU  in  win- 
ter than  in  summer.  I  find  that  one  strong,  healthy 
swarm  in  the  spring  of  the  year  is  worth  many 
weak  ones. 

In  the  winter  of  1860-61  I  put  some  of  my  bees 
in  a  dry  cellar,  and  I  thought  it  a  poor  way  to  win- 
ter them,  as  they  came  out  in  the  spring  rather 
feeble  and  with  mouldy  combs.  The  next  winter 
I  put  them  in  a  dark  room  in  the  house,  with  the 
holes  in  the  honey  board  open  for  ventilation.  In 
the  month  of  Januarj',  the  weather  being  mild,  the 
bees  became  over-heated,  and  in  order  to  save 
them,  I  was  obliged  to  carry  them  out  of  doors. 


SHOE   FOR   corked   OX. 

A  subscriber  from  Littleton,  N.  H.,  wishes  for 
info'anation  relative  to  shoeing  his  ox.  I  had  one 
eorked  the  same  way,  and  had  a  shoe  made  tight 
and  drawn  out  at  the  toe  so  as  to  turn  up  over  the 
end  of  the  hoof,  and  then  put  on  so  as  not  to  press 
hard  on  the  toe.  It  worked  very  well.  I  think  it 
best  to  let  his  ox  lie  still  a  while.  I  know  of  noth- 
ing better  to  facilitate  the  growth  of  the  hoof  than 
a  little  soft  grease  of  some  kind  applied  often 
around  the  hoof,  near  the  hair. 

A  Subscriber. 

Waterhury,  Vt.,  Nov.  17, 1866. 


BIG    colt    in  a   bad   FIX. 

I  have  a  colt  five  months  and  twenty-two  days 
old,  14  1-2  hands  (58  in.)  high,  and  well-propor- 
tioned, that  seems  to  be  stiff,  weak  and  lame  all 
over.  The  cords  in  his  legs  are  very  prominent, 
and  appear  contracted,  somewtat  like  the  cramp, 


68 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feu. 


with  some  tendency  to  crimping  down  on  his  for- 
ward ankles.  There  are  big  i)iill's,  like  hog  spav- 
ins, on  the  gamhrel  joints,  mikI  at  (liUcrent  times 
seems  to  limj)  with  eaeh  ot  his  legs,  lie  eats  and 
driidis  well,  and  lies  down,  hut  gets  u|)  w  irli  (iilli- 
eiilty.  lie  has  grown  two  inelies  in  ahciiit  four 
weeks,  and  has  been  getting  more  ont  ot  lix  eaeh 
week.  There  being  no  farrier  in  the  vicinity,  I 
have  done  nothing  fur  him,  except  rnl)  his  legs  a 
few  times  willi  liniment. 

Alllioiigh  a  very  valuable  animal,  if  all  right,  I 
eonsitler  his  ease  so  hopeless  that  I  have  warned 
him  of  his  early  death,  unless  he  gets  better  very 
soon. 

Can  the  Editor,  or  any  of  the  readers  of  the 
FAiJMi;n,  tell  me  of  anything  that  will  be  of  any 
])racti(:il  benefit  to  him  ?  I  have  strong  faith  that 
i)r.  Daild,  or  any  skilful  farrier,  could  bring  him 
out  of  it,  but  I  have  not  the  linuls  nor  time  to  go 
with  him  to  the  city  for  medical  treatment. 

"taking  hack." 
The  dam  of  tjie  above  colt  is  coal  black,  low 
built,  and  weighs  al)out  1050  pounds.  Four 
years  ago  she  was  put  to  "Pegasus,"  a  very 
dark  brown  horse,  eighteen  hands  liigh,  and 
weighing  1600  i)<)unds.  Her  two  succeed- 
ing colts  resembled  herself,  but  this  one  is  pre- 
cisely the  color  of  "Pegasus,"  and  promises  to 
equal  him  in  height  and  size,  if  he  can  be  cured, 
ii'fore  I  decide  to  butcher  him  !  I  think  he  is  an 
illustrution  of  Prof.  Agassiz's  theory  of  ^'■Prior 
imprcy nation  affecting  subsequent  progeny ." 

Lectum. 

how  to  feen  the  iioo  and  when  to  kii,l  him. 

Please  tell  "Y<mng  Farmer"  that  the  best  way 
to  feed  his  hf>gs  is  on  (  orn,  two  or  three  weeks  lie- 
fore  killing,  with  jilcnty  of  water  for  drink.  Kill 
a  few  days  bi'fore  the  full  moon,  and  .just  before 
high  tide,  and  he  need  not  be  afraid  to  look  in  the 
ijot  when  cooking,  for  fear  it  has  shrunk  all  away. 
Forty  Ybaus'  Expekience. 

Maine,  1866. 


PHOSPHATES  AND   OTHEH   FEKTILIZERS. 

As  the  long  evenings  of  winter  advance  upon  us, 
we  who  have  seen  the  sunshine  of  s])ring  swell  the 
bud,  who  have  sweated  through  the  haying  seascm, 
and  biH'Ti  rewarded  according  to  our  labor,  can  tind 
lime  to  consider  our  gains  or  losses  of  this  year, 
and  muke  our  calculations  for  the  next.  That  ma- 
mire  which  gave  the  best  crops  this  year,  we  shall 
of  course  use  the  next. 

PHOSPHATES. 

I  liavc  not  quite  enough  barn-yard  "and  other 
home-made  nuinnrc,  so  I  tried  "('oe's  (Supei'phos- 
phate,"  on  the  strength  of  the  high  recommenda- 
tion which  several  well-known  gentlemen,  I  be- 
lieve of  every  State  in  New  l'',ngland,  have  given 
it.  My  experience^is,  as  follows:  On  one  lit'ld  of 
corn  containing  Sixty  rods,  and  which  received  a 
lieavy<lrcssingof  barn-yard  manure  when  ])longlied, 
I  used  for  ouc-tliird  of  the  rows  in  ])lantiiig,  "Coe's 
Su|)i'rphos|)hiUe ;"  in  one-third,  licn-mimure;  and 
in  the  other  |>art,  soil  from  the  privy.  After  har- 
vesting, I  found  tliat  the  lield  had  yielded  sixty 
baskets — thirty  bushels  of  sound  corn.  There  was 
the  dilfereinc  of  less  than  half  a.  basket  b(>tween 
tlic  product  of  the  rows  jilanted  with  night  soil 
and  the  sui)cr|)hos|ihate,  and  that  was  in  favor  of 
the  former.  The  rows  planted  with  hen  manure 
did  not  yield  as  well  as  either  of  tlie  others,  the 
cars  not  being  so  long  or  so  well  tilled.  Therefore 
I  sliall,  anotiier  year,  use  night  soil  in  the  hill  in- 
stead of  snjterpiiosiiluite,  because  it  is  a,s  good, 
ind  a  great  deal  cheaper.  This  cxi)eriment  was 
on  uplands.    On  a  piece  of  low  land,  wliich  with 


horse  manure  produced  forty  bushels  of  carrots 
last  year,  I  got  this  year,  after  aj)plying  the  snpei"- 
phos])liate,  thirty -live  bushels,  with  the  same  care. 

I  also  used  it  in  the  hill  with  potatoes,  and  ap- 
plied it  to  the  hill  at  hoeing.  It  did  well  in  each 
ease,  but  not  as  well  as  barn-yard  manure,  which  I 
used  in  rows  alongside  of  tiie  rows  treated  with 
superphosi)hate.  I  noticed  that  the  potatoes  which 
I  raised  with  the  snperphosi)hate  were  ripe  three 
weeks  before  those  which  were  manurc(l  with  barn- 
yard manure  were  fit  to  dig.  This  may  be  a  hint 
to  me  to  use  the  superphosphate  when  I  plant  my 
early  potatoes  next  year.  1  shall  act  ujion  it  at  ail 
events.  WixTEii  Hill. 

Nashua,  N.  H.,  Nov.  24,  1866. 


GUSHING     AND     BOYNTON'S     MERINO 
FLOCK. 

A  recent  number  of  the  New  Hampshire 
Farmer  contains  the  following  account  of  this 
well-known  flock,  which  will  be  read  with  in- 
terest : — 

It  always  affords  great  pleasure  to  an  ad- 
mirer of  sheep  to  inspect  a  flock  improved  by 
good  breeding  and  care,  lie  who  is  a  real 
friend  to  improvement  deliglits  in  the  evidence 
ol'  progress  seen  in  the  ojx'rations  of  others, 
and  willingly  lends  his  aid  and  re])eats  the 
praise  due  to  enterprise.  A  visit  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  Messrs.  Gushing  &  Boynton,  at 
Woodstock,  Vt.,  is  worth  a  long  journey.  The 
Hon.  Nathan  Cushing  was  one  of  the  few 
farmers  who  had  the  intelligence  to  recognize 
the  superior  value  oi' pure  blood  nnn-inos  before 
their  merits  were  generally  a])in-eciated,  and 
the  enterprise  to  act  up  to  his  convictions. 
About  twenty-five  years  ago  he  jjurchased 
twenty  ptn-e  merino  sheep.  From  that  day  his 
progress  has  been  constant.  He  has  taken 
great  pains  to  gain  a  perfect  physical  develop- 
ment, whii'li  he  regards  as  the  very  corner- 
stone of  success.  The  fleece  of  great  density, 
soft  to  the  touch,  and  protected  by  an  abun- 
dant secretion  of  yolk,  he  thinks  of  secondary 
importance,  because  without  the  first  named 
(juality  it  is  of  no  value.  The  extraordinary 
sut'cess  which  has  attended  his  judicious  man- 
agement is  a  rich  reward  for  f  he  lal)or  of  years. 
This  result  is  obtained  by  ])io])er  crossing,  by 
good  feeding,  (every  laml)  receiving  ])roper 
care  and  atteidion  from  birth,  securing  an  early, 
healthful  and  comi)lete  develo])ment  of  all  its 
functions,  and  this  without  pampering,)  and 
by  a  sensible  course  of  treatnu'ut.  allowing 
ea(,'li  ewe  to  nurse  lier  own  lamb,  ami  turning 
oil"  the  whole  flock  to  rough  it  in  the  pastures 
through  the  simnner.  The  great  tuiiformity 
ihrougliout  llie  flock,  now  numltering  four  hun- 
di-ed,  and  wh'nh  is  surpassed  in  this  respect  by 
lu)  othiu-  floi-k  we  ever  examined,  imlicates 
pure  blood  ami  good  breeding.  The  present 
weight  of  lleeces— 10  lbs. — is  double  the  origi- 
nal weight.  All  the  arrangements  for  winter 
nuuiageim-nt  are  most  per/i'ct  ami  systematic. 
Very  iiigh  basement  rooms,  well  lighted  and 
ventilated,  with  plenty  of  room,  divided  by 
feeding  racks  into  apartments  lor  twenty-five 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


09 


to  forty,  each  oponinp;  on  a  small 
yard  witli  <j,raiii  troiijilis,  where 
the  shee})  iiuu'  move  alioiil  iii  line 
weatlier,  hut  closed  a(  ni.iilit,  with 
root  ei'llar.s  in  tlie  rear,  and  mows 
above  liUed  with  sueli  hay  as  the 
};ood  iiirnier  loves  to  place  hefbro 
his  stock.  We  siiould  jiid;4e  that 
the  granary  is  not  distant.  It  is 
noticed  that  tlie  "ratent  ('ombi- 
natioii  iSheep-racks"  arc;  not  tol- 
erated here.  A  ]Aixm  rack,  nearly 
or  ([uite  three  feet  wide  and  one 
foot  deep,  with  Hat  bottom  rest- 
ing on  the  ground,  and  nppcrside 
boards  slanting  inwai'd,  is  of  suf- 
ticient capacity  to  hold  a  substan- 
tial feeding  ol'  hay,  and  seems 
easy  ibr  the  sheep,  'flic  grain 
trough — two  boards,  about  ten 
inches  in  width,  nailed  together 
at  right  angltss  and  i-esting  on 
legs  of  three  inch  joist  crossed 
to  lit  the  sides — is  always  clean  and  ready  lor 
use. 

We  missed  the  genial  face  of  Dr.  Boynton, 
now  in  Texas  with  a  cargo  of  sheep,  and  who 
would  never  have  trusted  his  editorial  pen  to 
our  hands  had  he  imagined  it  would  have  been 
used  in  a  manner  so  repugnant  to  liis  well 
known  modesty. 


Praiuie  PASTURES.-Every  succeeding  year's 
experience  is  contradicting  the  genei'ally  con- 
ceived idea  that  prairie  land  is  not  well  adapted 
to  the  prodiK  tiou  ol'  l\n'  tame  grasses.  Espe- 
cially is  this  true  of  the  older  grazing  portions 
of  Central  Illinois.  In  a  recent  conversation 
with  an  extensive  stock  grower  of  Logan  coun- 
ty, a  Ibrmer  resident  of  the  renowned  blue 
grass  region  of  Kentucky,  he  aflirnKsd  tliat  he 
coui'd  keep  more  stock  on  an  acre  of  blue  grass 
pasture  upon  his  present  I'arm  than  upon  any 
equal  amoii.Mt  o.''  land  he  had  ever  seen  txdbre. 
It  is  also  a  fact,  w'C  believe;,  that  the  older  the 
pasture  becomes,  if  propei-ly  treated,  the  bet- 
ter the  yield  of  grasses.  Blue  grass  and  white 
clover  seem  to  come  into  our  pastures  sponta- 
neously, together  with  a  proportion  ol  other 
varieties  that  keeps  up  a  saccession  of  feed. 
There  are  some  soils  of  course,  here  as  else- 
where, that  do  not  "set"  well  to  grass. — Prai- 
rie  Fanner. 


SAFFORD'S    SWINGING    CATTLE    STANCHION. 

Tiie  couvenit'nc(!  and  security  (jf  the  old- 
fashioned  stanchion  for  cattle  are  acknowledged 
and  pi'ized  by  farmers  ;  but  many,  being  anx- 
ious to  give  their  stock  greater  freedom,  have 
tried  chains,  straps,  bows,  &c.  ;  but  seldom 
with  much  satisCaction.  The  siniple  contriv- 
ance illustrated  by  the  above  cut,  secures  all 
the  advantages  of  the  old  stanchion,  and  most 
of  those  which  belong  to  separate  ties,  «&c. 
Properly  made,  they  must  be  secure  and  as 
easily  operated  by  children  or  others  as  the 
old-Cashioned  j)ermanent  stanchions.  In  case 
of  milch  cows,  while  they  can  lie  down  on 
eithei-  side,  it  is  Ibimd  that,  in  the  swing  stan- 
chion made  as  seen  in  the  cut,  they  soon  ac- 
quire the  habit  of  lying  upon  the  side  opposite 
the  milker,  thus  keeping  the  right  side  clean. 
It  is  the  invention  and  patent  of  Larkin  S.  Saf- 
ford,  a  practical  farmer  ol"  Hope,  Me.  From 
an  examination  of  a  model,  we  think  well  of 
the  invention,  and  wonder  it  was  nevei'  thought 
of  before. 


Sxonixci  IvooTS. — See  that  thev  are  dry 
and  clean,  and  that  the  air  can  circulate  more 
or  less  among  tliem.  With  ruta  baga.^^  it  is  es- 
pecially important  that  they  should  be  placed 
in  lattice  cases  or  racks,  if  in  cellars,  so  that 
wind  from  open  windows  may  pass  through 
them  except  m  the  coldest  weather.  The  rot- 
ting of  timbers  connected  with  cellars,  often 
results  from  imperfect  ventilation. — Country 
Oentleman. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BONE    DUST,    PLASTER  AND    SALT. 
Having  recently  seen  an  editorial  invitation 
to  yoin-  readers  to  give  their  expcn-ience  with 
commercial  fertilizers,  and  believing  that  they 
ought  to  do  so,  1  bi'ielly  give  mine. 

1  have  a  triangular  piece  of  land  at  the  Three 
Corners,  near  tlie  (!entre  of  our  village,  just 
opi)osit(!  to  and  descending  towai'ds  the  Post 
Oilice,  which  had  been  mowed  eight  years,  and 
was  broken  up  last  spring  and  ])lanlcd  to  corn 
and  carrots  m  the  following  maimer : — The 
south  half  was  manured  in  t.he  hill  with  par- 
tially decomposed   cow  manure  and    Indian 


70 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


wheat  hulls ;  then  on  the  hills,  after  the  corn 
was  covereil  and  up  two  inches,  on  the  first 
row  south  Avas  put  a  spoonful  of  bone  dust ; 
on  the  second  row  four  spoonfuls  of  ashes  ;  on 
the  thii'd  nothing,  and  so  on,  through  the  south 
half.  ISly  manure  being  gone  ■vve  put  a  spoon- 
ful of  bone  dust  in  the  hill  in  the  next  row ; 
then  four  spoonfuls  of  ashes  in  each  hill  next 
row ;  third  row  nothing,  and  so  on,  the  re- 
mainder of  the  piece.  Then,  again,  after  this 
part  was  up,  the  same  rows  were  again  treated 
m  the  same  way. 

Throughout  the  season,  as  the  rows  ran 
towards  the  Post  Office,  they  were  the  subject 
of  frequent  remark  by  the  farmers  meeting  at 
the  Post  Odice,  and  as  the  owner  of  the  field 
was  Secretary  of  the  Agricultural  Society, — 
from  whose  fields  good  crops  were  expected, — 
he  had  freiiuent  occasion  to  explain  'Mvhat 
makes  the  difference  between  the  north  and 
south  parts  of  that  piece  of  corn,  and  what 
makes  every  third  row  so  much  larger  and 
darker  green  .^"  The  rows  pointed  out  were 
in  every  instance  the  ones  having  the  ashes, 
while  no  diflerence  could  possibly  be  seen  l)e- 
tween  tlie  rows  with  bone  dust  and  those  with- 
out any  tiling.  That  part  of  the  field  without 
any  barn  yard  manure,  was  not  half  as  large 
or  productive  as  the  other  part,  and  tlie  corn 
itself  was  not  as  early  or  of  as  good  (juality. 

There  were  eight  rows  of  carrots  running 
the  same  way,  which  were  treated  in  precisely 
the  same  manner,  with  exactly  the  same  result. 

The  soil  is  a  dark,  loamy  slate,  resting  upon 
slate  and  quartz  rocks,  within  from  eight  inches 
to  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  surface ;  and 
being  sufficiently  dry,  though  never  suffering 
from  drouglit,  except  a  few  square  feet  of  sur- 
face in  one  tpot. 

I  also  tried  bone  dust  in  a  similar  manner  to 
some  parts  of  rows  of  corn  and  potatoes,  and 
to  some  fodder  corn,  without  the  least  percep- 
tible effect,  good  or  bad. 

The  soil  of  this  field  is  quite  moist  for  plant- 
ing land,  with  some  clay.  The  bone  dust  or 
flour  of  bone,  which  I  used,  was  from  the 
"Boston  Milling  and  Manufacturing  Co." 
Several  others  of  my  neighl^ors  tried  a  half 
barrel  caeli,  with  almost  every  kind  of  grain, 
pulse  anil  vegetables,  I  should  think,  from 
hearing  their  remarks  about  it,  and  on  (juite  a 
variety  of  soils,  including  sandy  meadows  anil 
hillsides,  loam,  clay,  high  and  low  hinds,  and 
in  every  instance,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  with 
the  same  result  as  I  had,  with  one  (exception, 
to  wit:  Jvs(j.  C  told  me  that  he  thought  that 
certain  rows  of  corn,  to  which  he  ajjpiied  the 
bone  fiour  in  connection  with  other  manui'e, 
were  benefited  by  it;  but  said  he  tliouglit 
"not  enough  to  make  it  pay."  I  think  there 
are  twenty  or  more,  in  this  or  adjoining  towns, 
who  tried  it,  and  I  have  heard  of  only  one 
who  thinks  of  trying  it  again. 

I  gave  some  a  few  times  to  a  cow  that  was 
ailing,  to  advantage  I  rather  think. 

llavin'T  a  stroncr  desire  that  all  facts  affect- 


ing the  farming  interests  should  be  made  avail- 
able, I  have  hastily  written  the  above,  though 
reluctantly,  as  I  do  not  wish  in  any  manner  or 
degree  to  injure  any  man  or  company.  It  is 
(|uite  possible  that  the  climate  and  soil  of  this 
region  is  not  adapted  to  the  use  of  this  fertili- 
zer, while  it  may  be  invaluable  for  other  sec- 
tions. 

Plaster 

has  been  tried  consideraVjly  at  different  times 
"hereabouts,"  but  without  that  great  benefi 
that  is  manifest  from  its  use  in  some  other  sec- 
tions.    Last  year  1  made  a  trial  of 

Salt  and  Plaster, 

by  mixing  together  100  lbs.  of  plaster  to  three 
bushels  of  salt.  On  170  rods  of  land,  sowed 
to  wiicat  and  grass  seed,  about  three  bushels 
and  a  peck  of  this  compound  was  sowed  three 
or  four  days  after  it  was  harrowed  and  rolled. 
A  strip  one  rod  wide  was  left  on  which  no  salt 
and  phxster  was  sowed.  The  growth  on  this 
strip  was  smaller  and  of  lighter  color  through 
the  season.  Harvested  thirty  bushels  of  excel- 
lent wheat  to  the  acre  ;  and  this  season  we  cut 
two  good,  not  extra,  crops  of  hay  from  the 
same  land ;  eijualing  about  three  tons  to  the 
acre  of  both  cuttings. 

I  also  sowed  some  of  the  same  compound 
on  a  strij)  through  the  centre  of  some  grass 
land  that  I  intended  to  break  up  the  next  sea- 
son, and  thought  that  strip  produced  about  an 
eighth  more  grass  in  consequence.  The  pres- 
(;nt  season  the  same  was  ploughed  and  planted 
in  such  a  manner  that  rows  of  turnips,  corn 
.and  potatoes,  and  a  little  strip  of  l)arley,  ex- 
tended across  the  strip  that  was  sowed  to  salt 
and  plaster  the  season  before.  The  turnips 
were  three  times  the  value  there  that  they  were 
on  the  same  amount  of  land  in  any  other  part 
of  the  field.  The  corn  was  earlier,  darker 
green,  twice  the  size,  and  yielded  twice  the 
(juantity  of  any  other  part  of  the  field.  The 
potatoes  and  barley  were  also  perceptibly 
larger  and  better. 

1  tried  some  of  the  same  compound  instead 
of  manure,  in  the  hill  where  1  planted  twoi 
kinds  of  potatoes,  and  where  I  planted  a  lew, 
rows  of  corn,  and  it  proved  their  ruin. 

The  present  season  I  sowed  four  and  a  half 
bushels  of  salt,  alone,  on  one  and  a  half  acres 
of  land  sowed  to  wheat  and  grass  seed.  The 
crop  of  wheat  was  good  where  it  was  not  badly 
lodged,  averaging  not  (juite  twcaity-lbiir  bush- 
els to  the  acre,  and  an  excellent  "stalking" 
or  "catch"  of  grass. 

Several  of  my  neighbors  have  tried  salt  and 
plaster,  and  salt  alone,  and  I  believe  every  one 
thinks  favorably  of  their  use  ;  not  as  a  substi- 
tute for  barn  yard  manure,  but  as  a  means  of 
increasing  it  by  increasing  the  amount  of  food, 
so  that  more  animals  may  be  kept  manufactur- 
ing manure  of  the  l)cst  (juality. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  as  the  "ice  is  broke," 
just  tell  other  experimenters  to  "wade  in,'* 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


71 


and  relate  their  experience,  as  plainly  if  not 
as  bluntly.  Rurus  Nutting. 

Randolph,  Ft.,  Nov.  29,  186G. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
SELLnSTQ  THE  FARM— ANOTHEE,  SIDE 
OP    THE    STOHY. 

I  was  much  interested  in  your  remarks  about 
selling  the  farm  ;  and  as  it  is  a  question  to 
which  I  hav(;  recently  given  much  thought,  I 
will,  Avith  your  permission,  say  something — 
not  about  "  the  other  side  " — but  about  another 
side  "  of  the  story." 

But  I  would  first  say  that  you  give  a  very 
good  and  true  account  of  the  advantages  that 
.ire,  or  should  be,  secured  on  a  good  farm ; 
and  that  the  importance  of  these  advantages 
cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  on  the  minds 
of  those  discontented  farmers  who  so  often 
complain  that  tliey  get  but  little  returns  from 
the  farui,  or  that  farming  is  not  profitable. 

But  in  re^'ard  to  selling  the  farm,  do  you 
not  go  to  the  other  extreme  in  the  comparison 
you  have  so  we.'l  drawn  ?  That  there  are  com- 
paratively few  fa.riaers  who  have  passed  the 
better  portion  of  tiieir  lives  on  the  farm,  who 
would  be  contented  in  a  crowded  city,  is  un- 
doubtedly true.  It  woalv'l  not  be  natural  for 
men  that  had  been  accut?tomed  to  active  out- 
door exercise,  to  set  down  with  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  ;  not  e\  en  a  hor^-^e  to  ride  around 
among  farmers,  to  see  how  their  old  business 
prospers:  The  change  would  be  too  great  to 
be  conducive  to  health,  pleasure,  or  satisfac- 
tion. 

But  because  a  farmer  would  not  be  content- 
ed with  city  lile,  is  that  a  sufficient  reason  for 
keeping  up  the  same  hard-working  farni-I.'fo 
until  he  di'ops  into  his  grave,  or  at  least  as 
long  as  he  is  able  to  work  H  Of  course  there 
are  many  who  have  sons  that  take  hold  and 
carry  on  the  farm,  and  provide  good  comfort- 
able quarters,  with  a  safe  horse  and  easy  car- 
riage, for  their  parents.  In  such  cases,  farm- 
ers, who  are  getting  old,  can  probably  be  as 
comfortable  and  contented  as  anywhere.  But 
1  am  sorry  to  say  thei-e  are  some  sons  who 
manage,  if  not  calculate,  to  get  all  the  work  they 
can  out  of  their  parents.  In  such  cases  the  old 
farmer  needs  a  home  by  himself.  Where  the 
children  ha\e  all,  or  about  all  married  olf,  and 
got  iiirms,  or  gone  into  some  other  business 
by  themselves,  arul  declining  years  and  failing 
health  make  it  diHicult  for  the  old  people  to 
attend  to  the  dill'erent  kinds  of  work  on  the 
farm,  or  props'rly  to  oversee  and  attend  to  the 
hired  help  necessary  to  carry  it  on, — especially 
when  it  is  as  dilficult  to  find  men  that  can  be 
depended  on  to  work  alone  without  the  "boss," 
or  girls  that  will  work  in  the  house  without 
constant  oversight,  and  are  so  often  anything 
but  the  quiet,  agreeable  people,  that  it  is 
pleasant  to  have  around  them, — I  say  when  all 
this  is  the  case,  as  it  is  in  many  instances  in  this 


section,  it  seems  to  mc  it  is  time  to  "  sell  our 
little  farm." 

But  because  it  is  time  to  retire  f'mm  the 
farm,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  (hat  he 
nuist  go  into  a  crowded  city.  That  would  be 
going  to  the  other  extreme.  But  it  ap|)cais  to 
me  that  there  is  a  medium  course  lor  l.im  to 
take  ;  that  there  is  a  way  in  which  he  may  enjoy 
many  of  the  advantages  of  town  Kfe,  .-umI  still 
have  nearly  all  of  the  conveniences  and  com- 
forts of  the  farm. 

Now  I  will  try  to  show  the  kind  of  life  that, 
it  seems  to  me,  would  suit  and  I  e  suilulle  for 
such  a  farmer.  He  should  have  a  small  place 
of  from  four  to  twelve  or  fifteen  acres,  accord- 
ing to  the  location  and  fertility  of  the  land; 
the  principal  object  being  to  lia\e  enough  to 
keep  a  horse  and  cow,  and  to  rai.^e  corn,  pota- 
toes, vegetal  lies  and  fruit  for  a  sni;,ll  Ihiuily, 
and  also  to  have  enough  grain  and  other  feed 
to  make  his  pork.  The  amount  of  land  will 
also  be  governed  by  the  location  and  price. 
\^  close  to  a  large  village,  where  land  is  sev- 
eral hindred  dollars  an  acre,  from  foc.r  to  six 
acres  will  often  be  enough.  Then  tlie  cow  and 
horse  may  be  kept  on  the  soiling  .'■ystem  alto- 
gether, or  for  the  most  part,  and  what  more  fod- 
der there  is  needed  be  supplied  by  purchase.  If 
away  from  such  towns,  where  land  is  cheaper, 
the  place  should  be  large  enough  to  supply 
plenty  of  pasturage  for  a  hor-e  and  cow  dur- 
ing the  sunnuer,  as  well  as  hay  and  other  feed 
for  vviiiter.  But  if  means  will  pei-mit,  it  is 
very  desirable  to  locate  near  a  ^  illagc  of  some 
size,  where  there  are  good  chnn  Ik  s  >vilh  able 
preachers  :  and  where  there  are  opportiuiities 
for  attending  some  of  the  better  (la-  s  of  lec- 
tures and  concerts.  It  is  also  very  de.--irable 
to  live  near  a  railroad  station  ;  io  that  it  may 
be  couvcnicnt  to  go  to  neighl  oring  cities  or  to 
visit  didercnt  parts  of  the  countrv. 

Few  farmers  or  their  wives,  who  retire  from 
the  farm  to  pass  their  declining  years  in  com- 
parative quiet  and  ease,  will  want  a  large 
house.  It  is  too  much  labor  and  troul>le  to 
fiirni.-h  iJnd  take  care  of  it.  The  ll0u^e  should 
be  large  enough  for  the  wants  of  the  family, 
and  for  the  accommoilation  of  such  number  of 
•ruests  as  llic  vold  people  will  p'obalilv  wish  to 
entertain.  The  other  buildings  should  be  only 
such  as  mav  be  needed  for  the  land  and  stock. 

A  course  of  rotation  should  be  adopted,  by 
which  a  portion  of  the  land  will  be  planted 
ever\-  \  ear.  and  another  portion  seeded  down 
either  "with  or  without  grain.  There  will  also 
be  a  trood  irardcn.  including  a  good  supply 
and  vaVietv  of  small  fruits  ;  especially  of  .straw- 
berries, raspberries,  blackberries  and  grapes. 
To  attend  to  this  garden,  and  the  corn  and 
potatoes,  and  other"  crops  grown  on  the  land, 
and  to  take  care  of  the  horse,  cow  and  pig; 
and  to  keep  things  nice,  clean  and  snug  about 
the  buildings  and  yards,  Avill  be  about  as  much 
as  such  a  firmer  ought  to  do.  While,  if  he  is 
not  able  to  do  much  hard  work,  he  will  hire 
now  and  then  a  few  days,  to  do  the  hardest 


72 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


i"obs.  If  (liero  is  not  onoufih  woj-k  to  keep 
lim  busy  all  of  the  time,  he  may  /lud  in  visit- 
ing, tra\ellin<;;,  soeial  intereourse  wifli  other 
men  of  leisure,  and  above  all  in  pkinty  of 
boolcM  and  jJajxTs,  am))Ie  means  to  make  the 
time  pass  pleasantly  and  prolltal)ly. 

Now  it  seems  to  me  that  this  gives  some 
idea  of  another  "  side  of  the  story,"  whieh  in 
reality  a\oids  both  e.xti'emes.  For,  in  the 
first  plaee,  it  does  not  kee})  a  man  tied  down 
to  hard  work,  or  burdeni'd  with  th(^  eonslant 
care  and  troubles  of  the  farm  and  deprived  of 
all  the  advantages  of  town  life ;  nor,  in  the 
I  second  plaee,  does  it  become  necessaiy  for  him 
r  to  be  shut  up  in  a  city  and  dei)rived  of  all  of  tlu^ 
freedom,  comfbi't  and  convenience  of  farm  life. 
lie  may  lia\'e  the  use  of  his  own  horse  and 
cow,  aud  make  his  ])ork  and  raise  his  eggs  and 
chickens.  His  land  will  supply  all  that  is 
visually  obtained  on  the  farm,  buti  wheat,  and 
fruit,  wliich  in  most  places,  lor  a  small  family, 
need  not  be  wry  expensive.  WhlU-  in  select- 
ing and  locating  on  sufh  a  ])lace,  care  will  be 
taken  to  so  arrange  Ihiancial  matters  as  to  have 
a  sullicicnt  iufome  IVom  money  at  interest,  or 
some  other  sourci',  to  amply  provide  for  all 
calls  in  the  money  line. 

Now,  in  concluding,  allow  me  to  ask  why 
many  i'armers  that  are  getting  old,  may  not 
Lave  and  enjoy  such  a  home  ?  Not  those  who 
are  able  to  do  all  kinds  of  work  on  the  farm, 
and  that  have  <'hildren  Avho  should  be  brought 
up  to  work  and  trained  to  make  good  farmers  ; 
but  those  who,  having  devoted  their  best  years 
to  industry  and  economy,  now  have  plenty  (or 
their  own  comfort,  and  have  made  reasonable 
provision  lor  their  children.  1  can  see  no  good 
reason  why  such  a  farmer  may  not  so  retire. 
Is  (here  any  one  that  can  ?  F. 

Wederu'Ncto  York,  Nov.,  18G6. 


For  the  Kcio  England  Farmer. 
SOILING    MILCH    COWS. 

I  an>  decidedly  of  tlui  opinion  that  it  pa^s  to 
soil  milch  cows  through  the  sununt-r,  for  J  have 
succeeded  in  suunnering  twi-nty  cows  Avell,  the 
past  season,  on  a  place  where  seAcnteen  were 
the  most  e\('i'  k<'j)t  before,  and  have  made  a 
larger  amonntof  manuri' than  some  would  have 
madi'  through  the  winter  from  the  same  stock. 
I  doubled  the  amount  of  solid  maniu'c  by  fill- 
ing the  gut  lei-  in  rear  of  the  t'ows'  stalls,  every 
time  the  stable  is  cK'aucd,  with  dry  nuick. 
This  furnishes  an  abiuidance  of  material  to 
grow  my  green  (odder  ni'xt  year. 

1  would  like  to  know  if  any  one  has  ever 
tried  milkweed  lor  soiling  cows  P  1  am  of 
the  o])iuion  that  they  are  nnu'h  ahead  of  any 
other  fodder  (or  making  milk.  Cows  eat  them 
eagerly,  it  is  .something  I  have  never  thought 
of  before  this  summer.  I  have  gathered  a  few 
seeds  aud  shall  try  the  ex])eriment  next  year. 

A  great  amount  of  excellent  lop-dressing  is 
lost  by  fiirmers  who  have  no  barn  cellars,  and 
who  take  no  jjains  to  provide  dry  material  to 


absorb  tlu^  in-iiu>  from  their  stock.  This  might 
be  saved  in  still  another  M'ay,  if  those  already 
mentioned  are  not  convenient.  INlany  cannot 
have  cellars  without  nnich  expense,  and  would 
have  to  haul  dry  material  too  far  to  make  it  pay. 
Make  hoh's  in  the  floor  in  rear  of  the  stock, — or 
use  lattice  work, — and  put  conductors  imder- 
neath, — half  a  hollow  log  would  answer, — and 
conduct  it  into  a  cistern,  from  which  it  may  be 
pumped  to  irrigate  grass  land  with  small  cost 
and  great  profit.  t.  c.  n. 

Willidon,  Vt.,  1866. 


THE   WOOLEN   TARIFF   IN   DANGl^R. 
From  an  article  in  the  liural  Ncio   Yorker, 
by   Dr.   Randall,  with   the   above   caption,  we 
coj^y  the  following  earnest  words   of  caution 
and  advice  : — 

TJic  woolen  tariff  of  last  winter  is  in  very 
great  ilcnu/er ;  and  the  chances  are  that  it  will 
be  lost  unless  the  most  strenuous  exertions  ai'e 
inunediately  made  by  its  supjiorters. 

What  kind  of  exertions  an;  called  for?  At 
the  period  of  the  meeting  of  the  National  Wool 
(irowers'  Association  at  ("leveland,  in  Novem- 
ber, (he  impression  prevailed  that  all  was  safe 
if  we  remanu'd  united,  and  that  the  resolutions 
passed  by  that  body,  and  by  tlu>  State  vVssoci- 
ations,  would  be  sufliclcnt.  Ihit  if  is  now  ap- 
parent tliaf  then  "'"''^ ""'  ^"^  sufficient.  We  must 
])elition  Congress.  This  was  our  great  weapon 
last  winter.  Its  effect  on  the  House  was  most 
striking.  We  were  present  some  weeks  of  the 
session  and  know.  No  easily  available  Ibnti 
of  ])0]iular  expression  comes  home  so  directly 
and  eifectively  to  the  representative. 

There  is  not  a  moment  io  lose.  Mr.  Wells' 
report  Avill  soon  be  befbri-  Congress,  and  INIr. 
Fcssenden's  will  undoubtedly  be  commenced, 
even  before  a  jxipular  expression  on  the  wool 
tariff  can  make  itself  audil)le.  Mr.  Fessenden 
is  an  experienced  and  able  statesman.  If  he 
errs  in  the  premises  it  is  lor  the  Avant  of  full 
information.  Jt  is  the  business  of  the  wool 
growers  and  manufacturers  of  the  Ibiitcd  States 
to  fiu'nish  him  that  information.  The  mann-y 
facturcrs  are  doing  so.  It  is  time  for  the  ])ro-! 
(luc(M\s  to  act.  Every  friend  of  the  wool  and 
wooh'U  interest,  in  or  out  of  (^ongress,  in  ^Vash- 
ington,  concurs  in  the  imminencj'  of  (he  dan- 

To  those  unused  to  MTiting  their  Congress- 
men on  public  matters,  we  will  take  the  liberty 
of  saying :  h't  your  letters  be  short  and  naked- 
ly to  the  i>oiut.  A  distinct  expression  of  in- 
dividual opinion  (hat  as  high  a  rate  of  duties 
()u  wool  and  woolens  as  that  contained  in  (he 
bill  which  passed  (he  House  last  winter  is  ne- 
cessary to  ensure  a  fair  and  reasonable  degree 
of  ])rosp(>rity  to  the  wool  grower — and  (hat 
such  is  (lur  opinion  and  testimony  of  all  expe- 
rienced growers — is  the  main  thing. 

As  regards  petitions,  the  mere  /();•?«  matters 
little.     Nor  is  it  of  (he  least  consetiueuce  that 


1867. 


N^W   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


78 


they  be  printed  or  uniform  in  their  hinf:i;niipt(^ 
Let  every  f'rit'nd  of  Ihe  eiuiMe  iniiucdiaU'ly 
wrilc  a  ni^litiou  and  circiilale  it  anionjf  his  neij;h- 
bors.  Let  liini  >i;iv(^  a  (hiy  or  more  to  canvas.s- 
ing,  and  tlu'n  pass  it  over  (o  sonu^  one  who  will 
go  on  with  it.  Wait  not  lor  loiui  lists  ol' sign- 
ers. As  soon  as  a  limited  neighboi'hood  is 
canvassed,  send  on  the  petition  to  Congress, 
though  it  contains  no  more  than  twenty-live  or 
even  a  k'ss  numlier  oC  names. 

To  those  who  jirei'er  not  to  draw  up  tlieir 
own  petitions,  we  present  the  following  (brm, 
whieh  can  l)e  added  to,  or  suhtiaeted  Iroui,  at 
pleasure : — 

To  the  Congress  of  the  United  States : 

Tlic  undersigned,  rosidonts  of  tlio  town  of , 

County  of ,  State  of ,  woidd  rcspec^t- 

fully  represent  to  your  lioiiorii-hic-  body  that  wo  be- 
hove tliat  the  tarilf  bill  agreed  upon  by  tlio  Joint 
Conmdtfeo  of  Wool  Growers  iiiul  Maiuitiu'turers, 
and  which  passed  the  House  of  Representatives  at 
its  last  session,  was  fair  towards  all  other  interests 
and  aifortled  no  more  than  Just  and  equal  i)rote('- 
tion  to  the  woolen  interests  of  the  country,  and 
that  wo  therefore  pray  for  its  iuuueiliato  passage 
into  a  law. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BUYING   TREES.— NO.  1. 

As  the  season  is  at  hand  wh(>n  (arrners  an^  in 
the  habit  of  laying  their  plans  (or  the  spring 
planting, — and  as  a  large  amount  of  mn-sery 
stock  is  likely  to  be  contracted  for  during  the 
eoming  three  months,  it  may  not  be  us(dess  to 
give  some  thought  to  a  matter  of  so  nuieh  im- 
portaru'e  as  the  purchaser  of  trees.  'J'here  is  no 
other  j)urchas(^  involving  the  same  amount  of 
money  which  alfects  so  materially  the  attract- 
iveness and  profit  of  the  farm.  A  wise  sc^lec- 
tion  of  I'ruit  trees — if  properly  set  and  cared 
for — will  increase  the  vahu'of  tlu^  farm  greatly 
beyond  the  expense  incurred  at  the  outset,  (hi 
the  other  hand,  a  stock  of  ])uny  scrubs,  pi-o- 
dueing  second  and  third  rate  fruit,  is  the  great- 
est moth  a  farm  can  be  cursed  with. 

A  stock  of  inferior  animals  will  ruin  a  farmer 
if  he  jK^i'sists  in  keeping  them,  but  theses  can  be 
turned  over  to  the  butcher  with  ])ro(it,  while 
the  cumbersome  trees,  even  for  liud,  are  hard- 
ly worth  the,  cutting. 

Dealers  in  trees  are  divided  into  two  classes, 
viz  :    'I'ravcUing  and  Local. 

Uy  the  (irst  class  those  are  understood  who 
go  from  house  to  house  soliciting  orders  in  be- 
half o(  largt'  nurseries  at  a  distances  from  us. 

Sonu^  of  these  are  regularly  appointed  agents 
of  responsible  mirserynu-n,  while  others,  al- 
though professing  to  be.  such,  and  carrying  the 
catalogues  of  Avell-known  houst^s,  take  ordc^r's 
upon  their  own  responsibility,  and  purchase 
their  stock  where  it  can  be  obtained  for  the 
least  money.  It  is  from  the  operations  of  this 
latter  class  that  has  arisen  a  general  [)rejudice 
against  New  York  agents  and  New  York  treses. 

Although  nmch  may  be  said  upon  the  com- 
parative merits  of  East(irn  and  Western  treses, 
it.  is  not  safe  to  infer — from  the  fact  that  much 


inferior  stock  has  been  distributed  by  imscru- 
jmlous  agents — that  trees  grown  out  of  New 
England  are  any  less  deserving  than  Ihose 
grown  heri'.  There  are  many  thrifty  ])ear  or- 
chards scattered  over  our  hills  ami  valleys, 
which  furnish  conelusives  evidences  (hat  these 
trees  may  do  well  if  properly  set  and  eared 
for. 

If  one  wants  only  a  few  1re(>s,  and  is  applied 
to  by  an  agent  whom  he  knows  personally  as 
an  upright  and  fair  dealing  man,  thoroughly 
conversant  with  (lus  subject  of  fruit  growing, 
and  especially,  (iuuiliar  with  the  suceesss  of  dif- 
ferent sorts  Ml  ihi.'.  particular  locality  in  (Ques- 
tion, ([uitc!  possibly  (his  may  be  the  best  way 
to  purchases.  In  point  of  time,  at  least,  it  is 
ge)od  ucone)my. 

But  imieh  evil  has  re'sidtenl  from  (he  systom 
of  canvassing,  whie'h  has  be-e'ii  extensively  ear- 
rie'd  on  eluringthe  past  te'u  years. 

Wherever  an  age'ut,  has  l)ee'n  lae'king  either  in 
he)nesty  or  kne)wleelges  of  tlies  business  the  peo- 
ple haves  suffeie'd.  And  it  nuist  be  aehmtted 
that  many  haves  e'ligagesd  in  the  business 
who  had  ne)  e)lhe'r  e|ualificatie)ns  than  a  smooth 
tongues  anel  an  indomitable  energy,  not  to  say 
impuele'iie-e. 

l{y  thes  aid  of  e-h'gant  paintings,  they  have 
worked  up  (lie'ir  auditors  te)  a  pite-h  of  enthusi- 
asm whie'h  has  insure'd  larges  orders.  Trees 
haves  be'e'ii  se)lel  (o  (hoses  whe)  had  not  ground 
suitably  pre'])areel  for  planting,  and  to  those 
who  had  neutlu'r  time'  or  inclination  to  give 
them  that  atte'utive  e-ultivation  which  alone  will 
ensures  snese'css.  Thousands  of  young  trees 
may  bes  seen  in  tins  h^astesrn  part  of  this  State 
struggling  (or  a  (ce'ble  existeaie'e',  e'hoke'el  with 
grass  and  briars  anel  l)rokesn  de)vvn  by  cattle, 
whie-h  only  ne-ede'd  pre)pe'r  cai'es  to  have  been 
a  sources  of  jirides  and  ])re)(lt  (o  their  owners, 
ins(e'ael  e)f  a  re'j)re)a<'h  anel  a  waste. 

J*aintings  of  ('rui(.,  if  fai(h("ully  drawn,  are 
not  to  be  eles])ise'el,  lor  (hey  give  the  iioviesc  a 
more  esorree-t  idesa  of  (brm,  size  and  color,  than 
can  be;  obtaineel  in  any  other  way,  exese'pt  by 
thes  e'xaminatie)n  e)f  actual  six'e'ime'us.  But  it 
will  not  do  to  forgest  that  if  fliilhCully  drawn — 
and  the  te-mptation  to  esxaggei'ate  size  and 
vary  e'olors  so  as  to  make  trees  sesll  is  rather 
dangerous, — thesy  re'pre'sent  only  (lies  most  per- 
fee't  modeds  of  the'ir  edass,  and  (hat  in  an  or- 
e'hard  pre)elue'ing  large'  (|uantilies  e)f  varieties 
re'pre'se'ute'd,  it  is  rathe'r  probable  that  there 
will  be'  seimes  inferior  s])ccimcns.  Again,  size, 
fbi'iu  and  e'olor,  allheiugh  imporlaut  as  gre-afly 
aU'ee-dug  the  sales  of  friut,  are  by  iiei  im-aiis  the 
only  (jualities  (o  be  couside'icd  in  making  a 
sele'e'(ie)n  eif  seirts  for  an  orchard. 

For  if  a  pe-ar  is  (ines-graine'el,  rieh  and  melt- 
ing, it  will  se-ll,  likes  (he  See-kel,  in  spite  of 
Ibrm,  size  e)r  eeilor.  Thes  projiesnsity  tei  keep, 
(he  proehu'tive'ness  of  thes  trees  anel  its  vigorous 
growth,  must  be'  e'arefully  consideresel  before 
decieling  wlu'the'r  it  is  a  profitable  sort  to  grow. 

'J'lies  age'ut  will  bes  likely  to  reeseimmend  rapid 
growing   sorts,  for  he,  of  course,  understands 


74 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


that  a  large  tree  is  more  acceptable  than  a 
small  one  at  the  same  price,  and  he  desires  to 
furnish  trees  which  will  not  be  rejected  as  be- 
ing deficient  in  size.  Some  sorts  do  exceedingly 
well  in  one  locality  and  fail  entirely  in  another 
place.  A  travelling  agent  cannot  be  supposed 
to  know  what  is  best  for  every  particular  lo- 
cality. 

Other  sorts  have  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
list  in  former  years,  but  latterly  have  entirely 
failed ;  and  yet  nurserymen  continue  to  grow 
them  because  they  are  trees  easily  produced, 
and  their  former  prestige  enables  them  to  dis- 
pose of  many  trees  to  the  uninitiated. 

The  White  Doyenne  pear  is  a  remarkable 
instance  of  this  sort.  Hear  what  Downing  said 
of  it :  '  'The  White  Doyenne  is  unquestionably 
one  of  the  most  perfect  of  autumn  pears.  Its 
universal  popularity  is  attested  by  the  great 
number  of  names  by  which  it  ic  known  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  world."  This  was  true  when 
Downing  wrote  it  (twenty-seven  years  ago,) 
but  who  would  think  of  planting  the  White 
Doyenne  in  New  England  now  ?  And  yet, 
thousands  of  trees  of  this  sort  are  palmed  off 
upon  the  unsuspecting  every  year  under  some 
one  of  its  twenty-nine  names  mentioned  by 
Downing.  G.  A.  A. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  1866. 


Be  Tidy. — Everybody  detests  slatterns  in 
the  household.  But  slovenliness  in  the  out- 
door management  of  the  farm  is  equally  dis- 
gusting to  the  lover  of  neatness  and  good  or- 
der. In  the  spring  and  summer,  nature  with 
its  myriad  beauties  of  growth  and  color  seems 
to  struggle  to  conceal  the  short  comings  of  the 
shiftless  farmer,  but  the  frosts  of  autumn  re- 
veal them  in  all  their  unsightliness.  Fields 
smothered  with  tall,  gaunt  weeds,  sowing  their 
millions  of  seeds  for  future  crops  ;  fences  in  a 
tumble  down  condition,  yards  torn  up  by  swine, 
walks  to  house  and  outhouses  knee  deep  with 
mud,  corn  wasting  in  fields,  grain  stacks  the 
styes  and  playhouses  of  hogs,  valuable  ma- 
chinery bleaching,  swelling,  rotting  in  the 
weather,  or  rootless  sheds,  are  some  of  the  signs 
of  the  out-door  sloven.  Reader,  have  you  any 
of  these  signs  existing  around  you  ? — Prairie 
Farmer. 


Remedy  eor  Choicf.d  Cattle. — Take  a 
small  parcel  of  gunpowder  about  two  or  three 
thimbles  iiill — make  a  small  funnel  with  thin 
paper  suflicient  only  to  hold  the  powder ;  close 
the  large  end  by  I'ulding — Insert  it  in  the  pas- 
sage of'  the  throat  either  with  the  fingers  or 
hand,  or  by  using  a  small  stick — split  so  as  to 
grasp  tlic,  small  end  of  the  funnel,  and  to  be  easi- 
ly withdrawn  when  desired.  Nothing  else  to 
be  done.  This  has  been  tried  successfully  by 
some  of  the  best  stock  raisers  in  tliis  vicinity, 
and  has  never  failed,  I  believe,  hi  any  case. — 
J.  S.  U.  in  Go.  Oent. 


SHEEP    LABELS. 

Here  is  a  very  simple  contrivance  not  only 
for  marking,  but  for  registering  a  flock  of 
sheep.  It  reminds  us  of  the  little  labels  with 
which  printers  mark  and  register  the  names  of 
their  subscribers.  And  if  farmers  find  the 
sheep  tag  as  useful  to  them  as  printers  find  the 
newspaper  label,  it  must  be  universally  adopt- 
ed. 

The  sheep  labels  are  made  of  tin-washed 
metallic  strips,  which  are  stamped  on  one  side 
with  numbers  from  1  up  to  1000,  and  with 
name  or  initials  on  the  other  side,  as  may  be 
ordered.  It  is  attached  to  the  sheep  by  in- 
serting it  through  a  slit  punched  in  the  ear. 
The  inventor,  Mr.  C.  H.  Dana,  of  West  Leb- 
anon, N.  H.,  furnishes  properly  ruled  books 
or  sheets,  got  up  especially  to  accompany 
these  labels,  which  furnish  facilities  never  be- 
fore attained  for  keeping  a  record  of  each  in- 
dividual sheep  of  the  flock.  The  numbers  on 
the  labels  correspond  with  those  in  the  book, 
which  is  ruled  with  headings  under  which  to 
note  the  age,  pedigree,  weight  of  fleece,  and 
various  other  items  which  one  who  wishes  to 
improve  his  flock  would  naturally  desire  to  re- 
cord. The  labels  printed  with  number  and 
full  name,  if  not  over  nine  letters,  are  furnished 
for  $3  00  per  100;  punches,  $1  25;  bound 
registers,  50c.  It  is  claimed  that  they  are 
more  reliable,  more  convenient  and  cheaper 
than  any  other  plan  of  marking  sheep,  as  the 
tags  will  last  for  years.  They  are  recom- 
mended by  many  of  the  well  known  wool- 
growers  of  Vermont,  New  York,  and  other 
States. 


1867. 


ICEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


75 


MAKENO   BUTTER  IN  WINTER. 

ANY     families 
keep     two     or 
three  cows,  and 
depend      upon 
them  for  a  sup- 
ply   of   butter 
through        the 
year^     In  large 
dairies,      also, 
there  are  always 
cows       coming 
in  late  that  give 
milk    thro'  the 
winter,     which 
^^P^^?^fe'  must  be  made  into 
butter,     or     lost,     as 
theie  is  no  sale  for  the 
nnlk  in  districts  remote 
fiom  large   villages    or 
-I  towns. 

A  dairyman  in  Ver- 
mont informs  us  that  he  is  entii'ely  successful 
in  making  butter  in  the  summer,  but  finds  the 
process  a  difficult  one  in  the  winter ;  indeed, 
he  says  he  frequently  fails  to  get  good  butter 
in  winter  churning. 

As  we  rarely  have  any  trouble  in  getting  ex- 
cellent butter  between  the  first  of  November 
and  the  first  of  May,  and  as  several  inquiries 
have  been  made  as  to  the  process  pursued  in 
making  it,  we  give  below  a  twenty  years'  prac- 
tice of  the 

Rviles  of  Making  Excellent  "Winter  Butter. 

1.  Good  cows  and  clean  milk.  The  milk 
should  have  no  taint  of  the  stall.  All  pure 
cream  may  be  alike,  but  all  cows  do  not  give 
the  same  amount  of  cream  in  the  same  amount 
of  milk.  Both  quantity  and  quality  of  milk 
are  affected  by  the  breed.  A  Devon  cow  has 
been  known  to  yield  one  pound  of  butter  from 
9|  quarts  of  milk ;  an  Ayrshire  cow  from  9^ 
(juarts,  and  an  Alder ney  cow  from  four  quarts. 
So  "  the  individual  ybnw  and  constitution  of 
the  cow  cause  both  the  yield  and  richness  of 
the  milk  to  vary  much."  Its  quantity  depends 
upon  the  distance  from  the  time  of  calving,  and 
its  quality  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil  in  which 
the  plants  grow  upon  which  the  cows  feed.  It 
is  richer  in  cows  that  are  in  good  condition, 
and  in  dry  seasons. 

2  Strain  the  milk  so  that  it  will  stand  from 
two  to  three  inches  in  depth.     No  absolute 


tests  have  been  made  on  this  point.  A  few 
trials  will  satisfy  any  one  whether  a  greater  or 
less  depth  would  be  better. 

3.  Temperature.  This  is  the  test  and  touch- 
stone in  butter-making.  Without  a  strict  re- 
gard to  temperature,  the  observance  of  all  the 
other  rules  will  be  of  little  consequence.  The 
milk  should  stand  in  a  perfectly  clean,  airy 
place,  and  where  the  temperature  will  remain, 
evenly,  at  about  60°  Fahrenheit.  Where  a 
cellar  affords  that  degree  of  warmth,  and  is 
free  from  dwst,  it  will  be  an  excellent  place. 
If  this  is  not  at  hand,  some  pantry,  or  closet, 
in  the  centre  of  the  house,  where  it  will  get 
warmth  from  the  chimney,  and  is  not  suddenly 
affected  by  external  variations,  will  be  found 
favorable. 

4.  In  an  even  temperature  of  about  60°,  the 
cream  will  usually  rise  in  from  36  to  48  hours. 
If  a  lower  temperature  prevails  a  part  of  the 
time,  it  will  take  longer.  A  little  close  obser- 
vation will  show  when  the  milk  ought  to  be 
skimmed,  without  regard  to  time.  On  push- 
ing the  cream  a  little  from  the  side  of  the  pan 
the  milk  may  be  plainly  seen.  If  it  looks  blue 
and  thin,  it  is  time  to  take  the  cream.  If 
white  and  thick,  it  is  evidence  that  the  cream 
has  not  all  risen. 

Every  time  the  pans  are  skimmed,  a  little 
salt  should  be  thrown  into  the  pot  with  the 
cream,  and  the  whole  stirred  together.  If  this 
is  not  done,  the  milk, — which  it  is  impossible 
to  prevent  going  into  the  pot  with  the  cream, — 
will  separate  from  the  cream,  turn  bitter,  and 
spoil  the  whole.  This  is  quite  often  the  cause 
of  bad  butter.  When  the  cream  is  turned  into 
the  churn  it  should  be  all  alike — a  homogene- 
ous mass  ;  no  whey  found  at  the  bottom  of  the 
pot.  So  if  a  single  pan  stands  too  long,  until 
the  milk  turns  bitter  and  taints  the  cream,  that 
will  in  turn  taint  aU  that  is  mingled  with  it. 

5.  Keep  the  cream  where  the  milk  is  kept, 
and  at  the  same  temperature. 

6.  Churn  often.  Where  dairying  is  a  busi- 
ness, the  rule  is  to  churn  every  morning.  In 
a  small  way,  we  cannot  do  so,  perhaps  not 
oftener  than  once  a  week,  but  where  the  cream 
is  salted  and  kept  as  stated  in  rule  4,  it  will  be 
sweet  at  the  end  of  seven  days.  Still  we 
should  advise  churning  whenever  there  is  cream 
for  six  or  eight  pounds  of  butter. 

7.  In  churning,  bring  everything  to  the  same 
temperature,   about  62° — cream,   churn,   and 


76 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Feb. 


dasher.  If  there  is  no  thermometer  at  hand, 
exercise  your  judgment,  and  there  will  soon 
be  no  need  of  a  thei-mometer.  We  never  use 
one,  now.  If  the  weather  is  very  cold  bring 
the  churn  into  the  kitchen  over  night,  so  that 
it  may  be  warmed  through.  Before  using  it, 
pour  in  boiling  water  and  let  it  touch  every 
part  of  the  inside  ;  turn  it  out,  and  rinse  with 
cold  water.  Put  the  cream  into  the  churn  and 
add  a  little  warm  sweet  milk. 

8.  Churn  steadily  and  moderately,  and  the 
butter  will  usually  come  within  twenty-five 
minutes.  When  it  is  brought  together,  add 
just  water  enough  to  wash  off  the  buttermilk. 
Have  a  wooden  tray  and  a  wooden  spoon  at 
hand ;  scald  them,  rinse  with  cold  water,  place 
the  butter  in  the  tray  and  work  it  over  with 
the  spoon.  Add  a  common  tablespoonful  of 
salt  to  each  pound  of  butter.  Work  over  till 
the  buttermilk  is  apparently  aU  out.  When 
this  is  completed,  set  it  away  until  the  next 
morning  in  a  place  as  warm  as  where  the  cream 
was  collected.  If  in  a  cooler  place  it  will 
be  likely  to  become  so  hard  that  it  will  be 
difficult  to  handle.  Work  out  the  remaining 
buttei-milk,  and  make  it  into  Imnps  or  pack 
down  in  tubs. 

Such  are  the  rules  observed  in  our  kitchen, 
by  the  mistress  of  the  house,  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  and  with  imiform  excellent  results. 
The  butter  made  is  not  merely  sweet,  but  has 
that  delicious  butter  aroma  that  nothing  can  im- 
itate. It  is  never  white,  no  matter  how  cold 
the  weather,  nor  of  a  dark  yellow,  but  of  a 
beautiful  straw  color.  It  is  firm  in  textm-e, 
fine  grained,  and  keeps  well,  when  there  are 
not  too  many  buckwheats  about ! 

Only  ten  pounds  of  butter  in  each  100  that 
comes  into  Boston  market,  are  fit  for  the  ta- 
ble,— we  are  informed  by  the  largest  butter 
dealers.  Of  course,  the  price  must  be  gov- 
erned by  the  quality-.  Wliat  an  immense  loss 
this  must  be  annually,  to  the  producers.  They 
do  not  ]>robably  get  more  than  one-half  as 
much  as  they  would  if  their  butter  was  good. 
It  is  just  as  easy  to  make  good  butter,  as  poor, 
when  a  system  is  once  established.  It  is  cer- 
tainly poor  policy  to  go  through  so  much  labor, 
and  use  up  so  much  material,  and  only  get  half 
pay  for  it. 

A  PiU)rosAL  has  been  made  to  fertilize  the 
Great  Desert  of  Sahara,  by  complicated  eys- 
tems  of  river  irrigation. 


EXTRACTS   AI3D   BEPLIES. 

Office  of  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  > 
Lansing,  Mich.,  Dec.  12,  1866.     > 

Editors  of  the  New  England  Farmer : — 

In  your  remarks  preceding  the  communication 
of  President  Aliliutt,  relating  to  the  Michigan  State 
Agricultural  College,  in  your  issue  of  8th  inst., 
you  say  you  "are  glad  to  see  a  more  favorable  ac- 
count of  this  pioneer  institution  than  that  present- 
ed by  the  President  and  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Agriculture." 

Please  state  in  your  next  paper,  to  what  state- 
ment of  the  President  and  Secretary  of  the  Board 
Agriculture  you  allude. 

Respectfully,  Sanford  Howard, 

Sec.  of  the  Michigan  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

Remarks. — In  the  course  of  an  article  on  Agri- 
cultural Colleges  in  the  Farmer  of  Oct.  27th,  the 
following  paragraph  occurs : 

"In  Michigan,  at  the  last  session  of  its  legisla- 
ture, the  President  and  the  Secretary  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Society,  presented  a  petition  asking 
that  the  Agricultural  College  at  Lansing,  the  Capi- 
tal of  the  State,  which  had  been  in  operation  for 
several  j'ears,  be  removed  to  some  more  favorable 
locality,  on  the  gi'ound  that  where  it  was,  and  as  it 
was  and  liad  been,  it  was  practically  a  failure,  be- 
ing open  only  during  the  summer  months,  and 
with  a  very  tliin  attendance  even  then.'" 

In  introducing  a  note  from  the  President  of  the 
Michigan  Agi'icultural  College,  correcting  this 
statement,  we  said: 

"We  are  glad,  however,  to  see  a  more  favorable 
account  of  this  pioneer  institution  than  that  fur- 
nislied  by  the  statement  of  the  President  and  Sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  on  which  our 
remark  was  based." 

These  two  extracts,  thus  placed  together,  show 
that  the  expression  "Board  of  Agriculture,"  was 
unfortunately  used  for  State  Agricultural  Society. 
At  the  time  of  writing  that  sentence  we  were  not 
aware  of  the  distinction  between  the  two  associa- 
tions. 

We  have  upon  our  shelves  an  imperfect  series  of 
volumes  entitled  "Transactions  of  the  Michigan 
State  Agrieultui-al  Society,"  compiled  by  its  Secre- 
tary, and  also  some  later  volumes,  entitled  "Annu- 
al Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture  of  the  State  of  Michigan."  These  vol- 
umes arc  used  mainly  for  reference ;  and  we  have 
looked  upon  the  later  volinnes,  edited  by  Mr.  How- 
ard, as  a  continuation  of  the  old  "Transactions," 
and  upon  him  as  a  successor  of  previous  Secreta- 
ries and  editors.  But  we  now  learn  that  the  two 
associations  are  distinct,  and  it  ai)])ears  not  entire- 
ly hannouious.  The  "Board  of  Agriculture"  is  a 
State  Board — at  the  head  of  which  is  the  Governor 
— and  has  charge  of  the  college.  It  also  makes  an 
annual  report,  including  abstracts  of  the  returns  of 
county  agricultural  societies. 

The  State  Agricultural  Society  is  another  body, 
having  no  necessary  existence  by  law,  and  not 
having  charge  of  the  college.  It  was  the  President 
and  Secretary  of  this  Society  who  signed  the  peti- 
tion to  which  we  referred. 

That  this  document,  addressed  "To  the  Honora- 
ble, the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


77 


the  State  of  Michigan,"  and  assuming  to  be  the 
"Memorial  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,"  jus- 
tified our  statement,  we  think  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  extracts  from  It : 

"The  agricultural  college  was  opened  in  18-57, 
and  has  been  in  operation  for  eight  years.  During 
that  time  it  has  cost  the  State  an  aggregate  of 
$168,320.  *  *  *  Taking  the  average 
attendance  of  students  to  be  50,  which,  as  nearly  as 
could  be  Icanied  Ijy  inquir.y  from  students  and  pi'o- 
fessors,  seems  to  have  been  Ihc  maximum  average 
for  the  past  five  years,  and  the  cost  for  each  stu- 
dent per  year,  so  far,  has  been  .'g;346.40.  *  * 
No  winter  temi  hasl>een  established  at  the  college, 
yet  it  is  well  known  to  every  farmer  of  Michigan 
that  the  winter  management  of  the  farm  is  of  fully 
as  much  imiwrtance  as  that  of  the  summer  and 
autumn  months." 

This  document  was  presented  to  the  legislature 
of  Michigan  at  its  session  two  years  ago.  We  are 
now  informed  that  it  met  with  so  little  favor  that 
it  elicited  no  debate,  and  was  not  even  reported 
upon. 

We  might  have  answered  Mr.  Howard's  inquiry 
in  fewer  words,  but  as  the  Memorial  alluded  to 
was  printed  in  the  newspapers  of  the  State,  and  as 
the  relations  of  that  Society  with  the  present  Board 
of  Agriculture  may  be  misapprehended  by  others, 
as  it  was  by  ourselves,  we  have  thought  the  fore- 
going remarks  but  simple  justice  to  the  College 
and  to  the  Board, 

Admitting  these  two-year-old  objections  to  have 
been  all  true — "that  the  institution  was  a  mistake 
from  the  beginning,"  that  it  "was  located  wrong," 
that  it  "has  been  badly  managed,"  that  it  "has  been 
an  expensive  concem" — may  we  not  say,  in  the 
language  of  Gov.  Crapo,  in  a  late  address  at  the 
college,  "that  its  officers  and  professors  are  enti- 
tled to  all  the  greater  credit  and  all  the  more 
praise,  for  securing,  under  so  much  discourage- 
ment, that  degree  of  success  which  is  apparent  here 
even  to  the  casual  observer ;  and  claim  of  us,  and 
are  entitled  to  receive  at  our  hands,  a  proper  and 
just  recognition  of  their  valuable  services,  and  the 
fidelity  with  which  they  have  been  rendered."  If 
two  years  ago  the  college  was  a  failure,"  and  this 
year  the  rooms  are  so  crowded  that,  as  President 
Abbot  says,  thirty-four  applicants  had  to  be  turned 
away,  the  success  is  all  the  more  creditable  to  the 
present  managers  of  the  institution. 


She  ate  well  all  the  time— never  lost  a  meal,  I 
think.  L.  Varnet. 

Bloomfield,  C.  W.,  Ylth  Mo.,  Wth,  1866. 


RYE   FOR  FATTENING. 

Many  people  consider  rye  good  for  nothing  ex- 
cept for  making  whiskey,  but  having  used  it  sever- 
al years  for  horse  feed,  and  knowing  its  value  for 
that  purpose,  I  concluded  to  try  it  for  feeding  my 
pig.  I  took  a  small  cask  with  one  head  out,  and 
filled  it  about  half  full  of  dish-water,  say  two  to 
three  pailfuls,  and  put  rye  meal  enough  into  it  to 
make  it  as  thick  as  would  dip  easily,  replenishing 
it  from  day  to  day,  and  throwing  in  what  sour 
milk  we  had  from  one  cow,  after  using  all  the  milk 
we  needed  for  a  large  family.  Of  course  the  pig 
had  but  little.  I  fed  with  this  until  the  pig  was 
more  than  six  months  old,  then  I  gave  some  com 
meal,  but  mostly  small  ears  of  com.  Killed  at  8 
months  old,  and  it  weighed  241  pounds — the  cheap- 
est pork  I  ever  raised.  I  kept  the  pig  in  a  close  pen. 


THE  HUSE  METHOD  OF  CURING  MEAT. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  hardly  a  newspaper  of 
any  kind  can  be  seen  without  some  one  of  the 
thousand  and  one  receipts  for  preserving  pork,  beef, 
ham,  &c., — caeli  and  all  aiming  at  the  same  result, 
varying  in  ingredients  or  proportions — all  more  or 
less  complicated  or  difficult  of  practical  application, 
at  the  first,  and  requiring  more  or  less  scalding 
over  of  the  pickle  or  bi-inc,  and  considerable  pecu- 
niary expense. 

As  I  am  one  of  those  who  are  "in  for"  the  thing 
that  is  best,  all  things  considered,  although  it  may 
be  as  simple  as  the  medicine  that  cured  Naaman,  I 
enclose  the  following,  which  has  never  licen  pub- 
lished, that  I  know  of,  but  once,  although  it  has 
been  in  constant  iise  hereabouts  for  twenty  years 
or  more : 

Pack  in  alternate  layers  of  salt  and  beef,  in  a 
clean  Ijarrel ;  put  no  brine  nor  water, — no  molasses, 
saleratus,  saltpetre,  pepper,  mustard  or  other  stuff 
in  with  it.  The  liquid  required  will  come  out  of 
the  meat.  After  the  weather  becomes  warm,  if  any 
collection  of  froth,  white  scum,  &c.,  commences  on 
top  of  the  liquid,  don't  think  it  is  "spoiling"  and 
"must  be  scalded  over,"  but  jiist  fling  around  over 
the  top  a  few  handfuls  of  fine  salt,  and  the  scum 
will  Boon  be  gone.  I  suppose  it  would  have  the 
same  effect  if  the  brine  could  be  stirred  up  from 
the  bottom,  but  it  cannot  be,  conveniently,  so  a  lit- 
tle more  salt  is  required.  Why  it  is  so  I  am  not 
positive,  I)ut  think  it  may  be  on  account  of  the  sa- 
line property  having  partially  separated  and  set- 
tled from  the  surface. 

There  is  brine  in  this  region  that  is  all  the  way 
from  one  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  old,  that  is 
as  sweet  as  the  first  year,  and  has  never  been  scald- 
ed at  all,  and  in  which  there  has  always  been  meat 
— nothing  having  been  done  to  it  but  an  occasional 
sprinkling  of  fine  salt. 

After  using  it  one  year,  when  a  new  stock  of 
meat  is  to  be  put  down,  empty  the  old  brine  into 
another  vessel,  rinse  out  the  barrel  and  put  down 
the  meat  as  before,  and  pour  back  a  part  of  the  old 
brine,  and  put  the  rest  by  for  bathing  sprained 
limbs,  &c.,  or  reduce  it  somewhat  and  use  it  for 
manure.  When  the  old  brine  is  poured  back,  or 
used  for  new  meat,  of  course  but  little  new  salt  is 
required,  only  as  scum  is  seen  to  collect  on  the  sur- 
face. 

In  this  way  beef  is  kept  as  sweet  and  red  as  new, 
the  "year  round,"  and  there  need  be  no  anxiety 
al>out  tainted  meat,  or  "scalding  over  the  brine." 

For  hams  there  is  no  way  so  good,  I  think  as  to 
pickle  them  thus  for  six  weeks,  then  take  them  out, 
dry  them,  sew  them  up  in  bags  and  pack  them  in 
sawdust. 

We  have  tried  this  method  in  our  family  practi- 
cally for  two  years,  and  having  just  put  down 
another  year's  stock  of  meat,  I  can  testify  that  the 
brine  is  perfectly  sweet.  We  never  had  meat  kept 
so  well  by  any  other  method.  R.  Nutting. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  Dec.  10,  1866. 

Remarks. — The  old  adage  that  "sauce  for  the 
goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander,"  hardly  applies  to 
curing  meat.  The  process  which  is  successful  and 
satisfactory  in  one  case  may  fail  in  another.  If  the 
animal  is  worried,  fatigued  and  in  a  feverish  state, 
decomposition  of  the  meat  is  much  more  rapid 
than  if  slaughtered  when  quiet,  healthy  and  ready 
to  "lick  the  hand  just  raised  to  shed  its  blood." 
The  condition  of  the  meat  as  affected  by  various 
causes  after  being  slaughtered,  the  season  of  the 


78 


NEW    ENGLAND    lAKMJ^ii. 


JbK... 


year,  and  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  are  some  of 
the  many  conditions  which  experienced  packers 
find  necessaiy  to  take  into  consideration.  Few  of 
the  "boys"  who  nttcrcdhard  words  about  the  "salt 
horse"  of  their  rations,  were  probably  aware  of 
the  difficulty  of  preserving  beef,  especially  forwaiTn 
climates,  so  as  to  retain  the  good  taste  and  nutri- 
tive value  of  beef  the  "year  round,"  and  yet  avoid 
the  danger  of  "tainted  meat."  A  man  may  grow 
old  in  the  packing  business  and  still  desire  to  learn ; 
indeed,  we  believe  that  the  most  experienced  are 
the  least  positive.  In  curing  pork  we  have  adopted 
the  course  recommended  by  our  coiTCspondent,  but 
in  preserving  beef  we  have  generally  used  a  pickle, 
fearing  that  a  "layer  of  salt  and  a  layer  of  beef" 
would  turn  out  the  beef  a  little  too  much  "corned." 


TREATMENT   OF   A   SICK   COLT. 

I  notice  in  your  paper  of  Dec.  15,  an  inquiry  of 
Lectum  in  regard  lo  his  colt.  I  will  give  him  my 
views  of  the  treatment  for  such  a  caae.  Take  the 
inside  of  white  oak  bark  and  steep  it  until  it  is 
quite  strong.  Let  it  cool ;  then  add  four  table- 
spoonfuls  of  good  Id-andy,  one  teaspoontul  of  tine 
salt,  the  white  of  one  egg,  to  each  quart  of  the 
liquid.  Shake  well  together.  Make  two  applica- 
tions a  day,  rubbing  well  with  the  hand.  Give  him 
a  roomy  stal^le,  well  Ijcdded  on  the  ground.  Do 
not  tie  him,  but  exercise  every  day.  Feed  on  dry 
oats,  or  if  ground,  feed  it  dry,  with  good  clean  clo- 
ver hav.  A.'  I"  T. 

Fitchburg,  Dec.  17,  1866. 


HOUSE    FLIES. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  written  for  the 
Farmer.  I  have  had,  however,  a  lot  of  articles 
in  my  mind,  but  have  been  so  busy  with  "de  shobel 
and  de  lioc"  th.it  there  h.as  been  no  time  for  the 
pen.  But  an  earnest  call  for  light  on  the  origin  of 
flics,  in  the  Farmer  of  December  8th,  prompts  me 
to  take  mine  out  from  "under  the  bushel."  Flies 
are  propagated  in  the  summer  in  the  compost  heap 
principally — mostly  in  horse  manure.  They  de- 
light in  the  fresh  droppings  of  the  horse,  penetrat- 
ing quickly  into  its  loose  texture,  and  depositing  a 
great  number  of  eggs  whicli  hatch  in  a  few  hours ; 
varying  according  to  warmth  of  weather,  and  de- 
gi-ee  of  heat  of  compost.  In  from  tour  to  seven 
days  the  maggot  comes  to  maturity,  creeps  to  the 
side  of  the  lieap,  and  takes  the  chrysalis  form.  It 
then  appears  like  a  small  egg,  and  is  of  a  Oark 
brick  color.  In  about  two  days  more,  the  perfect 
fly  appears,  woi-ks  his  wings  a  little,  to  get  the 
"hang"  of  his  new  existence,  and  then  flics  directly 
into  your  house,  dear  inquirer,  and  alights  on  your 
nice  "food.  After  wiping  his  feet  and.  luxuriating 
on  your  good  things  tor  a  time,  it  goes  back  to  the 
bara  to  increase  and  multiply.  Having  learned 
so  much  l)y  observation,  we  put  our  knowledge  to 
practical  use  by  letting  the  droppings  of  the  horse 
remain  in  the  stable  in  summer  aliout  six  days, 
presenting  great  attractions  to  the  flies  that  escape 
me  and  those  of  my  neighbors.  They  will  soon 
produce  countless  tlioiisands  of  maggots.  We  then 
heat  about  six  pails  of  scalding  water,  and  while 
one  rakes  over  the  heap  another  dashes  on  the  wa- 
ter, which  literally  straightens  them  out.  Pitching 
the  scalded  mass  into  tlie  pig  pen  we  pemiit  the 
pi'ocess  to  be  repeated.  It  is  not  a  particularly 
pleasant  operation,  hut  far  better  than  to  light  them 
after  they  are  in  the  house.  The  women  will  be 
glad  to  heat  the  water  if  the  men  will  apjily  it,  and 
botli  will  be  pleased  with  the  success  of  the  plan, 


if  well  followed  up.    Hereafter  we  hope  to  bring 
up  the  subject  of  horse  flies. 

TIGHT  barns. 

We  see  that  Mr.  J.  W.  Brown  brings  up  this  sub- 
ject again.  All  appear  to  overlook  one  thing,  viz. : 
the  fact  that  a  small  body  of  hay  will  not  keep,  no 
matter  how  made,  iniiny  barn,  while  a  large  lot  of 
hay,  rapidly  got  in  and  thoroughly  stowed,  will 
keep  good  either  in  a  tight  or  an  open  barn.  If  air 
can  have  the  least  circulation  thiongh  hay  it  will 
spoil ;  if  it  cannot  peneti-ate,  it  will  t-poil  a  little  on 
the  outside,  and  the  rest  will  remain  good.  It 
wants  a  very  large  mow  to  keep  coarse  hay,  for  it 
is  very  hard  to  prevent  coarse  kinds  of  fodder  from 
becoming  musty,  for  the  reason  tliat  we  cannot  get 
it  close  enough.  Should  like  to  give  my  experi- 
ence in  detail,  but  must  close.        Caleb  Bates. 

Kingston,  Mass.,  Dec.  11,  1866. 


Tor  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BENTIlfG   FARMS. 

Althougli  the  practice  of  rentintj  farms  is 
sadly  in  disrepute  in  this  country,  there  are  im- 
portant advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  wise 
system  of  farm  tenancy ;  and  could  suoTi  a 
system  be  made  popular,  our  agricultiu-al  in- 
terest would  be  promoted  thereby.  I  would 
not  for  a  moment,  advocate  that  men  should 
never  own  the  land  they  till,  as  in  many  parts 
of  Europe,  which  is  but  the  natural  result  of 
a  land  monopoly.  But  here  v:e  are  going  to 
the  other  extreme,  and  owner-.nip  is  regarded 
as  necessary  to  success.  Suoh  is  the  ambitious 
spirit  to  possess  land  for  ovie's  self,  and  the  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  gT-aiitied  amid  our  liberal 
institutions,  that  yoking  men  rather  scorn  the 
idea  of  beginning  u  pon  hired  farms  ;  it  does 
not  accord  with  a  prevailing  notion  of  inde- 
pendence. And  it  is  difficult  to  find  tenants 
who  will  occupy  leased  land  for  any  length  of 
time,  or  tveat  it  fairly  Avhen  so  occupied.  A 
more  popular  way  is  to  run  into  debt  for  a  farm 
at  the  outset,  and  exercise  the  riglits  of  propri- 
etor at  all  hazards.  Consequently  a  heavy 
burden  is  assumed  at  a  critical  period  of  life. 
I  say  critical,  for  success  depends  partly  upon 
the  manner  a  man-  begins.  All  fair  sailing 
may  not  be  desirable,  but  frequently  heavier 
burdens  are  assumed  by  the  active  an<l  ambi- 
tions, than  can  be  well  sustained,  and  they  either 
break  down  or  struggle  until  a  large  share  of 
the  courage  and  enterprise  of  earl}-  manhood 
i  is  lost,  and  they  never  attain  that  success  they 
could  have  reached  under  more  favorable 
circumstances.  This  mode  of  begiiniing  is  a 
fruitfid  source  of  much  of  our  poor  farming. 

The  same  principle  carried  into  trade  or 
maivufacturing  would  be  attended  with  similar 
dithcultics,  but  mechanics  and  merchants  are 
generally  content  to  hire  a  store,  or  shop,  and 
power,  until  they  have  established  themselves 
in  business  and  have  a  surplus  of  capital.  To 
divide  their  capital  at  commencing  between 
stock  in  trade  and  purchasing  real  estate  only 
weakens  their  credit, — cripples  and  embar- 
rasses their  operations.  Successful  copartner- 
ships are  formed  by  one  party  furnishing  capi- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


79 


tal  and  the  other  experience  or  knowledge  of 
business.  So,  too,  men  beginning  farming  with 
little  or  no  capital  will  find  advantages  in  hiring  a 
farm  until  they  have  acquired  sufficient  means 
to  purchase.  That  success  does  not  depend 
upon  ownership,  may  be  proved  by  the  ex- 
amples of  many  thousand  thrifty  and  eminent 
farmers  in  (jreat  Britain,  who  never  owned  a 
rod  of  the  land  cultivated.  It  is  true,  all  one 
may  desire  cannot  be  ibund  upon  a  hired  farm, 
and  it  is  equally  true  that  a  small  capital  can- 
not command  a  place,  by  purchase,  that  at 
once  comes  up  to  our  wishes.  Again,  some 
think  they  cannot  reap  the  full  benefit  of  their 
labors  and  improvements  upon  a  hired  farm,  as 
well  as  if  they  owned  it.  To  this  objection  it 
may  be  asked,  how  fast  are  improvements 
made  upon  farms  bought  upon  credit  for  the 
first  five  or  ten  years.  Are  the  majority  of 
places  under  heavy  incumbrances,  treated  bet- 
ter than  rented  land  ought  to  be,  and  as  ten- 
ants can  afford  to  when  they  hire  for  a  series  of 
years  ?  Men  of  limited  means  are  not  expected 
to  accomplish  much  beyond  making  the  farm 
hold  its  own,  though  some  by  extra  hard  labor 
will  show  a  yeai'ly  progress.  Capital  is  neces- 
sary for  rapid  improvement,  and  to  make  the 
care  and  labor  easy.  And  where  shall  men  of 
limited  means  find  a  sufficiency  ?  Disinter- 
ested parties  are  slow  to  loan  to  farmers.  Only 
those  who  have  an  interest  in  the  land  equiva- 
lent to  ownership,  will  lend  it  freely.  By  be- 
coming tenants  they  can  command  more  capi- 
tal, than  if  they  bought  land ;  for,  practically, 
a  copartnership  is  formed — the  owner  furnishes 
land,  buildings,  &c.,  and  is  a  silent  partner, 
while  tenants  furnish  knowledge  and  working 
capital.  And  as  the  combination  or  union  of 
men  and  capital  accomplishes  greater  results  in 
trade,  commerce  and  manufacturing,  so  it  can 
in  farming.  The  rapid  progress  of  agriculture 
in  England  may  be  accounted  for  upon  this 
principle  of  co-operation  and  employment  of  a 
large  amount  of  capital.  Tenants  having  no 
land  to  pay  for,  their  yearly  gains  go  to  in- 
crease that  essential  item,  their  working  capi- 
tal ;  and  when  the  benefit  of  any  invention  or 
measure — as  under-draining — are  ascertained, 
the  land  owners  come  forward  with  their  influ- 
ence and  capital  for  its  immediate  adoption ; 
thus  any  great  improvement  is  adopted  quicker 
than  if  every  man  owned  his  farm  and  acted 
single-handed.  It  cannot  be  said  American 
land  owners  are  so  indifferent  to  their  interests 
that  they  will  not  rightly  consider  and  aid  in 
any  improvement  tenants  may  make,  or  desire 
to  make.  As  a  general  rule,  our  land  owners 
are  disposed  to  act  more  favorably  towards  ten- 
ants than  tenants  are  towards  the  land.  Many 
a  farm  is  sold  which  the  proprietor  would 
gladly  have  retained  in  his  name,  provided 
he  could  have  leased  it,  and  not  have  it  run 
down.  Good  farms  can  be  hired  in  every  town 
by  responsible  parties. 

The   great   difficulty   with   those   who   hire 
farms  here,   is,  that  they  hire  for  too  short 


periods ;  they  do  not  remain  on  a  place  long 
enough  to  feel  at  home,  or  to  adopt  a  remunera- 
tive system.  Where  a  farm  is  taken  for  a 
term  of  years,  a  course  can  be  pursued  that 
benefits  both  parties.  T'enants,  by  using  all 
their  means  as  working  capital,  and  increasing 
it  by  their  yearly  gains,  can,  in  reality,  be  lar- 
ger farmers  and  more  independent,  than  if  they 
were  struggling  to  pay  for  their  land.  With 
the  aid  of  the  proprietor  to  push  forward  rapid- 
ly any  improvements,  to  help  sustain  losses 
arising  from  the  vicissitudes  of  the  seasons, 
or  accidents,  their  cares  will  be  materially  les- 
sened and  labors  lightened.  AVhen  they  will 
remain  five  or  ten  years,  or  until  they  have  ac- 
quired experience  or  sufficient  capital  to  pur- 
chase, the  probabilities  are  that,  at  the  end  of 
the  second  five  or  ten  years,  they  will  be  rich- 
er men,  better  farmers,  and  show  fewer  marks 
of  overwork,  vexation,  and  care,  than  if  they 
had  run  deep  into  debt  for  a  farm  at  the  outset. 
The  remark  is  often  heard,  "I  would  like  to 
be  a  farmer  if  I  had  the  capital  to  make  it 
easy."  To  buy  a  farm  on  credit  and  pay  for  it 
from  the  hard  earned  profits,  at  tlie  same  time 
make  improvements,  support  and  educate  an 
increasing  family,  is  indeed  a  formidable  task. 
Many  would-be-good  farmers  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  other  employments.  Others  never  re- 
linquish the  idea  of  farming,  but  take  the 
roundabout  way  of  first  earning  their  farm  at 
some  trade  or  in  business.  To  all  men  who 
do  not  inherit  a  farm,  hiring  opens  an  easy 
way  to  begin  at  once.  Young  men  can  begin 
for  themselves  earlier  in  life,  or  just  as  soon  as 
they  are  competent  to  manage  one.  Where 
there  is  fair  dealing  between  land  ownei's  and 
tenants,  they  sacrifice  no  rights  or  labor,  nor 
compromise  any  feeling  of  true  independence, 
but  have  all  the  advantages  of  a  just  union  of 
their  talents  and  labor  with  capital. 


Remarks. — To  all  persons  who  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  farming  as  an  emploj-ment — to 
young  men,  especially — we  recommend  the 
reading  of  the  foregoing  article.  Our  constant 
reply  to  applications  for  advice  has  been,  for 
many  years  not  to  purchase  a  farm  at  the  out- 
set,— but  to  become  a  tenant,  or  a  hired-hand, 
for  one  or  two  years,  in  preference.  The 
reasoning  above  is  sound  and  judicious,  and 
we  have  no  doubt  will  decide  the  question, 
Shall  I  purchase  a  farm  ?  in  the  negative, 
with  a  good  many  persons. 


Making  Roads.— Drain  them.  There  can- 
not be  a  good  road  where  water  stands  by  the 
side  of  or  on  it.  Keep  out  stones  of  every 
size,  and  have  the  top  of  the  road  evenly  and 
slightly  rounded. 


80 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Feb. 


AK"   APPLE   FOR   A   NAME. 


The  above  cut  was  dravm  and  engraved  for 
the  New  England  Farmer  from  a  beautiful 
specimen  of  some  superior  apples  grown  in 
Concord,  Mass.,  by  William  W.  Wlieildon, 
Esq.,  and  supposed  to  be  the  Nyack  Pippin. 
Fuilher  investigation  convinced  Mr.  "Wheildon 
that  he  was  mistaken  as  to  the  name.  The 
artist  has  succeeded  in  producing  a  capital  like- 
ness of  the  fruit,  and  its  reproduction  in  our 
columns  may  lead  to  the  recovery  of  the  cor- 
rect nomenclature. 


XsTE-W    PUBLICATIONS. 

Transactions  of  the  National  Association  of  Wool 
Manufacturers.  1805-1866.  Boston;  Press  of  John 
"Wilson  &  Son.    1866. 

Such  is  the  title  page  of  a  bound  volume,  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  John  L.  Hayes,  Esq., 
Secretary  of  the  Association.  It  comprises 
nine  pamphlets,  which  have  been  published 
during  the  past  year,  amounting  to  325  pages, 
among  which  is  Mr.  Hay's  valuable  disserta- 
tion,   entitled  "The  Fleece  and  the  Loom," 


extracts  from  which  have  been  extensively  pub- 
lished by  the  agricultural  papers  of  the  coun- 
try ;  a  Report  of  the  Convention  of  Wool- 
growers,  and  Wool-manufacturers  held  at 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  Dec,  1865;  the  Joint  Re- 
port of  the  Executive  Committee  of  these 
bodies  to  the  United  States  Revenue  Commis- 
sion, February  9,  1866,  and  their  statement 
relative  to  proposed  duties  on  wools  and  wool- 
ens, addressed  to  same  commission,  May, 
1866  ;  together  with  interesting  facts  relative 
to  caa-pet,  knit  goods,  and  worsted  manufac- 
ture, &c.,  &c.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion 
of  wool-growers  as  to  the  effect  of  the  opera- 
tions of  this  organization  of  wool-manufactur- 
ers, either  separately  or  in  conjunction  with 
themselves,  this  volume  is  conclusive  evidence 
of  ability  and  industry  which  all  must  respect 
and  admire. 


— A  nice  flower  garden  is  the  cheapest  and  most 
attractive  ornament  any  dwelling,  whether  in  town 
or  country,  can  possibly  have. 


18G7. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


81 


THE  WOOL  TARIFF. 
The  Washington  eorrespomlcnts  of  the  daily 
papers  have,  ot"  kite,  alhuled  to  niinors  of  the 
probability  that  the  duties  agreed  upon  by  the 
Committee  of  Wool-growers  and  Manuflxctur- 
crs,  and  which  passed  the  House  at  the  last  ses- 
sion, were  about  to  meet  with  unexpected  op- 
position. The  facts,  however,  that  imported 
wool  is  now  used  by  very  many  of  the  woolen 
mills  in  New  England,  while  farmers  are  seek- 
ing in  vain  for  a  market  for  one  or  more  clips 
from  their  own  flocks,  are  so  well  known  and 
so  indisputably  show  the  need  of  the  proposed 
legislation  that  we  have  paid  little  attention  to 
these  vague  reports,  which  we  are  sorry  to  find 
confirmed  by  the  correspondent  of  the  Boston 
Dailij  Advertiser.  This  writer  in  his  letter 
of  December  27th,  says  :  "The  new  tariff  of 
Mr.  Wells,  as  a  substitute  for  the  House  bill, 
arrived  here  to-day.  Only  three  copies  are  out. 
Enough  is  known  of  the  bill  tomake  it  certain 
that  it  opposes  the  system  of  protection  agreed 
upon  by  the  House,  and  embodies  the  views  of 
the  opponents  of  that  legislation.  It  in  effect 
re-enacts  the  present  rates  of  duty,  though  an 
advance  is  proposed  on  many  articles  and  a  de- 
crease on  quite  a  number.  The  free  list  is  ma- 
terially increased.  The  bill  is  accompanied  by 
a  long  report,  in  which  he  discusses  the  ills 
which  the  industry  and  business  of  the  country 
languish  imder,  and  gives  his  reasons  for  ad- 
ministering substantially  a  free-trade  tariff  as 
the  remedy  for  them.  His  main  idea  is  that 
the  inflation  of  the  currency  is  the  real  enemy 
of  our  prosperity,  and  that  before  we  can  man- 
uflicture  successfully  we  must  return  to  specie 
payments.  He  takes  the  ground  that  what  he 
calls  our  cumulative  system  of  protective  duties 
is  ruinous  to  our  industries  ;  that,  with  resimip- 
tion  of  specie  payments,  no  protection  would  be 
needed  upon  the  leading  articles  of  wool,  coal, 
and  pig  iron ;  that  the  only  interests  which 
need  protection  are  those  whose  products  are 
fine  and  require  skilled  labor  and  large  capital ; 
that  if  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Texas  can  grow  wool 
at  a  profit,  Ohio  and  New  England  have  no 
right  to  complain ;  that  the  revenue  taxes  on 
depressed  or  exposed  industries  should  be  light- 
ened or  taken  off;  that  the  condition  of  our 
currency  and  the  suffering  state  of  our  manu- 
factures are  unfavorable  to  any  sudden  modifi- 
cation of  the  tariff." 

We  hope  that  the  document  when  submitted 
to  Congress  will  be  found  not  to  justify  the 


above  unfavorable  impressions.  But  from  a 
late  statement  by  the  New  York  Evening  Post, 
a  free  trade  advocate,  in  relation  to  the  char- 
acter of  Mr.  Well's  tariff  bill,  we  fear  that 
there  is  too  much  truth  in  these  rpmors. 


FARM  IMPLEMENTS. 

It  would  be  poor  policy  for  a  man  in  these 
times  to  use  a  wooden  shovel,  shod  with  strips 
of  iron,  as  the  farmers  did  forty  years  ago. 

It  would  be  a  similar  policy  for  a  man  of  bu- 
siness to  go  on  foot  fifty  miles,  when  he  might 
take  the  cars. 

It  would  be  poor  policy  for  him  to  use  a  hoe 
weighing  a  pound  too  muclt,  or  a  worn-out  plow 
that  would  turn  the  soil  imperfectly  only  four 
inches,  when  it  ought  to  be  plowed  ten  inches 
deep. 

It  is  poor  policy  to  use  any  machine  or  im- 
plement that  will  not  accomplish  more  than  half 
the  work  that  a  good  one  woidd,  with  the  same 
amount  of  time  and  labor. 

It  would  be  poor  policy  to  use  hay  or  dung 
foi'ks,  hand-rakes,  spades,  shovels,  axes,  or 
wheelbarrows,  as  they  were  made  and  used 
forty  years  ago.  And  j^et  some  of  them  may 
occasionally  be  found  on  New  England  farms 
at  this  day.  Extra  time  and  labor  enough  have 
undoubtedly  been  spent  upon  them  to  purchase 
new  ones  two  or  three  times  over.  Mr.  Wil- 
liam D.  Brown,  in  a  report  to  the  JNIiddlesex 
Agricultural  Society,  says  : — 

"As  farmers  want  a  good  many  tools,  and 
don't  generally  buy  them  until  they  see  them, 
would  it  not  be  a  capital  plan  to  advertise  new 
and  improved  implements  by  showing  tliem  up 
at  cattle  shores  ?  The  committee  firmly  believe 
that  manufacturers  and  dealers  will  consult 
their  true  interests  by  arranging  a  good  dis- 
play of  their  articles,  annually,  before  such  a 
crowd  of  interested  customers.  We  recom- 
mend, too,  to  farmers  to  buy  more  and  better 
tools.  It  would  be  a  mercy  to  many  a  sweat- 
ing cultivator  in  our  county,  to  have  half  hia 
tools  stolen  !  Money  is  thrown  away  by  hand- 
fuls  by  using  up  inferior  tools.  Teams  are 
kept  dragging  plows,  pointless,  with  cutters 
worn  half  way  up  to  the  beam.  Too  much 
carting  is  done  in  clumsy,  hard-nmning  carts. 
A  stone  and  a  drafl-chain  are  still  in  use,  too 
generally,  in  place  of  a  good  "sword"  to  tilt 
the  cart.  The  committee  know  of  one  new 
fanner  who  has,  the  past  season,  carted  his 


82 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb, 


manure  in  a  wagon,  Laving  tediously  to  shovel 
out  the  whole  load.  He  wisely  lost  no  time, 
as  did  the  Irishman  who  was  greatly  perplexed 
with  the  "four-wheeled  cart,"  in  shouting  at 
his  horse's  head,  "rear  up,  there,  you  rascal! 
rear  up,  there !" 


NEW   HOBTICULTURAIj   MAGAZINE. 

Commencing  with  the  year,  Messrs.  Tilton  & 
Co.,  of  Boston,  issue  a  new  magazine  of  horti- 
culture with  the  title  of  ''American  Journal 
of  Horticulture,  and  Florisfs  Companion.'''' 
Fruit,  flowers  and  vegetables  are  the  three 
branches  of  culture  to  which  the  work  is  to  be 
specially  devoted;  treating  severally  of  the 
garden,  the  forcing  and  cold  house,  the  or- 
chid-house and  stove,  window  gardening,  care 
of  house  plants,  pomology  in  its  many  branch- 
es, entomology  and  ornithology,  as  connected 
with  horticulture,  &c.  Our  country  presents 
an  open  and  inviting  field  for  a  work  of  its 
proposed  high  character,  and  an  examination  of 
the  first  number  encourages  the  hope  that  this 
want  is  now  to  be  supplied.  It  contains  arti- 
cles from  Francis  Parkman,  J.  M.  Merrick, 
Jr.,  Hammatt  Billings,  John  Lewis  Russell,  E. 
S.  Rand,  Jr.,  William  C.  Stone,  J.  F.  C.  Hyde, 
E.  A.  Samv.cls,  and  selections  from  the  Eng- 
lish Journal  of  Horticulture,  Revue  Horticole, 
Scottish  Ciardener,  &c.  It  is  neatly  printed 
and  illustrated.     The  subscription  price  is  $3. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  plan  of  this  mag- 
azine which  we  should  be  glad  to  see  imitated 
by  the  agricultural  press.  We  allude  to  the 
publication  of  illustrated  biographies  of  distin- 
guished horticulturists. 


PAPER   MILLS. 

In  tlie  United  States  there  are  750  paper  mills  in 
active  operation.  They  produce  27,000,000  pounds 
of  paper,  which,  at  an  average  of  ten  cents  per 
pound,  would  be  worth  $27,000.  As  it  requires 
about  a  pound  and  one-half  of  rags  to  make  one 
1)0und  of  paper,  there  are  consumed  bj;  these  mills 
400,000,000  pounds  of  rags  in  a  single  year.  If  we 
estimate  the  rags  to  cost  four  cents  per  pound, 
there  would  be  a  profit  of  $!11, 000,000  in  this  branch 
of  manufacturing. — North  West. 

Remarks. — The  paper-makers  have  been 
reaping  a  most  abundant  harvest  for  several 
years  past.  Paper  is  too  high.  These  high 
prices  operate  as  a  tax  upon  education.  They 
greatly  abridge  the  circulation  of  books,  news- 
papers and  letter-writing.  Excellent  paper 
may  be  made  from  a  large  variety  of  substan- 
ces.    From  straw,    cora-husks,  or  almost  any 


weed  or  substance  that  is  of  a  fibrous  nature. 
We  have  manufactured  a  pulp,  in  a  limited 
way,  from  the  common  bass-wood  of  the  coun- 
tiy,  which  paper-makers  pronounce  a  most  ex- 
cellent article.  There  is  no  doubt  on  our 
mind  that  the  judicious  emplojTnent  of  a  capi- 
tal of  $10,000  would  produce  a  similar  pulp, 
in  any  quantity,  at  a  cost  of  four  cents  per 
pound,  in  a  dry  state.  It  is  now  done  in  Eu- 
rope, in  more  than  one  hundred  instances ! 
The  process  is  extremely  simple,  requiring  no 
chemicals  or  bleaching  of  any  kind. 

The  California  Farmer  suggests  that  their 
"Tule  Grass"  must  be  a  good  article,  and 
states  that  paper  is  now  being  manufactured 
from  sedge  grass,  which  is  very  white  and 
clear,  and  is  so  good  as  to  serve  as  a  substitute 
for  ordinary  cap  or  writing  papers  made  of 
cotton  or  linen  rags. 

There  is  scarcely  any  branch  of  industry  in 
the  arts  that  requires  change  and  progress,  so 
much  as  the  art  of  paper-making.  It  is  too 
costly.  It  ought  to  be  sold  at  less  than  one- 
half  its  present  price. 


Michigan  Agricultural  College. — We 
have  received  a  catalogue  of  this  institution  for 
1866.  The  names  of  47  students  in  the  regu- 
lar course  are  given.  Senior  class  2,  Junior 
5,  Sophomore  12,  Freshman  28.  There  are 
also  51  in  the  Preparatory  Class  and  10  in  the 
Select  Course.  Total  108.  In  addition  to 
the  usual  college  facilities,  this  institution  has 
the  following  means  of  illustration  :  a  farm  of 
676  acres,  of  Avliich  about  300  are  under  culti- 
vation ;  botanical  gardens  of  trees,  shrubs  and 
herbaceous  plants ;  vegetable  gardens,  small 
fruit  garden,  apple  orchard,  pear  orchard,  gen- 
eral lawn  and  grounds ;  Galloway,  Ayrshire, 
Devon  and  Short  Horn  Cattle ;  Essex  and 
Suffolk  Swine  ;  Sotithdown,  Cotswold,  Spanish 
jMerino,  and  black-faced  Highland  Sheep,  &c. 


— Alexander  Dale,  Allegan,  Michigan,  recom- 
mends, and  Dr.  Snodgrass  of  the  New  York  Far- 
mers' Club,  endorses  the  recommendation,  of  a 
poultice  of  stewed  pumpkin,  renewed  every  fifteen 
minutes,  for  inflammatoiy  rheumatism. 


— A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  who 
kept  a  dairy,  knmvs  it  to  be  a  fact  that  if  his  cows 
were  not  salted  as  often  as  every  fourth  day  they 
would  fill!  off  in  their  milk  from  a  pint  to  a  quart 
per  day. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

JOTTINGS  rilOM  MAINE. 

Dear  Farmer  : — Though  it  has  hccn  some  time 
since  I  have  sent  you  any  of  my  jottings,  you  have 
not  lieen  forgotten ;  but  as  there  did  not  seem  to  be 
any  particularly  important  occurrence  to  note,  I  have 
forborne  to  intrude  upon  your  crowded  columns. 
Now,  however,  that  it  is  so  near  to  the  lime  of  your 
promised  expansion,  and  the  appearance  of  that 
much-missed  Monthly,  which  I  hope  soon  to  greet, 
I  send  a  few  items,  for  remembrance  sake,  till  more 
room  is  allowed. 

We  have  had  open  ■';\'cather  most  of  the  time  till 
far  into  December,  with  much  rain  through  No- 
vember, so  that  the  fountains  of  water  ai'C  well 
filled  for  winter  use.  Farmers  have  had  time  to  do 
everything  they  wanted  to  do,  in  one  sense,  and  arc 
anxious  for  snow.  There  have  been  two  or  three 
little  flurries  only,  till  to-day  it  is  a  real  North 
Wester,  beginning  in  the  night.  The  ground  is 
frozen,  so  now  it  appears  as  though  the 

"Woodman's  axe  lies  low" 

no  more  for  the  want  of  snow.  It  has  been  very 
favoralilc  for  hay.  Sheep,  ■which  we  are  quite  well 
stocked  with,  have  been  fed  but  little,  not  so  much 
as  they  ought  to  have  been  for  their  and  their  own- 
ers' good,  which  b  is  made  quite  a  difference  in  the 
amount  of  barn  fodder  used,  up  to  date. 

O.  W.  True. 
Farmington,  Me.,  Dec.  17,  1866. 


cranberries. — FILM    ON    AN    OX  S    EYE. 

I  have  a  meadow  where  I  want  to  raise  cranber- 
ries. Will  somebody  tell  me  how  to  prepare  it,  and 
how  to  set  and  tend  them.  The  land  can  be  drain- 
ed (50  as  to  be  quite  dry.  Is  there  any  simple  way 
to  take  a  film  from  an  ox's  eye  ?  e.  e.  a. 

Sunderland,  Mass.,  Dec.  21,  1866. 

Remarks. — Will  some  practical  cultivator  of 
cranl)erries  furnish  the  desired  information  for  "E. 
E.  A.,"  and  for  such  other  readers  of  the  Farmer 
as  may  be  thinking  of  raising  this  profitable  fruit  ? 

In  relation  to  the  removal  of  the  film  from  an 
ox's  eye,  we  find  the  following  recommendation  in 
the  Tribune,  as  read  before  the  New  York  Fanners' 
Club : 

"A.  BniTonghs,  Dartford,  Greenlake  Co.,  Wis., 
says  he  never  fails  to  take  the  film  from  the  eyes  of 
cattle  or  horses  by  the  following  process :  melt  a 
piece  of  fresh  butter,  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg ;  take 
the  animal  l\y  the  horn  and  nose ;  turn  the  head  so 
the  ear  opposite  the  eye  affected  is  up ;  turn  the 
butter  into  the  ear,  not  the  eye,  being  careful  not  to 
have  it  burn ;  wait  four  or  five  days,  repeat  the 
dose.    The  third  time  has  always  been  sufficient." 

We  print  this  as  a  specimen  of  the  Ijarbarous 
methods  which  are  sometimes  resorted  to  in  the 
treatment  of  cattle  diseases.  The  film  is  a  singu- 
lar manifestation  or  result  of  disease, — genei'ally 
of  inflammation.  "The  horse,"  say  the  books,  "has 
a  little  shovel,  concealed  in  the  inner  comer  of  the 
eye,  which  he  is  enabled  to  protrude  whenever  he 
pleases  over  the  greater  part  of  the  eye,  and  Ijy  the 
aid  of  tears  to  wipe  and  wash  away  the  dust  and 
gravel  which  would  otherwise  lodge  in  the  eye  and 
give  them  much  pain.  The  ox  has  something  of 
the  same  contrivance,  but  it  is  not  so  movable  or 
so  effectual ;  and  when  he  travels  over  a  dusty  road 
in  the  heat  of  summer,  he  suffers  sadly  from  the 
small  particles  of  dirt  and  the  insects  which  are 


continually  flying  into  his  eyes.  This  portion  of 
the  eye,  or  this  third  eyelid,  seems  to  be  peculiarly 
subject  to  disease,  particularly  to  a  cloudiness  which 
will  change  in  twenty-four  hours  from  the  thinnest 
film  to  the  thickest  opacity,  and,  as  suddenly,  the 
eye  will  nearly  regain  its  perfect  transparency,  but 
only  to  lose  it  a  second  time.  These  attacks  con- 
tinue, growing  gradually  more  severe,  until  the 
troul  lie  extends  to  the  internal  part  of  the  cj'e,  and 
the  ox  is  incurably  blind.  When  it  is  known  that 
what  appears  as  a  film  on  the  surface  of  the  e.ye  is 
a  dimness  pervading  its  substance,  and  even  sink- 
ing deep  within  it,  the  folly  and  cruelty  of  attempt- 
ing to  rub  it  off"  mechanically,  as  is  often  done,  by 
forcing  chalk,  salt,  sugar,  and  even  pounded  glass, 
directly  into  the  eye,  is  at  once  apparent."  As  in 
case  of  general  inflammation  of  the  eye,  Mr.  Skin- 
ner recommends  bleeding,  physicking,  and  fomenta- 
tions. Dr.  Dadd  says,  if  a  film  can  be  observed, 
wash  with  a  decoction  of  powdered  blood  root,  and 
if  a  weeping  remain,  use  the  following  astringent : 
powdered  bayberry  bark,  one  oimce,  Ijoiled  in  one 
pint  of  water;  when  cool,  pour otl the  clear  liquor. 


HIGH   price   of    poultry. 

In  the  New  England  Farmer  of  Dec.  6,  it  is 
stated  that  turkeys  at  Thanksgiving  time,  bi'ought 
from  30  to  40  cents  a  pound,  and  were  scarce  at 
that. 

There  is  a  cause  for  all  things ;  and  no  doubt 
there  is  a  reasonable  one  for  this.  While  specula- 
tion raises  the  price  of  many  articles,  we  must  hold 
it  innocent  of  establishing  the  price  of  poultry  in 
general,  and  turkeys  in  particular. 

New  difficulties,  in  someeectionof  country,  have 
arisen  to  prevent  the  raising  of  poultry.  One  is  the 
rapid  increase  of  skunks,  foxes,  and  other  animals 
that  prey  upon  the  poultiy  yard.  Consequently 
greater  care  and  vigilance  has  to  be  exercised,  and 
more  frequent  losses  occur.  These  causes,  of  course, 
increase  first  cost,  and  those  who  wish  for  turkeys 
and  chickens  for  an  old-fashioned  Thanksgiving, 
must  expect  to  pay  a  good  round  sum  for  them. 

The  inquiry  very  naturally  comes  up,  why  this 
increase  of  foxes,  skunks,  woodchucks,  &c.  ?  We 
give  the  answer  to  this  question  as  it  has  often  been 
given  to  us,  to  wit:  "Since  the  dog  tax  has  been 
raised  to  an  extortionary  amount,  many  farmers 
rather  than  submit  to  its  oppression  have  killed 
their  dogs,  and  many  valuable  hunters  and  guar- 
dians of  the  house  and  barn  have  thus  been  de- 
stroyed; and  wild  animals  have  increased  in  con- 
sequence." Further,  they  go  on  to  say,  that  this 
destniction  of  dogs  gives  license  to  hen-roost  and 
clothes-line  robbers. 

We  do  not  object  to  a  tax  on  dogs,  but  let  it  be 
reasonable;  and,  what  is  more,  let  us  know  for 
what  purj)ose  the  money  arising  from  this  tax  is 
applied.  The  object  of  the  hiw  was  supposed  to  be 
the  protection  of'  sheep.  All  very  good.  But  did 
it  anticipate  a  revenue  to  the  county  or  State  beyond 
paving  damages  actual!  v  done  by  dogs?  Again, 
wlio  can  tell  after  this  law  has  been  in  force  long 
enough  to  test  its  merits,  how  many  sheep  have 
been  killed  by  dogs  in  the  Stare  in  any  one  year  ? 

A  year  ago,  I  was  requested  by  an  inhal)itant  of 
another  State  to  ascertain  the  amount  of  tax  on 
dogs,  and  number  of  sheep  killed  l)y  dogs  in  Berk- 
shire County.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing the  amount  of  tax,  and  the  amount  paid  for  the 
very  indefinite  claims  of  damages  to  sheep  which 
their  owners  laid  to  dogs ;  but  it  was  a  thing  im- 
possible to  find  how  many  had  been  killed  by  dogs, 


84 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Feb. 


or  how  many  old  sheep  had  died  in  the  field,  which, 
aftor  their  carcases  had  been  torn  by  the  crows, 
were  charged  to  the  dogs ;  and,  worthless  as  they 
were,  sold  at  a  high  price. 

But,  to  leave  this  subject,  we  arc  sure  that  every 
lover  of  turkey  and  chicken  ]jie  will  thank  us  for 
suggesting  an  act  for  the  protection  of  poultry  and 
tlie  destruction  of  its  enemies.  Do  not  gi-ant  this 
protection,  however,  by  taxing  the  farmer  for  the 
skunks,  foxes,  woodchucks,and  other  vermin  that 
squat  upon  his  farm,  to  raise  a  fund  to  l)uy  turkeys, 
&c.,  for  those  who  like  them,  because  they  are 
scarce  and  dear.  Reduce  the  tax  on  the  faithful 
house  and  farm  dog  one-half  from  its  present 
amount,  and  the  object  of  the  law  would  lie  fully 
answered,  and  skunkdom  would  be  shaken  to  its 
centre,  while  turkeys  would  gobble  a  merry  requiem 
over  the  remains  of  their  adversaries. 

Richmond,  Mass.,  Dec.  1866.  W.  Bacox. 


AX  old  StTBS.CKinER'S  FAREWELL. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Xew  England  Farmer, — 

My  Dear  Sir: — I  exceedingly  regret  that  I  must 
stop  taking  your  valual)le  paper,  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer  ;  but  I  would  advise  all  young  men 
to  take  the  paper  liy  all  means.  It  is  worth  all  that 
it  costs.  I  have  sold  my  farm.  I  can't  work;  am 
nearly  eighty  years  old";  and  I  mufit  give  it  up.  I 
have  had  mv  day,  and  I  have  been  highly  favored 
by  a  kind  Providence.  Just  say  to  every  man 
under  seventy,  take  the  New  England  Farmer  ; 
it  is  the  most  honest,  l)cst  conducted,  most  useful, 
and  gives  the  most  valuable  information  of  any 
paper  within  my  knowledge.    So  says  old 

Geo.  Vining. 
Plainfield,  Mass.,  Dec.  8,  1866. 
Remarks.— We  prize  very  highly  the  good  opin- 
ion of  the  aged,  and  it  is  with  feelings  of  regret 
that  we  erase  their  names  from  our  subscription 
books.  In  this  case,  we  are  especially  reluctant  to 
comply  with  Mr.  Vining's  request,  because  he  was 
not  only  a  reader  of  the  Farmer,  but  a  valued  con- 
tributor, and  because  we  fear  that  with  the  sale  of 
his  farm,  and  with  the  conviction  that  he  "cannot 
work, — is  nearly  eighty  years  old— and  must  give 
it  up,"  he  Avill  allow  his  mental  faculties  to  fall 
into  inactivity .  When  men  find  that  they  are  freez- 
ing from  cold,  it  is  certain  death  to  sit  do^m  with 
the  feeling,  "I  must  give  it  up."  Is  it  any  less 
dangerous  for  those  who  are  exposed  to  the  chills 
of  age,  to  "give  it  up,"  and  penxiit  themselves  to 
fall  into  the  stupor  of  "second  childhood  ?" 


be  used  if  the  horse  is  young,  as  they  will  in  a 
short  time  wear  the  tumor  down  by  degrees,  which 
is  much  better  than  trying  to  remove  it  at  once  by 
severer  methods,  which  often  have  a  very  bad  ef- 
fect, and  produce  Avorse  consequences  than  those 
they  were  intended  to  remove.  But  in  full-gro-wn 
horses  other  treatment  is  necessary.  The  follow- 
ing ointment  is  probably  the  best  that  can  be  used : 
2  ounces  of  Cantharidcs ;  4  ounces  of  Mercurial 
Ointment ;  3  oimces  of  Tincture  Iodine ;  4  ounces 
of  Turpentine ;  3  drams  CoiTOsive  Sublimate ;  mix 
with  2  pounds  of  lard.  Cut  otf  the  hair  from  the 
part  affected,  and  grease  tlioroughlj'  with  the  oint- 
ment thus  made,  rubbing  it  in  well  with  the  naked 
hand.  Let  it  remain  two  days,  then  grease  the  part 
with  lard.  In  two  days  more,  wash  it  off  with  soap 
and  water  and  then  apply  the  ointment  again.  Con- 
tinue this  till  a  cure  is  effected.  But  if  this  treat- 
ment fails  recourse  must  be  had  to  firing.  Before 
you  fire  a  horse  for  the  bone  spavin,  be  careful  to 
take  the  vein  out  of  the  way,  for  it  generally  lies 
over 'the  spavin,  and  you  cannot  tire  deep  enough 
to  come  at  the  callous  substance  without  its  re- 
moval. In  order  to  destroy  the  vein,  cut  carefully 
through  the  skin  upon  it  just  below  the  spavin,  and 
then  just  above  it,  and  put  a  crooked  needle 
under  the  vein,  and  tie  both  ends ;  then  cut  the 
vein  across  between  the  tyings,  both  above  and  be- 
low, and  you  may  either  drav/  the  piece  of  the  vein 
out  or  leave  it  in.  Let  the  iron  you  fire  with  be 
]nctty  sharp ;  cut  four  or  rive  nicks  upon  the  l^one, 
and  let  the 'iron  take  hold  of  the  superfluous  bone, 
in  order  that  it  may  waste  away  by  matterating ; 
and  whenyoti  have  done,  lay  on  soiiic  white  pitch, 
pretty  hot";  put  a  cloth  round  it  to  keej)  it  on.  In 
three"  days  open  the  place  and  dress  it  with  yellow 
basilicon. 

THE   BLOOD   OR  BOG   SPAVIN. 

As  soon  as  you  discover  the  vein  puffed  or  form- 
ing a  l)ag,  lay' on  some  blistering  ointment;  in  four 
days  aficr  luitlie  the  swelling  well  with  hot  vine- 
gar, Avitii  a  little  saltpetre  dissolved  in  it ;  then  put 
a  bandage  round  it  to  disperse  the  swelling  as  much 
as  you  can.  If  this  method  does  not  succeed,  you 
must  make  two  incisions  in  the  skin,  lengthwise, 
as  the  vein  runs  one  just  above  the  other  just  be- 
low the  joint ;  lay  the'  vein  i)are ;  put  the  end  of  a 
bucks'  horn  under  it  to  raise  it  up,  then  fasten  it  in 
both  places  with  waxed  thread ;  cut  the  vein  in  two 
at  both  places  within  the  tyings,  and  if  you  think 
pro])er  draw  the  vein  out.  This  method  of  pro- 
ceeding will  cure  most  bog  spavins  at  the  beginning. 
Blood  spavin  may  be  cured  l)y  applying  the  same 
ointment  used  in" bone  spavin;  only  it  should  be 
applied  once  in  six  days  instead  of  four.  This 
spavin  ointment  is  very  pov.-crful,  and  wlien  prop- 
erly used  is  the  best  ever  invented.  m.  d. 

^outh  Framingham,  Mass.,  Due.  25,  1866. 


THE    nONE   SPAVIN. 


Although  tliis  is  a  common  disorder  ampng 
horses,  yet  it  is  little  understood  by  either  breeders 
or  farriers.  The  bone  spavin  is  a  long  excrescence 
or  hard  swelling,  on  the  inside  of  the  hock  of  a 
horse's  leg,  and  sometimes  owes  its  origin  to  kicks 
and  blows,  and  sometimes  to  natural  causes.  In 
the  former  case  it  is  much  more  easily  cured  than 
in  the  latter;  and  those  that  grow  sjKintaneoTisly 
on  colts  or  young  horses,  are  not  so  bad  as  those 
that  ai)pear"in  horses  that  have  arrived  at  their  full 
strcnglli  and  maturity.  In  old  horses  they  are 
generally  iucurable.  Sometime  the  liorse  is  very 
lame  wlien  the  spavin  is  first  coming  out,  but  when 
it  has  conic  out  is  better  for  some  time,  and  then 
grows  lamer  again  as  the  Ijonc  hardens.  I  would 
advise  you  to  apply  a  blister  as  soon  as  you  iuivc 
any  suspicion  that  a  hoi-se  is  likely  to  put  out  a 
spavin,  and  to  continue  blistering,  every  fortnight 
for  some  time,  \>y  which  means  you  may  stop  a 
spavin  in  a  young  horse.    Mild  medicines  should 


A   SINGULAR  POND. 

Silver  Lake,  formerly  called  Sandy  Pond,  is  situ- 
ated in  the  north-westerly  part  of  Wilmington, 
Mass.  No  l)rook  runs  into  it  or  out  of  it ;  only  an 
artificial  ditch,  supposed  to  be  dug  by  the  owner  of 
the  mill  liclow  it.  A  natural  mill-brook  runs 
alongside  of  this  pond  for  aiiout  half  a  mile,  vary- 
ini;-  from  ten  to  forty  rods  from  it.  The  water  in 
this  brook  is  from  live  to  ten  feet  lower  than  the 
water  in  the  pond,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a 
ridge  of  laud  suitable  for  cultivation.  The  water 
in  the  i)ond  is  extraordinarily  clear,  and  is  good 
to  drink. 

According  to  the  tradition  handed  down  from  the 
Indians  to  our  forefathers,  and  fVoni  thcni  to  the 
present  generation,  where  this  pond  now  is  there 
was  once  high,  dry  ground,  covered  with  a  growth 
of  wood.  One  strong  proof  of  this  still  exists.  I 
am  told  that  men  in  a  boat,  at  the  present  day,  in 
ihc  middle  of  the  pond,  can  look  down  into  the 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


85 


■water  whicli  is  very  clear,  and  sec  old  trees ;  some 
standing  up  and  sonic  lying  down. 

On  the  north-easterly  side  of  this  pond  a  public 
highway  passes,  and  the  pond  Ik'sopen  to  it  attbrd- 
ing  one  of  the  best  watering  phues  there  is  in  New 
England  for  teams  and  droves  of  cattle.  It  has  a 
sandy  shore,  which  makes  the  water  shallow  for 
some  distance,  affording  ample  room  for  two  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle  to  drink  at  one  time.  At  the 
southerly  end  of  this  watering  place,  several  rods 
IVoui  the  travelled  highway,  if  vou  go  in  far  enough 
the  water  is  found  to  he  quite  deep. 

Something  like  thirty  years  ago,  on  a  very  hot 
day,  a  couple  of  young  men  riding  in  a  chaise  turn- 
ed down  to  this  pond  to  water  their  horse.  After 
the  horse  had  drank,  they  drove  into  deeper  water 
to  cool  the  horse,  while  they  were  sitting  in  the 
chaise  reading.  The  horse  after  a  little  while  start- 
ed ahead  and  plunging  into  this  deep  water  was 
drowned  with  one  of  the  men  in  the  carriage. 

Asa  G.  Sheldon. 

Wilmington,  Mass.,  Dec.  18G6. 

Remarks. — After  cautioning  young  men  of  the 
danger  of  allowing  a  horse  to  go  into  deep  water  to 
cool  himself,  or  pennittinghiinto  stand  any  length 
of  time  even  in  shallow  water,  when  heated,  our 
respected  correspondent  proceeds  to  a  discussion 
of  the  liability  of  the  to\\m  for  damages  in  case  of 
a  similar  accident  which  occurred  at  this  place  last 
season,  that  is  of  local  rather  than  general  interest. 


ICE  AS  A  PROTECTION  AGAINST  FROST. 

As  the  cold  weather  approaches,  and  cellars  need 
protection,  I  send  you  a  hint.  Take  a  sprinkling 
pot  and  wet  the  ground  two  feet  wide  around  your 
house.  Do  it  when  the  weather  is  very  cold,  and 
it  will  become  ice  as  it  touches  the  ground.  Put 
on  water  enough  to  fonn  ice  an  inch  thick.  It  will 
keep  out  frost  equal  to  glass.  If  there  should  be 
snow,  so  much  the  better. 

PRESERVING   MEAT. 

My  method  is  to  bake  fresh  pork  soon  after  cut 
up,  and  put  it  in  a  very  cold  place  to  be  kept  frozen 
until  used,  instead  of  having  it  frozen  first. 

Billerica,  Mass.,  Dec.  13,  1866.  T.  B.  E. 


LIGHT  WANTED    ON   FACTS   ABOUT  BEES. 

Last  spring  I  had  a  hive  of  bees,  strong  and 
healthy,  liut  they  gave  no  signs  of  swanning  till 
the  last  of  June.  July  8th,  a  swarm  came  out,  but 
after  flying  some  time  returned  to  the  old  hive. 
Eight  days  after,  they  came  out  again  at  half-past 
five,  P.  M.,  and  were  hived.  Neither  the  old  nor 
new  swarm  seemed  to  do  very  well,  and  in  Octo- 
ber, I  fed  them  three  dollars  worth  of  sugar.  I 
then  left  home  and  did  not  return  till  the  iirst  of 
December,  when,  on  examining  the  old  hive,  it  had 
no  bees  nor  honey  in  it  but  plenty  of  comb. 

The  new  swarm  had  but  little  comb  or  honey, 
and  no  apparent  increase  of  bees.  When  the  first 
swarm  ^vQYa  in  the  air  a  king  l)ird  darted  in  among 
them  and  took  one  or  more  bees.  It  may  have 
taken  the  queen  and  caused  them  to  return.       c. 

Sat/brook,  Conn.,  Dec.  1866. 


RAISING    TURKEYS. 

Your  paper  has  published  several  articles  con- 
taining suggestions  on  raising  turkeys.  Having 
practiced  some  useful  nietliods  in  rearing  turkeys, 
which  have  not  been  Ijrought  before  the  public  in 
any  of  the  articles  that  have  come  under  my  obser- 
vation, I  hope  before  the  time  for  Ijringing  out  the 
Bijring  broods  to  find  time  to  communicate.    I  will 


now  only  speak  of  my  success,  or  the  result  of  care 
and  breeding. 

Some  fifteen  years  ago,  I  cfjuimcnred  to  raise 
such  turkeys  as  my  neighbors  raised — ranging  from 
six  to  ten  potmds  each.  For  the  i)ast  few  "years, 
instead  of  six  to  ten  jiound  turlccys,  I  produce  those 
that  weigh  from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds.  I  have 
pairs  of  turkeys  that  will  weigh  at  my  door  forty 
pounds  ])er  pair;  and  young'turkcys,  hatched  at 
the  usual  time,  that  wilf  weigh  tliirty  pounds  per 
pair.  The  rearing  of  my  present  superior  breed 
costs  no  more  care  or  labor  than  did  my  former  in- 
ferior breed.  II.  A.'  Sumner. 

Brandon,  Vt.,  Dec.  4,  1866. 


AQRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Rural  (ForW  advocates 
the  domestication  of  the  deer. 

— The  town  of  Glover,  Vt.,  boasts  of  having  paid 
its  war  debt  in  full,  and  painted  its  meeting  house. 

— The  Tribune  says  that  it  has  been  proved  in 
Central  New  York  that  three  bushels  of  salt  per 
acre,  hastened  the  ripening  of  the  wheat  two  or 
three  weeks. 

— G.  0.  Gill,  of  West  Medway,  assures  that  he 
raised  the  past  season  7  bushels  of  good  onions  on 
two  square  rods  of  ground. 

— ^Dissolve  one  ounce  of  corrosive  sublimate  in 
one  pint  of  alcohol.  To  one  ounce  of  this  mixture 
add  one  and  a  half  pints  of  water,  and  apply  exter- 
nally. Vcmiont  wool  growers,  says  an  exchange, 
are  very  generally  using  this  mixture  to  prevent 
•their  sheep  biting  out  their  wool. 

— D.  Dryer,  Victor,  N.  Y.,  says  he  can  kill  Cana- 
da thistles  in  one  season  by  summer  fallowing. 
Turn  the  sward  in  Autumn,  and  plow  again  the 
next  summer  four  or  five  times.  And  what  is  bet- 
ter than  all,  while  you  are  killing  the  thistles,  you 
are  putting  the  land  in  the  best  possible  condition 
for  a  crop  of  grain  or  grass. 

— Isaac  H.  Leach,  of  Sonora,  111.,  in  writing  to 
the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  says,  "We  have  not 
lived  long  enough  to  know  how  durable  Osage  or- 
ange hedge  will  be,  but  so  far  experience  proves 
that  the  fence  is  a  success,  and  good  against  all 
cattle,  horses,  dogs,  and  men,  in  from  three  to  four 
years." 

— A  new  textile  material  resembling  hemp  has 
been  discovered  in  Nevada.  It  has  a  stronger  and 
finer  fibre,  and  longer  staple  than  hemp ;  the  stalk 
yields  more,  and  can  be  stripped  and  prepared 
without  previous  preparation.  If  all  this  is  true, 
the  plant  is  an  acquisition  equal  in  value  to  the 
cotton  plant. 

— In  explanation  of  the  fact  that  a  team  can 
draw  a  ton  of  hay  easier  than  the  same  weight  of 
wood,  coal  or  iron,  on  the  same  wagon,  over  the 
same  road.  Prof.  Tillman  says,  the  only  explana- 
tion that  can  be  given  is  that  the  hay  does  not  rest 
as  iron  does,  a  dead  weiglit  upon  the  axles.  If  the 
hay  were  pressed  into  compact  bales  it  would  not 
ride  easier  than  wood,  and  not  much  easier  than 
iron.    The  loose  hay  acts  in  the  same  way  thut 


86 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


si)i-ings  under  a  wagon  would  act.  The  elasticity 
liuuys  up  and  floats  the  load  over  obstructions. 

— ^White  mustard  seed,  whole;  powdered  man- 
drake; sulphur;  powdered  worm  seed,  Chuiopodl- 
tim  Antholminticum ;  salt ;  ginger ;  charcoal ;  and 
poplar  hark ;  two  ounces  of  each,  mixed  together, 
and  given  night  and  morning,  one  ounce  at  a  time, 
mixed  with  the  food,  is  recommended  by  "Horse- 
man," of  the  Rural  World,  as  a  cure  for  worms  in 
horses. 

— The  latest  report  of  the  hop  trade  in  England 
shows  a  steady  demand  for  all  samples  of  good 
quality,  and  last  quotations  have  been  fully  main- 
tained, but  the  scanty  supply  of  new  hops  has  ma- 
terially restricted  operations,  and  the  sales  have 
been  comparatively  of  a  limited  character.  The 
Bavarian  and  Bohemian  markets  have  again  ad- 
vanced 5s.  per  cwt.  Belgians  are  firm  at  extreme 
quotations. 

— C.  G.  Cotting,  Richmond,  111.,  writes  to  the 
New  York  Farmers'  Club  that  he  has  for  the  last 
three  years  salted  his  pork  hams  in  the  same  pickle 
with  his  beef,  and  instead  of  hurting  them  the  beef 
actually  improves  the  flavor  of  the  ham.  Some 
four  years  ago  he  thought  he  would  try  a  single 
ham  with  his  beef,  and  found  it  so  much  l)etter 
than  the  ones  pickled  by  themselves,  that  he  has 
always  pickled  them  with  his  beef  since. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
ON"   BREAKING   STEEKS. 

Mr.  Editor  : — I  promised  to  write  you  on 
breaking  steers.  In  training  steers,  as  In  other 
tilings,  practice  makes  perfect.  No  one  must 
think  he  can  succeed  as  well  the  first  time  that 
he  tries  the  experiment,  as  when  lie  has  prac- 
ticed on  a  few  paii's.  I  may  give  every  motion 
necessary  to  go  through,  yet  all  will  need 
practice  before  they  will  become  c.licient  steer- 
breakers. 

I  have  the  following  from  N.  L.  Jefts,  of 
Sinionsville,  Vt.,  a  man  that  has  practiced  the 
plan  for  several  years,  and  now  Avishes  it  made 
public.  I  think  it  worth  more  to  any  farmer 
who  has  steers  to  break  than  the  price  of  the 
New  England  Farmer  for  ten  years. 

First,  take  one  steer  on  to  the  barn  floor 
where  he  can  get  nothing  to  eat,  and  work  up 
to  him  gently  witli  whip  and  ropes  in  hand  ;  as 
soon  as  you  get  up  to  him,  commence  scratch- 
ing under  the  chops,  and  continue  until  he  has 
no  fear.  Then  put  the  rope  round  the  body 
as  a  surcingle  round  a  horse,  and  pass  another 
rope  between  the  body  and  surcingle,  and 
make  fast  to  the  olF  fore  foot ;  scratch  awliile, 
as  before;  then  take  a  "tip-bowed  whip,"  and 
commence  hawing  him  by  touching  him  lightly 
on  tlie  off  side  of  his  face.  When  he  turns 
his  face  towards  you,  scratch  as  before.  If  he 
tries  to  get  away,  take  his  fore  foot  from  him 
by  pulling  on  the  rope ;  so  continue  until  he 
gives  up  tlie  struggle.  If  turbulent,  put  a  rope 
on  both  fore  feet,  and  if  he  attempts  to  run, 


throw  him,  by  pulUng  on  both  ropes,  and  swing- 
ing quickly  round  his  hind  parts.  So  continue 
to  do  until  perfect  control  is  gained  over  him, 
and  he  will  do  anjthing  }'oa  wish  him  to. 
Teach  him  to  back  while  in  the  barn,  by 
puUing  on  one  rope  a,nd  setting  his  foot 
back,  swinging  the  whip  gently  in  front  of  his 
face  at  the  same  time.  In  a  short  time  you 
can  back  him  all  round  the  barn  floor.  Then 
take  him  Into  the  barn-yard  and  drive  him,  just 
as  you  did  In  the  barn,  until  you  get  perfect 
control  over  him,  In  the  yard.  Now  take  him 
out  where  there  are  cattle  or  something  else  to 
excite  him,  and  drive  him  as  in  the  yard,  and 
make  him  do  everything  you  wish.  Put  him 
back  into  the  barn  again,  take  off  the  rope, 
and  drive  the  same  as  when  first  in  the  barn, 
until  you  have  gained  a  perfect  control.  Then 
into  the  }'ard  and  drive  as  when  in  the  barn. 
Then  into  the  street  or  field,  and  drive  as  In  the 
yard.  If  turbulent,  put  on  the  ropes  again 
until  he  is  subdued.  When  you  have  him  all 
right,  put  him  into  the  barn  and  feed  him. 
Don't  forget  to  scratch  him  and  be  gentle. 
Then  take  the  other  steer,  and  go  through  all  the 
changes  as  with  the  fii'st  one.  Now  put  them 
together  In  the  barn,  with  I'opes  on  the  same 
feet  as  at  first,  with  a  surcingle  round  their 
bodies.  Then  let  the  rope  on  the  near  one's 
fore  foot  pass  through  the  off  one's  surcingle  and 
over  the  near  one's  back.  The  rope  on  the 
off  one  to  pass  through  the  near  surcingle. 
Commence  driving  them  as  when  alone,  witli 
little  or  no  whipping,  and  much  scratching  and 
talking,  and  be  gentle.  If  one  goes  wrong  take 
his  fore-foot  from  him  by  pulling  on  the  rope. 
So  continue  until  you  can  drive  them  anywhere, 
and  back  them  to  your  satisfaction  ;  then  take 
them  back  to  the  bam,  take  off  the  ropes  and 
drive  as  when  alone,  until  they  are  perfectly 
handy. 

The  next  thing  Is  to  yoke  them.  Bring  the 
yoke  Into  the  yard  and  let  them  get  acquainted 
with  It ;  rattle  the  ring  a  little,  let  tliem  work 
up  to  It.  Then  yoke  and  drive  them  the 
same  as  with  ropes.  If  you  want  to  put  them 
on  the  cart  or  plow  put  on  the  i-opes.  The 
next  thing  Is  to  teach  them  to  draw.  Let  a 
chain  pass  l)etween  them  into  the  ring  and  take 
hold  of  the  end  and  pull  a  little  at  first,  then 
a  little  harder,  until  you  pull  all  you  can,  but 
at  no  time  so  as  to  stop  them,  with  the  idea  that 
they  cannot  draw  what  is  behind  them.  Then 
hitch  to  a  small  pole ;  draw  that  round  for 
awhile,  then  something  larger,  and  so  on,  but 
nothing  that  they  cannot  walk  right  off  with. 
Then  they  will  always  think  tliey  must  draw 
all  that  Is  behind  them  and  not  be  balky. 
Then  leach  them  to  "haw"  and  "gee"  by  put- 
ting them  on  a  pole,  one  end  into  the  ring,  and 
some  one  hold  of  the  other  end,  and  swing 
towards  you  when  you  haw,  and  from  you  Avhen 
yon  gee.  Tlie  object  is  to  teach  them  the 
trade,  as  much  as  tiie  young  lad,  when  he  goes 
to  the  machine,  or  any  other  shop  to  learn  a 
trade.     What  would  you  say  of  the  master  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


87 


a  machine  shop  v/ho  should  beat  his  boy  be- 
cause he  did  not  understand  the  work  before 
him  at  first  sight !  As  with  the  boy,  so  with 
the  steer.  Teach  him  first.  Be  kind,  and  he 
will  do  right. 

A  pair  of  oxen  may  be  very  much  improved 
by  the  same  treatment.  A  man  in  one  day  can 
take  the  wildest  pair  of  steers,  and  make  them 
perfectly  handy.  Another  benefit  of  "break- 
ing" oxen  in  this  way,  is,  that  when  you  go 
into  the  pasture  for  them,  instead  of  one  going 
one  way  and  the  other  the  other,  as  is  usually 
the  case  with  those  trained  in  the  old-fashioned 
way,  they  will  walk  side  by  side  straight  to  the 
bars.  B.  D.  Wilcox. 

Post  Mills,  Vt.,  Bee.  10,  1866. 


Tor  the  New  England  Farmer. 

THE   EIGHT   HOUB   SYSTEM  OF   LA- 
BOE.—No.  I. 

There  being  a  disposition  among  laboring 
men  to  reduce  the  hours  of  labor  from  ten  to 
eight,  and  the  subject  being  extensively  dis- 
cussed both  in  and  out  of  the  halls  of  Legisla- 
tion, it  will  be  well  for  the  agricultural  portion 
of  the  community  to  look  at  the  subject,  and 
be  prepared  to  act  wisely  with  regard  to  it. 

If  the  mechanics  and  manufacturers  succeed 
in  obtaining  a  law  to  establish  eight  hours  as  a 
legal  day's  work,  it  will  not  be  long  before  ag- 
ricultural laborers  will  claim  the  same  right. 
It  is  true,  indeed,  that  in  the  project  of  a  law 
introduced  into  the  Legislature  last  winter,  it 
was  proposed  to  except  agricultural  laborers 
from  its  operation.  But  this,  I  take  it,  was 
merely  designed  to  smooth  the  way  for  farmers 
to  vote  for  it.  There  is  no  good  reason  why 
the  hours  of  farm  labor  should  not  be  reduced 
as  well  as  the  hours  of  labor  in  the  mills  and 
work-shops. 

The  motive  powers  of  the  nulls  ai'e  water 
and  steam,  and  the  principal  business  of  the 
operative  is  to  tend  the  machinery  moved  by 
these  powers.  The  profits  of  the  mills  depend 
essentially  upon  the  number  of  hours  the  ma- 
chinery can  be  made  to  run.  While  the  ma- 
chinery stands  still,  there  is  so  much  capital 
lying  idle.  Here,  then,  is  the  strongest  reason 
why  operatives  should  labor  as  many  hours  in 
the  day  as  a  regard  to  their  best  physical  and  mor- 
al condition  will  permit.  Farm  labor  is  carried 
on  by  the  aid  of  machinery  and  animal  power. 
The  horse  or  ox  can  labor  ten  or  twelve  hours 
in  a  day,  if  well  fed  and  cared  for,  but  they 
can  move  only  at  the  gait  nature  has  given 
them,  without  rapidly  exhausting  their  power, 
and  if  they  work  only  eight  hours,  they  can 
move  no  faster.  You  cannot  do  the  same 
amount  of  work  with  the  horse  or  ox  in  eight 
hours  that  you  can  in  ten.  The  two  hours  ad- 
ditional rest  will  not  recover  them  from  the  in- 
creased exhaustion  produced  by  moving  with 
one- fourth  more  speed.  You  will  find  that  the 
law  holds  good  here  as  well  as  every  where 
else,  that  "what  you  gain  in  velocity,  you  lose 


in  power.  The  rule  of  profit  here  must  be  to 
employ  the  animal  as  many  hours  in  the  day 
as  he  can  work  without  exhaustion.  But  the 
machine  and  the  animal  caimot  work  without 
the  aid  and  direction  of  human  hands. 

Now,  if  human  brains  and  hands  can  work 
without  exhaustion  as  many  hours  as  the  horse 
and  the  ox,  profitable  farming  requires  that 
they  should  do  so,  and  imlcss  there  are  reasons 
founded  on  humanity  and  morality  forbidding 
it,  this  should  be  the  rule.  Every  observing 
man  knows  that  a  man  will  work  as  many  hours 
as  his  team,  and  spend  considerable  time  in  ad- 
dition in  feeding  and  preparing  his  team  for 
labor.  The  farmer  will  work  two  hours  in  the 
morning  while  his  team  is  taking  the  food  nec- 
essary to  enable  it  to  labor,  and  one  hour  at 
night  after  the  team  is  released  from  labor.  It 
is  no  physical  hardsliip  then,  for  man  to  labor 
as  long  as  the  horse  and  the  ox  can  labor  per- 
manently without  exhaustion. 

If  it  is  not  well  for  man  to  labor  as  many 
hours,  the  reason  must  be  found  in  his  intellect- 
ual and  moral  nature.  But  has  it  been  found 
that  those  who  labor  ten  or  even  twelve  hours 
a  da}%  are  thereby  injured  morall}'  or  intellect- 
ually ?  Our  fathers  labored  twelve  and  even 
fourteen  hours  daily  during  the  summer  months. 
Did  they  become  deteriorated  in  mind  or  mor- 
als thereby '?  How  is  it  with  the  present  gen- 
eration, who  labor  ten  or  twelve  hours  ?  Are 
their  minds  enfeebled  or  their  morals  depre- 
ciated? Do  their  stolid  countenances  and 
want  of  enterprise  indicate  any  lack  of  intellect, 
or  do  their  untruthfulness,  their  want  of  fideli- 
ty to  their  engagements,  and  their  indolence  in- 
dicate a  depreciation  in  morals  ? 

Statistics  show  that  the  average  of  human 
life  is  greater  now  than  in  generations  past. 
INlan's  physical  powers  are  then  not  diminishing. 
If,  then,  in  this  country,  man  is  improving  phy- 
sically and  intellectually,  under  a  system  that 
employs  him  at  labor  from  ten  to  twelve  hours 
daily,  no  good  reason  is  here  found  for  curtail- 
ing the  hours  of  labor.  Experience  shows  that 
adult  persons  require,  on  an  average,  about 
eight  hours  for  sleep.  If  they  labor  ten  hours, 
there  remain  six  hours  for  meals,  for  intellect- 
ual culture,  and  for  social  intercourse.  This  is 
on  the  supposition  that  they  labor  ever}-  day. 
But  every  seventh  day  is  interdicted  from  la- 
bor by  the  highest  authority,  and  wc  will  sup- 
pose that  one  day  of  the  remaining  six,  upon 
the  average,  taking  the  whole  year  into  the  ac- 
count, by  reason  of  the  weather,  holidays,  and 
other  causes,  is  not  occupied  by  labor.  This 
gives  us  one  hundred  and  four  days  for  rest 
and  other  occupations  than  labor. 

Now  the  great  argument  for  the  reduction  of 
the  hours  of  labor  is  that  the  laborer,  by  the 
present  system,  is  unable  to  cultivate  his  intel- 
lectual powers,  and  raise  himself  to  a  level 
with  other  classes  of  citizens,  and  that  if  he  la- 
bored a  less  number  of  hours  he  would  spend 
the  hours  thus  gained  in  reading  and  study. 
We  may  form  some  estimate  of  the  worth  of 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Feb. 


tills  argument,  if  we  can  ascertain  how  labor- 
ers in  general  do  actually  spend  the  leisure  time 
they  now  have.  Do  they  sjjeud  it  in  reading 
and  study  or  other  means  of  mental  improve- 
ment? In  some  instances  where  there  is  a 
strong  desire  for  knowledge,  they  undoubtedly 
do.  But  I  refer  to  the  great  mass  of  laborers. 
Do  they  make  use  of  those  means,  in  their 
leisure  hours,  that  are  calculated  to  improve 
their  intellects  and  raise  them  to  a  higher  level 
in  society  ?  If  they  do  not,  would  they  improve 
(o  any  advantage  the  hours  saved  from  the 
morning  and  evening  of  each  day  ?  Would  not 
the  morning  hour  be  spent  in  bed,  and  the 
evening  hour  in  idle  gossip,  neither  of  which 
would  contribute  to  their  health  or  intellectual 
improvement  ?  Some  who  are  industriouss, 
disposed  or  who  cultivate  land  for  themselvely 
would  work  for  themselves  three  or  four  hours 
before  engaging  in  the  service  of  their  employ- 
ers, and  thus  go  to  their  daily  labor  with  their 
strength  greatly  exhausted,  and  unable  to  do  a 
full  day's  woik. 

Some  suppose  that  if  the  hours  of  labor  are 
reduced,  wages  will  be  reduced  in  the  same 
proportion.  But  this  will  not  be  so.  This  would 
frustrate  the  whole  object  which  those  who  ad- 
vocate the  measure  have  in  view.  They  com- 
plain that  capital  now  receives  too  large  a  share 
of  the  profits  of  labor,  and  demand  that  what- 
ever sacrifice  is  made,  shall  be  wholly  on  the 
part  of  capital.  They  expect  the  same  wages 
for  eight  hours  labor  that  they  now  i-eceive  for 
ten.  The  laboring  man  now  has  barely  sufii- 
cient  to  .support  his  family  and  himself  in  com- 
foi't.  He  cannot  live  on  one-fifth  less.  If  he 
is  paid  by  the  hour,  he  must  charge  one-fifth 
per  hour  more  than  he  now  receives.  In  the 
case  of  mechanics  who  work  by  the  piece,  the 
result  will  be  the  same.  As  they  are  depend- 
ent on  the  running  of  the  machinery,  if  the 
machinery  runs  one-fifth  less  time,  they  must 
charge  one-fifth  more  by  the  piece  to  obtain  the 
same  wages  they  now  do.  So  that  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  hours  of  labor  one-fifth  will  be  to 
the  employers  equivalent  to  raising  wages  one- 
fifth,  while  in  addition  they  lose  one-fifth  of  the 
laboi-  which  the  mai'hinery  or  the  animals  might 
do  without  exhaustion.  R. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Jan.,  1867. 


poor  stock.  By  far  the  greater  numfjer  of  his 
colts  were  very  valuable,  some  of  them  bring- 
ing figures  well  up  among  the  thousands. 
Standing  at  the  head  of  all  his  stock,  is  the 
noted  stallion,  "Young  Morrill,"  owned  by  S. 
R.  Perkins,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  Another  one 
of  equal  merit  was  burned  at  Montiielier,  in 
this  state,  whenfive years  old.  "Major  Morrill," 
owned  by  Messrs.  Higgins  &  Richardson,  of 
West  Concord,  Vt.,  isoneof  the  best.  Anoth- 
er, called  the  "^Vheeler  Horse,"  owned  in 
Calais,  Vt.,  and  two  owned  by  D.  A.  Benedict, 
of  Williamstown,  Vt.,  are  also  among  the  best. 
There  are  several  sons  of  Young  Morrill,  of 
great  value.  Among  them  are  "Draco,"  Dan- 
ville Boy,"  "Fearnought"  and  "Woodstock." 
Mr.  French  Moi-rill  gave  the  pedigree  of  his 
horse  as  follows:  Sire,  Jennison  Horse;  g.  s., 
Young  Morgan  Bulrush ;  g.  g.  s.  INIorgan 
Bulrush;  g.  g.  g.  s.,  Justin  Morgan.  Dam  by 
Farringion  Horse,  he  by  Vance  horse,  he  by 
imported  Messenger.  Alpha. 

South  Royalton,  Vt.,  Dec.  20,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FBEWCH   MORRILL   HORSE. 

Messrs.  Editors: — In  a  late  number  of 
your  valuable  paper  I  notice  an  inquiiy  in  re- 
lation to  the  origin  of  the  "Morrill  Horses.'' 

Aljout  twenty  years  since,  French  Morrill, 
Esq.,  of  Danville,  Vt.,  purchased  a  large, 
strong,  black  two-years-old  stud  colt,  thinking 
to  make  a  farm  horse  of  him,  which  he  did. 
I  think  he  found  him  in  an  adjoining  town. 
This  colt  became  the  noted  sire  and  trotter, 
known  as  "The  French  Morrill  Horse."  He 
died,  1  think,  four  years  ago  the  present  winter. 
It  can  be  truly   said  of  hira  that  he  sired  no 


Remarks. — This  is  a  model  communication. 
Though  occupying  but  little  space,  it  Is  a  valuable 
paper.  And  It  gives  us  much  satisfaction  to 
be  able  to  say  that  after  accomplishing  Its  ob- 
ject as  an  answer  to  the  Inquiry  of  "PI.  F."  in 
our  weekly  issue  of  December  8,  It  will  then 
find  a  place  in  the  book  form  of  the  Monthly 
New'  England  Fahmer.  where  the  facts  which 
it  communicates  in  relation  to  the  history  of  the 
"French  Morrill  Horses"  will  be  accessible  to 
future  Inquirers. 

"WHY   YOUNG   MEN"   GO   TO    CITIES. 

A  \vi-iter  In  the  N.  Y.  Times  presents  some 
curious  speculations  on  the  probabilities  of  a 
time  coming,  when  we  cannot,  In  this  country, 
raise  enough  to  eat.  He  says  that  consumers 
increase  Aery  much  faster  than  producers  ;  that 
the  civic  population  increases  much  faster  than 
the  rural ;  that  young  men  in  the  country  seek 
the  cities  for  occupations,  or  become  mechanics, 
or  follow  professions.  Instead  of  tilling  the 
earth ;  that  farmers  do  not  })ay  enough  for 
their  hired  labor  In  proportion  to  the  price  their 
productions  bring ;  that  if  It  had  not  been  for 
the  great  use  made  of  agricultural  machinery, 
our  crops  could  not  have  been  gathered  the 
past  year;  that  if  this  state  of  things  Increases 
in  times  to  come,  as  it  has  in  times  past,  we 
shall  be  without  food.  His  speculations  are 
new,  curious,  and  well  worth  the  reading. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  cities,  the 
trades  and  the  professions,  do  pay  our  young 
men  more  thaii  the  farmer  can ;  and  there  is  no 
doubt  but  what  they  can  ajf'ord  to,  for  they 
make  more;  money  than  the  farmer  does.  Who 
believes  that  the  fiirmer  would  lie  so  blind  to 
his  own  interests  as  not  (o  be  Avilling  to  pay  his 
help  as  much  as  they  could  get  in  the  machine 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


89 


shop  or  office,  if  he  could  make  as  much  out  of 
their  labor  as  the  builders  of  machines  do. 

Last  year  I  paid  $l;K)  for  a  mowing  machine 
which  cost  its  maker  a  little  less  than  $60  to 
construct.  He  made  $70  profit.  It  cost  me 
12  tons  of  hay  that  grew  on  (>  acres,  and  cost 
$4  per  ton  to  make.  The  land  was  worth  $600, 
and  the  interest  on  it  at  least  $42  ;  so  the  ma- 
chine actually  cost  me  $90.  The  maker  pock- 
eted $70  profit ;  I  made  $40.  He  paid  his  help 
$o  per  day  without  board,  I  paid  mine  $2  with 
board.  I  could  get  no  further  use  from  my  six 
acres  that  year  ;  he  could  make  as  many  mow- 
ing machines  as  he  pleased. 

Farmers  do  not  get  enough  for  their  produc- 
tions, and  cannot  afford  to  pay  so  liberally  as 
the  trades  ;  the  consetiuence  is  that  our  young 
men  flock  to  trades  and  professions  where  they 
are  better  paid,  and  become  consumers  of  food  ; 
and  when  the  consumers  have  so  increased  over 
the  producers  that  food  begins  to  be  scarce,  then 
food  will  rise  (as  every  scarce  article  does,)  and 
as  it  rises,  farmers  can  afibrd  to  pay  more  for 
help,  and  consequently  get  more  of  it,  and  thus 
produce  more,  and  so  we  shall  not  be  without 
bread  and  butter  after  all. — Country  Gent. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HOW   TO   KEEP    THE    BOYS   AT  HOME. 

Me.  Editor  : — I  have  been  reading  for  some 
time  past  the  articles  in  different  journals  in 
relation  to  young  men  leaving  the  farm  for  the 
city. 

Boys  have  complained  of  "hard  work  and 
poor  pay,"  want  of  society,  and  of  the  fact 
that  the  city  chaps  were  getting  all  the  best 
and  prettiest  of  their  lady  fiiends  to  leave  the 
country  to  grace  city  residences.  Men  have 
conij)lained  of  their  boys  taking  no  interest  in 
the  work,  of  their  wanting  to  spend  their  even- 
ings away  from  home,  and  continually  wishing 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  work. 

Well,  Avho  wonders  at  all  this  ?  I  don't. 
Perhaps  I  am  prejudiced  in  this  matter, — being 
only  a  boy  myself, — yet  having  Uved  a  part  of 
my  life  with  my  eyes  open,  and  being  wilhng 
to  see  a  thing  or  two,  1  hive  noticed  this  : — 
where  you  see  a  home  locking  pleasant,  house 
neatly  painted,  the  roadside  fcept  free  fi-om 
brush,  the  walls  or  fences  in  perfect  order, 
fruit  trees  and  vines  in  profusion,  good  stables 
and  stock,  and  the  house-room,  not  excepting 
the  sitting  room  and  parlor,  open  at  least  once 
a  week,  there  you  will  find  contentment  in  the 
form  of  hoys  and  girls.  Boys,  who,  when 
visited  by  their  city  cousins,  are  not  ashamed 
to  visit  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  premises, 
from  cellar  to  attic, — field,  garden  and  pasture, 
for  fear  of  their  friends  seeing  something  out 
of  order ;  and  when  their  cousins  shall  have 
gone  are  not  wishing  that  they,  too,  lived  in  the 
city,  that  they  might  do  so  and  so,  and  look 
80  and  so.  For,  didn't  they  have  as  good  a 
pony  to  drive  as  cousin  Fi-ed?  Didn't  their 
sisters  appear  just  as  free,  and  smart,  and  in- 


telligent as  their  cousins  ?  They  have  no  idea 
of  leaving  the  farm,  or  if  they  have,  it  is  soon 
dispelled  i)y  hearing  "Kafe"  or  "Nellie"  play- 
ing and  singing  one  of  their  favorite  songs  ;  or 
by  going  to  the  book  or  paper  shelf  and  finding 
that  the  article  in  which  they  were  so  interested 
is  yet  unfinished. 

Perhaps  it  is  wholly  out  of  place  for  me  to 
give  advice  to  old  farmers.  But  if  advice  is 
good,  what  matters  it  where  it  comes  from  ? 

If  your  sons  are  discontented,  look  your 
premises  all  over.  Do  they  see  the  inside  of 
your  parlor  twice  in  the  year,  except  when  you 
have  company  ?  If  not,  ask  them  to  invite  a 
few  friends  to  spend  the  evening  with  them, 
and  let  them  learn  the  use  of  it.  Do  }ou  take 
anything  but  a  political  paper?  and  doesn't 
that  come  in  your  name?  But  instead  of  one, 
take  two  or  more,  and  let  the.se  all  come  in 
the  names  of  your  children  ;  let  each  one  have 
his  or  her  paper  or  magazine.  Did  you  say 
you  couldn't  afford  it?  How  much  will  they 
all  cost?  Let's  see.  One  Agricultural  Week- 
ly, say  $2.50  ;  one  Monthly,  $1.50  ;  Our  Young 
Folks,  $2.00;  and  keep  your  political  paper,  if 
you  choose,  which  is  perhaps  $2.00 ;  in  all 
•fS.OO  per  year;  67  cts.  per  month,  or  a  trifle 
over  tioo  cts.  per  day.  Excuse  me,  Sir,  but 
don't  you  chew,  or  smoke,  or  drink  that  amount  ? 

Have  your  sons  an  article  upon  the  farm 
which  they  can  call  their  own,  except  the  hoes 
and  shovels  which  you  have  worn  down  too 
small  for  jour  own  use  ?  If  not,  then  get  them 
new  tools  of  sizes  according  to  their  capacity, 
and  require  them  to  be  cleaned  every  time  they 
are  used,  under  the  penalty  of  going  back  to 
the  old  tools.  Let  "Tom"  have  a  colt,  "Billy" 
a  pair  of  steers  and  "Sammy"  a  little  flock  of 
sheep  ;  or  let  them  choose,  as  their  inclinations 
may  direct.  Let  them  have  something  to  call 
their  own,  that  they  will  be  proud  to  own. 
Are  any  of  them  musically  inclined  ?  Buy 
them  an  accordeon  or  a  flute,  and  do  not  fret 
and  scold  every  time  you  hear  them  practicing. 
Give  them  a  piece  of  land  to  cultivate  in  their 
names,  and  allow  them  to  work  it  in  regular 
work-hours,  and  not  compel  them  to  do  so  in 
their  lawful  play  time.  Present  them  with 
books  which  will  have  a  tendency  to  raise  the 
fanner's  calling  in  their  estimation.  Purchase 
a  fi3w  tools  with  which  they'  can  malvC  their  own 
sleds  or  repair  a  broken  implement. 

As  I  am  seated  at  my  desk,  1  have  before 
me  books  suited  to  all  tastes, — biographies, 
histories,  philosophies,  volumes  of  poems,  agri- 
cultural works,  (^c.  At  a  table  near  by,  I  find 
six  or  seven  difi'erent  weekly  papers,  a  daily, 
and  three  monthly  magazines.  You  ask,  "Do 
you  find  time  to  read  them  all  through  ?"  No, 
I  do  not ;  but  1  do  And  time  to  read  the  best 
articles  in  each,  and  that  is  all  I  care  to  read. 
In  my  shop  I  can  find  tools  enough  to  make 
almost  any  wooden  implement  to  be  found  on. 
the  fai-m. 

But  one  word  more  to  our  older  friends. 
Give  your  children  something  to  do  lor  them- 


90 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


selves  and  something  to  have  for  themselves, 
and  let  your  actions  say  to  them,  "I  am  living 
for  you,  and  trying  to  help  you  to  live  and  make 
home  pleasant,"  and  you  will  have  less  cause 
to  complain  ol"  work  poorly  done,  and  less  de- 
sire on  the  part  of  your  children  to  leave  the 
farm.  Arthur. 

New  Hampshire,  Dec,  1866. 


Remarks — Perhaps  the  above  article  will 
be  read  with  more  interest  by  some,  with  our 
assurance  that  it  was  written,  as  it  assumes  to 
be,  by  a  farmer's  boy.  Ed. 


HO"W  TO  KILL  A  HOG. 
Hogs,  undoubtedly,  were  made  to  be  killed, 
and  eaten  after  they  were  killed.  But  it  is  best 
to  do  a  painful  thing — pamful  to  the  animal 
and  to  the  ojierator — in  as  humane  a  man- 
ner as  possible.  We  have  always  thought 
the  mode  commonly  practiced — that  of  stick- 
ing them — to  be  iranecessarily  painful,  and  long 
in  the  operation.  First,  the  hog  is  hunted 
down  in  order  to  catch  him,  and  is  generally 
worried,  and  sometimes  injured  in  this  opera- 
tion ;  then  follows  the  sticking  process,  which 
must  be  a  severely  painful  one.  A  better  way 
is  to  take  a  pistol  that  carries  a  ball  as  large  as 
a  common  pea,  walk  quietly  up  to  the  animal, 
say  within  six  or  eight  feet,  and  discharge  the 
ball  into  the  head,  midway  between  the  ears, 
but  a  Httle  below  them.  If  the  shot  has  been  a 
true  one,  he  will  fall  dead  instantly,  and  proba- 
bly without  the  slightest  sensation  of  pain.  He 
may  then  be  bled  at  once.  We  have  killed 
several  worn-out  horses  in  this  way.  They  in- 
variably pitch  forward  to  the  ground,  and  un- 
doubtedly die  without  pain,  as  they  do  not  stir 
a  limb  nor  move  a  muscle.  Before  shooting 
they  are  led  upon  a  bed  of  muck,  prepared  for 
the  purpose,  where  they  are  cut  up,  covered 
with  the  muck,  and  left  to  decompose. 

The  following  is  another  mode  of  doing  the 
work,  sent  to  the  American  Agriculturist  by  a 
Philadelphia  correspondent : — 

"I  take  any  kind  of  gun  that  will  go  "loose," 
load  with,  say  one-thinl  charge  of  powder,  and 
a.  plug  of  hard  ivood  about  an  inch  long  and 
the  thickness  of  the  ramrod.  This  I  shoot  di- 
rectly into  the  centre  of  the  forehead  of  the 
hog,  and  he  drops  at  once.  The  head  is  not 
injured  as  to  meat ;  there  is  no  danger  of  the 
liog  biting  you.  You  have  no  hard  tugging 
,ind  lifting  to  catch  and  throw  him,  both  o( 
ivhich  are  hard  and  dangerous  work,  and  the 
'lOg  will  bleed  out  better,  as  the  nervous  sys- 
tem receives  so  sudden  a  shock,   that  he   is 


not  able  to  draw  the  blood  into  the  lungs,  in 
case  the  windpipe  should  be  cut  in  sticking. 
It  is  easy  to  picture  laying  hogs  on  their  backs, 
but  try  it  one  year,  and  shooting  the  next,  and 
my  word  for  it,  your  pen  will  ever  afterwards 
be  free  from  squealing  on  butchering  day." 


HOPS. 

The  trade  in  hops  this  week  has  been  con- 
fined to  the  immediate  wants  of  local  consum- 
ers ;  the  market,  however,  is  assuming  a  posi- 
tion by  which,  with  continued  light  arrivals, 
together  with  the  receipt  of  further  orders  for 
export,  the  present  tirm  market  must  give 
way  to  a  material  advance  in  prices.  At  no 
time  within  the  memory  of  the  trade  have  re- 
ceipts been  as  hght  in  the  month  of  December 
as  now.  This  proves  the  correctness  of  the 
reports  of  the  prevailing  scarcity  in  the  grow- 
ing sections,  and  tends  to  increase  the  firmness 
of  this  market.  In  this  situation,  moi'e  liberal 
receipts  are  much  needed,  without  which  our 
present  stock  will  not  carry  us  very  far  into 
the  new  year :  and  brewers  wlio  have  neglect- 
ed to  secure  their  supplies  will  see  the  necessi- 
ty of  doing  so  without  further  delay,  having 
been  forewarned  that  we  have  no  surplus  of 
old  hops  on  hand  and  that  the  general  scarcity 
and  high  prices  of  foreign  hops  precludes  the 
probability  of  importations.  The  importations 
into  New  York  last  season  were  20,000  bales, 
add  to  this  10,000  bales  of  old  hops  then  on 
hand  and  it  will  show  a  deficiency  in  the  growth 
of  1865  of  30,000  bales.  Exports  from  New 
York  since  November  10,263  bales  ;  Imports, 
35  bales.  We  quote :  Old  American,  20  a 
4:5c. ;  Old  Foreign,  40  a  55c.  ;  New  American, 
inferior,  35  a  45c. ;  do.  Prime,  50  a  o5c. ;  do. 
Fancy,  60  a  65c.     N.  Y.  Tribune. 


Osage  Hedge. — A  few  weeks  since,  a  cor- 
respondent of  the  Prairie  Farmer  entered  his 
objections  to  the  osage  orange  as  a  hedge  plant, 
stating  that  it  would  neither  stop  cattle  nor 
swine.  These  objections  seem  to  have  had  good 
eifect ;  for  they  brought  out  other  correspon- 
dents in  reply,  who  have  furnished  some  inter- 
esting and  valuable  statements  in  favor  of  the 
efficiency  of  these  hedges.  Among  others,  C. 
W.  INIarsh  states  that  16  years  ago  he  set  out 
2,000  plants,  making  80  rods  of  fence.  A 
proof  of  the  good  manner  in  which  the  work 
was  done  is  furnished  by  the  fact  that  all 
are  growing  to-day  except  two.  He  says  he 
has  exercised  the  same  care  that  he  should  give 
in  raising  a  good  crop  of  corn.  In  five  years 
a  good  hedge  Avas  formed,  and  it  is  now  eleven 
years  since  the  line  was  turned  out  as  a  fence, 
and  no  horse  or  horned  animal  has  ever  been 
through  it  in  that  time.  One  end  has  been 
used  for  the  last  three  years  as  a  fence;  lor  hog 
pasture,  since  which  time  no  hogs  or  pigs  have 
ever  been  through  it.  The  cost  has  not  been 
twenty-live  cents  per  rod. — Cotintry  Gent. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEJUER. 


91 


-WnSTTER   SCHOOLS. 

A  R  M  E  R  s  !  read 
and  ponder. — 
-  Analyze  your 
systems  of  edu- 
cation, the  qual- 
ificatfions  of 
your  teachers, 
the  condition  of 
your  school 
houses,  and  es- 
pecially the 
modes  of  teacJi- 
ing,  and  learn 
whether  your 
children  are 
getting  a  fair 
return  for  tlie 
large  suras  of 
^^))  I  money  which  you  annu- 

'^  '  ally  appropriate  for  the  sup- 
port of  your  schools. 
A  true  education  is  learning  how  to  live 
out  of  an  aboriginal  condition, — that  is,  as 
savages  live, — to  lessen  human  toil,  to  sur- 
round ourselves  with  the  comforts  and  even 
luxuries  of  life,  and  at  the  same  time  to  learn 
more  and  more  of  Him  in  whom  we  live, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being.  A  true  edu- 
cation will  help  you  to  elevate  the  condition  of 
man  everywhere — to  study  the  wonderfiU  works 
always  before  us,  and,  through  them,  lift  the 
soul  in  sincere  devotion  to  the  Source  of  all 
things.  If  education,  as  it  is  called,  does  not 
do  this,  it  is  as  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling 
cymbal ;  false,  hollow,  mere  tinsel,  and  often 
worse  than  gross  ignorance.  It  is  said  that  at 
one  period,  the  people  of  France  were  more 
"highly  educated"  than  those  of  any  other 
nation  on  earth ;  that  is,  they  had  a  better 
knowledge  of  books,  wrote  more  themselves, 
explored  the  Sciences  and  Arts,  and  surrounded 
themselves  with  more  of  the  comforts  and  ele- 
gancies of  life  than  had  been  known  by  any 
people  before  ;  and  yet  at  no  former  period  had 
they  been  so  corrupt.  Vice  in  almost  every  form 
prevailed ;  the  whole  nation  seemed  debauched ; 
crime  abounded,  and  man  seemed  to  have  lost 
all  faith  in  his  fellow  man.  Such  were  the 
fruits  of  one  kind  of  education ;  but  it  was  not 
true  education,  for  that  brings  love,  harmony, 
good  will  to  men,  and  a  real  growth  in  purity. 
These  remarks  have  been  suggested  upon 
reading  an  address  by  Mr.  George  B.  Emer- 


son, at  the  opening  meeting  of  the  Social  Sci- 
ence Association,  in  Boston,  on  Thursday  even- 
ing, Dec.  13. 

He  said,  "the  common  schools  are,  as  they 
are  continually  declared  to  be,  the  dearest  and 
most  precious  interests  of  the  people."  In  the 
spring  of  1821,  school  houses  were  nearly  all 
poorly  furnished,  dirty,  badly  warmed,  and  not 
ventilated  at  all ;  ventilation  for  school  rooms 
was  not  then  discovered. 

He  then  says,  '^As  is  the  teacher,  so  is  the 
school.  Is  each  teacher,  in  his  own  depart- 
ment, allowed  to  teach  and  to  govern  accord- 
ing to  his  own  convictions  by  his  own  methods 
and  in  his  own  way  ?  For  every  teacher  fit  for 
his  place,  can  thus  teach  and  govern  incompar- 
ably better  than  he  could  under  the  dictation 
of  the  wisest  committee  m4,n  that  ever  entered 
a  school.  Do  the  teachers  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunities  presented  by  the  improved 
grading,  to  teach,  to  give  real  instruction  ?  Not 
to  hear  lessons,  but  to  give  lessons  ;  to  open  and 
enlarge  the  mind  of  his  pupil  and  pour  in 
knowledge,  not  from  the  pages  of  a  text  book, 
but  from  the  fresh  fountain  of  his  own  knowl- 
edge and  thought?" 

This  is  a  point  too  often  overlooked  in  the 
selection  of  teachers.  Almost  any  person  may 
listen  to  a  recitation,  and  decide  whether  it  was 
well  committed  to  the  memory  or  not.  But 
this  is  not  enough.  He  should  be  able  to  elu- 
cidate and  illustrate  it ;  to  make  it  as  clear  to 
the  child's  mind  as  is  the  noonday  sun.  His 
course  of  study,  reading,  thought  and  obser- 
vation should  be  such  that,  upon  hearing  a  reci- 
tation, his  mind  should  be  filled  with  appropri- 
ate images  and  facts  sufficient  to  enable  him  to 
pour  a  flood  of  light  into  the  mind  of  the  child 
in  regard  to  the  subject  which  he  is  trying  to 
master.  Then  he  can  address  the  pupil  through 
the  eye  as  well  as  the  ear.  He  can  absorb  his 
attention  and  inspire  him  with  the  inspirations 
that  fill  his  own  mind.  Such  teaching  has  life 
and  energy  in  it.  It  does  not  merely  skim  the 
siirface  of  things,  but  goes  down  deep  into  the 
understanding  and  makes  indelible  impressions 
there.  All  this  may  be  applied  to  a  class  as 
well  as  to  an  individual. 

Mr.  Emerson  inquires:  "Are  the  studies 
pursued  in  the  grammar  schools  what  they 
should  be  ?  Is  the  great  fact  that  for  nearly 
all  children,  the  grammar  schools  furnish  all 
the  school  education  they  can  ever  get,  suffi- 
ciently regarded  ? 

"Almost  every  girl  is  by  nature  destined  to 


92 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


be  a  nurse,  a  mother,  a  teacher  and  manager  |  girls,  too,  spend  years  of  their  precious  school 
of  yonng  children.  Do  all  the  girls  receive  in 
the  grammar  schools  all  the  helps  which  they 
might  receive  towards  performing  well  and  in- 
telligently the  duties  which  belong  to  those 
several  relations  ?  Ought  not  every  girl  to  ob- 
tain, before  she  leaves  school,  some  knowledge 
of  the  laws  of  health,  some  of  the  great  and 
all-important  truths  taught  by  the  science  of 
phrsiology  ? 

""Might  not  all  be  taught  these  great  truths? 
I  say  not  by  means  of  text-books,  but  by  the 
incomparably  more  effectual  means  of  good 
oral  instruction  ?  Ought  a  girl  to  be  allowed 
to  leave  one  of  the  best  schools  in  the  world 


without  any  special  preparation  for  the  highest 
and  most  important  duties  of  her  future  life  ? 

"Ought  we  to  consider  these  schools  as  what 
they  ought  to  be,  unless  boys  and  girls  are 
taught, — what  every  decently  educated  person 
ought  to  know, — what  air  is,  what  is  its  uses, 
properties  and  laws  ?  What  water  is  ?  What 
beat  and  light  are,  and  how  they  act  upon  air 
and  water,  and  all  forms  of  animal  and  vege- 
table life  ?  Ought  not  every  one  to  be  taught 
■what  his  own  body  is,  and  what  it  is  made  of? 
What  food  is,  and  how  it  nourishes  the  body  ? 
Ought  not  these  all-important  elements  of 
chemistry  to  be  taught  in  every  grammar  school  ? 

"Childhood  is  the  time  of  life  during  which 
the  meaning  of  words  is  most  easily  learnt, 
and  when  atl  those  words  ought  to  be  learnt, 
which  are  essential  to  reading  intelligently  the 
best  books.  *  *  *  Most  books  upon  ag- 
riculture, upon  the  nourishment  of  plants  and 
animals,  upon  mines,  volcanoes,  coal,  rocks, 
&c.,  &c.,  *  *  *  are  unintelligible  to  a  per- 
son ignorant  of  the  meaning  of  these  words. 

"Veiy  many  of  the  boys,  whose  highest  and 
last  education  is  to  be  given  at  the  grammar 
schools,  are  destined  to  the  mechanic  arts. 
Should  they  not  in  their  schools  make  some 
preparation  for  their  vocation  in  life  ?  Ought 
they  not  to  be  taught  the  elements  of  mechan- 
ics, the  mechanical  powers,  how  the  inclined 
plane  works,  how  wedges,  and  levers,  and 
wheels,  and  puUies,  and  ropes  act?  Ought 
they  not  to  be  shown  what  a  steam  engine  is, 
what  pumps  are,  what  the  hydraulic  press  is, 
and  how  they  act  ?  Ought  not  these  elements 
of  the  useful  sciences  to  be  taught?" 

We  shall  undoubtedly  be  met  with  the  reply 
that  there  is  not  time  to  do  this.  We  believe 
there  is.  Procure  such  a  teacher  as  we  have 
already  described,  and  reject  some  of  the  use- 
less practices  in  nearly  all  our  schools,  and  op- 
portunity will  be  found  to  introduce  every 
branch  that  Mr.  Emerson  has  suggested, 
"Most  of  the  time  now  given  to  arithmetic  in 
the  higher  classes  is  time  wasted.  It  does  not 
exercise  the  judgment  nor  improve  the  taste." 
[t  is  carried  to  such  a  degree  that  the  waste  of 
time  is  enormous.     Thousands  of  boys,  and 


hours  upon  mathematics,  Avho  will  never  have 
occasion  to  use  any  of  it  beyond  the  "rule  of 
three."  Indeed,  the  common  schools  of  New 
England  have  gone  mathematically  mad  upon 
the  subject  for  the  last  twenty  jears.  It  has 
become  just  as  much  an  arljitrary  custom  as 
"water-falls"  on  the  heads  of  women,  or  the 
enormous  "hoop-skirts"  at  their  heels. 

Another  practice  is  that  of  compelling  chil- 
dren to  commit  solid  pages  of  history  to  mem- 
ory, which  are  repeated  pretty  much  as  the 
parrot  repeats  his  lesson,  and  then  are  forgot- 
ten. "Can  a  more  absurd  mode  of  teaching  be 
devised?-  If  it  is  desirable  to  cultivate  verbal 
memory,  there  are  in  our  language  tens  of 
thousands  of  lines  of  the  most  beautiful  poetry 
in  the  world  to  exercise  the  memory  upon." 

Another  reform  should  be  in  the  use  of  school 
books.  With  a  proper  teacher  it  seems  to  us 
that  a  book  on  English  grammar  ought  not  to 
comprise  more  than  twenty-five  duodecimo 
pages,  and  one  on  Latin  grammar  not  much 
larger.  But  that  point  we  will  not  dwell  iipon 
now. 

As  good  as  we  are  willing  to  admit  our 
schools  generally  are,  we  do  not  think  they  ai'e 
accomplishing  all  they  ought  for  their  cost  in 
money  and  care.  Subjects  of  little  importance 
are  entertained  and  enforced,  while  those  which 
are  essential  or  indispensable  are  neglected  or 
entirely  disjiensed  with. 

This  ought  not  to  be  so.  No  people  on 
earth,  probably,  take  more  pains  to  establish 
schools,  and  when  they  are  established,  to  dress 
their  children  in  warm  and  neat  clothing,  and 
frequently  incur  great  inconveniences  and  con- 
siderable cost  in  enabling  them  to  attend. 
Some  parents  who  live  two  or  three  miles  from 
the  school  house  attend  so  falthfLdly  to  this 
duty  that  their  children  are  not  absent  a  single 
day  from  the  stated  school  hours  during  an  en- 
tire term.  It  is,  tljerefore,  an  inunt'nso  loss 
not  to  have  all  the  adjuncts  of  flie  school  as 
perfect  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them.  In 
order  to  accomplish  this  }ou  must  converse 
with  your  children  in  relation  to  the  practices 
and  interests  of  the;  school,  and  two  or  three 
times  in  the  (.-ourse  of  the  year  visit  tliem  and 
judge  of  their  merits  or  deficiencies  for  your- 
selves. It  will  not  do  to  plead  incompetence. 
You  can  judge  of  many  things  as  well  as  a 
highly  educated  person,  perhaps  better.     Be- 


1867. 


JNEW    EWliLAJND    lAKMEK. 


93 


sides  this  jour  presence  will  manifest  an  inter- 
est in  the  institution  which  will  encourage 
teacher  and  pupil,  and  be  an  advantage  to  all. 


Edward  W.  Stebbins. — We  are  sorry  to 
learn,  by  the  Boston  Cultivator,  of  the  death  of 
Edward  W.  Stebbins,  Esq.  of  Deerficld,  Mass., 
which  occurred  on  the  27th  ult.,  of  consump- 
tion, after  a  long  illness,  at  the  age  of  forty 
years.  Mr.  Stebbins  was  a  representative  man 
among  the  fanners  of  Franklin  county  ;  an  ac- 
tive, intelligent,  enterprising,  noble,  generous, 
high-minded  gentleman.  He  was  President  of 
the  Franklin  County  Agricultural  Society  prior 
to  the  election  of  Joseph  Anderson,  Esq.,  of 
Shelburne,  one  year  ago,  and  served  as  dele- 
gate from  that  society  in  the  Massachusetts 
Board  of  Agriculture.  He  held  other  offices 
of  trust  conferred  upon  him  from  time  to  time 
by'  his  fellow  citizens,  ever  discharging  his 
duty  with  energy,  ability,  and  marked  fidelity. 
From  amid  his  trusts,  and  the  comforts  and 
joys  of  a  genial  and  happy  home,  surrounded 
as  he  was  by  warm  and  confiding  friends,  he 
has  been  called  in  the  full  meridian  of  life. 
May  He  Avho  doeth  all  things  well,  and  who 
tempercth  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  sanctify 
this  bitter  aflliction  to  the  widowed  mother  and 
her  child. 


Winter  Butter. — In  a  recent  article  on 
making  butter  in  winter ,  v,c  neglected  to  speak 
of  the  qnaliii/  of  the  feed  given  to  the  coavs. 
This  is  very  important.  The  milk  of  cows  fed 
mostly  upon  coarse  meadow  hay,  would  not  be 
likely  to  afford  much  butter,  and  that  little 
very  light  colored  and  of  poor  quality.  Mead- 
ow hay  has  scarcely  more  than  a  traceable 
amount  of  oil  in  it.  Cows,  therefore,  from 
whose  milk  good  butter  is  expected,  must  be 
fed  liberally  on  English  hay,  cut  in  the  bloom, 
and  preserved  with  most  of  its  valuable  juices, 
and  in  addition  to  that,  a  little  corn  meal,  oil 
meal,  shorts  and  roots,  such  as  carrots,  beets 
or  mangold  wurtzels.  Give  the  turnips  to  dry 
stock.  The  color  of  the  butter  depends  upon 
the  cow  and  the  feed,  but  especially  upon  the 
latter.  Feed  well  upon  nutritious  and  oily 
food,  and  they  will  yield  firm  and  yellow  butter. 


EXTRACTS   AND    REPLIES. 

STIIAWBEUIUES. 

Will  the  Editor  plcnsc  uiform  ns  through  his 
pa|ici-  wliat  strawberry  is  the  most  valii!U)lc  to  raise 
for  the  nuukct  ?  A  Suksckibeh. 

Greenland,  N.  H.,  Dec.  26,  1860. 

Rejiarks. — The  fact  tliat  f^omc  particular  fmit 
is  the  favorite  in  one  locality  is  not  positive  proof 
tluit  it  will  be  the  best  variety  for  all  other  sec- 
tions. Hence  we  arc  always  cautious  about  nam- 
ing any  one  sort  as  the  "most  valuable,"  when  we 
Iviiow  that  such  recommendation  will  be  read  alike 
by  the  farmers  and  gardeners  on  the  long  stretch 
of  the  seashore,  in  the  sheltered  valleys,  and  on 
the  bleak  hills  of  all  New  England.  There  are  sev- 
eral kinds  of  new  strawberries  which  are  highly 
reeormnended,  at  least  by  the  nursery  men  who  have 
them  for  sale.  And  our  advice  to  "A  Subscriber" 
in  Greenland,  or  any  other  location,  would  l:)e  to  in- 
quire what  variety  succeeds  best  in  Iiis  immediate 
neighborhood.  Having  succeeded  well  ourselves 
with  Hovcy's  Seedling 
mixed  with  tlie  Early  Vir- 
ginia; and  as  these  kinds 
arc  well  known,  and  have 
been  widely  disseminated, 
we  venture  to  recommend 
our  correspondent  to  give 
them  a  trial,  unless  he  can 
hear  of  something  better. 
Many  of  the  most  practical 
the  Boston  market  still 


There  are  multitudes  of  people  who  destroy 
themsehes  through  irresolution.  .  They  are 
eternally  telling  about  what  they  mean  to  do, 
but  the)-  ue\er  do  it. 


Early  Virginia. 
strawberry-growers 
raise  the 


for 


Hovet/s  Seedling. 


BUILDING   A   BARN. 

I  intend  to  build  a  bam  in  the  spring,  and  to 
have  a  cellar  under  it  for  the  use  of  cattle  and 
sheep.  The  lojalion  is  some  wet.  Can  I  cement 
the  wall  and  bottom,  so  that  it  will  be  tight  and 
dural)le  ?  A.  F.  Mason. 

Lancaster,  N.  H.,  Dec,  1866. 

Remarks. — There  will  be  no  difficulty  in  having 
a  dry  cellar,  if  there  is  fall  enough  from  it  for  drain- 
age. Do  this  thoroughly,  having  the  drains  two 
feet  deeper  than  the  bottom  of  the  cellar,  if  you 


94 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


can  get  sufficient  fall.  This  should  be  done  even  if 
there  were  no  cellar,  because  the  foundation  of  the 
bam  would  not  be  likely  to  stand  firmly  where  the 
soil  is  wet  and  liable  to  be  heaved  by  the  frost. 

Can  you  build  your  bam  on  a  side  hill,  so  as  to 
drive  in  at  the  gable  end,  and  have  all  your  pitch- 
ing down,  instead  of  up  ?  The  barn  floor,  in  such 
case,  would  be  high  up,  and  all  the  stock  below  it. 
This  is  worth  thinking  of.  If  you  have  a  suit- 
able place,  would  it  not  be  good  economy  to 
look  at  some  barns  constructed  in  that  man- 
ner ?  The  barn  is  a  thing  of  every-day  use  for 
the  farmer  as  long  as  he  is  farming,  and  it  is, 
therefore,  important  that  it  be  so  constructed  as  to 
keep  the  stock  and  fodder  safely,  and  save  as  much 
labor  as  possible. 


HOG    MEASLES. 

I  wish  you  would  inform  me  through  the  Farm- 
er, if  there  is  any  such  thing  as  hog  measles  ?  If 
so,  their  appearance.  I  was  jjrcsent  at  the  opening 
of  a  hog  where  the  lean  meat  and  a  portion  of  the 
fat  was  tilled  with  small  globular  specks  of  a  whit- 
ish color,  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of  wheat.  They 
were  not  attached  to  the  meat. 

A  Reader  of  the  Farmer. 

North  Littleton,  N.  H.,  Dec.  18,  1866. 

Remarks. — AVithin  the  last  fifty  years  there 
have  been  great  additions  made  to  our  stock  of 
knowledge  concerning  the  animal  parasites  kno;vn 
as  entozoa.  In  relation  to  their  origin,  transforma- 
tion, and  rc-production,  we  find  so  manj'^  "facts 
that  are  stranger  than  fiction,"  that  the  foregoing 
inquiry  was  submitted  to  the  family  physician  of 
one  of  the  editors  of  the  New  England  Farmer, 
who  has  furnished  the  following  reply  : 

There  certainly  "is  such  a  thing  as  hog  measles," 
and  their  appearance  is  well  described  as  "small 
globular  specks  of  a  whitish  color,  about  the  size 
of  gi-ains  of  wheat."  They  are  dispersed  through 
the  system,  more  particularly  the  muscular  or 
fleshy  portion ;  are  of  a  soft,  gelatinous  structure, 
but  are  not  usuall.v  so  large  as  seen  by  "Reader  of 
the  Farmer."  They  occur  much  more  frequently 
than  is  supposed, — not  very  often  being  noticed  or 
looked  for. 

And  now,  docs  any  one  wish  to  know  what  they 
are  ?  For  that  is  the  most  interesting  and  import- 
ant information  concerning  them.  So  much  has 
been  published  of  late,  upon  the  subject,  that  it 
may  seem  pedantic  in  the  writer  of  this,  to  add 
anything  further.  But  as  there  appears  to  be  a 
necessity  for  line  upon  line,  we  will  repeat  that  the 
measles  in  hogs  are  the  eggs  or  embryos  of  the  tape 
tcorm  in  man,  and  only  need  the  requisite  transfer 
of  position,  to  grow  into  hideous  monsters.  They 
lie  unchanged  in  their  soft  beds,  till,  like  the  eggs 
of  the  curculio,  and  numerous  other  insects,  they 
are  deposited  in  a  situation  favorable  for  their  de- 
velopment; and  that  situation  is  especially  the 
human  stomach,  where  they  speedily  elongate  into 
worms,  fasten  themselves  to  the  sides  by  small 
tentacles,  or  hooks,  ready  grown  for  the  purpose, 
lu.xuriatc  on  the  abundant  food  ready  at  hand, 


grow  with  marvellous  rapidity,  till  they  reach,  some- 
times, the  length  of  sixty  feet,  and  then  become 
uncomfortable  tenants,  which  the  landlord  is  anx- 
ious to  eject.  Such  meat  is  unfit  to  be  eaten  by 
man  or  beast,  and  is  unsafe  until  the  measles  have 
been  utterly  destroyed,  either  by  most  thorough 
cooking,  salting  or  smoking. 


ARTIFICIAL   manure   FOR   HOPS. 

What  is  the  best  artificial  manure  for  hops  ? 
Will  it  do  to  put  guano  on  hops  after  the  vines  hsive 
started  in  the  spring  ?  if  so,  how  much  to  the  hill  ? 
When  guano  is  so\ra  on  grass  land,  how  much 
does  it  require  to  the  acre  ?  Hop  Grower. 

Alps,  Rensselaer  Co.,  N.  Y. 

Remarks. — We  have  never  grown  hops  on  an  ex- 
tended saile,  but  have  always  found  them  to  flour- 
ish vigorously  on  land  where  we  could  obtain  fifty 
bushels  of  com  to  the  acre.  We  have  raised  them 
where  various  special  fertilizers  have  been  used, 
such  as  bone-dust,  guano,  superphosphate  of  lime, 
ashes,  &c.  They  will  bear  high  manuring,  and 
like  best  that  of  an  oily  nature.  Guano  may  be 
safely  applied  in  the  spring  if  scattered  about  the 
hill  and  immediately  hoed  in ;  so  may  any  of  the 
fertilizers  usually  employed.  A  single  handful 
may  be  used  to  a  hill. 

Three  hundred  pounds  of  guano  is  the  amount 
commonly  applied  to  an  acre  of  grass  land.  Twice 
or  three  times  that  amount  may  be  safely  used  if 
applied  just  before  or  during  a  rain. 


BUILDING  A    BARN. 

Intending  to  build  a  barn  next  spring  on  level 
ground,  I  would  like  to  know  if,  in  your  opinion, 
it  would  pa.y  to  dig  a  cellar  under  the  staljle,  some 
sixty  feet  long,  and  wall  it  up  on  two  sides  and  one 
end,  to  put  the  droppings  in  ?  The  dirt  is  needed 
to  make  the  driveway,  and  there  arc  stones  enough 
on  the  farm,  so  the  ovUy  extra  expense  will  be  dig- 
ging and  splitting  the  stones,  and  laying  the  wall 
on  one  end,  one  side,  and  about  half  of  the  other 
side. 

There  is  on  the  farm,  a  few  rods  from  the  bam, 
a  large  bed  of  excellent  muck.  Will  it  do  to  build 
a  barn  tight  that  has  a  cellar,  without  having  some 
sort  of  ventilation  ?  If  not,  will  two  veurilators, 
each  six  inches  square,  leading  from  the  cellar  and 
passing  out  under  the  eaves,  answer  the  purpose  .' 

Bradford,  Vt.,  1867.  g. 

Remarks. — "Pay,"  yes,  and  you  will  always  re- 
gret it  if  }'ou  fail  to  do  so. 

Build  the  biim  just  as  tight  as  you  please  where 
the  stock  is  to  be  kept.  In  other  parts,  you  only 
want  it  tight  enough  to  keep  the  fodder  from  the 
weather.  The  ventilators  would  not  be  so  much  in 
the  way,  perhaps,  if  they  were  12  or  15  inches  wide 
and  4  to  G  inches  thick.  But  if  you  manage  your 
manure  heap  right,  you  will  have  no  unpleasant 
odors  in  the  barn.  Haul  in  the  muck  plentifully, 
when  it  is  dry  ;  keep  a  good  winrow  of  it  in  front 
of  the  droppings  from  the  stalls,  and  twice  a  week, 
or  more  frequently  if  j'ou  can,  cover  them  over 
with  the  muck,  and  in  the  spring  you  Avill  find  the 
best  manin-e  heap  that  it  is  possible  to  make. 

Make  the  cellar  by  all  means.    A  good  bam, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


95 


now-a-days,  without  a  cellar,  is  about  as  inconsis- 
tent as  a  good  bouse  without  a  roof  on  it !  Sec  re- 
marks on  "Building  a  Barn,"  on  another  page,  in 
reply  to  A.  F.  Mason,  of  Lancaster,  N.  H. 


FEEDIXG   AND    WINTERING   BEES. 

I  have  a  swarm  of  bees  which  I  am  satisfied  will 
not  winter  without  feeding.  They  arc  in  an  "old- 
fashioned  box  hive"  with  a  place  for  honej^  boxes 
on  the  top.  I  ara  desirous  of  saving  the  swarm  if 
possible,  and  want  to  know  of  some  of  your  old 
bee-keeping  readers  the  best  manner  of  feeding  said 
swarm.  Also  the  best  time  and  place  in  which  to 
do  it.  Shall  I  remove  them  into  the  house,  or  let 
them  remain  with  the  rest  in  the  bee-house  ? 

East  Randolph,  Vt.,  Dec.  31,  1866.  p.  e.  s. 

Remarks. — The  winter  care  of  the  "little  Inisy 
bee,"  and  the  time  and  manner  of  feeding,  seem 
to  be  undecided  questions  with  the  apiarians.  Mr. 
Quimby  saj^s  that  in  ordinary  circumstances  it  is 
doubtful  policy  to  attempt  to  winter  stocks  that 
will  require  feeding  before  spring.  "Will  some  of 
our  bee-keeping  readers  give  "p.  e.  s."  the  neces- 
sary directions  and  advice  ? 


PULVERIZING    THE    SOIL. 

I  should  like  to  inquire  through  the  Farmer 
what  is  the  best  cultivator  in  use  for  pulverizing 
the  soil  of  broken  up  ground,  when  it  is  plowed 
from  ten  to  twelve  inches  deep,  and  not  disturb  the 
fuiTows  ? 

On  the  same  kind  of  ground,  after  it  has  been 
planted  with  corn,  what  will  pulverize  the  soil 
from  4  to  6  inches  deep,  and  level  the  rows  so  as  to 
fit  the  ground  for  seeding  with  oats  and  grass  seed  ? 

W.  IVaterford,  Vt.,  1867.  Old  Vermont. 

Remarks. — A  harrow,  called  the  '^Peppereli 
Harroic,"  will  put  your  broken-up  sward  land  into 
splendid  condition  for  planting.  It  has  teeth  like 
a  doulile  mould-board  plow,  so  that  it  lifts  the  earth 
as  it  passes  along,  and  not  only  breaks  it  to  pieces, 
but  leaves  it  lying  light.  It  is  a  heavy  implement, 
and  ought  to  have  a  pair  of  oxen  or  horses  to  move 
it  properly.  It  is  often  used,  however,  with  one 
horse  only. 

The  best  implement  we  have  ever  found  to  culti- 
vate with  between  rows  of  corn,  is  Roc/er's  Steel 
Tooth  Cultivator.  Both  implements  are  sold  at  the 
agricultural  warehouses  in  Boston. 


CONVENIENCES   FOR   WATER — NO.    1. 

I  propose  to  send  you  a  few  short  articles  upon 
the  subject  of  water, — its  uses  and  its  abuses  aljout 
farm  buildings.  Having  had  nearly  20  years'  ex- 
perience in  arranging  and  supplying  farm  houses 
ana  baiTis  with  water,  by  every  method,  from  the 
common  wooden  pump  to  the  most  diliicult  posi- 
tions for  the  simple  aqueduct,  the  syphon  and  the 
hj'draulic  ram,  I  have  Icanied  some  things  by  ex- 
perience that  may  be  of  use  to  the  readers  of  the 
I'armer.  I  hope  also,  to  draw  out  others  upon  the 
subject  that  I  may  learn  that  which  may  be  useful 
in  the  future  wants  of  this  community. 

I  propose  to  mention  instances  that  have  come 
under  my  observation  and  experience  that  have 
been  successful,  and  those  that  have  proved  fail- 
ures. 

In  my  practice  with  the  hj-draulic  ram,  I  have 
had  the  extremes  of  eight  to  two  hundred  and  for- 
ty feet  elevation;  with  aqueducts  a  little  over  a 


mile  in  length,  and  with  wooden  pumps,  an  ex- 
treme elevation  of  40  feet  above  the  water-mark,  by 
suction,  (the  books  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding) 
have  come  under  my  observation. 

Let  me  also  add  that  a  new  invention  is  about 
being  completed  for  a  submerged  cistern  pump, 
throwing  entirely  in  the  shade  all  others,  in  point 
of  simjilicity,  cheapness  and  capacity. 

Our  farmers,  yes,  and  their  wives  too,  are  far  too 
easily  satisfied  with  conveniences  for  water.  They 
make  it  a  necessity  for  man  and  beast,  instead  of  a 
luxury,  constantly  at  hand,  as  its  Giver  designed. 

Headers  of  the  Farmer,  look  at  your  convenien- 
ces for  water,  and  say  if  most  of  them  are  not  in- 
conveniences.  How  much  would  it  cost  you  to 
put  your  water  in  your  house  where  a  constant 
supply  within  reach  of  the  tin  dipper  would  great- 
ly facilitate  the  labors  of  the  wife  and  daughters  ? 
How  mm-h  to  put  it  in  the  stable,  or  at  least  in  the 
yard  r  :Make  your  figures,  and  you  will  find  the 
conveniences  more  than  7  3-10  interest  on  the  out- 
lay. 

In  my  next  I  will  mention  some  cases  of  unsuc- 
cessful efforts  in  this  line,  and  the  causes,     p.  j. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  Dec.  1,  1866. 


STABLING   STOCK. 

Allow  me  to  say  to  "C."  Craftsbury,  Vt.,  that 
leaving  cows  out  in  the  yard  or  in  the  pasture  till 
"cold  nights  come  on  in  the  fall,"  is  among  the 
things  that  used  to  be  done,  but  which  have  long 
since  given  way,  with  our  best  farmers,  to  the 
practice  of  stabling  nights  all  summer,  in  order  to 
save  a  pile  of  manure  of  four  times  the  value  of 
that  vmder  the  old  yarding  system.  Manure,  Mr. 
Craftsbury,  is  what  will  make  your  stock  sleek 
next  winter.  p.  j. 

Vermont,  1867. 


NUMBER   OF   RIBS    WITH    HIND    QUARTER   OF   BEEF. 

Please  insert  in  your  Extracts  and  Replies,  if 
you  have  the  infonnation,  what  the  rule  is,  or  if 
there  is  any  law  specifying  how  many  ribs  shall  be 
left  on  the  hind  quarter  of  a  beef.  p. 

Hanover,  N.  H.,  Dec.  24,  1866. 

Remarks. — The  Brighton  butchers  inform  us 
that  there  is  no  law  or  fixed  rule  at  this  market. 
Either  two  or  three  ribs  are  left  upon  the  hind 
quarter,  as  is  thought  will  best  suit  the  buyers. 


CURE  FOR   SPAVIN   IN   HORSE  AND   RHEUMATISM  IK 
MAN. 

Half  pint  of  brandy,  half  pint  neatsfoot  oil,  one 
ounce  oil  spike,  one  ounce  of  camphor  gum,  and 
one  beef  gall ;  simmer  half  an  hour.  Rub  well  and 
heat  in  well  with  a  hot  iron.  a.  k. 

Alstead,  N.  H.,  Jan.,  1867. 


AGRICUIiTUKAIi   ITEMS. 

— ^Dairy  fanns  in  Herkimer  County,  N.  Y.,  have 
changed  hands  at  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre. 

— Seven  pounds  of  pork  for  a  bushel  of  com  is 
considered  a  good  yield. 

— Rats  are  said  to  dislike  coal  tar  very  much,  and 
mixed  with  sand  it  is  effectual  to  stop  rat  holes. 

— Ex-Governor  Anderson,  of  Ohio,  recently  pur- 
chased 10,000  acres  of  grazing  land  in  Lyons  Coun- 
ty, Ky.,  and  is  now  stocking  it  with  choice  sheep. 

— At  a  recent  rent  audit,  the  tenants  on  the  estate 
of  Mr.  J.  E.  Heathcote,  of  Apedale  Hall,  Eng.,  were 


96 


NEW   ENGLAM)    FARMER. 


Feb. 


allowed  10s.  in  the  pound  upon  the  losses  they  have 
sufifered  from  the  cattle  plague. 

— A  Scotch  writer,  in  the  English  Agricultural 
Gazette,  says  that  supei-phosphate  seems  to  have 
lost  its  power  with  him,  and  does  not  do  well  on 
his  land,  though  a  few  years  ago  it  produced  mar- 
vellous results.  Another  says  guano  does  no  good 
now,  whilst  fourteen  years  ago  the  smallest  dust- 
ing showed  a  marked  effect. 

— Hon.  Levi  Bartlett,  of  Warner,  N.  H.,  writes 
to  the  Country  Gentleman  that  on  a  farm  adjoining 
his  there  were  raised  this  year  fifty  bushels  of  ears 
of  pop  corn  on  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  fur  which 
the  farmer  received  .g:l..50  per  bushel — $lo  for  what 
grew  on  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  besides  the  fod- 
der. 

— It  is  stated  by  an  English  horticultural  paper 
that  Prof.  Schuitzenstein  asserts  that  pui'e  i)ump, 
spring,  or  river  water  contains  an  inexhaustible 
supply  of  nutriment  that  is  the  real  staple  food  for 
plants ;  and  that  the  knowledge  of  this  is  calculat- 
ed to  throw  light  on  many  puzzling  plicnomena  in 
vegetable  pliysiology  and  culture.  The  art  of  mak- 
ing water  nutritious  should  be  the  true  aim  of  hor- 
ticulture and  agriculture. 

— It  is  stated  by  the  authors,  that  earth-worms 
feed  upon  earthy  matter,  from  which  they  digest 
the  fine  vegetable  mould  contained  therein,  and 
eject  the  remainder  at  the  mouths  of  their  burrows. 
By  crawling  about  in  the  ground  as  they  do,  they 
are  most  imp-ortant  and  serviceable  agents  in  loos- 
ening the  soil,  and  opening  it  for  the  air  and  water 
to  penetrate  it.  And  by  throwing  out  their  cast- 
ings at  the  mouths  of  their  holes  they  add  to  the 
depth  of  the  soil,  and  cover  tracts  that  are  compar- 
atively barren,  with  a  superficial  layer  of  fine  fer- 
tile soil. 

— ^Who  should  have  a  good  garden  if  not  the  far- 
mer ?  He  has  plentj'^  of  land,  team,  and  as  nmoh 
manure  as  lie  can  spare.  There  is  no  class  of  peo- 
ple to  whose  fund  lies  n  garden  is  a  greater  consreti- 
ience  or  nun'e  v>irissing  ne.;esL"ity,  than  the  farming 
class.  Reiiioved  far  frooi  that  access  to  a  daily 
market  wliivli  maives  up  for  the  want  of  a  garden 
to  town  and  city  residents,  the  fanner's  houseJiold 
must  do  without  fresh  vcgetaliles  and  fruits  unless 
they  are  home-produced.  Without  a  garden,  the 
winter  diet  is  mainly  bread,  meat,  and  potatoes. 

— Hon.  Levi  Bartlett,  Warner,  N.  H.,  writes  to 
the  Country  Gentleman  that  almost  the  only  kind 
of  potato  grown  tliere  at  the  present  time  is  a  vari- 
ety known  as  the  "Orono,"  said  to  have  been  ob- 
tained froii;  Orono,  Me.  It  is  a  large,  white,  ratlier 
kidney-shai);',d  tal)er — he  thinks,  in  quality,  0(i',ial 
to  the  famed  Carter,  and  superior  to  the  Chenango 
as  a  table  potato,  yielding  on  his  farm  at  least 
three-fold  over  the  Carter,  Chenango  or  Pritice 
Albert.  C.  Clark,  a  neighbor  of  his,  raised  250 
bushels  on  three-quarters  of  an  acre,  on  inverted 
sod  land — S.  C.  Pattce  over  200  bushels  on  half  an 
acre  inverted  sod,  and  others  in  like  ratio. 


OLD    -WINTBR   IS    COMING. 


BY  HUGH   MORE. 


Old  Winter  is  coming  again — alack  ! 

ilow  icy  and  did  is  ho  ! 
He  caros  not  a,  pin  ibr  a  shivering  hack ; 
Ho's  a  ^aacv-  old  chap  to  white  and  black ; 
He  whistlefc  hia  chills  with  a  wonderful  knack, 
For  he  comeH  from  a  cold  country. 

A  witty  old  fellow  this  Winter  is — 

A  mighty  old  fellow  for  glee  ! 
He  cracks  his  jokes  on  the  pretty,  sweet  miss, 
The  wiinklcd  old  maiden,  unfit  to  kiss, 
And  freezes  the  dew  of  their  lips ;  for  this 

In  the  way  with  fellows  like  he  ! 

Old  Winter's  a  frolicsome  blade,  I  wot — 

He  is  wild  in  his  humor  and  free  ! 
He'll  whistle  alon>;  for  "the  want  of  thought;" 
An  1  set  all  the  varmth  of  our  furs  at  naught; 
Aiid  rultl?  the  laces  hy  pretty  girLs  bought — 

A  frolicsome  fellow  is  he  I 

Old  Winter  is  blowing  his  gusts  along. 

And  merrily  shaking  the  tree  I 
From  morning  till  night  he  will  sing  his  song — 
Now  moaning,  and  short — now  howling,  and  long 
His  voice  is  loud,  for  his  lungs  are  strong — 

A  merry  old  fellow  is  he  I 

Old  Winter's  a  tough  old  fellow  for  blows, 

As  tough  as  ever  you  see  I 
He  will  trip  up  your  trotters  and  rend  your  clothea, 
And  stiffen  your  lunbs  from  your  fingers  to  toes; 
He  minds  not  the  cries  of  his  friends  or  his  foes — 

A  tough  old  fellow  is  he  1 

A  cunning  old  fi'llow  is  Winter,  thoy  say, 

A  cunning  old  fellow  is  he  ! 
He  peeps  in  the  crevices  day  by  day. 
To  see  liow  we're  passing  our  time  away. 
And  mark  all  our  doings  from  grave  to  gay, — 

I'm  afraid  he's  peeping  at  me  I 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
MORE    ABOUT    BETyTTING   FARMS. 

I  was  very  g-lad  to  see  the  article  on  renting 
farms,  in  your  issue  of  Dec.  22,  18()G ;  and, 
with  your  permission,  will  furnish  some  further 
facts  and  considerations  in  regard  to  the  same 
subject. 

There  are  many  farmers  who  would  be  glad 
to  let  or  rent  their  larras,  if  they  could  have 
them  well  worked  and  taken  care  of,  Ibr  these, 
among  other  reasons  : — That  on  account  of 
age,  or  poor  health,  they  wish  to  be  relieved 
from  the  labor,  care  and  trouble  of  the  farm. 
Help  is  very  high,  and  any  that  is  reliable  hard 
to  get.  While  they  do  not  wish  to  work  the 
farm  themselves,  they  do  not  like  to  sell  it. 
Having  spent  their  best  days,  and  done  a  large 
amount  of  hard  work  on  the  fixmi,  they  have 
become  attached  to  it;  so  they  dread  the  idea 
of  selling  and  giving  it  up  entirely  to  strangers. 
And  not  having  much  experience  in  investing 
money  in  other  ways,  they  wish  to  keep  it  in 
the  farm,  wliere  they  know  it  is  safe.  And 
then,  while  relievetl  fi'oin  the  care  and  trouble 
of  fanning,  they  woidd  like  to  go  back  to  the 
farm  for  fuel,  fruit,  aiul  other  things  needed. 

We  want  more  tenant-farming  to  keep  young 
men  from  leaving  thi^  fiirin.  The  fart  that  so 
many  young  men  rpiit  the  f;irm  for  other  busi- 
ness, or  lor  distant  new  sections,  thus  making 
lielp  scarce  and  high,  is  one  oi  tlie  most  seri- 
ous drawbacks  to  Eastern  farming.     Now,  one 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEIMER. 


97 


of  the  principal  reasons  for  their  leaving  the 
farm,  in  the  Eastern  and  JNIiddle  States,  is  the 
want  oi'  means  to  buy  and  have  a  farm  of  their 
own.  How  often  is  it  said:  "I  would  like 
farmino;,  if  I  was  only  able  to  own  a  good  farm. 
But  now  I  nuist  either  go  where  land  is  very 
cheap,  or  try  some  other  business.'"  Hence, 
one  ol"  the  best  means  to  keep  these  men  here 
and  secure  their  labor  to  Iwlp  carry  on  farm- 
ing, is  to  induce  them  to  take  or  rent  farms. 

True,  this  kind  of  farming  is  not  as  popular 
as  it  should  be  to  secure  the  best  success.  But 
this  may  be  remedied  by  good  farming.  With 
good  farming  the  tenant  may  live  well  and 
make  money ;  and  at  the  same  time  keep  the 
land  in  good  condition.  Poor  farming  always 
i-uns  down  land.  Good  farming  always  keeps 
land  growing  better. 

To  secure  good  tenant-farming,  there  are 
some  things  necessary  that  are  badly  neglected 
here.  One  of  these  things  is,  that  farms  are 
let  in  a  very  loose  manner.  No  one  should 
take  a  farm  without  being  Itound  to  leave  it  in 
as  good  condition  as  he  Ibund  it ;  and  give  se-  j 
curity,  if  not  responsible,  for  any  damage 
caused  by  failing  to  do  as  he  agrees.  At  the  | 
same  time  it  should  be  stipulated  that,  on  leav-  | 
ing  the  farm,  the  tenant  should  be  paid  for  all  | 
grass  or  clover  seed  sown,  manure  applied, 
and  other  improvements  made,  v/ith  the  con- 
sent of  the  owner,  from  which  he  has  not  had 
a  sufficient  benefit.  This  renders  necessary  a 
system  of  valuations,  as  now  practiced  in  Eng- 
land. In  this  way  the  condition  of  the  land 
can  be  ascertained  and  recorded  when  the 
tenant  takes  possession,  and  then  again  Avhen 
he  gives  it  up ;  thus  showing  whether  he  has 
improved  or  injured  the  land,  and  how  much 
of  either. 

When  this  is  the  case,  the  tenant  will  be 
careful  not  to  injure  or  run  down  the  land,  in 
order  to  avoid  paying  damages,  while  he 
mil  have  the  two-fold  inducement  to  improved 
farming,  in  the  better  crops  and  larger  profits 
secured  while  occupying  the  land,  and  the  pay 
for  such  improved  condition  when  it  is  given 
up.  So  that,  while  this  course  will  secure  the 
proprietor  from  damage  or  loss  on  the  one  hand, 
it  will  be  no  detriment  on  the  other ;  as  he 
will  find  his  account,  in  regard  to  general  im- 
provement, in  increase  of  rent ;  while  new 
seeding  and  unexpended  manures  will  be 
charged  to  the  next  tenant,  who  will  have  the 
beneiit  of  them. 

True,  permanent  or  long  tenancy  will  gene- 
rally be  best  for  both  parties.  But  these  pro- 
visions obviate  in  a  great  measure  the  objec- 
tions to  shoi-t  leases.  Probably  one  of  the 
best  systems  of  tenant-farming,  in  this  coun- 
try, is  that  adopted  on  the  Wadsworth  fanns, 
in  Western  New  York,  which  are  only  let  from 
one  year  to  another.  But  then  no  tenant  is 
turned  off  without  cause  ;  the  rule  being  never 
to  turn  off  a  good  tenant,  nor  keep  a  poor  one. 
These  farms  are  managed  by  an  experienced 
agent,  who  each  year  directs  what  fields  are  to 


be  sown  to  wheat,  what  put  into  spring  crops, 
and  what  mowed  or  pastui'cd  ;  all  being  ar- 
ranged in  rotation,  so  as  to  keep  the  land  in 
good  condition,  and  give  a  reasonable  chance 
to  make  money.  The  rent  being  a  certain 
amount  of  wheat  per  acre,  for  the  land  sown 
to  wheat ;  something  less,  in  money,  for  spring 
crops  ;  less  yet  for  meadow,  and  least  of  all  for 
pasture.  The  tenant  also  pays  a  moderate 
rent  for  buildings  and  orchard,  and  all  taxes. 
Repairs  made  by  tenant,  new  buildings  and 
fences  by  landlord.  Stipulations  in  regard  to 
seeding  down  and  maldng  manure,  favorable 
to  the  land,  without  being  hard  on  the  tenant. 
About  one-fifth  of  the  fixrm  is  generally  sown 
to  wheat,  which  gives  a  good  income  to  the 
proprietor,  and  a  good  chance  to  make  money 
to  the  tenant. 

Now,  here  is  a  large  number  of  fanns,  all 
worked  under  the  direction  of  an  aljle  and 
competent  manager,  in  a  way  that  tends  to  the 
present  and  permanent  advantage  of  the 
owner ;  Avhile  it  makes  a  permanent  and  profit- 
able business  for  all  the  good  farmers  that 
work  them.  And  all  of  this  is  done  under  a 
system  of  yearly  leases,  arranged  and  managed 
so  as  to  work  well  for  both  parties.  As  the 
land  is  kept  to  rent,  it  is  for  the  interest  of  the 
landlord  to  secure  and  keep  good  tenants.  So 
it  is  not  only  for  the  tenant's  interest  to  farm 
well,  in  order  to  raise  good  crops,  but  he  will 
do  so  in  order  to  keep  a  good  farm  to  work, 
also.  This  affords  an  excellent  illustration 
of  what  is  needed  in  all  cases  of  renting  or 
letting  farms, — a  system  of  management  that 
will  secure  good  tenants,  keep  the  land  in  good 
condition,  and  afford  the  tenants  a  good  chance 
to  make  money. 

Should  any  one  object  to  a  system  of  work- 
ing farms  where  the  rotation  of  crops  is  laid 
out  for  them  every  year,  it  may  be  answered, 
that  prol^ably  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  this 
course  of  firming  would  be  much  better  and 
more  profitable  to  the  tenant  than  any  that 
would  be  adopted  by  one  not  having  the  best 
experience  ;  that,  in  fact,  it  is  a  great  advan- 
tage, by  giving  the  tenant  the  benefit  of  an 
experience  that  otherwise  he  would  be  likely 
to  purchase  too  dearly.  That  it  is  found  to  be 
no  disad  vantage  to  those  working  these  farms, 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  they  don't  have  to  go 
a  begging  to  get  good  tenants. 

Much  might  be  said  in  regard  to  tenant- 
farming  in  England.  It  would  be  easy  to  show, 
that  under  the  severe  competition  with  the 
many  other  nations  that  seek  a  market  for  a 
large  amount  of  sui-plus  products  there ;  the 
heavy  expenses  for  rent,  taxes,  tithes  and  poor 
rates  ;  the  large  amount  that  must  be  invested 
in  manuring,  and  other  necessary  expenses, 
&c., — tenant-farming  is  a  vastly  more  formida- 
ble and  difficult  undertaking  there  than  it  is 
here.  So  great,  indeed,  are  these  expenses 
and  difhculties  in  England,  that  it  has  been 
said  the  tenant  must  farm  well, — that  he  can- 
not get  along  without.     Yet  tenant-farmers  do 


98 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Feb. 


■well  there,  and  many  make  large  foi-tunes. 
They  also  form  a  very  respectable  class,  many 
of  whom  become  very  noted  farmers  and 
breeders ;  and  one,  a  Mr.  Reld,  of  Norfolk, 
was  recently  elected  to  Parliament. 

But  while  tenant-farming  here  is  subject  to 
but  few  of  the  difficulties  and  expenses  inci- 
dent to  it  in  England,  it  is  also  entered  into 
with  a  different  end  in  view.  There  it  is  a 
permanent,  life-long  business ;  here,  men  rent 
land  in  order  to  get  the  means  to  buy  farms  of 
their  own.  There,  an  aristocratic  government 
favors  a  monopoly  of  land  in  the  hands  of  a 
few ;  here,  republican  institutions  tend  strongly 
to,  and  are  best  subserved  and  protected  by, 
a  divided  and  very  general  ownership  of  land. 
Hence,  the  very  genei'al  desire  of  all  men  that 
have  to  work  land  for  a  living  is  to  own  a  good 
farm.  So  that  one  of  the  strongest  reasons 
that  can  be  urged  in  favor  of  tenant-farming 
here  is,  that  taking  or  renting  a  farm  is  one  of 
the  best  ways  of  getting  the  means  of  purchas- 
ing. For  while  it  will  not  do  for  a  young  man 
to  run  in  debt  for  the  wliole  cost  of  a  farm,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  wait  until  he  can  pay  all 
down.  The  general  experience  in  tliis  section 
shows  that  when  a  man,  by  renting  land  or 
other  means,  earns  lialf  enough  to  pay  for  a  farm, 
he  runs  but  little  risk  in  running  in  debt  for 
the  other  half.  Hence,  in  urging  young  men 
to  become  tenant  farmers,  we  may  bring  into 
play  all  of  the  facts,  reasons  and  arguments 
that  can  be  urged  in  favor  of  farming,  in  pre- 
ference to  any  other  business.  But  1  have  only 
briefly  alluded  to  a  few  of  these  reasons  at  this 
time. 

Few  young  men  sufficiently  consider  the  fact, 
that  to  get  into  a  profession  requires  many 
years  of  study  and  preparation.  And  when 
once  in,  the  professions  are  so  crowded  that  it 
is  often  many  years  before  an  opening  is  found, 
and  a  paying  business  obtained.  Tliese  diffi- 
culties have  kept  many  talented  men  in  the 
background  for  years,  or  finally  driven  them 
into  other  business. 

Nor  can  it  be  said  to  be  much  better  in  the 
mercantile  business.  Here,  too,  every  chance, 
every  opening  for  or  avenue  of  trade,  is 
crowded  and  overdone ;  so  that  very  few  of 
those  who  seek  to  gain  wealth  by  trade  are  suc- 
cessful in  getting  and  keeping  it.  Here,  too, 
competition  and  combination  do  their  utmost 
to  prevent  the  success  of  the  new  beginner. 

But  how  different  it  is  with  the  farmer.  He 
does  not  have  to  go  through  a  long  and  expen- 
sive course  of"  preparation  before  he  is  ready 
to  commence  business  for  himself.  Nor  will 
he  have  to  wait  many  years  before  he  can  find 
a  suitable  opening  for  and  get  fairly  started 
into  business.  On  the  contrary,  the  money 
spent  in  getting  an  education,  and  going 
through  a  thorough  course  of  professional 
studies, — with  the  cost  of  getting  fairly  started 
in  business, — would  give  a  young  man  an  ex- 
cellent start  on  a  hired  farm.  While  the  time 
spent  in  preparing  for  and  getting  fairly  started 


in  a  profession,  if  well  improved  on  a  good 
farm,  will  enable  him  to  save  very  nearly,  if 
not  quite  enough,  to  be  able  to  buy  a  farm  of 
his  own. 

And  then,  with  a  good  farm  of  his  own,  how 
much  more  independent  he  will  be.  Then  his 
business  will  not  depend  on  the  favor  of  the 
public,  which  a  few  mistakes  or  a  little  mis- 
management, may  at  any  time  deprive  him  of. 
Few  young  men  are  aware  of  the  trouble  and 
anxiety  experienced  by  all  those  whose  busi- 
ness depends  on  public  patronage.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  farmer  is  not  dependent  on  the 
public.  He  can  be  independent  in  thought, 
word  and  deed.  Nor  is  he  subject  to  that  kind 
of  comjjetition  that  is  all  the  time  trying  to  de- 
prive him  of  business  for  others'  benefit.  Nor 
is  his  calling  so  very  uncertain  that,  for  one 
that  secures  the  desired  success,  scores,  if  not 
hundreds,  must  fall  far  short,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion fail  altogether.  The  same  amount  of 
study,  tact,  talent,  energy  and  enterprise  that 
suffices  to  make  a  man  only  moderately  suc- 
cessful in  a  professional  or  a  mercantile  career, 
will  place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  the  tillers  of 
the  soil.  F. 

Western  New  York,  Dec.  22,  18G6. 


An  Old  Agricultural  Society. — Berkshire 
County  in  Mass.,  has  the  oldest  Agricultural  So- 
ciety in  New  England,  if  not  in  this  country.  Its 
fifty-sixth  annual  fair  was  held  on  the  '2d,  3d  and 
4th  days  of  October,  1866. — lotoa  Homestead. 

Remarks. — "The  Massachusetts  Society  for 
Promoting  Agriculture"  was  incorporated  in 
1792,  and  is  now  seventy-four  years  old.  The 
Middlesex  County  Society,  was  established 
January  6,  1794,  and  last  September  it  held  its 
seventy-second  anniversary,  and  was  neither 
"halt,  lame  or  blind,"  notwithstanding  its  age. 
Indeed,  it  never  before  gave  evidence  of  so 
much  power  and  determination  to  be  useful  to 
the  world !  Come  and  see  us,  brother  Home- 
stead, and  we  will  show  you  that  old  folks  can 
do  some  things  as  well  as  you  young  giants  out 
West. 

Good  Effects  of  Dkainage. — Mr.  W.  R. 
Wheeler,  of  West  Roxbury,  Mass.,  informs  us 
that  a  cold  wet  piece  of  land,  which  produced  a 
small  amount  of  coarse  grass,  come  into  his 
possession  about  six  years  ago.  An  open  ditch 
was  dug  for  a  main  drain,  and  cross  ditches 
fdled  wltli  stones  leading  to  it,  about  two  rods 
apart.  The  subsoil  from  the  ditches  was 
spread  upon  the  surface,  which  was  lightly  ma- 
nured. Very  heavy  crops  of  hay  were  cut  up- 
on tills  land  the  past  season, — estimated,  by 
those  who  saw  the  grass  and  the  hay,  at  four 
tons  per  acre. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


99 


<5ii 


litbks'    llfjjaitmcnt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 


HOW   TO   ]\IAKE    HOME  PLEASANT. 


BY      ANNE      G.      HALE. 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
18«6,  by  R.  P.  Eaton  it  Co.,  in  the  Clerlv's  Office  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 

As  the  duties  of  the  housewife  and  mother  re- 
quire manj^  sorts  of  mechanical  labor,  sometimes 
alone  and  sometimes  in  the  family  circle,  her  in- 
struction and  education  should  )je  adapted  to  give 
her  niind  activity  and  regularity,  and  the  habit  of 
reflection,  even  upon  the  smallest  matters.  She 
should  also,  however,  learn  to  live  with  reference 
to  others,  rather  than  to  herself.  She  should  be 
conversable  and  sociable,  cheerful  and  joyous,  and 
should  bring  cheerfulness  and  pleasure  into  life  so 
often  troubled  and  burdensome. — Niemayer. 

Home  is  the  central  point  for  all  the  exertions  of 
the  man.  For  home,  he  traverses,  searches,  con- 
quers all  the  world.  Within  the  house,  within  the 
family,  the  wife  is  all ;  she  is  the  inspiring,  em- 
bellishing and  controlling  power.  She  rules  by 
goodness  over  the  sanctuary  for  which  man  exerts 
his  powers ;  she  is  the  economical  preserver  of  the 
treasures  which  he  earns. — Zschokke. 

A  great  responsibility  lies  upon  the  wife — 
the  mother  of  the  family.  She  is  expected  to 
attend  to  the  wants  of  the  whole  household,  and 
to  use  and  exjaend  judiciously  the  means  placed 
in  her  hands  for  supplying  those  wants.  There 
are  few  who  give  the  matter  due  consideration 
who  do  not  perceive  that  the  happiness  of 
home-life  depends  mainly  upon  her  manage- 
ment. Yet,  notwithstanding  this,  and  the 
nominal  regard  most  women  have  for  econo- 
my, there  is  much  useless  expenditure — some- 
times even  wastefulness — in  many  departments 
of  housekeeping. 

We  have  all  seen  men  sordid  enough  to  car- 
ry industry  and  economy  to  extremes,  in  their 
eagerness  to  accumulate  property ;  and  wo- 
men, too,  who,  from  a  false  estimate  of  the 
uses  of  wealth,  abate  not  their  share  of  toil  and 
privation  in  order  to  contribute  towards  this 
end.  But  by  far  the  larger  part  of  the  com- 
munity prefer  to  keep  the  middle  path  of  mod- 
eration, and  endeavor  to  use  with  discretion 
the  good  things  which  Providence  has  lent 
them. 

Still  there  are  times  when  even  these,  wish- 
ing to  appear  generous,  or  afraid  of  being 
called  illiberal  or  mean,  fall  into  a  careless  pro- 


digality,— only  to  be  repented  of  when  they 
find  they  have  bartered  the  peace  and  comfort 
of  home  for  a  passing  folly,  and  made  the  com- 
ing future  a  source  of  anxious  foreboding. 
And  beside  this  indulgence  of  a  false  pride — so 
deserving  of  censure — there  are  frequently 
large  outlays  for  what  seem  innocent,  in  fact, 
laudable  purposes. 

But  it  is  well  to  remember  that  nothing  is 
innocent,  or  hai-mless,  that  can  plant  another 
thorn  in  the  pillow  of  care,  or  add  another 
straw  to  the  family  burden ;  and  the  truly  pru- 
dent woman  is  ready  to  yield  many  personal 
gratifications,  rather  than  to  increase  the  dis- 
comfort of  her  family,  or  in  any  way  hinder  the 
interest  of  one  of  its  members. 

She  knows  that  the  love  of  home  and  home 
occupations  wiU  leave  neither  time,  nor  room, 
for  acquiring  a  fondness  for  amusement,  or 
pursuits,  of  an  evil  or  a  doubtful  tendency ; — 
so  she  endeavors  to  make  eveiything  about  do- 
mestic life  pleasant  and  attractive.  With  that 
real  economy  which  seeks  the  best  return  for 
all  outlays,  whether  of  time  or  money,  she  cal- 
culates the  effect  of  all  her  purchases,  of  all 
her  labors,  upon  the  well-being  of  her  house- 
hold, and  draws  upon  these  resources  accord- 
ingly- 

She  is  aware  that  God  has  given  us  tastes 
and  fancies,  as  well  as  affections  and  sympa- 
thies, and  that  these  must  be  fed  in  a  healthy 
manner  or  they  will  find  nourishment  for  them- 
selves— perhaps  hurtful  and  poisonous  food : 
and,  therefore,  she  tries  to  surround  them  with 
objects  of  a  refining  and  elevating  nature. 
She  does  not  provide  costly  ornaments,  nor 
exjjensive  dresses  for  them  ;  but  she  exempli- 
fies in  her  own  person  the  beauty  of  a  meek 
and  quiet  spirit.  She  sets  not  before  them 
rich  and  luxurious  repasts  ;  but  her  well-stored 
mind  yields,  continually,  an  intellectual  feast. 
She  may  not  buy  costly  books,  nor  rare  paint- 
ings, nor  fine  sculpture,  nor  ciu'ious  inventions  ; 
but  she  teaches  them  to  find  in  Nature  beauty, 
and  grace,  and  elegance,  and  bids  them  put 
forth  efforts  of  their  own  in  gathering  and  ar- 
ranging somewhat  of  this  free  beauty  and  grace 
and  elegance  for  themselves  and  for  others ; 
thus  increasing  their  sources  of  happiness, 
and  enlarging  the  sphere  of  their  usefulness. 
Many  a  woman,  by  giving  such  direction  to  the 
faculties  of  her  household,  develops  capabili- 
ties of  which  she  had  never  dreamed,  and  fre- 


100 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Feb. 


quently  opens  avenues  for  thought  and  action 
of  deep  and  lasting  value. 

But  even  the  readiest  mind  is  glad  of  some 
hints  toward  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  or 
the  means  of  its  availability.  Much  informa- 
tion may  at  times  be  recalled  or  revived  by  a 
word  spoken  in  season.  And  it  is  the  design 
of  these  papers  on  Domestic  Economy  to  af- 
foi'd  just  that  assistance  to  those  inexperienced 
women,  Avho  doubt  the  strength  of  their  un- 
aided capacities  in  fulfilling  the  duties  of  home- 
life  ;  to  furnish  just  those  hints  to  those  thought- 
ful ones  who  know  what  great  need  there  is  of 
reminding  often,  even  the  wisest  and  most  tlis- 
creet,  of  the  happiness  that  can  be  found  in  a 
well-ordered  household,  and  how  it  can  best  be 
promoted. 

Sometimes  the  hint  or  help  may  come,  as  in 
the  subject  of  the  first  papers,  by  showing  how 
to  bcautif\-  the  home.  Again,  it  may  apjiear 
in  advice  for  keejiing  all  things  in  good  order 
and  cleanliness.  Now,  it  may  be  the  way  to 
mend  a  rent;  to  patch  a  hole ;  to  "maF  old 
claes  look  a'maist  like  noo"  ;  to  fabricate  gar- 
ments or  furniture.  Then,  it  may  be  the  prep- 
aration of  food,  or  the  treatment  of  the  sick; 
the  care  of  the  little  ones  and  their  amusement ; 
the  training  of  older  children,  and  their  occu- 
pations. 

Whatever  topic  is  considered,  it  is  hoped 
that  its  suggestions  will  be  found  worthy  of 
adoption  ;  and  that,  in  following  its  teachings, 
many  an  anxious  and  overtaxed  housekeeper 
will  find  her  labors  lightened,  her  cares  lessen- 
ed, and  all  the  inmates  of  her  family  made 
richer  in  health  and  happiness. 


CHAPTER  I. 
HOUSE  PLANTS— THEIR  CARE  AND  CULTURE. 

Everybody  loves  flowers.  There  is  a  charm 
in  their  delicate  fragrance  and  evanescent  beau- 
ty, that  awakens  in  the  heart  the  fenderest 
emotions.  Even  the  roughest  natures  are  filled 
with  awe  as  they  observe  the  wonderful  mech- 
anism of  the  plant,  and  gaze  on  its  exquisite 
texture  and  coloring. 

From  the  earliest  ages,  flowers  have  been 
used  as  types  of  the  holiest  sentiments,  and  as 
tokens  of  the  highest  joy,  no  less  than  as  per- 
sonal ornaments  and  household  decorations. 
So  great  had  become  the  passion  for  flowers  as 
an  article  of  display  among  the  Romans,  that, 
in  the  time  of  CJiccro,  sumptuary  laws  were  in 


force  for  the  prohibition  of  their  use  by  certain 
classes  of  the  people.  Among  the  Eg^-ptians, 
also,  in  the  days  of  their  highest  civilization, 
the  taste  for  flowers,  especially  the  rose,  for 
purposes  of  adornment,  was  very  general.  It 
is  said  that  Cleopatra  paid  a  sum  of  money, 
the  value  of  more  than  one  thousand  dollars 
of  our  currency,  for  roses  to  strew  the  floor  of 
her  supper-room  at  one  entertainment;  and, 
long  before  this,  the  Greeks  had  introduced 
the  narcissus,  the  violet,  and  the  rdse,  from 
Persia, — where  they  -were  grown  in  great  per- 
fection,— to  ornament  the  altars  of  their  gods, 
and  to  twine  into  garlands  for  their  youths  on 
festive  occasions. 

From  Persia,  tkrough  Constantinople,  and 
thence  over  Europe,  came  our  most  familiar 
flowers ;  whose  individual  characteristics  still 
remain  the  same  as  in  those  remote  ages.  To 
Holland,  among  modern  nations,  belongs  the 
honor  of  having  paid  greatest  attention  to  flori- 
culture. The  Dutch  supply  the  whole  world 
with  bulbous  flowers.  Their  taste  for  flowers 
originated  in  the  twelfth  century,  growing  out 
of  a  need  for  patterns  in  their  manufactures  of 
ornamental  lace  and  linen  goods. 

The  custom  of  cultivating  plants  in  pots  and 
boxes  is  very  common  all  over  southern  Eu- 
rope, where  they  are  hired  by  the  day  for  the 
decoration  of  churches  and  private  dwellings  ; 
beside  which,  nearly  every  family  has  its  favor- 
ite floAvers  blooming  in  the  same  way  upon  the 
roofs  and  balconies.  Everybody  knows  how 
much  the  French  peasant  and  the  English  cot- 
tager love  to  brighten  their  little  windows  with 
a  daisy  or  a  violet,  while  now  and  then  a  more 
ambitious  flower  from  the  garden  or  hot-house 
of  some  neighboring  nobleman  puts  forth  its 
graceful  foliage,  and  opens  its  petals  with  in- 
creased brilliancy,  before  the  admiring  eyes  of 
half-fed  and  scantily  clothed  children. 

And  here,  in  our  own  country,  if  the  people 
of  the  rural  districts,  with  abundance  of  wild 
flowers  easy  of  access,  and  having  gardens  for 
the  more  hardy  kinds,  seldom  cultivate  window 
plants,  in  the  villages  and  manufacturing  towns 
one  can  scarcely  pass  through  a  street  without 
finding  his  attention  arrested  by  a  gay  gerani- 
um or  verbena,  nodding  at  some  window  pane. 
The  operative  in  the  mill  has  her  shelf  or  stand 
for  floral  treasures ;  and  side  by  side  with 
clumsy  iinitalions  of  silk  and  cotton,  they  grace 
the  milliner\s  litttle  room ;  while  their  beauti- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


101 


fill  faces  peer  out  from  the  murky  atmosphere 
of  maehine  shops,  or  nourishing  among  the 
grocer's  baiTcls  and  boxes  out  rival  in  fragrance 
his  most  delicious  spices. 

Yet  there  is  still  room  for  more  and  better 
floral  adornment  of  our  houses  and  places  of 
business.  In  truth,  no  home  should  be  with- 
out its  influence.  No  one  fully  realizes  tiU  it 
is  proved  by  actual  expeiience,  how  much  bene- 
fit, both  moral  and  mental,  may  acciiie  from 
the  proper  cultivation  of  a  single  plant.  This 
is  especially  the  case  in  a  family  of  young  peo- 
ple ;  and  if  any  mother  has  never  tried  it,  let 
her  begin  the  experiment  as  soon  Sis  possible. 
Some,  I  know,  have  attempted  the  growth  of 
house  plants,  and  meeting  small  success,  or 
failing  entirely,  have  given  It  up.  Let  these, 
too,  begin  once  more,  and  by  following  a  few 
simple  rules,  see  if  they  cannot  have  healthy 
and  handsome  flowers. 

And  now  the  first  Avord  of  advice  is — do  not 
have  too  many.  One  sti'ong,  blooming  plant 
is  better  than  half-a-dozen  sickly  things  that 
never  bloom. 

Remember  that  plants  need  light  and  sun- 
shine. Give  them  the  morning  simshine,  if 
possible.  If  you  have  no  window  looking  to- 
ward the  east  or  south,  the  afternoon  light  is 
better  than  none. 

Water  them  regularly, — always  ivitk  toater 
blood  ivarm ;  in  the  coldest  weather  rather 
warmer.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  see  how  wann 
the  water  is,  after  draining  through  the  pot  in 
the  saucer.  Unless  blood  warm,  then  its  tem- 
perature must  be  increased  in  future.  Never 
pour  loater  into  the  saucers,  they  are  only  for 
drainag6.  Never  apply  water  to  the  collar  or 
crown  of  a  plant ;  if  poured  upon  the  soil  it 
should  be  near  the  edge  of  the  pot. 

Never  use  glazed  pots  ;  or  crockery  or  paint- 
ed vessels  ;  except  as  a  covering  to  that  which 
holds  the  plant.  The  ordinary  light  colored, 
soft  baked  clay  pots  are  the  best. 

Use  good  soil, — of  this  more  particularly 
hereafter, — and  no  manure  but  in  a  liquid  form  ; 
and  this  at  regular  intervals,  according  to  the 
season  and  the  desire  for  hastening  or  retarding 
the  blossoms. 

Keep  both  pots  and  plants  clean.  Never 
allow  the  pots  to  get  mouldy,  which  they  never 
will,  if  washed  with  soap-suds  thoroughly  every 
week.  At  the  same  time,  also,  wash  the  leaves 
of  the  plants. 


Remove  all  flowers  and  all  leaves  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  decay. 

And,  now,  two  of  the  most  important  rules : 
Avoid  extremes  of  heat  and  cold ;  never  allow 
one  insect  to  remain  alive  upon  or  near  your 
plants.  To  accomplish  this  last  requisite,  dis- 
agreeable as  it  may  be,  the  thumb  and  finger 
remedy  is  the  best.  A  careful  search  once  a 
week  over  every  part  of  the  plant,  especial  at- 
tention being  paid  to  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves,  and  the  most  tender  jjuds  and  branches, 
will  supersede  the  use  of  smoke  and  sulphur 
and  tobacco  tea.  A  soft  tooth  brush  to  de- 
tach the  insects  and  destroy  their  eggs,  is  of 
great  service  where  the  creatures  have  actually 
gained  an  abiding  place. 

Keep  the  temperature  of  your  room  nearly 
equal,  both  night  and  day.  Never  let  it  fall 
below  forty-five,  nor  rise  above  sixty  or  sixty- 
five  ;  and  occasionally  ventilate  it,  lowering  the 
window  on  fair  days,  when  the  sun  shines 
warmly  on  the  plants,  taking  care  that  no 
draught  reaches  them. 

Loosen  the  earth  about  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  once  in  two  or  three  weeks,  by  digging 
it  carefully  with  a  common  steel  table-fork ; 
and  be  sure  that  it  never  gets  caked  or  crusted. 
Apply  water  either  by  a  small  water  pot  hav- 
ing a  finely  perforated  nose,  or  use  a  piece  of 
the  finest  sponge — filling  it  and  squeezing  it 
over  the  leaves  and  branches,  in  a  shower; 
never  water  them  from  a  pitcher  or  mug,  and 
never  wet  the  leaves  when  the  sun  shines  hotly 
upon  them.  These  particulars,  carefully  heed- 
ed, will  insure  a  good  and  beautiful  growth  of 
all  our  best  parlor  plants. 

At  first  sight  there  seems  a  good  deal  of 
work  to  do ;  but,  when  once  the  habit  is  estab- 
lished, it  can  all  be  accomplished  with  very 
little  trouble. 


[The  next  paper  will  furnish  a  list  of  plants  best  adapt- 
ed to  house  culture,  give  suggestions  as  to  choice  for  par- 
ticular situations,  mention  facts  in  the  history  of  each, 
and  present  in  detail  the  most  successful  method  of  its 
culture  and  propagation.] 


HOTJSEEOLD   ECOWOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  FOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Mr.  Editor  : — I  send  you  a  few  receipts 
which  I  have  found  useful,  hoping  thereby  to 
do  a  little  towards  filling  up  the  column  in  your 
paper  devoted  to  "Household  Economy,"  and 
to  which  I  have  come  to  look  for  many  valuable 


102 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Feb. 


bints  in  the  way  of  housekeeping — of  which, 

by  the  way,  no  matter  how  much  experience 

one  may  have  had,  there  is  always  something 

to  be  learned,  as   every  housekeeper  will  tell 

you. 

Bread  Making. 

Very  few  people  know  how  to  make  good 
bread,  and  it  is  no  cause  of  wonder  to  me, 
when  I  remember  how  many  times  I  have  fail- 
ed, and  that  when  I  have  taken  the  m^ost  pains, 
and  was  the  most  anxious  to  succeed.  To 
make  good  bread  the  flour  must  be  of  the  best 
quality — this  is  indispensable.  During  the 
summer  I  use  yeast  cakes,  dissolving  one  the 
night  before  using,  in  a  small  quantity  of  warm 
water,  into  which  I  stir  flour,  not  so  much  but 
that  it  will  pour  readily,  and  set  it  away  to  rise. 
In  the  morning  I  take  a  quantity  of  sweet  milk 
— if  milk  is  not  plenty,  use  part  water,  but  all 
milk  is  better — scald  it,  and  when  it  is  cool 
enough  stir  in  flour,  and  when  nearly  as  stifi" 
as  you  desire,  add  the  yeast,  stirring  into  it 
previously  a  half-teaspoonful  or  so  of  sugar. 
After  it  has  stood  long  enough  to  rise  thor- 
oughly— but  not  too  long,  as  it  will  have  be- 
come sour, — ^knead  it  well.  This  is  an  import- 
ant point,  for  bread  can  scarcely  be  kneaded 
too  much.  Put  it  in  the  tins  and  set  it  to  rise 
the  second  time.  When  it  is  ready  to  bake,  it 
should  be  placed  in  a  hot  oven  and  baked  from 
a  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  loaves,  but  be  sure  that  it  is 
well  done.  Remove  the  bread  fi-om  the  tins 
as  soon  as  baked,  and  stand  the  loaves  up  edge- 
wise to  cool. 

Cookies. 

One  cup  of  butter ;  one  of  cream ;  two  of 
sugar;  one  egg;  a  teaspoonful  soda;  flour 
enough  to  roU.  These  ai-e  very  nice,  and  will 
keep  a  long  time. 

Cake. 

Two  eggs  ;  one  cup  of  sugar ;  one-half  cup 
butter ;  one-half  cup  sweet  milk  ;  two  cups  of 
flour ;  one  teaspoonful  cream  tartar ;  half  tea- 
spoonful  soda;  nutmeg.  Fruit,  and  other 
spices  added,  make  a  good  fruit  cake. 
Indian  Breakfast   Cake. 

Two  cups  sour  milk;  four  tablespoonfuls 
cream;  the  same  of  brown  sugar;  two  cups 
Indian  meal ;  one  of  flour ;  one  teaspoonful 
soda.  This  makes  the  best  Indian  cake  I  have 
ever  eaten.- 

Allow  me  to  add  that  good  food  is  tlie  cheap- 
est, always.     I  do   not  mean  rich   food,  that 


spoils  one's  appetite  too  soon ;  but  good,  plain 
food,  pi'epared  without  stinginess,  and  served 
in  a  tasteful  and  inviting  way,  will  always  chal- 
lenge the  poorest  appetite.  Let  me  add  again, 
for  the  benefit  of  young  housekeepers,  when 
you  have  a  good  receipt  don't  spoil  it  by 
scrunping,  as  I  have  seen  some  do, — leaving 
out  an  egg,  or  not  using  quite  enough  sugar, 
or  spoiling  it  in  some  way,  which  is,  to  my 
thinlving,  very  poor  economy.  When  you  make 
pies  and  cakes,  make  them  as  well  as  you  pos- 
sibly can,  and  you  will  have  notliing  to  waste 
because  it  is  too  poor  to  be  relished. 

Katie  S. 
North  Brookfield,  Mass.,  1866. 


Remarks.  —  Capital  advice.  Believing  in 
such  a  creed,  our  young  fiiend  cannot  fail  to 
become  a  model  housekeeper. 


Cream  Cake. 
One  cup  of  cream ;  one  cup  of  sugar ;  two 
eggs  ;  a  little  salt ;  one  teaspoonful   of  soda ; 
two  cups  of  tlour. 

Doughnuts. 
One  cup  of  sugar ;  one  cup  of  sweet  milk ; 
one   egg ;   one   teaspoonful   of  soda ;   one   of 
cream  tartar. 

Poor  Man's   Cake. 
One  cup  of  sugar ;  one  cup  of  sweet  milk ; 
three  cups  of  flour ;  one  teaspoonful  of  soda ; 
one  of  cream  tartar ;  a  piece  of  butter  the  size 
of  a  hen's  egg.  Susie. 

Marlow,  N.  H.,  Dec.  23d,  1866. 


Remarks. — Our  lady  readers  will  oblige  us 
by  keeping  this  corner  of  our  paper  well  filled. 
We  have  frequently  received  commendations 
for  receipts  furnished  by  our  correspondents. 

Ed. 

duties  of  an  english  lady's 

MAID. 

One  of  these  not-to-be-envied  persons,  a 
race  Avhich  may  be  classed  witli  that  of  govern- 
esses, lias  recently  made  disclosures  throwing  a 
])eculiar  light  upon  the  women  of  i-ank  in  "Old 
Kngland.''  "Much  is  required  from  us  in 
London,"  she  writes  :  "We  must,  above  all,  be 
vcrv  punctual,  for  fashionable  ladies  change 
their  dress  at  least  five  times  a  day  dui-ing  the 
season.  We  must  have  polished  manners,  be 
no  older  than  tliirty-five  years,  and  always  be 
cheerful  and  good-tempered,  although  for 
weeks  we  are  kept  without  sleep  until  four 
o'clock  in  tlie  morning — a  practice  which  is 
equally  injurious  to  eyes  and  lungs.     We  are 


18G7. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


103 


expected  to  cut  and  fit  and  to  use  the  most  im- 
proved machines,  and  to  dress  hair  lor  the 
morning,  evening,  and  court  costume  as  well 
as  for  the  drive  ;  to  iron  well,  to  read,  write, 
cipher ;  to  speak  French  and  German,  and,  if 
possible,  to  have  travelled.  Thei-e  is  still 
another  function  of  a  lady\s  maid  which  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  modern  introduction,  but  which 
is,  in  fact,  merely  a  revival  of  an  ancient  cus- 
tom. We  must  be  able  to  paint  in  pastel,  not 
indeed  after  nature,  but  upon  her.  To  beau- 
tify our  mistresses  we  must  redden  the  cheeks, 
put  antimony  upon  the  eyelids,  pastel  upon  the 
brows,  introduce  belladonna  into  the  eyes  in 
order  to  enlarge  the  pupils,  paint  blue  veins 
upon  the  temples,  and  use  ninon  paint  and 
pearl-white  upon  the  rest  of  the  skin.  We 
must  change  the  hair  to  a  reddish-brown  by 
means  of  a  corroding  material  or  of  "palma 
vecchio"  which  is  now  used  in  preference  for 
that  purpose ;  and  we  must  be  possessed  of 
great  skill  in  applying  all  these  ingredients,  as 
their  use  is  universal  with  the  old  as  well  as 
with  the  ^oung. 


TWO   LITTLE   PAIRS    OF    BOOTS. 


Two  little  pairs  of  boots,  to-night, 

Before  the  tire  are  drying, 
Two  little  pairs  of  tired  feet 

In  a  trundle  bed  are  lying; 
The  tracks  they  left  upon  the  floor, 

Make  me  feel  much  like  sighing. 

Those  little  boots  with  copper  toes  I 

Thej'  run  the  livelonsj  day  I 
And  oftentimes  I  almost  wish 

That  they  were  miles  away  1 
So  tired  I  am  to  hear  so  oft 

Their  heavy  tramp  at  play. 

They  walk  about  the  new-plowed  ground, 

Where  mud  in  plenty  lies, 
They  roll  it  up  in  marbles  round,      • 

Then  bake  it  into  pies  ; 
And  then  at  night  upon  the  floor 

In  every  shape  it  dries. 

To-day  I  was  disposed  to  scold ; 

But  when  1  look,  to-night, 
At  those  little  boots  before  the  fire, 

"With  copper  toes  so  bright, 
I  think  how  sad  my  heart  would  be 

To  put  them  out  of  sight. 

For  in  a  trunk,  up  stairs,  I've  laid 
Two  socks  of  white  and  blue; 

If  called  to  put  those  boots  away, 
O  God,  what  should  I  do  ? 

I  mourn  that  there  are  not  to-night 
Three  pairs  instead  of  two. 

I  mourn  because  I  thought  how  nice 
My  neighbor  "  'cros^s  the  way," 

Could  keep  her  carpets,  all  the  year, 
From  getting  worn  or  gray; 

Tet  well  I  know  she'd  smile  to  own 
Some  little  boots  to-day  I 

"We  mothers  weary  got  and  worn, 

Over  our  load  of  care ; 
Yet  how  we  view  our  little  ones 

Let  each  of  us  beware ; 
"What  would  our  liresides  be  to-night, 

"Were  little  boots  not  there. 


There  is  no  sauce  in  the  world  like  hunger, 
and  as  the  poor  never  want  that,  they  always 
eat  with  a  good  stomach. 


oixtlis     ptpitrtment. 


VERY   PROUD   TO-MTGHT. 

It  was  a  cold  night  in  winter.  The  wind 
blew  and  the  snow  was  whirled  furiously  about, 
seeking  to  hide  itself  beneath  cloaks  and  hoods, 
and  in  the  very  hair  of  those  that  were  out. 
A  distinguished  lecturer  was  to  speak,  and  not- 
withstanding the  storm  the  villagers  ventured 
forth  to  hear  him.  William  Annesley,  but- 
toned up  to  the  chin  in  his  thick  overcoat,  ac- 
companied his  mother.  It  was  difficult  to  walk 
through  the  new-fallen  snow,  against  the  pierc- 
ing wind,  and  William  said  to  his  mother : 

"Couldn't  you  walk  more  easily  if  you  took 
my  arm?" 

"Perhaps  I  could,"  his  mother  rephed,  as 
she  put  her  arm  through  his,  and  drew  up  as 
close  as  possible  to  him.  Together  they 
breasted  the  stonn,  the  mother  and  the  boy 
who  had  once  been  carried  in  her  arms,  but 
who  had  grown  up  so  tall  that  she  could  now 
lean  on  his.  They  had  not  walked  far  before 
he  said  to  her : 

"I  am  very  proud  to-night." 

"Proud  that  you  can  take  care  of  me?"  she 
said  to  him  with  a  heart  gushing  with  tender- 
ness. 

"This  is  the  first  time  you  have  leaned  upon 
me,"  said  the  happy  boy. 

There  will  be  few  hours  in  that  child's  life 
of  more  exalted  pleasure  than  he  enjoyed  that 
evening,  even  if  he  should  live  to  old  age,  and 
should,  in  his  manhood,  lovingly  provide  for 
her  who  watched  over  him  in  his  helpless  in- 
fancy. It  was  a  noble  pride  that  made  his 
mother  love  him,  if  possible,  more  than  ever, 
and  made  her  pray  lor  him  with  new  earnest- 
ness, thankful  lor  his  devoted  love  and  hope- 
ful for  his  future.  There  is  no  more  beaut&iil 
sight  than  affectionate,  devoted,  obedient  chil- 
dren. I  am  sure  that  He  who  commanded 
children  to  honor  their  father  and  mother, 
must  look  upon  such  with  pleasure.  May  He 
bless  dear  William,  and  every  other  boy  whose 
heart  is  filled  with  ambition  to  be  a  blessing 
and  "a  staff"  to  his  mother. 


STE.ENGTH  ATfD    SAGACITY   OP   THE 

ELEPHANT. 

M.  Phillips,  an  Eastern  traveller,  relates 
that  one  day  he  went  to  the  river,  at  Goa,  a 
Portuguese  settlement  in  India,  and  in  a  dock 
near  to  the  river  side  a  large  ship  was  build- 
ing. He  saw  a  plot  of  ground  near,  covered 
with  heavy  beams  ready  to  be  used  for  this 
purpose.  He  watched  and  saw  the  men  fasten 
the  ends  of  a  beam  with  a  rope  of  great 
strength  and  thickness  ;  this  rope  was  carried 
to  the  elephant  employed  to  assist  the  Avork- 
men.  The  animal  conveyed  the  rope  to  his 
mouth,  and  after  twisting  it  round  his  trunk, 
he  drew  the  beam  without  any  conductor  to  the 


104 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Feb. 


place  where  tlie  ship  was  building.  Other  ele- 
phants were  brought  to  assist  in  the  work,  and 
some  of  them  were  able  to  drag  beams  so 
large  that  twenty  men  were  unable  to  move 
them.  But  what  surprised  the  traveler  most 
was,  not  the  amazing  strength  of  the  animal, 
but  its  sagacity ;  for  when  other  beams  ob- 
structed the  road,  the  elephant  would  raise  the 
end  of  his  own  beam,  that  it  might  slide  easily 
over  those  which  lay  in  his  way.  M.  Tereen, 
another  traveller,  tells  us  that  he  also  had  the 
opportunity  of  noticing  the  sagacity  of  an  el- 
ephant. Its  master  had  let  out  the  animal  for 
a  certain  sum  per  day,  and  its  employment  was 
to  cany  with  its  trunk  timber  for  a  building 
from  the  bank  of  a  river.  This  business  it 
carried  on  very  cleverly  under  the  guidance  of 
a  boy,  and  the  sagacions  animal  laid  the  pieces 
of  timber  one  upon  another  in  such  exact  or- 
der that  no  man  in  a  timber-yard  could  have 
done  the  work  better. 


THE    STOLEN"   DOG. 

A  gentleman  had  a  good  shepherd  dog  which 
could  do  almost  everything  except  talk.  If 
every  boy  and  girl  were  as  faithful  to  perform 
every  duty,  the  world  would  be  a  great  gainer. 
One  day  a  drover  bought  a  flock  of  sheets  of 
Coly's  master,  and  bade  Coly  go  along  and 


help  the  man  drive  them.  It  was  thirty  miles 
to  the  man's  home,  and  he  was  requested  when 
he  got  there  to  feed  the  dog  and  bid  him  to  go 
home.  It  would  have  taken  a  good  many 
smart  men  and  boys  to  have  kept  the  flock  in 
as  good  order  in  that  long  mai'ch  as  that  one 
faithful  driver.  The  man  was  so  pleased  with 
his  skill,  that  he  made  up  his  mind  to  keep  the 
dog.  He  was  to  leave  the  country  soon,  so  he 
shut  him  up  and  tried  to  win  his  heart  away 
from  his  old  master.  But  his  advances  met 
with  no  response.  He  ate  the  nice  food  given 
him  like  a  sensible  dog,  but  he  watched  his 
chances  of  escape  as  keen  as  if  he  had  been  a 
prisoner  of  war  at  Richmond.  But  for  days 
he  was  unsuccessful. 

At  last,  however,  a  chance  occurred,  and  he 
was  not  slow  to  improve  it. 

"That  fellow  ti'ied  to  steal  me,''  he  reasoned, 
"and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  he  meant  to  steal 
all  those  sheep,  too.  I'll  just  gather  them  all 
up  and  take  them  home  to  my  master." 

So  to  work  he  went,  and  managed  to  find,  or 
make,  an  opening  out  into  the  highway,  and 
then  marched  them  all  off  in  the  dead  of  night 
like  any  other  fugitives.  What  was  the  sur- 
prise of  his  old  master  to  see  him  come  home 
with  his  flock  after  so  long  an  absence  !  He 
was  certainly  too  honest  a  dog  to  enter  into 
partnership  with  a  thief. — Merry's  Museum. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGRICUTiTITEE,  HORTICDTiTUHE,  AND  KHSTDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  March,  1867. 


VOL.  I.— NO.  3. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  How 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN,  )  editors 
S.  FLKTUHER,      i  ^D"0RS. 


THOUGHTS   FOR   MARCH, 

"  'Tis  ever  so.    The  ties  of  friend  and  kin, 
Are  found  most  strong  and  most  with  pleasure  rife, 
Among  the  dwellings  of  the  poor,  and  in 
The  unambitious  walks  of  rural  life. 
With  woods  around  them,  waters  at  their  feet. 
With  llowcrs  beneath,  and  fragrance  in  the  air, 
'Tis  not  in  vain  that  they  each  other  meet; 
Not  one,  that  has  a  pleasure  or  a  care. 
But  calls  a  kindred  heart,  that  joy  or  grief  to  share." 
Prof.  Thomas  C.  Upham. 


/  r 


"^x, 


;< 


7'  my 


;i 


4^  V  R  c  H,    in   the 
-^   '  ceaseless   round 
of  the  seasons, 
has  come  again ! 
^  Constant  only  in 
_0  its    changeable- 
■^  ness.  The  month 
(if  roaring  winds 
and  summer  airs; 
=  of  hail,  sleet  and 
snow,  and  genial  showers  ; 
of  frozen  ruts  and  muddy 
roads.     There  is  no  other 
month  like  it.     Persons  in 
delicate  health  dread  It  and 
shrink  from  its  rough  em- 
brace,  and,   we  are    inclined  to 
thmk,  too  much  so. 

Northern  explorers  have  accus- 
tomed themselves  to  the  cold  of 
the  highest  latitudes,  where  proof  brandy  would 
freeze  and  a  moment's  exposure  of  the  uncov- 
ered skin  would  affect  it  like  a  burn.     Yet 


they  retained  their  health  and  activity  to  a  re- 
markable degree.  But  their  entrance  into 
such  a  rigorous  climate  was  gradual,  and  their 
clothing  accommodated  to  it  as  they  approached 
its  stern  realm. 

Such  should  be  the  case  with  us.  Not  hide 
away  from  March  for  a  week  at  a  time  in  jjadlj 
ventilated  rooms,  and  then  go  timidly,  and 
burdened  with  surplus  garments,  into  the  cut- 
ting blasts  ;  but,  properly  protected,  boldly  face 
every  variety  of  weather  once  or  twice  a  day, 
in  some  useful  calling.  This  will  kindle  the 
blood  into  a  flame,  and  soon  make  the  system 
proof  against  all  the  vagaries  of  March. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  customs 
change.  It  was  formerly  a  custom  for  persons 
to  be  bled  in  the  spring,  even  for  those  who 
were  well  enough,  in  order  to  prevent  disease. 
So  it  was  common  to  marshal  a  whole  family 
of  buxom  boys  and  girls — the  latter  with  rosy 
cheeks  and  flashing  eyes,  and  the  boys  with 
fists  as  hard  as  mallets — and  for  the  good 
mother  to  administer  to  each  a  teaspoonful  of 
sulplinr  and  molasaes  to  ward  off  the  demon  of 
disease. 

These  things  may  be  done  now  in  some 
places,  but  we  have  seen  or  heard  nothing  of 
them  of  late  years. 

Spring  may  have  its  peculiar  diseases,  but 
well  regulated  diet,  air  and  exercise  will  be  of 
incalculably  more  service  in  guarding  against 
maladies  and  keeping  the  body  healthy  than 


106 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


March 


drawing  away  your  heart's  blood  or  swallowing 
nauseous  nostrums. 

1 .  Engage  in  some  employment  that  will  be 
useful  to  the  world.  This  will  keep  the  mind 
occupied  and  in  a  calm  state. 

2.  Eat  at  regular  times,  plentifully,  of  plain, 
nutritious  food,  and  take  nothing  between 
meals,  except  water  when  thirsty.  Especially, 
eat  nothing  after  an  early  tea  time. 

3.  If,  after  these,  the  bowels  seem  inactive, 
regulate  them  by  small  doses  of  aperient  medi- 
cine— but  very  sparingly.  Fasting,  by  omit- 
ting a  meal  for  several  days,  might  be  better. 

4.  Do  not  take  too  much  exercise  before 
breakflist,  but  rather  take  the  breakfast  earlier. 

"After  dinner  rest  awhile." 

5.  Do  not  eat  until  the  appetite  craves  no 
more.  Too  much  of  any  sort  of  food,  but  par- 
ticularly of  meat,  prevents  the  natural  action 
of  the  system  and  induces  disease. 

6.  Guard  against  sudden  changes  of  weather. 
That  is,  do  not  remain  still  in  a  cold  wind  when 
the  skin  is  moist  with  perspiration.  At  such 
times  the  pores  are  open,  and  there  is  danger 
that  they  may  be  suddenly  contracted,  not  to 
be  easily  opened  again.  This  is  what  is  called 
"taking  cold."  The  pores  of  the  skin  are 
closed  so  that  the  heat  and  "insensible  per- 
spiration" cannot  escape,  and  a  "raging  fever" 
is  often  the  result. 

7.  Bathe  the  whole  surface  of  the  body  once 
a  week,  and  rub  it  lustily. 

8.  Let  us  do  as  much  in  this  direction  for 
ourselves,  as  we  do  for  our  valuable  animals, 
and  we  shall  have  little  fear  of  March  weather. 


FARM   "WORK   FOR   MARCH. 

Cellars. — As  warm  weather  approaches, 
few  things  are  more  important  about  the  house 
than  to  see  that  the  cellar  is  in  good  order. 
This  month  affords  opportunity  for  a  thorough 
removal  of  decayed  vegetables,  sorting  the  po- 
tatoes for  planting,  examining  the  casks,  tubs, 
or  whatever  vessels  are  to  be  used,  and  to 
have  a  general  cleansing  of  this  important  de- 
partment. 

See  that  the  beef  and  poik  were  properly 
packed,  and  are  in  good  condition  to  remain 
sound  during  hot  weathi^r. 

Whitewash  the  cellar  walls,  timbers  and  ev- 
ery part  except  the  bottom.  That  should  be 
hard  and  smooth,  so  that  it  can  be  swept  and 
kept  clean. 


Poultry  House. — Eggs  and  hens  too,  will 
be  scarce,  if  the  poultry  house  is  infested  with 
vermin.  Pour  boiling  water  over  the  roosts, 
and  indeed,  into  every  crack  of  the  building,  if 
you  can,  then  wash  clean  with  strong  soap-suds, 
and  when  this  is  dry,  whitewash  the  whole. 

Catch  the  fowls  and  rub  a  little  grease  under 
the  wing,  on  the  head,  and  touch  various 
places  on  the  body  with  it.  The  fowls  will 
amply  repay  yoii  for  keeping  their  house  scru- 
pulously clean. 

Clover  Seed. — Sow  clover  seed  this  month 
on  lands  that  were  laid  to  grass  last  summer  or 
autumn.  Six  to  ten  pounds  per  acre,  of  red 
clover. 

Sheep. — Feed  them  on  sweet  clover  hay,  an 
occasional  mess  of  roots  cut  fine,  of  corn,  or 
beans,  and  give  them  an  opportunity  to  browse 
pine  and  hemlock  branches,  by  scattering  them 
about  their  yards,  and  they  will  repay  it  all  with 
liberal  interest  at  clipping  time. 

Milch  Cows — Breeding  Sows — Fruit  and 
Shade  Trees — Young  Cattle — Colts  and 
Stock  generally,  how  are  they  prospering  ? 

Maple  Sugar. — Has  any  one  thought  about 
it  ?     We  have  an  interest  that  way. 


PASSAGE    OF    THE    TARIFF    BILL. 

After  some  vmimportant  amendments,  the 
tariff  bill  reported,  by  the  Finance  Commit- 
tee passed  the  Senate  Thursday,  Jan.  31st,  by 
a  vote  of  27  to  10.  This  is  a  much  larger  ma- 
jority than  was  generally  expected.  We  un- 
derstand that  the  duties  on  wool  are  substan- 
tially the  same  as  those  in  the  House  bill,  and 
considerably  higher,  on  some  grades,  than  was 
recommended  by  Mr.  Wells.  On  wool  of  the 
first  class,  valued  at  24c  or  less  per  lb.,  a  duty 
of  10c  per  lb.,  and  10  per  cent.,  ad  valorem, 
is  levied,  instead  of  the  present  rate  of  3  to  6c 
per  lb.,  which  Mr.  Wells  would  have  retained. 
On  coarse  wools  there  is  a  reduction  of  2c  per 
lb.  from  present  tariff,  where  Mr.  Wells  rec- 
ommended a  reduction  of  6c  per  lb.  On  sheep 
skins,  the  present  rates  of  20 per  cent.,  are  in- 
creased to  30c;  and  on  shoddy,  flocks,  &c., 
12c  per  lb.  to  be  levied,  instead  of  3c,  as  here- 
tofore. The  duties  on  woolen  cloths,  which 
were  somewhat  changed  from  those  reported 
by  the  committee,  finally  passed  as  follows  :  on 
all  woolen  cloths  valued  at  $1.50  per  pound 
and  less,  45  cents  per  pound  and  25c  ad  valo- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


107 


rem;  over  $1..0O  and  less  than  $2  per  pound, 
50  cents  per  pound  and  40  per  cent,  ad  valo- 
rem ;  over  $2  per  pound,  oOc  per  lb.  and  45 
per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Mi-.  Wells  proposed 
2-l:cper  lb.,  and  35  per  cent,  ad  valorem,.  The 
bill  nu\v  goes  to  the  House  for  its  consideration. 


CRANBERIIIES. 

We  find  in  the  recently  published  transac- 
tions of  the  Essex  County,  Mass.,  Agricultu- 
ral Society,  a  statement  of  the  mode  of  culti- 
vation of  cranberry  meadows,  successfully 
practiced  by  Criibert  Conant,  of  Ipswich,  for 
which  a  premium  was  awarded  by  the  society. 

In  the  sunnner  of  18(31,  he  commenced  on  a 
meadow  of  about  one  acre,  by  cutting  a  ditch 
to  drain  it.  The  muck  which  was  thrown  out 
paid  for  the  labor  of  ditching.  It  was  then 
plowed  liom  four  to  six  inches  deep,  according 
to  the  inequalities  of  the  surface.  A  small 
flood-gate  was  made,  at  an  expense  of  $5,  by 
which  the  meadow  is  flowed  annually  from 
about  the  first  of  November  to  the  first  of  May. 
There  have  always  been  some  cranberry  bushes 
on  tills  spot,  but  only  a  very  few  were  ever 
gathered  upon  it  previous  to  1861,  when 
Mr.  Conant  commenced  operations.  He  neith- 
er planted  vines  nor  sowed  the  seeds,  having 
found,  by  experience,  that  "whenever  any 
meadow  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  the  cran- 
berry is  properly  prepared,  vines  will  spring 
up  and  bear  spontaneously."  Two  loads  of 
sand  were  spread  upon  the  ice  in  the  winter  of 
1863,  which  greatly  increased  the  productive- 
ness of  the  vines  on  the  spots  where  the  sand 
was  applied.  Of  the  crops  for  the  five  years 
past,  Mr.  Conant  gives  the  following  particu- 
lars : 

The  first  summer  afler  preparing  the  meadow 
as  stated,  vines  sprang  up  and  grew  consider- 
ably on  the  lowest  parts  of  it.  The  second 
summer  the  vines  increased  and  grew  rapidly. 
In  the  fall  of  that  year  I  gathered  about  a  half 
bushel  of  cranberries.  In  1864,  the  vines  blos- 
somed full,  and  after  the  berries  were  set,  gave 
promise  of  a  fine  crop ;  but  an  early  frost, 
whiie  they  were  cjuite  green,  injured  them  so 
that  I  gathered  but  about  a  bushel.  In  1865 
the  vines  had  increased  in  some  spots  on  the 
meadow,  so  that  they  had  almost  killed  out  the 
grass,  and  in  the  fall,  when  the  berries  were 
ripe,  they  lay  so  thick  that  the  vines  were 
scarcely  visible.  I  gathered  twenty  bushels  of 
cranberries,  worth  three  and  a  half  dollars  per 
bushel.  The  expense  of  gathering  and  mar- 
keting these  berries  was  less  than  ten  dollars. 
This  year,  1866,  there  are  but  very  few  cran- 


berries in  this  section  of  country,  though  my 
vines  are  bearing  better  than  I  have  seen  any 
others  on  fresh  meadow. 


Fine  Stock. — A  correspondent  who  visited 
the  farm  of  V.  M.  Hubbard,  Esq.,  of  "North 
Hollow,"  Vt.,  writes  us  that  the  twenty-one 
head  of  horned  cattle,  the  five  horses,  and  the 
fifty  Spanish  Merino  sheep,  which  are  fed  at 
his  stalls,  well  deserve  an  honorable  mention. 
For  sheep,  in  particular,  he  thinks  Mr. 
Hubbard  has  a  discriminating  eye,  and 
that  his  flock  has  few  equals,  even  in  the  fa- 
mous Champlain  valley,  as  they  exhibit  marks 
of  superior  breeding.  He  has  two  bucks 
which  served  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
ewes, -^fifty-five  of  his  own,  and  the  remainder 
of  his  neighbors.  Mr.  H.  has  three  hundred 
acres  of  good  land,  and  our  correspondent 
thinks,  with  such  a  farm,  and  such  stock,  he 
might  be  tempted  to  settle  down  as  a  Veimont 
farmer,  himself. 


NEW    PUBLICATIO]SrS. 

Transactions  of  the  Essex  Agricultural   Society  in 
MaBsachpsetts  for  1866. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  So- 
ciety for  a  copy  of  this  publication.  Hon.  Otis 
P.  Lord  delivered  the  address.  The  Treasur- 
er reports  funds  on  hand  to  the  amount  of 
89,215.13.  The  officers  for  the  year  ensuing: 
— President — William  Sutton,  South  Danvers. 
Vice  Presidents — Lewis  Allen,  of  South  Dan- 
vers ;  David  Choate,  of  Essex ;  Josiah  New- 
hall,  of  Lynnfield  ;  E.  G.  Kelly  of  Newbury- 
poi't.  Treasurer,  E.  H.  Payson,  Salem.  Sec- 
retary, Charles  P.  Preston,  Danvers.  To  say 
that  this  issue  is  equal  to  its  predecessors  is  the 
highest  j^raise  that  the  society  can  desire. 


What  a  Farmers'  Club  Did. — Mr.  Solon 
Carter,  of  Leominster,  Mass.,  made  the  follow- 
ing statement  at  a  late  meeting  of  the  Fitch- 
burg  Farmers'  Club : — 

"Before  the  Farmers'  Club  was  established, 
Leominster  farmers  seldom  raised  50  bushels 
of  corn  per  acre,  and  the  average  was  far  be- 
low that  figure.  Now,  I  think  they  average 
near  60  bushels." 


State  Board. — John  L.  Cole,  of  Williams- 
town,  succeeds  Lj'sander  Johnson,  of  North 
Adams  ;  and  T.  D.  Thatcher,  of  Lee,  succeeds 
Harrison  Garfield,  of  the  same  town,  on  the 
State  Board  of  Agriculture  of  Massachusetts. 


108 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


JVLVRCH 


The  Tobacco  Crop. — The  St.  Louis  Demo- 
crat publishes  some  statistics  of  the  tobacco 
crop  of  the  recent  season.  Li  Missouri  it  is 
reported  at  from  12,000  to  16,000  hogsheads. 
This  is  far  below  an  average  crop,  but  it  is 
said  that  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  is  unusually 
good.  Li  Virginia  the  crop  has  fallen  off  one- 
third — It  Is  reported  at  70,000,000  pounds — 
but  is  "the  best  ever  made  as  respects  quality." 
In  some  counties  of  North  Carolina,  lands 
which  had  been  previously  devoted  to  tobacco 
were  this  year  planted  with  cotton.  The  yield 
for  that  State  is  35,000,000  pounds.  The  yield 
in  Maryland  is  placed  at  35,300,000  :  Tennes- 
see at  39,600,000;  Kentucky  at  61,000,000; 
Texas  at  90,000;  Alabama  at  270,000;  Ar- 
kansas at  1,700,000  ;  Florida  and  Georgia  each 
600.000  ;  Louisiana  at  40,000 ;  South  Carolina 
at  35,000,  and  the  Northern  States  at  62,150,- 
500  pounds. 

CAPACITIES    OP    CULTIVATED    SOILS. 

Every  farmer  Is  aware  that  soils  are  of  differ" 
ent  capacities,  some  being  what  Is  considered 
naturally  fertile  or  productive,  and  some  nearly 
barren.  Recent  investigations  of  scientific  men, 
and  their  analysis  of  the  ashes  of  the  various 
kinds  of  plants,  have  Imparted  many  highly 
valuable  and  Important  lessons  upon  this  sub- 
ject. 

If  a  plant  which  requires  for  its  healthy  de- 
velopment a  large  per  centum  of  silica,  or  sand, 
be  planted  in  a  soil  which  contains  but  little  of 
this  earth  in  a  soluble  state,  we  cannot  reason- 
ably expect  that  it  will  succeed  as  well  as  if  the 
soil  contained  the  element  so  essential  to  its 
physical  perfection. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  plant,  al- 
though it  may  strike  root  and  flourish  with 
great  vigor,  apparently,  for  a  time,  will  never- 
theless ultimately  sicken  and  die.  This  result 
is  analagous  to  depletion,  or  starvation,  in  the 
animal  kingdom ;  the  organs  demand  a  princi- 
ple which  they  cannot  obtain,  and  disease  and 
death  are  the  inevitable  and  speedy  result. 

The  presence  of  sand,  clay,  and  vegetable 
matter  in  a  soil  Is  deemed  indispensable  to  all 
crops.  Sand  Is  the  most  essential  of  the  earth- 
ly ingredients  of  soils,  and  most  {)redominates 
in  them,  though  where  it  exceeds  eighty-two 
per  cent.,  the  soil  is  virtually  barren;  for  it  is 
then  too  porous  to  retain  long  either  moisture 
or  manure.  Silica,  or  sand,  forms  so  consider- 
able a  portion  of  the  ashes  of  wheat  straw, 


that  when  they  are  exposed  to  the  action  of 
the  blow  pipe,  it  unites  with  the  potash  found 
also  in  the  straw,  and  fonns  an  opaque  glass. 

The  same  fact  applies  with  equal  force  to  the 
other  mineral  accessories  of  the  food  of  plants, 
potash,  soda,  magnesia,  lime,  &c.  Although,  in 
a  greater  or  less  quantity,  these  as  well  as  silex 
are  extant  In  every  soil,  yet  frequently  in  too 
small  quantities  to  produce  that  condition  which 
we  characterize  by  the  term  fertility.  The 
following  table  will  tend  to  illustrate  the  im- 
portance of  several  of  these  elements  : — 


Silica  Plants. 
Oat  straw  with  seeds  .   . 

Wheat  straw 

Barley  straw  with  seeds 
Rye  straw 

Lime  Plants. 

Pea  straw 

Potato    (herb) 

Clover  

Potash  Plants. 

Turnips 

Beet    root 

Potatoes  

Sunflower 


Salts  of 

Potash 

and  Soda. 


34.00 
22.00 
19.00 
18.65 

27.82 

4.20 

39.20 

81.60 
88.00 
85.81 
84.30 


Lime  and 

Magnesia. 


4.00 

7.20 

25.70 

16.52 

63.70 
69.40 
56.00 

18.40 
12.00 
14.19 
15.70 


Silica. 


Several  years  ago,  the  theory  became  quite 
popular,  that  by  analyzing  the  soil  we  could 
ascertain  what  were  its  characteristics,  and  that 
by  supplying  deficiencies  we  could  render  a 
soil  productive  of  any  crop  we  might  be  desi- 
rous of  cultivating.  We  have  no  doubt  that  a 
correct  analysis  of  a  soil  would  often  prove 
useful  to  an  Intelligent  farmer ;  but  we  greatly 
doubt  whether,  with  such  an  analysis,  he  would 
be  able  to  supply  what  he  might  deem  deficien- 
cies, and  always  secure  a  crop. 

There  is  something  In  the  principles  of  ac- 
tion, between  soil  and  plant,  that  Is  not  yet 
revealed  to  us.  Besides  this,  to  analyze  soils, 
one  must  be  a  practical  chemist,  and  fcAv  farm- 
ers have  the  time  to  enable  them  to  perfect 
themselves  in  the  manipulatory  process  of  this 
recondite  science.  Cliemistry  is  undoubtedly 
essentially  aiding  us  in  our  labors.  The  minds 
of  many  earnest  men  arc  engaged  in  learning 
what  soils  require,  In  order  that  they  may  pro- 
duce profitable  crops.  If  we  feed  lime  or  soda 
when  they  require  something  else,  we  do  not 
benefit  the  plants,  but  sometimes  produce  ac- 
tual Injury. 

So  with  the  other  various  elements  which 
enter  into  their  structure,  and  which  we  are 
oftentimes  required  to  supply,  wholly  or  in 
part,  by  the  application  of  manures. 

Science  has  demonstrated  that  no  inconsid- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


109 


erable  portion  of  the  food  of  plants  is  derived, 
by  absorption,  from  the  atmosphere.  Dr. 
Liebig,  in  his  "Organic  Chemistry  of  Agricul- 
tm-e  and  Physiology,"  says  :  — 

"Carbonic  acid,  ammonia  and  water,  yield 
elements  for  all  the  organs  of  plants.  The 
atmosphere  and  the  soil  offer  the  same  kind  ot 
nourishment  to  the  leaves  and  roots.  The 
former  contains  a  comparatively  inexhaustible 
supply  of  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia  ;  the  lat- 
ter, by  means  of  its  humus,  generates,  con- 
stantly, fresh  carbonic  acid,  while,  during  the 
winter,  rain  and  snow  introduce  into  the  soil  a 
quantity  of  ammonia  sufficient  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  leaves  and  blossoms." 

The  following  table  illustrates  our  meaning 
in  relation  to  this  point,  by  presenting  the  gen- 
eral composition  of  two  important  field  pro- 
ducts,— wheat  and  oats, — as  ascertained  by 
Boussingault : — 


Composition. 

Carbon 

Oxj'goii 

Nitrogen 

Hydrogen 

Ash 

Total 


Wheat. 


45.50 

50.70 

43.10 

30  70 

3.40 

2.20 

5.70 

6.40 

2.30 

4.00 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"AGRICULTUKAIi   YEAST." 

Doubtless  every  reader  of  the  Farmer  of 
November  17,  noticed  an  article  with  the  above 
title,  and  was  induced  by  its  novelty  to  give  it 
a  careful  perusal.  However  earnestly  they 
may  wish  all  success  to  Mr.  "K."  in  his  inves- 
tigations, there  is  some  question  whether  the 
present  generation  will  derive  much  benefit 
from  the  supposed  discovery ;  for  nearly  tAvo 
centuries  have  passed  since  the  idea  was  con- 
ceived, and  ten  years  more  must  elapse  before 
the  public  can  be  initiated  into  the  secret. 
Until  the  discovei'er  perfects  his  labors,  we  must 
toil  on,  dealing  with  things  as  we  find  them. 

Now,  are  farmers  aware  that  they  already 
possess  "an  agricultural  yeast,"  about  which 
there  are  no  patents,  no  secrets  nor  unfathom- 
able mysteries, — a  substance  which,  if  it  was  re- 
garded and  treated  purely  as  "yeast,"  would 
materially  increase  the  productiveness  of  our 
farms.  I  mean  just  what  INIr.  "K."  proposes 
to  supersede — stable  manure.  Yes,  stable  ma- 
iim^e  acts  like  yeast  in  the  soil,  if  we  choose 
to  let  it. 

But  how  does  it  act  as  yeast?  All  soils 
Avorth  cultivating  possess  the  elements  of  fer- 
tility. Now,  some  suppose  that  the  tender 
rootlets  can  feed  upon  the  coarse,  insoluble 
particles  which  make  up  our  soils,  as  a  squirrel 
does  upon  a  walnut.  True,  these  rootlets  have 
great  power,  and  will  make  a  vigorous  attack 


upon  solid  substances,  as  is  illustrated  by  the 
fibres  of  trees  and  hardy  shrubs  and  grasses 
permeating  and  adliering  to  an  old  bone,  which 
chances  to  lie  near  them.  But  before  the  mass 
of  the  soil  is  available  to  tender  vegetation,  or 
can  be  converted  into  plant  food,  certain  me- 
chanical and  chemical  changes  must  be  effected. 
The  plow,  harrow,  spade, "hoe,  frost  and  wind 
are  among  the  agents  which  operate  mechani- 
cally to  pulverize  and  reduce  to  a  powder  the 
coarse  particles.  The  process  by  which  this 
dust  or  powder  is  made  soluble  is  the  work  of 
chemical  agents ;  and  among  them  is  stable 
manure.  The  excrements  of  animals,  and  all 
vegetable  refuse,  possess  the  power  of  fermen- 
tation and  decomposition,  and  when  mingled 
with  the  soil  will  induce  similar  action  therein. 

Of  course  the  intensity  and  duration  of  the 
action  depends  upon  the  condition  of  both  the 
manure  and  soil  at  the  time  of  application, 
(ireen,  coarse  manure,  brought  to  the  field  be- 
fore any  of  its  power  is  expended  upon  itself, 
is  best.  The  atmospheric  influences  which 
promote  fermentation  are  greatest  in  spring, 
before  intense  heat,  drying  winds  and  excessive 
evaporation  prevail,  and  early  in  autumn  be- 
fore cold  Aveather  checks  it.  "WTien  all  this 
fermenting  power  has  been  expended  before 
its  application,  the  manure  comes  to  the  land 
in  a  dead,  passive  state,  and  can  have  very 
little  action  upon  it. 

By  thus  regarding  mamu'e  as  yeast,  it  re- 
ceives a  twofold  value  ;  and  the  reason  becomes 
apparent  why  some  coarse,  strong  kinds  are 
more  beneficial  to  the  land  than  equal  cpianti- 
ties  of  other  kinds  which  have  a  larger  per 
cent  of  the  elements  of  plants ;  why  old,  well 
rotted  manure  does  not  last  as  long  as  that  ap- 
plied in  its  green  unfermented  state. 

An  old  flirmer  of  great  practical  experient^e, 
who  has  expended  thousands  of  dollars  in  pur- 
chasing manures  of  all  kinds,  in  all  stages  of 
decomposition,  told  me  recently  that  he  had 
obtained  the  best  results  when  he  applied  it 
directly  from  the  stable,  in  spring,  and  covered 
it  immediately.  Such  a  course  precludes  deal- 
ing out  homoeopathic  doses  with  shovel  and 
spoon  to  every  crop,  and  favors  liberal  appli- 
cations spread  broadcast  over  the  land,  enrich- 
ing the  soil  rather  than  supplying  the  wants  of 
the  present  crop. 

With  these  views,  the  proper  management 
of  manures  at  the  stable  is  simple  and  easy. 
The  main  point  to  be  observed  is  to  keep  down 
fermentation.  The  bottom  and  sides  of  the 
manure  cellar  or  pit  should  be  water  tight ; 
and  instead  of  resorting  to  devices  to  make  the 
hogs  root  it  over,  let  them  tramp  it  as  .solid  as 
they  Avill.  If  this  does  not  keep  down  fermen- 
tation saturate  the  heap  with  Avater  from  the 
eave  spouts  or  otherAvise.  When  planting  time 
approaches,  fork  it  over  thoroughly,  and  as 
soon  as  the  heap  is  in  a  state  of  lively  fermen- 
tation it  is  ready  for  use. 

Would  you  not  compost  at  all?  asks  one. 
Yes,  in  a  certain  Avay.     I  Avould  gather  aU  I 


110 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


March 


"lid  of  vegetation  suitable  for  bedding ;  also 

e  large  quantities  of  the  soil  itself,  always 
dapting  the  kind  to  the  nature  of  that  to  which 
it  is  to  be  applied, — choosing  muck  and  rich 
loams  for  fields  deticient  in  vegetable  matter ; 
sand  or  a  sandy  loam,  for  a  clay  meadow ;  and 
clay,  sand  or  fine  gravel  for  a  muck  meadow. 
I  would  take  the  subsoil  where  it  was  not  ad- 
visalile  to  vise  toji  soils.  It  should,  however, 
first  be  exposed  to  frost,  then  finely  pulverized 
and  kept  dry  in  a  place  convenient  to  the  sta- 
ble. The  greater  comfort  of  the  animals  in 
always  having  a  comfortable  bed  well  pays  for 
collecting  these  materials. 

Dry  dirt,  which  is  perhaps  the  best  deodori- 
zer the  farmer  can  use,  quickly  absorbs  urine, 
which  in  warm  weather  soon  fennents.  Being 
saturated  with  urine  and  thoroughly  mixed  with 
the  solid  excrements,  the  dirt  will  be  subjected 
to  powerfril  fermenting  influence,  and  be  con- 
verted into  good  manure.  The  stable  floor  is 
the  fiirmer's  laboratory, — the  place  for  com- 
pounding his  "agricultural  yeast ;"  the  cellar 
merely  a  place  for  storage ;  the  hogs  are 
stevedores  to  pack  it  away. 

The  amount  of  manure  that  can  thus  be 
made  with  one  cow  or  a  horse  is  surprising. 
With  a  long  row  of  cattle  the  quantity  will 
soon  bring  a  large  farm  into  high  condition. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  buying  largely  spe- 
cial fertilizers,  at  three  to  lour  cents  per  pound, 
and  stalile  manures  at  five  to  nine  dollars  per 
cord,  and  hauling  them  as  many  miles,  when 
the  farm  is  well  stocked  and  the  requisite  ma- 
terials are  collected  and  properly  worked  up 
in  the  laboratory.  On  farms  of  diversified 
soils,  these  materials  are  always  near.  If  not 
upon  the  surface  they  will  be  found  in  the  sub- 
soil. The  forces  of  nature  are  sufficient  to 
form  plant  food  out  of  this  crude  matter.  The 
work  of  man  is  only  to  bring  them  together 
under  favorable  circumstauces  ;  and  there  will 
be  a  real  visil)le  "progression  of  the  soif  in 
fertility,  that  will  make  his  barns  and  granaries 
teem  to  ovei-fiowing.  n.  s.  t. 

Dec,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BUYING   TREES— No.    2. 

Only  a  few  words  need  be  said  in  relation  to 
the  comparative  merits  of  New  York  trees  and 
those  grown  in  New  England.  The  soil  of 
Western  New  Yoi'k  is  deep,  rich  and  porous. 
It  fosters  a  rank  gro^vthof  wood,  and  produces 
large  roots.  The  stocks  of  trees  grown  in  suclj 
soil  are  stout,  smooth  and  vigorous,  with  tops 
more  evenly  formed  than  those  grown  in  New 
England.  But  they  are  very  deficient  in  fil)roiis 
roots,  and  ludess  extra  pains  are  taken  in  pre- 
paring tli(!  groimd,  making  it  fine  and  rich, 
their  growtli  will  lie  greatly  retarded  by  trans- 
planting. Jf  th(!y  are  set  in  nursery  rows  in  a 
rich  garden  plot  and  permitted  to  nnnaiii  two 
years  before  setting  in  the  orchai-d,  it  will  be 
found  that  thev  liave  made  an  abundance  of 


fibrous  roots  and  are  in  the  best  possible  con- 
dition for  planting. 

New  England  trees,  on  the  other  hand,  are 
usually  diminutive  in  size  and  irregular  in 
shape  ;  but  having  been  grown  in  a  hard,  un- 
j-ielding  soil,  they  have  not  forced  large  bare 
roots  down  deep  into  the  subsoil,  but  a  multi- 
tude of  small  ones  have  spread  out  horizontally 
from  the  tree,  near  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
where  they  receive  the  benefit  of  greater 
warmth  from  the  rays  of  the  smi,  which,  in  our 
cold  climate,  is  very  essential  to  the  success  of 
the  tree.  Having  made  less  growth  of  wood 
than  the  New  York  trees,  they  will  be  less  lia- 
ble to  be  winter  killed,  and  having  more  roots, 
they  are  better  prepared  to  withstand  the  shock 
of  transplanting. 

In  respect  to  apples,  the  testimony  is  almost 
universal  in  favor  of  trees  grown  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  locality  where  the}'  are  to  be 
set  for  fruiting  ;  but  pears,  when  the  trees  are 
not  injured  in  transportation  or  by  undue  ex- 
posure after  their  arrival,  and  having  received 
generous  cultivation,  have  succeeded  well  at 
great  distances  from  their  native  nursery.  In- 
deed, it  is  the  practice  of  many  New  England 
nurserymen  to  buy  small  trees  from  the  West 
and  treat  them  in  the  manner  above  described. 

But  having  said  thus  much  in  respect  to  the 
stock  furnished  by  travelling  agents,  let  us  con- 
sider a  few  hints  in  respect  to  local  dealers,  or 
those  who  have  a  fixed  place  for  doing  business, 
whether  it  be  a  nursery  in  the  country,  or  a 
salesroom  in  the  city.  They  have  a  motive  to 
impel  them  to  upright  dealing,  which  the  itin- 
erant has  not.  They  are  ambitious  to  build 
up  a  permanent  trade  in  the  town  or  city  in 
which  they  have  established  themselves.  They 
expect  to  have  frequent  dealings  with  the  same 
persons.  They  understand  that  they  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  fruit-growers  of  their  imme- 
diate vicinity  for  a  permanent  and  profitable 
trade. 

A  tree  sold  under  a  fiilse  label  will  injure 
their  future  trade  more  than  many  times  its 
value.  Their  recommendation  of  a  new  vari- 
ety, if  it  prove  a  failure,  will  bring  disappoint- 
ment upon  those  upon  whom  they  are  depend- 
ent and  discourage  further  planting. 

But  there  are  some  things  to  be  considered, 
even  in  buying  of  those  whose  honesty  of  pur- 
pose is  unquestionable.  If  trees  ai'e  sold 
from  a  salesroom,  (as  they  are  more  and  more 
every  year  in  cities  and  large  towns,)  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  ascertain,  by  careful  examination 
whether  they  have  been  properly  protected 
from  heat  and  cold,  and  are  in  a  lively  condi- 
tion, especially  at  the  roots  ;  also  whether  the 
soi-ts  are  kept  distinct,  so  that  you  may  l)e  pos- 
itive that  you  are  g(!tting  what  you  bargain  for. 

If  you  visit  the  nursery,  observe  whether  the 
trees  have  been  allowed  sufficient  space  in  the 
rows  to  ensure  symmetry  of  form  and  an 
evtni  development  of  limbs  upon  all  sides ;  for 
if  th(!  top  has  been  crowded  and  ])Inched  out  of 
shape,  you  may  be  assured  that  the  roots  will 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Ill 


also  be  cramped  and  unhealthy,  ai:id  if  the 
limbs  cross  each  other  and  are  ill-shapen  they 
can  never  be  reduced  to  a  well-lbrmed  tree. 
Select  smooth  and  stocky  trunks,  and  avoid 
those  in  which  the  graft  has  tailed  to  unite  well 
with  the  stock,  as  such  trees  are  lialjle,  sooner 
or  later,  to  be  destroyed  by  violent  Avinds. 
Dwarf  pears  are  particularly  liable  to  this  iivuit, 
and  there  are  three  very  popular  varieties  which, 
for  this  reason,  ought  never  to  be  grown  as 
dwarfs.  They  are  the  Bartlett,  Flemish  Beau- 
ty and  Sheldon. 

The  principal  object  sought  in  planting  dwarf 
trees  is  early  hearing,  and  as  the  Bartlett 
fruits  upon  pear  stock  in  three  or  four  years 
from  planting,  there  seems  to  be  no  necessity 
for  growing  it  upon  quince.  The  other  two 
sorts  spoken  of  are  more  tardy  in  coming  into 
bearing,  and  are  greatly  improved,  both  in  size 
and  flavor,  by  dwarfing.  These  should  be 
double  worked  upon  quince ;  or,  in  other 
words,  a  variety  should  be  grafted  into  quince 
Avhich  unites  readily  with  it,  and  then,  after  an 
interval  of  one  or  two  years,  the  desired  sort 
should  be  grafted  into  this.  Such  trees  pos- 
sess a  degree  of  hardihood  and  a  development 
of  fibrous  roots  which  other  trees  do  not. 

Above  all  things,  do  not  buy  trees  oi  &  care- 
less nurseryman.  Let  his  intentions  be  ever 
so  good,  if  he  neglects  in  budding  to  set  the 
proper  marks  against  the  different  sorts,  and 
also  to  make  a  legible  entry  upon  his  memo- 
randum-book to  be  referred  to  when  field  marks 
become  indistinct :  or  if  he  is  not  careful,  in 
putting  up  his  orders,  to  keep  the  sorts  distinct 
and  to  have  each  particular  tree  bear  its  appropri- 
ate label,  he  does  not  deserve  your  patronage, 
however  excellent  may  be  his  trees  otherwise. 
An  'apothecary  is  accountable  for  failing  to  put 
the  proper  hxbel  upon  the  article  he  sells,  and  it  is 
generally  admitted  to  be  a  Avise  and  necessary 
requirement.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  un- 
just to  place  the  nurseryman  under  the  same 
obligation,  for  next  to  having  swallowed  an 
unwholesome  drug,  what  greater  disappoint- 
ment than  to  have  carefully  nursed  a  supposed 
Doyenne  du  Comice  for  many  years,  only  to  see 
it  bring  forth  a  worthless  Catillac  ?  Or  like  my 
unfortunate  neighbor,  to  pay  fancy  prices  for 
lona  and  Adirondack  grape  vines,  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  honor  of  being  first  to  exhibit  speci- 
mens of  the  fruit  at  the  annual  fair,  and  after 
careful  cultivation  for  threes-ears,  during  Avhich 
time  others  had  obtained  a  good  start  with 
geiuiine  vines,  to  find  that  all  this  care  had 
been  Avasted  upon  the  unpresuming  Hartford 
Prolific?  G.   A.  A. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  Dec,  186G. 


July,  and  after  flying  some  time  returned  to 
the  hive,  and  in  eiglit  days  more  sAvarmed 
again,  but  neither  the  old  nor  iicav  swarm  did 
Avell  afterwards.  In  reply  to  "C'  I  Avould  say, 
that  in  all  probability  Avhen  the  bees  first  came 
from  the  hive,  the  old  queen,  in  attempting  to 
flyAvith  the  SAvarm,  dropped  to  the  ground, 
owing  to  some  defect  in  her  Avings,  and  Avas 
neither  able  to  rise  nor  return  to  the  hive. 
The  swarm  circled  round  awhile  and  finding  no 
queen,  came  back  and  Avas  obliged  to  stop  till 
a  ncAV  queen  Avas  hatched.  That  jour  bees 
did  not  do  Avell  was  owing  to  the  poor  season 
for  honey-making,  throughout  Ncav  England. 
It  Avould  have  been  better  for  your  bees  if  they 
had  not  SAvarmed,  for  one  strong  swarm  is  Avorth 
any  number  of  weak  ones.  Your  old  SAvarra 
died  out  OAving  to  the  fact  that  their  new  queen 
never  became  fertile,  or  she,  too,  Avas  lost  Avhen 
she  left  the  hive  to  meet  the  drones.  The  re- 
maining bees  in  the  hive  died  of  old  age  ;  for 
the  life  of  no  Avorker  bee  is  longer  than  eight 
months,  and  if  they  lose  their  queen  and  have 
no  eggs  to  make  another,  or  you  have  no  queen 
to  give  them  in  that  time,  the  swarm  ceases  to 
exist. 

I  have  one  hundred  and  fifty  sAvarms  on  the 
Sacramento  River  in  California,  and  I  never 
alloAv  them  to  SAvarm.  I  find  that  division  is 
much  the  best  way  for  me  to  pursue.  I  lose 
no  swarms  and  keep  them  strong  all  the  time. 

There  will  probably  be  a  great  loss  of  bees 
in  NcAv  England,  this  winter  and  spring,  unless 
considerable  attention  is  paid  to  them.  They 
should  be  continually  fed  from  the  last  of  Feb- 
ruary till  they  are  able  to  supply  themselves 
from  other  sources.  After  they  commence 
breeding  they  Avill  consume  honey  much  faster 
than  through  the  months  of  December  and  Jan- 
uarj'.  I  am  noAv  Avintering  through  a  small 
colony  of  Italian  bees,  containing  about  one 
pint  of  bees,  and  I  find  no  trouble  in  keeping 
them  all  right  thus  far,  through  this  cold  sea- 
son, but  I  manage  them  entirely  different  from 
most  bee  keepers  in  this  section  of  country. 
S.  W.  Greene. 

Salisburij,  N.  E.,  Jan.  7,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WHY   THE   BEES    WERE   LOST. 

I  notice,  in  the  Farmer  of  January  5th,  a 
communication  over  the  signature  of  "C,"  in- 
quiring for  information  about  a  hive  of  bees  he 
had  last  spring  which  swarmed  on  the  8th  of 


Tomatoes  a  Protection  against  Borers. 
— Mr.  H.  J.  Foster,  of  Quincy,  Mass.,  informs 
us  that  he  has  an  apple  orchard  Avhich  has  been 
badly  infested  by  the  borer.  Tavo  or  three 
sears  ago  Avhile  going  over  the  orchard  in  the 
fall  and  removing  from  ten  to  fifteen  young 
borers  from  most  of  the  trees,  he  noticed  that 
invariably  there  were  no  signs  of  their  Avork  to 
be  discovered  whercA'er  a  chance  plant  of  the 
tomato  had  sprung  up  from  seed  in  soil  or  ma- 
nure. Acting  on  this  discovery,  he  has  since 
planted  tomatoes  extensively  about  his  apple 
trees  and  quince  bushes,  and  finds  it  a  complete 
protection,  as  the  beetle  Avhich  deposits  her 
eggs  during  the  summer  months  upon  the  bark 
of  the  tree  near  the  ground,  shuns  every  tree 
near  Avhich  a  tomato  plant  is  groAving. 


112 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


]\Iarch 


DESIGN   FOR  A   COMPLETE   FARM-HOUSE. 


Of  the  above  design,  which  was  furnished 
for  the  New  England  FARivrER  by  IMr.  G. 
E.  Harney,  the  following  explanation  is  fur- 
nished by  the  artist  himself: — 

AVhen  we  speak  of  a  complete  farm-house, 
onr  country  fiiends  fancy  to  themselves  a 
dwelling  that  shall  contain  every  convenience 
necessary  for  the  carrying  on  of  the  household 
portion  of  the  farm  labor  ;  at  least  such  is  the 
idea  we  have  of  it,  and  in  the  composition  of 


the  present  design,  we  have  endeavored  to 
supply  those  conveniences. 

There  is  nothing  at  all  showy  about  the 
house,  either  in  design  or  plan  ;  it  is  a  plain, 
substantial  farm-house,  neai-ly  square,  with  a 
large  L  on  one  side— our  aim  being  to  insure 
convenience  even  at  the  expense  of  ornament — 
though,  we  think,  after  tlic  house  has  become 
two  or  three  years  old,  and  brightly  llowering 
vines  begin  to  cover  its  sides,  and  trees  to 
throw  their  shadows  upon  it,  that  it  will  have 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


113 


a  cosy,  comfortable,  home-like  appearance, 
quite  in  contrast  with  the  shingle  palaces  of 
late  so  fasliionable  among  us. 

Our  plan  comprises  the  following  accommo- 
dation :  No.  1,  hall  7  feet  8  inches  by  19  feet, 
opening  into  No.  2,  parlor,  15  feet  by  16  ;  No. 
h,  bed-room,  15  feet  stjuare  ;  No.  3,  living- 
room,  also  15  by  16  feet,  opening  into  a  back 
entry,  No.  13,  and  across  it  into  the  kitchen, 
No.  -1,  15  feet  by  20  ;  this  kitciien  contains  two 
large  closets  and  connects  M'ith  a  pantry,  No. 
7,  which  measures  7  feet  by  10,  and  is  fitted 
up  with  a  sink  and  shelves.  The  next  room 
eu  suite  is  the  back  kitchen  and  wash-rooms  ; 
it  contains  two  closets,  a  large  oven  and  boiler, 
and  raeasm-es  1 6  feet  by  1 2  ;  it  opens  into  the 
back  entry,  through  which  we  pass  to  the 
wood-room.  No.  8,  14  feet  by  15 ;  No.  10, 
carriage  shed,  and  No.  9,  work  shop.  The 
back  entry  is  4  feet  wide,  and  contains  stairs 
to  the  chambers  and  cellar.  On  the  front, 
doors  open  into  the  dairy.  No.  11,  7  feet  by 
14 ;  the  store-room,  No.  12,  7  feet  by  13,  and 
upon  the  sheltered  porch.  No.  14. 

The  second  floor  contains  eight  chambers, 
besides  bathing-room,  dressing-rooms  and  clos- 
ets.    The  attics  may  be  left  unfinished. 

Construction. — This  house  may  be  built  of 
wood,  and  covered  in  the  common  manner 
with  clapboards. 

The  roof  of  the  main  house  projects  2^  feet, 
and  that  of  the  L,  1^  feet;  the  cornices  are 
supported  in  brackets  3  inches  thick.  The 
windows  and  doors,  inside  and  outside,  have 
plain  architraves,  5  inches  wide. 

Cost  in  New  England,  at  prices  previous  to 
the  late  war,  about  $3500. 


FARMER'S   "WIVES. 

The  reading  of  essays  by  the  ladies  is  one  of 
the  exercises  which  give  life  and  interest  to  the 
meetings  of  the  Springfield,  Vt. ,  Farmer's  Club. 
From  one  of  the  essays  by  Mrs.  Daniel  Rice, 
published  in  the  Vermont  Farmer,  we  copy  the 
following  paragraphs : 

Did  you  ever  think  of  the  amount  of  thought 
requisite  to  2'>lan  three  meals  a  day  for  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in  succession  ?    To 

f)repare  enough  and  nottoo  much,  and  for  those 
iving  at  a  distance  from  the  village,  to  remem- 
ber that  the  stock  of  Hour,  sugar,  tea,  etc.,  etc., 
is  replenished  in  due  time  ?  Do  you  ever  think 
of  the  multitude  of  her  cares  and  duties  P  She 
must  rise  early  to  prcjiare  breakfast  or  oversee 
it.  Perhaps  (here  are  children  to  Avash,  dress, 
and  feed,  or  to  get  ready  for  school  with  their 
dinners.  There  is  baking,  sweeping,  dusting, 
making  beds,  lunch  for  the  men,  may  be — din- 
ner and  supper  to  be  made  ready  at  the  proper 
time — the  washing,  starching,  folding,  and  iron 
ing  of  clothes — the  care  of  milk,  including  the 
making  of  butter  and  cheese — and  the  inevita- 
ble washing  of  dishes.  In  antumn  there  is  the 
additional  work  of  picking,  preserving,  canning 


of  fruit,  drying  apples,  boiling  cider,  making 
apple  sauce,  with  tlie  still  more  impleasant  task 
which  falls  to  her  lot  at  butchering  time.  Then 
there  is  haying,  harvesting,  sheep-shearing,  etc., 
when  more  help  is  needed,  bringing  an  increase 
of  her  labors.  Twice  a  year  comes  house- 
cleaning.  By  the  T;ay,  of  all  the  foes  a 
housekeeper  has  to  contend  with,  dirt  is  the 
greatest.  She  may  gain  a  complete  victoiy  and 
think  to  repose  upon  her  laurels  after  her  semi- 
annual engagements — but  it  is  only  temporary. 
The  enemy  soon  returns,  and  even  daily  skir- 
mishing does  not  keep  it  at  bay. 

There  is  the  mending  too.  Sewing  machines 
are  great  blessings,  but  they  can't  set  in  a  patch 
or  darn  the  stockings.  I  do  not  mention  these 
things  by  way  of  complaining  of  woman's  lot  in 
general,  or  asking  for  her  any  rights  wliich  she 
does  not  possess,  I  don't  know  as  there  is  anv 
remedy  in  the  present  state  of  the  world.  It 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  evils  of  life  which  must 
be  borne  as  we  bear  other  ills — but  what  I  do 
ask  is  a  due  appreciation  of  the  important  part 
that  woman  acts  and  a  concession  that  her  la- 
bors, mental  and  physical,  are  as  great,  all 
things  considered,  as  those  of  the  other  sex. 
Women  are  not  so  childish  that  a  little  sympa- 
thy now  and  then  or  acknowledgment  of  their 
efforts  and  sacrifices  makes  them  imagine  their 
case  worse  than  it  is.  I  tell  you,  men  and  hus- 
bands, "It  doeth  good  like  a  medicine,"  and 
many  a  poor,  crushed,  broken-down  wife  and 
mother  is  dving  for  want  of  it. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   EIGHT   HOUR   SYSTEM   OF   LA- 
BOR.— No.   II. 

We  have  seen  that  the  reduction  of  the  hours 
of  labor  one-fifth,  will  be  equivalent,  so  far  as 
the  employers  are  concerned,  to  raising  wages 
one-fifth.  This  is  unquestionably'  the  chief  ob- 
ject of  the  agitators  of  this  question.  They 
expect,  if  they  succeed,  to  obtain  the  same  re- 
numeration  for  eight  hours'  labor  which  they 
now  receive  for  ten. 

But  if  the  profits  arising  from  hired  labor  are 
to  be  reduced  one-fifth,  how  will  this  effect  ag- 
riculture ?  who  will  be  able  to  undertake  any 
more  farming  than  he  can  do  with  his  own 
hands  ? 

Nature  has  provided  long  days  and  many 
hours  of  sunlight  during  the  gi'owing  season,  to 
hasten  forward  the  growth  of  vegetation,  and 
to  enable  the  farmer  to  cultivate  and  harvest 
his  crops, — thus  indicating  that  more  hours  are 
to  be  spent  in  labor  at  that  season  than  in  those 
portions  of  the  year  when  the  facilities  for  la- 
bor are  more  limited.  These  portions  we  oc- 
cupy largely  in  consuming  the  products  of  the 
summer,  and  m,ay  improve  them  for  the  pur- 
poses of  intellectual  culture,  and  social  enjoy- 
ment. Nature  thus  points  out  to  the  husband- 
man that  he  should  employ  the  long  hours  she 
has  provided  for  him,  in  cultivating  the  earth 
and  aiding  the  growth  of  vegetation  and  seem-- 


114 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


March 


ing  the  products.  While  the  vegetable  world 
sleeps,  and  the  earth  is  preparing  for  a  new  ef- 
fort she  has  afforded  him  less  time  and  fewer 
facilities  for  labor,  thus  showing  that  it  is  less 
necessary.  While  the  earth  rests,  its  cultiva- 
tors may  rest  also. 

In  a  warmer  climate,  and  with  a  richer  soil, 
it  Is  possible  that  a  sufBcIent  supply  of  food 
may  be  produced  by  the  labor  of  eight  or  even 
six  hours.  But  In  our  rugged  clime,  and  on 
our  hard  soil,  if  we  would  develop  the  capaci- 
ties of  our  soil,  and  compete  with  soils  that  are 
better,  we  must,  like  the  busy  bee, 

"Improve  each  sbiaing  hour, 
Aud  gather  honey  all  the  d.iy." 

The  hours  of  labor  are  already  reduced  to 
the  naiTOwest  limits  within  which  farming  by 
hired  labor  Is  sufficiently  profitable  to  Induce 
men  to  engage  in  It.  A  large  portion  of  our 
enterprising  young  men  refuse  to  work  the  soil 
even  now,  and  with  the  certainty  of  still  less 
profit,  more  of  them  will  seek  other  employ- 
ments, or  other  climes.  The  only  possible  way 
of  successful  farming  will  be  to  let  cxt  our 
work  by  the  job,  or  on  shares,  and  then  we 
shall  find  that  the  foreign  laborers  who  are  now 
so  clamorous  for  an  eight  hour  system,  will  la- 
bor ten  or  twelve  hours  without  complaint. 

The  idea  that  lal)oring  men  will  cultivate 
their  mlmls,  and  thus  elevate  their  social  posi- 
tion by  laboring  two  hours  less  in  a  day.  has 
but  little  weight  in  my  mind.  Those  who  have 
passed  the  period  of  youth  would  not  do  It,  If 
they  labored  four  or  six  hours  less.  Young 
men  who  are  disposed  to  improve  themselves, 
and  who  aspire  to  distinction,  under  the  present 
system  of  ten  hours  labor,  Avith  their  four  or 
five  hours  of  leisure,  with  their  holidays  and 
sabbaths,  and  the  evening  schools  and  lectures, 
and  the  abundance  of  lx)oks  within  their  reach, 
can  do  it  now.  Such  young  laboring  men  In 
this  country,  from  the  days  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin to  those  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  have  done  it, 
and  that  they  are  still  doing  it,  I  will  call  Na- 
thaniel P.  Banks,  George  S.  Boutwell  and 
GInery  Twitchell  to  testify.  The  resolute 
purpose  and  the  vigorous  habits  with  which 
such  young  men  apply  themselves  to  the  acqui- 
.sition  of  knowledge  often  enable  them  to  out- 
strip those  who  have  had  earlier  and  better  op- 
portunities. These  men  are  the  exceptions. 
They  urge  their  way  onward  and  upward, 
"moved  by  the  Divinity  that  stirs  within  them." 
But  on  the  other  hand,  how  few  of  our  young 
men  attaii'  distinction,  even  with  all  the  advan- 
tages of  our  high  schools  and  colleges,  and  with 
the  advantage,  if  it  be  an*  advantage,  of  not 
being  compelled  to  labor  at  all  in  early  life  ? 
If  so  larg(^  a  proportion  of  these  fail,  under  such 
circumstances,  is  it  reasonable  to  expect  that 
the  mass  of  joung  laboring  men  will  succeed  by 
being  nlieved  from  a  fifth  part  of  their  daily 
labor? 

Young  men  break  down  in  health  much  ofl- 
ener  from  intellectual  than  from  physical  labor. 
I  have  known  the  health   of  many  men   de- 


stroyed by  excessive  study  ;  but  I  have  known 
but  few  men  whose  health  has  fiiiled  from  ex- 
cessive labor,  and  In  the  few  cases  that  I  have 
known,  labor  has  been  accompanied  with  reck- 
less exposure  to  the  vicissitudes  of  the  weather. 
I  cannot  recall  a  single  Instance  In  Avliich  the 
health  of  a  hired  laborer  has  thus  failed  from 
excessive  labor.  In  every  Instance  It  has  been 
some  amiiitious  young  man  who  was  at  work 
for  himself,  and  whose  efforts  were  greater  and 
longer  continued  than  his  constitution  could 
endure. 

I  might  enquire  how  tliis  proposed  change 
would  affect  various  kinds  of  labor,  as  for  In- 
stance, how  would  it  affect  the  dairyman  whose 
cows  require  to  be  milked  twice  a  day  ?  Would 
both  milklngs  come  within  the  eight  hours,  and 
the  cows  be  left  uumilked  the  remaining  six- 
teen ?  How  would  it  operate  with  the  garden- 
er who  stirs  the  earth  around  his  flowers  and 
tender  jilants  while  it  is  still  moist  with  dew, 
and  transplants  In  the  early  morn  and  protects 
his  plants  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun, 
or  still  better,  at  dewy  eve  ?  The  poetry 
and  fi-agrance  of  the  garden  would  l>oth  be 
lost.  How  will  it  affect  the  marketman,  who 
must  lie  In  at  the  opening  market,  and  who  now 
spends  eighteen  or  twenty  hours  In  going  to 
and  returning  from  market  ?  And  how  about 
the  female  help  ?  Why  should  not  their  hours 
of  labor  be  reduced  in  the  fluuily  as  well  as  In 
the  mill,  and  as  well  as  the  hours  of  labor  of 
the  men  ?  This  would  require  a  change  in  our 
whole  domestic  economy.  We  should  get  our 
breakfast  at  nine  o'clock,  and  our  evening  meal 
at  four  or  five.  Perhaps  we  might  soon  learn 
to  save  one  meal,  and  thus  find  it  an  economi- 
cal arrangement.  I  might  make  similar  en- 
quires with  regard  to  various  other  kinds  of  la- 
bor, as  that  of  printers,  clerks,  hostlers,  em- 
ployees on  railroads,  bakers,  &c.,  &c.  But  I 
think  this  Is  sufficient. 

The  laws  of  the  State  secure  to  labor,  espe- 
cially to  mechanical  labor,  its  reward,  by  giving 
It  a  lien  upon  Its  products,  for  security.  It 
also  provides  most  liberally  for  the  education 
of  the  children  of  all  laborers.  But  the  very 
persons  who  make  the  loudest  demand  for  the 
reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  will  not  allow 
their  children  to  avail  themselves  of  the  op- 
portunities provided  at  so  great  expense,  but 
Avill  keep  them  employed  in  the  mill  nine  months 
in  the  yi.'ar.  from  the  time  they  are  ten  or  twelve 
years  old,  and  many  of  tliem  would  keep  them 
so  employed  all  the  year  if  the  mill  owners 
were  not  fbi'I)i(lden  by  law  so  to  emjiloy  them. 
The  Legislature  of  last  winter  enacted  a  wise 
law  on  this  subject,  which  forbids  any  child  un- 
der fourteen  years  old  to  be  employed  in  a 
factory  unless  it  attends  school  six  montiis  in 
the  year,  and  subjects  the  mill-owner  who  em- 
ploys any  such  child  who  has  not  attended 
school  six  months  in  a  year,  to  a  penalty  of 
fifty  dollars  lor  each  ollence.  Tliis  law  will 
do  more  in  tlu^  future  to  eh^vate  the  condition 
of  labor  in  this  commonwealth,  than  any  re- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


115 


duction  of  the  hours  of  daily  labor.  Experi- 
ence and  common  sense  will  be  found  safer 
guides  with  respect  to  the  hours  of  labor,  than 
legislation.  r. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Jan.  I,  18G7. 


Unfermented  Manure. — Many  excellent 
faj'mers  have  an  idea  that  manure  to  be  most 
efficient  in  raising  crops  should  be  well-rotted  ; 
but  this  is  a  mistake.  ]\Ianure  loses  a  very 
heavy  percentage  of  its  real  value  by  decom- 
position. Fresh  manure  dripping  with  animal 
urine  hauled  directly  from  the  stable  on  to  the 
land  and  plowed  under,  is  worth  nearly  double 
that  which  has  decomposed  to  a  saponaceous 
consistence.  When  it  is  convenient  for  far- 
mers to  haul  their  manure  on  corn-ground  from 
the  stable  as  fast  as  it  is  made,  it  saves  hand- 
ling it  twice,  and  forwards  the  work  in  busy 
spring  time.  No  fears  need  be  entertained 
that  the  atmosphere  will  carry  off  the  strength 
of  the  manure  if  left  on  the  surface.  The 
only  danger  to  be  apprehended  by  this  method 
will  be  in  case  of  the  ground  being  frozen  and 
covered  with  snow  or  ice  when  the  manure  is 
applied  ;  if  upon  sloping  land  the  virtue  of  the 
manure  might  Avash  away ;  but  on  level  land 
there  is  no  exception  to  this  plan  of  operation 
during  the  entire  fall  and  winter  season. — Oer- 
mantown  Telegraph. 


EXTEACTS   AND    REPLIES. 

FLOril   OF   BONE. 

The  following  "extracts"  relating  to  the  diifei'- 
ent  effects  of  bone  in  the  same  town,  tend  to  show 
that,  as  "one  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer," 
so  one  experiment  should  not  be  taken  as  decisive 
of  the  value  of  any  particular  fertilizer. 

I  purchased  one  ban-el  of  flour  of  bone  for 
$10.50,  and  having  used  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability 
the  past  year,  must  say,  as  the  result  of  my  experi- 
ence, that  I  prefer  wood  ashes,  measure  for  meas- 
ure. A.  Taber. 

HoUiston,  Mass.,  Jan.  2,  1867. 

I  made  use  of  flour  of  bone  on  some  turnips  (Pe- 
ruvian,) applying  one  large  spoonful  for  each  plant, 
standing  in  rows  about  eighteen  inches  apart.  On 
each  alternate  row  I  did  not  put  anything.  The  re- 
sult was,  that  in  the  rows  where  the  flour  of  bone 
was  applied  there  was  a  large  yield,  the  turnips 
weighing  eight,  twelve  and  even  eighteen  pounds 
apiece ;  while  in  the  rows  not  boned  they  were  very 
small,  and  a  light  yield.  On  another  piece  of  land, 
after  taking  off  a  crop  of  early  peas,  I  sowed  tur- 
nips, and  to  one-half  of  the  piece  applied  flour  of 
bone.  On  that  part  there  was  a  rank  growth,  on 
the  other  part  they  were  very  small.  I  think  flour 
of  bone  pays  very  well  on  turnips ;  and  the  Peru- 
vian to  be  one  of  the  best  varieties. 

Aaron  Brigham. 

HoUiston,  Mass.,  Januai-y  5,  1867. 


BROOMS   AND    MOr-HANDLES. 

The  Farmer  of  January  5th,  in  speaking  of 
farm  implements,  says  it  is  poor  policy  to  use 
those  already  worn  out,  or  so  illy  constructed  as  to 
be  used  with  great  loss  of  time  and  strength. 

May  I  be  allowed  a  word  concerning  the  imple- 


ments daily  used  in  a  fanner's  kitchen  ?  Much  in- 
ventive skill  and  mechanical  ingenuity  have  been 
expended  upon  washing  machines,  wringers,  the 
sewing  machines,  &c.,  but  no  one  seems  to  dream 
that  those  things  oftenest  used  are  susceptible  of 
improvement.  I  refer  to  brooms  and  moiJ-liandlcs. 
Compare  these  short,  stifl",  crooked,  rough,  clumsy 
articles  with  the  handles  of  rakes,  pitchforks,  hoes, 
&c.,  made  for  men's  use, — all  of  suitable  material, 
proper  length  and  size,  smoothly  turned  and  nicely 
sand-papered  as  they  are,  and  should  be. 

It  is  said  that  a  demand  will  create  a  supply. 
Hoping  this  will  not  prove  an  exception  to  the  rule, 
I  ask,  in  behalf  of  fanners'  wives  and  daughters, 
especially,  for  an  improvement  in  these  indispen- 
sable articles.  And  when  they  are  properly  made, 
please  don't  spoil  them  with  varnish  or  paint; 
sand  paper  is  sufficient  finish.  AVe  want  greater 
length,  less  size,  and  a  Ijcttcr  quality  of  material. 
Less  sharp  corners,  less  bits  of  bark  left  upon  them 
might  facilitate  their  use  and  tend  to  keep  our 
hands  in  better  condition  to  care  for  the  sick,  to 
bind  up  wounds  and  sores,  and  to  handle  the  nee- 
dle in  the  hours  that  must  be  devoted  to  the  fami- 
ly wardrobe.  If  the  liroom-makers  will  use  only 
good  brush,  we  will  gladly  pay  enough  more  to 
enaljlc  them  to  throw  away  the  poor  and  make  few- 
er in  number.  A  Sufferer. 

Guilford  Cnitre,  Vt.,  Jan.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  farming  impleinents  that  must 
be  purchased  in  these  days  cost  so  much  that  many 
farmers  feel,  as  they  "sit  down  and  count  the  cost," 
that  they  must  save  somewhere.  And  altogether 
too  often  this  "gct-along-for-this-ycar"  economy 
faljs  upon  the  household  conveniences.  We  once 
saw  a  Yankee  woman,  who  cooked  potatoes  for  her 
hogs  as  well  as  for  her  husband,  lugging  them  out 
of  the  cellar  in  a  sap-tub  without  any  contrivance 
for  a  bail,  for  want  of  a  light,  convenient  basket. 
We  didn't  see  her  mop-handles. 


EFFECTS   OF   BONE, 

Mr.  Editor: — I  see  by  late  numbers  of  the 
Farmer  that  there  is  some  dissatisfaction  with  the 
results  of  experiments  with  the  flour  of  bone.  Be- 
ing unacquainted  with  this  peculiar  fertilizer  I 
cannot  speak  from  my  knowledge  of  its  effects. 
But  I  have  for  many  years  given  my  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  have  carefully 
watched  the  operation  of  different  manures,  both 
on  the  soil  and  the  crops,  and  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  is  no  single  fertilizer  that  is 
a  sure  specific  for  a  good  crop  on  all  soils  and  un- 
der all  circumstances.  i 

I  have  believed  that  one  of  the  greatest  losses 
that  the  farmer  suffered,  and  one  which  it  was  most 
difficult  for  him  to  replace,  was  bone.  Arc  farmers 
aware  of  the  amount  of  bone  or  phosphate  that  is 
taken  from  the  soil  by  a  single  crop  ?  How  is  it 
to  be  restored  again  ?  Could  we  obtain  bone  in 
quantities  sufficient,  and  at  living  luices,  I  should 
have  no  fears  of  my  farm  becoming  exhausted.  It 
is  said  that  a  good  cow  takes  off  aliout  75  pounds 
of  bone  in  each  year  in  her  milk,  besides  the  bones 
of  all  animals  that  are  sold  from  the  f;xrm.  This 
repeated  for  years,  and  the  result  is  "white-top"  in 
our  pastures. 

I  have  used  a  good  deal  of  plaster,  and  its  opera- 
tion is  a  little  singular.  On  some  pieces  it  has 
showed  immediate  efl'ects  ;  at  other  times  it  takes 
longer  for  it  to  operate.  In  one  instance  it  did  not 
develop  itself  till  the  third  and  fourth  year ;  but 
it  held  out  good  till  the  seventh,  when  I  plowed  it 
up.  That  was  last  fall,  and  it  remains  to  be  seen 
what  it  will  do  in  future.  I  have  known  many  cases 
where  the  soil  has  been  manured  well  with  bam- 


116 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


March 


yard  manure  until  it  seemed  to  have  no  eflfect  on 
the  crops,  because,  as  I  supposed,  a  small  quantity 
of  some  material  was  wanted.  My  opinion  would 
be  that  bone  simply  ground,  would  not,  in  most 
seasons,  be  likely  to  be  taken  up  by  the  plants  in 
the  first  year.  Again  a  soil  may  have  enough  of 
this  material,  Init  be  deficient  in  something  else. 
Where  the  white-top  flourishes,  hcv/ever,  I  think 
its  effect  must  be  highly  i)eneficial. 

In  my  view,  as  valuable  a  material  as  bone 
ground  fine  should  not  be  condemned  on  a  trial  of 
one,  two  or  three  years,  for  plants  certainly  can- 
not take  it  up  till  it  is  dissolved  and  has  time  to 
produce  its  full  chemical  effect  on  the  soil  and 
crop.  H. 

Epping,  N.  H.,  Jan.,  1867. 


PROFIT   OF  POULTRY   AND    PIGS. 

The  following  is  my  experience  for  the  year  1866, 
ending  December  Slst,  in  raising  in  a  small  way 
pigs  and  poultry.  1  have  kept  an  exact  account  of 
the  expenditures  and  receipts,  as  a  mere  matter  of 
curiosity  to  myself,  and  perhaps  your  readers  may 
be  instructed  or  amused  by  its  perusal,  and  then 
judge  for  themselves  between  pigs  and  poultry. 

In  Jan.,  1866,  I  purchased  44  hens,  at  50c  each  .   .  $22.00 
Fed  to  them  during  the  year  corn  amounting  to  .    48.00 

Total   expense $70.00 

I  sold  eggs  amounting  to $74.73 

Poultry 49.15 

44  hens  and  chickens  on  hand 22.00— $145.88 

Leaving  a  balance  In  my  favor  of $75.88 

My  hens  had  no  extra  or  particular  care.  They 
had  the  run  of  my  stable  and  yard  attached  to  the 
same ;  that  was  all. 

Now  for  the  pigs : 

In  July,  1866, 1  bought  a  sow  pig  and  paid  for  it .  $20.00 
Fed  to  it  and  tbe  pigs,  at  the  end  of  4  mos.,  corn  .    20.00 

Total   expense $40.00 

I  then  killed  the  sow  and  sold  it  for  .  .  $40.00 
Bold  4  of  her  pigs  in  the  summer  for  .  .  20.00 
I  have  now  4  pigs  worth  $10  each  ....    40.00— $100.00 

Leaving,  for  the  4  months,  balance  in  my  favor  .  $  60.00 

1  estimate  that  the  manure  made  by  the  pigs  is 
worth  the  care  of  feeding  them. 

Moses  Eaton,  Jr. 
South  Hampton,  N.  H.,  Jan.  5,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  above  is  a  workmanlike  state- 
ment, and  we  thank  the  writer  for  the  communica- 
tion. 


the  butter  remedy  for  a  film. 

While  sitting  by  my  warm  freestone  stove,  this 
fifth  of  January  evening,  what  should  come  upon 
my  tal)lc,  with  other  welcome  mail  matter,  but 
your  enlarged  and  most  acceptable  weekly,  and  the 
almost  forgotten — no !  not  forgotten ;  for  1  can't 
forget  your  Monthly,  so  long  as  it  is  my  most  con- 
f^tant  book  for  reference.  Staunch  friends,  both  of 
them,  and  I  only  wish  you  the  patronage  you  de- 
serve! Tlu'u  you  would  nceil  an  oflice  as  large  as 
Faneuil  Hall!  But  I  will  hot  dwell  on  these  top- 
ics, though  pleasant  it  is  to  me,  and  perhaps  grati- 
fying to  you.  I  will  say,  however,  that  the  Farm- 
er always  comes  to  me  as  an  old,  tried  and  fast 
friend.    May  its  shadow  never  be  less. 

Allow  me,  right  here,  to  make  a  suggestion.  In 
your  caution  to  discountenance  all  humbugs  and 
impositions,  please  l)e  cautious  how  you  condemn 
a  good  thing.  Some  things  recommended  by  prac- 
tical men  may  ap[)car  absurd  at  first  sight,  yet 
there  is  truth  at  the  bottom.    You  refer  in  a  note 


to  a  statement  in  the  Tribune  about  putting  fresh 
butter  in  animals'  ears,  to  take  a  film  from  the  op- 
posite eye,  and  characterise  it  as  "one  of  the  bar- 
barous methods  which  are  sometimes  resorted  to 
111  the  treatment  of  cattle  diseases."  I  read  the 
notice  in  the  Tribune  with  much  interest,  as  I  hap- 
en  to  know  something  of  the  use  of  the  remedy.  I 
should  say,  myself,  considering  the  quantity  there 
recommended,  there  was  a  little  look  of  barbarism. 
But  permit  me  to  step  right  into  the  ring  and  de- 
fend the  fresh-butter  remedy,  only  in  a  milder 
way.  The  remedy  was  used  by  my  father,  as  long 
ago  as  I  can  remember.  Some  thirty-five  years 
ago  the  pet  house  dog,  old  Prince,  the  pet  of  us 
youngsters,  got  his  eye  hurt  in  the  woods  by  a 
stick  switching  into  it.  I  remember  it  well,  for  1 
was  then  a  lover  of  the  dog,  as  most  boys  are,  and 
we  feared  the  old  fellow  would  be  Ijlind.  There 
being  no  fresh  butter  in  the  house,  some  cream  was 
put  into  a  bottle  and  shaken  till  it  produced  butter. 
A  piece  twice  as  large  as  a  marrow-fiit  pea  was  par- 
tially melted  and  put  into  the  ear  opposite  the  af- 
fected eye.  In  a  few  days  the  film  disappeared,  to 
our  great  joy.  From  that  time,  it  became  the  uni- 
versal remedy  in  that  vicinity.  I  have  used  it 
many  times,  and  it  7iever  has  failed. 

Some  few  years  since,  the  eye  of  a  colt  I  was 
driving,  got  injured,  became  inflamed,  and  finally 
a  film  appeared,  and  was  spreading  rapidly  over 
the  eye-ball.  Happening  to  be  in  the  company  of  a 
veterinary  surgeon,  I  submitted  the  case  to  him. 
He  said  it  was  a  serious  injury,  and  he  would  take 
the  case  in  hand  for  ten  dollars.  I  did  not  engage 
him,  but  decided  to  tiy  the  butter.  1  did  so,  and 
in  a  few  days  the  eye  was  all  right.  A  piece  as 
large  as  a  walnut  is  sufficient  for  an  ox  or  a  horse. 
I  do  not  remember  ever  being  under  the  necessity 
of  giving  the  second  dose.  Judging  from  my  own 
experience,  it  is  a  mild  and  sure  remedy. 

Weare,  N.  H.,  Jan.,  1867.  Z.  Breed. 


WHY   the   boys   dislike   FARMING. 

I  have  seen  the  question  asked  in  the  Farmer 
several  times.  Why  do  our  young  men  have  so  lit- 
tle taste  for  fanning  ?  I've  seen  several  replies, 
but  no  satisfactory  ones.  Though  young  and  not 
used  to  being  in  print,  I  venture  to  offer  what,  in 
my  opinion,  is  the  true  cause.  First,  a  great  many 
boys  take  no  interest  in  their  work  because  there 
is  nothing  to  interest  them.  A  farmer's  boy  is 
most  generally  called  up  l)efore  daylight  and  set  to 
work,  hurried  through  with  his  meals,  and,  ap- 
parently forgetting  that  he  is  a  boy,  he  is  kept  to 
work  year  after  year  till  he  arrives  at  manhood. 
Now,  is  there  any  wonder  that  a  boy  gets  disgusted 
with  farm  life,  and  longs  for  the  time  that  shall 
free  him  from  it  ?  What,  then,  must  be  done  to 
obviate  this  difficulty  ?  If  a  boy  is  happy  and  con- 
tented at  home,  he  will  never  wish  to  leave  when  he 
arrives  at  manhood ;  for,  if  his  home  is  what  it 
should  be,  it  will  be  to  him  tlie  hajjpiest  spot  on 
earth.  To  cultivate  a  love  for  farming,  I)oys  must 
h.ave  something  they  can  call  their  own.  Let  them 
have  a  sheep,  a  few  hens,  or  a  piece  of  ground  to 
cultivate  for  themselves,  and  above  all  remember 
that 

All  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy. 

And  now  I  think  if  these  rules  are  .well  observed 
our  farmers  will  have  no  cause  to  ask  why  our 
young  men  leave  for  tlic  city. 

Shelburne,  Mass.,  Ja7i.  5,  1867- 


Chiel. 


nOO    AND    ULOOD    SPAVIN. 


Bog  spavin  owes  its  origin  to  hard  work  in  early 
life.  It  commonly  comes  in  the  liam,  and  is  caused 
by  the  joint  oil  of  the  hock  issuing  into  the  mem- 
brane that  surrounds  it,  and  stagnating  under  the 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


117 


vein,  causes  it  to  swell.  Prick  the  swelling,  but 
take  special  care  and  not  injure  tiic  nervous  cord, 
as  this  may  bring  on  the  lockjaw.  Upon  opening 
the  swelling  you  will  find  a  gelatinous  humor  to 
issue  from  it.  Now  apply  a  turnip  poultice  for  a 
few  days,  to  draw  out  the  humors,  and  then 
strengthen  the  part  by  bathing  it  in  good  brandy. 
Blood  spavin  is  caused  liy  a  vein  being  ruptured  ; 
the  blood  cxtravasatcs,  and  forms  a  protuberance. 
The  following  remedies  arc  good  for  bog  spavin  or 
blood  spavin : 

Take  a  strong  mixture  of  copperas  and  vinegar, 
with  which  rub  the  parts  affected,  keeping  the 
horse  dry,  and  stirring  him  only  enough  for  exer- 
cise. 

Take  about  a  pailful  of  urine,  into  which  throw 
a  quantity  (the  more  the  better,)  of  old  rusty  iron ; 
put  the  vessel  near  a  tire  and  let  it  stand  three  or 
four  days,  stiiTing  it  occasionally,  when  it  will  be 
fit  for  use.  Apply  this  mixture  twice  a  day,  and 
in  all  cases  it  will  soon  effect  a  radical  cure,  or 
prove  highly  beneficial.  s.  e.  f. 

Monkton,' Vt.,  Dec.  24,  1866. 


POTATO  WATER  FOR  CHAPPED  HANDS  AND  SWELLED 
UDDERS. 

It  is  very  provoking  when  I  would  like  to  write, 
to  find  the  ink  frozen.  I  was  going  to  tell  of  a  very 
simple  yet  efficacious  remedy  for  chapped  hands. 
It  is  to  wash  them  frequently  in  potato  water,  or 
the  water  in  which  potatoes  have  been  boiled.  A 
few  months  ago  we  had  a  heifer  with  the  udder 
very  badly  swollen  and  quite  hard.  Several  reme- 
dies had  been  tried  without  success,  when  I  tried 
bathing  it  in  potato-water  and  it  was  completely 
cured  by  a  few  applications.  Mrs. . 

North  A?idover,  Mass.,  Jan..  1867. 


Remarks. — We  are  very  glad  that  Mrs. 

had  the  patience  to  thaw  out  her  ink,  and  hope 
that  others  will  find  her  remedy  equally  efficacious. 


CARIJOTS   FOR   WINTER  BUTTER. 

In  your  last  week's  paper  you  gave  a  very  inter- 
esting account  of  making  butler  in  the  winter.  It 
is  worth  the  price  of  the  paper  for  one  year  to 
many  a  new  housekeeper.  Our  method  of  making 
butter  is  the  same  as  yours,  with  one  exception. 
We  grate  up  two  or  three  orange  carrots,  put  them 
into  one  quart  of  milk,  then  stj-ain  and  put  it  into 
the  cream.  The  l)utter  will  look  like  fall  butter, 
and  we  think  it  adds  to  its  flavor.  Please  try  it, 
and  report  in  your  valuable  paper. 

A  Young  Farmer. 

Goshen,  Vt.,  Dec.  26,  1866. 


AGiUCULTURAI.   ITEMS. 

— Hon.  Andrew  D.  White,  of  Syracuse  has  been 
chosen  President  of  the  New  York  Agricultural 
College,  known  as  Cornell  University. 

^Dr.  Boynton  mentions  five  square  feet  as  the 
smallest  proper  allowance  of  space  for  each  sheep 
in  its  winter  quarters. 

— Fourteen  thousand  bushels  of  apples  have  been 
shipped  from  Burlington,  Iowa,  the  present  season, 
valued  at  $i2,000. 

— "Be  thou  diligent  to  know  the  state  of  thy 
flocks,  and  look  well  after  thy  herds,  for  riches  are 
not  forever.'" 

— A  young  man  recently  wrote  to  Mr.  Horace 
Greeley  to  use  his  influence  in  obtaining  a  situation 
for  him.    He  received  the  following  reply : — "New 


York  is  just  entering  ujjon  the  inl  cresting  process 
of  starving  out  200,000  people  whom  war  and  irre- 
deemable paper  have  driven  hither.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  receive  and  employ  more  till  these  are  gone." 

— The  two-year-old  South  Down  wether  that  took 
the  first  prize  at  the  last  N.  Y.  State  Fair  was  re- 
cently killed  and  weighed,  when  dressed,  125 
pounds. 

— Two  correspondents  of  tlie  Bural  American 
say  that  a  few  seeds  of  the  Pahna  Chrinti,  or  castor 
bean,  scattered  about  their  haunts,  will  destroy 
ground  moles. 

— Success  to  all  Labor, 
For  toil  is  man's  fate, 
And  'tis  laborina;  men  only  ' 

That  can  build  up  our  8tate. 

— The  Frankville,  Ohio,  Pioneer  says  there  is 
now  living  in  Sandusky,  in  that  State,  a  fanner 
named  Matthias  Bateman,  wlio,  having  been  born 
in  1755,  is  111  years  old.    He  is  quite  active  yet. 

— Roots  or  grain  should  be  fed  to  sheep  some 
distance  from  their  pens,  says  Dr.  Boynton,  that 
should  they  be  compelled  to  get  some  vigorous  ex- 
ercise in  running  to  and  from  their  feed. 

— Mr.  Van  Alstine,  of  Columbia  county,  N.  Y., 
says  that  with  him  the  best  ripened  grapes  are 
grown  on  a  clay  or  slaty  soil.  On  sandy  loam  he 
had  never  succeeded  in  producing  well-ripened 
grapes ;  too  much  wood  is  grown. 

— In  consequence  of  the  sanitary  measui-es  which 
were  adopted  last  summer  at  St.  Louis,  to  prohibit 
the  sale  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  in  consequence  of 
of  cholera,  large  numbers  of  grapes  were  suffered 
to  rot  upon  the  vines  and  ground. 

— A  Milwaukee  paper  tells  of  a  butcher  in  that 
city  who  killed  a  cow,  a  few  days  since,  and  found 
a  live  mud-turtle  in  her  stomach.  The  shell  was 
much  eaten  by  the  acid  of  the  stomach,  and  the 
turtle  lived  but  a  few  hours  after  its  release. 

— D.  C.  Comstock,  of  the  U.  S.  army,  writes  to 
the  New  York  Tribune  that  he  has  seen  acres  of 
wild  hops,  superior  to  those  in  some  of  the  Eastern 
States,  growing  on  the  Rio  Miembres,  the  Pecos, 
and  the  Rio  Bonito  rivers  in  New  Mexico. 

— Charles  A.  Peabody,  Columbus,  Ga.,  after  ten 
years'  experimenting,  has  succeeded  in  producing 
an  improved  variety  of  long-staple  upland  cotton, 
which  for  thread  manufacturers  has  been  found 
worth  double  that  of  the  ordinary  upland  cotton. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  New  Exoland  Far- 
mer writes  that  six  or  seven  acres  of  meadow,  in 
the  town  of  Essex,  Ct.,  were  prepared  and  stocked 
with  cranberry  plants  four  or  five  years  ago.  This 
last  fall  eight  hundred  bushels  of  cranberries 
were  gathei-cd  on  this  patch. 

— Every  flock  of  sheep  in  Texas,  says  Dr.  Boyn- 
ton, must  have  a  shepherd,  or  the  wolves  would 
soon  have  the  better  part.  Each  flock  must  also 
be  yarded  at  night,  in  a  wolf-proof  pen.    A  moon 


118 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


light  serenade  from  those  shaggy  sheep-hunters  is 
not  at  all  uncommon. 

—The  late  Mr.  Eli  Keller,  of  Newark,  Ohio,  a 
highly  successful  breeder  of  Merino  sheep,  it  is 
said,  never  kept  a  written  record  of  his  sheep  but 
was  able  to  give  the  pedigree  of  each  sheep  in  a 
flock  of  150,  and  could  remember  the  form  and  pe- 
culiarities of  a  sheep  for  years  after  he  had  seen  it. 

—Butter  at  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  Jan.  4th,  was  worth 
from  25  to  38  cents  per  lb.,  with  a  few  extra  lots  at 
38  to  40  cents.  The  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  Messenger  says 
that  B.  F.  Van  Vlcet,  of  Shelburn,  sold  recently  to 
L.  G.  Wright,  of  Wcybridge,  Vt.,  22  head  of  sheep 
for  $4,500.  They  leave  Shelburn  for  Ohio  this 
week. 

—Honey,  like  most  vegetable  products,  should 
be  fresh  every  year.  It  may  easily  be  kept  from 
one  season  to  another ;  but  when  kept  beyond  that 
time,  unless  very  carefully  stored  in  a  warm  tem- 
perature, it  will  crystallize  in  the  comb,  and  it  is 
liable  to  ferment  when  in  jars  separated  from  the 
comb. 

—A  farmer  in  Mcdford,  New  Jersey,  has  about 
one  hundred  acres  planted  in  cranberries,  twenty 
of  which  were  in  fruit  last  year,  and  yielded  an 
average  of  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre ;  in  all, 
two  thousand  bushels,  which  brought  him,  clear  of 
all  expenses,  $3  per  bushel,  amounting  to  $6000 
from  the  twenty  acres  in  bearing. 

— The  INIassachusctts  Board  of  Agriculture  have 
appointed  a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Sted- 
man  of  Chicopee,  Prof.  Chadbourne  and  Prof.  Ag- 
assiz,  to  report  to  the  next  annual  meeting  some 
system  by  which  the  Board  may  collect  and  em- 
body statistical  information  relative  to  the  propa- 
gation of  domestic  animals. 

— Mr.  Pardee,  of  Illinois,  has  found  that  lime 
slaked  in  salt  l)rinc,  sown  broadcast,  had  kept  in- 
sects from  strawberries. 

— Minnesota  has  become  a  great  wheat-produc- 
ing country,  and  during  the  past  season  has  ex- 
ported over  five  million  bushels,  besides  that  re- 
quired for  the  consumption  of  her  own  people. 

— As  curculios  prefer  plums  to  any  other  fniit, 
the  peach  growers  of  Southern  Illinois  protect 
their  fruit  by  planting  plum  trees  among  their 
peaches. 

— Mr.  Colby  of  Southom  Illinois  has  invented  a 
machine  i'or  catching  curculios  by  horse  power.  It 
is  simply  an  extension  of  the  hand  sheet  and  jar- 
ring process.  Two  men  and  two  boys  can  visit  1000 
trees  per  hour. 

— An  ingenious  mechanic  a  native  of  New  Eng- 
land, has  invented  a  process  by  which  the  enamel 
can  be  removed  from  the  fibi-e  of  the  milk-weed. 
The  fibre  then  l)ecomes  equal  to  cotton — soft,  silky, 
and  of  great  strength.  Cloth  made  from  it  is 
stronger  than  that  from  any  material  now  known. 

— Mr.  Mt(-lay  stated  at  a  late  meeting  of  the 
Southern  Illinois  Fruit  Growers'  Association,  that 


he  had  known  peaches  perfectly  colorless  on  ac- 
count of  having  been  mulched.  He  objected  to 
sawdust,  believing  it  generates  fungi. 

— There  have  been  shipped  from  Quincy,  111., 
the  past  year,  l)etween  45,000  and  48,000  barrels  of 
apples,  which  sold  at  an  average  of  $3  per  barrel. 
The  barrels  were  new,  and  made  at  Quincy,  at  60c 
each.  About  80  cents  per  bushel  were  paid  to  the 
growers. 

— The  following  rule  for  ascertaining  the  num 
bcr  of  bushels  of  apples,  potatoes,  &c.,in  bins  anc 
l)oxes,  is  recommended  as  simple  and  accurate  bj 
a  correspondent  of  the  Mirror  and  Farmer :  for  the 
number  of  "even"  bushels,  multiply  the  number 
of  cubic  feet  in  the  bin  by  8  and  point  off  one  deci- 
mal. For  "heaped"  bushels,  multiply  hj  8  twice 
and  point  off  two. 

— The  sticky  or  gummy  condition  of  some  of  the 
cheaper  kinds  of  curried  leather  and  its  lialiility  to 
crack  is  said  to  be  owing  to  the  use  of  fish  oil  in 
the  finishing.  Neat's-foot  oil  being  the  product  of 
the  bouvine  pecies,  seems  to  be  naturally  adapted 
to  the  tanned  skin,  and  the  evils  alluded  to  have 
only  appeared  where  other  oils  have  been  substi- 
tuted by  the  currier. 

— S.  P.  Snow,  of  Blakesburgh,  Iowa,  uses  a  cheap 
com  sheller.  Bore  an  inch  and  a  half  hole  through 
a  two-inch  plank ;  put  legs  to  the  plank,  making  a 
stool  of  it  about  as  high  as  a  chair.  Over  the  hole 
in  the  plank  finnly  nail  a  plate  of  ii-on  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  with  a  hole 
through  the  center  of  the  plate,  just  large  enough 
to  admit  the  passage  of  a  corn  cob.  Through  this 
hole,  with  a  small  wooden  mallet  the  ears  of  corn 
are  to  be  driven.  This  machine,  simple  as  it  is,  will 
shell  very  clean,  and  with  double  or  triple  the  ex- 
pedition of  hand-shelling. 

— Congi'ess  is  told  by  the  Memorial  of  the  Ver- 
mont Wool-growers,  drawn  up  by  Hon.  J.  W.  Col- 
burn,  that  "the  present  rates  of  dut,y  upon  wool 
are  totally  inadequate  to  the  protection  of  the 
American  growth  and  are  rapidly  tending  to  break 
down  this  production,  and  build  up  our  foreign  ri- 
vals, by  enabling  them,  aided  as  they  are  by  climatic 
advantages,  cheap  lands,  and  cheap  labor,  to  mo- 
nopolize our  own  markets,  to  the  exclusion  of  our- 
selves, thus  leaving  our  own  clips  upon  our  handsi 
while  we  are  obliged  to  clothe  ourselves  and  fami- 
lies with  fabrics  made  ft-om  foreign  wool,  and  at 
much  higher  prices  (induced  by  intenial  taxation) 
than  formerly,  when  we  held  a  fair  com])etition  in 
our  own  markets." 

— Daniel  Miller,  Picrccton,  Ind.,  writes  to  the 
New  York  Farmer's  Club,  that  for  two  years  past 
farming  in  Northei-n  Indiana  and  Southern  Michi- 
gan, has  been  carried  on  under  great  discourage- 
ments, owing  mainly  to  bad  weather;  and  some 
ci-ops  have  been  total  losses.  Hence  farmers  are 
uneasy,  they  cannot  pay  high  wages,  improvements 
are  suspended,  and  some  seek  other  l)usiness.  This 
is  the  reason  Avhy  cities  and  to^vns  grow  so  fast, 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


119 


and  there  it  is  almost  impossible  to  find  a  vacant 
house.  Another  cause  of  discouragement  are  the 
high  prices  which  the  fanner  has  to  pay  for  every- 
thing he  buys. 

—Mr.  Taber  of  the  New  York  .Tribune,  makes 

the  following  statement  as  to  the  cost  of  keeping  a 

cow  daring  the  month  of  December,  last.     He 

bought  what  he  considered  the  cheapest  food,  and 

gave  her  what  she  would  eat  up  clean.    The  record 

'stands : — 

SlOfthav,  at  $1.50 $4  65 

150  1t)biKkwln;atbraii,at  $1.10 165 

121  ft  wheat  bran,  No.  3,  at  $2.00 2  42 

IK  bbls.  turnips,  at  $1.00 150 

Cartages 1  00 

Total $11  22 

The  cow  is  of  medium  size,  comes  in  in  May, 
hence  only  gives  a  small  amount  of  milk,  still  the 
134  quarts  olitained  were  sold  at  twelve  cents  per 
quart  at  the  house,  or  for  .f  16.08,  Icavmg  a  profit  of 
nearly  $o.  Another  cow  furnished  milk  for  the 
family.  At  one  time  he  gave  her  the  buckwheat 
bran  freely,  but  she  did  not  thrive  as  well  upon  it, 
nor  was  the  average  supply  of  milk  kept  up.  The 
hay  was  all  cut  and  the  other  feed  mixed  with  it, 
wetting  the  mess. 


MASSACHUSETTS  SOCIETIES. 
The  Hampsliire,  Franldin,  and  Hampden 
Agricultural  Society,  at  its  annual  meeting 
held  at  Northampton,  January  2,  elected  the 
following  officers  : — President,  Mile  J.  Smith, 
Northampton ;  Vice  Presidents,  Elnathan 
Graves,  "Williamsburg ;  Andrew  T.  Judd, 
South  Hadley ;  Rodney  Smith,  Hadley ;  J. 
W.  Hubbard,  Northampton;  Secretary,  A. 
Perry  Peck,  Northampton  ;  Treasurer,  H.  K. 
Starkweather,  Northampton ;  Auditor,  Oscar 
Edwards,  Northampton  ;  Delegate  to  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  H.  S.  Porter,  Hatfield. 

Tlie  Berhsliire  Agricvltural  Society  held  its 
annual  meeting  in  Pittsfield,  Jan.  2,  and  elect- 
ed the  following  board  of  officers  : — John  L. 
Cole,  Williamstowii,  President;  H.  M.  Peir- 
son,  Pittsfield,  Treasurer;  John  E.  Merrill, 
Pittsfield,  Secretarj\  Alexander  Hyde,  of 
Lee,  was  elected  delegate  to  the  State  Board  of 
Agriculture. 

The  Ilampden  Co.  Agricultural  Society,  iit 
its  recent  annual  meeting,  elected  the  following 
officers  : — President,  George  Dwight,  Spring- 
field ;  Secretary,  J.  N.  Bagg,  West  Spring- 
field ;  Treasurer,  Jos.  E.  Russell,  Springfield. 

The  Agricidtural  Committee  of  the  Legis- 
lature is  cormposed,  on  the  part  of  the  Senate,  of 
Hon.  E.  H.  Sawyer,  of  Easthampton,  and  Hon. 


Hinsdale  Smith,  of  Agawam.  On  the  part  of 
the  House,  Dr.  (ioorge  B.  Loring,  of  Salem ; 
Hon.  Levi  Stockbridge,  of  Hadley;  Col.  Dan- 
iel Needham,  of  Groton ;  A.  H.  Holland,  of 
Barre,  and  John  E.  IMcrrill,  of  Pittsfield 


Adaptation   of   Fakm    Buildings. — The 

Prairie  Farmer  says  that  many  farmers  on  the 
prairies  are  raising  up  their  buildings.  As  ori- 
ginally constructed  they  not  only  present  a  squat 
appearance,  but  being  generally  placed  too 
near  the  ground,  and  without  proper  stone  or 
brick  underpinning,  the  sills  and  other  lower 
timbers  are  found  to  rot  very  rapidly.  Among 
the  suggestions  which  the  writer  makes  to  those 
who  are  altering  over  old  buildings,  or  erect- 
ing new  ones,  we  think  the  following  applica- 
ble not  only  to  the  farms  of  the  prairies  in 
Illinois,  but  to  those  on  the  hills  and  in  the 
vales  of  New  England  : — 

As  a  general  thing,  our  books  and  our  archi- 
tects are  at  fault  in  regard  to  farm  buildings. 
We  have  a  new  condition  of  things  that  changes 
the  Avhole  system  of  farm  barns.  The  hay 
fork,  the  annual  cost  of  material,  especially 
shingles  and  nails,  the  railway  horse-power,  the 
feed-mills  and  the  enhanced  prices  of  corn  and 
of  farm  labor  to  do  this  muscular  work,  cheap- 
ness, durability  and  adaptation  must  be  more 
thoroughly  studied. 


STATE   KEFORM    SCHOOL. 

We  have  before  us  the  2()th  Annual  Report 
of  the  Trustees  of  the  State  Reform  School,  at 
Westboro'.  From  the  statements  made  we 
should  tliink  the  institution  has  been  doing  a 
good  work.  We  take  the  following  items  from 
Ae  rejiort : — 

The  Trustees  have  long  felt  the  desirable- 
ness of  turning  as  much  of  the  labor  of  the  boys 
as  possible  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  espe- 
cially to  gardening,  and  have,  therefore,  bee_n 
yearlv  extending  the  grounds  devoted  to  this 
"pui-pose,  and  raising  thereon  a  large  vari- 
ety of  vegetables  and  small  fruits.  We  have 
a  "tract  of  about  forty  acres  of  plain  land, 
easv  to  cultivate,  and  admirably  adapted 
to  this  puqiose ;  and  we  have  now  a  vegetable 
and  fruit  garden  of  about  thirty  acres,  which, 
we  think,  "will  compare  favorably  with  any  gar- 
den of  its  size  in  the  country. 

We  are  convinced  by  experience  that  boys 
placed  with  farmers  in  the  country  are  almost 
certain  to  do  well,  and  if  not  disturbed  by  their 
parents,  they  generally  become  steady,  respect- 
able men ;  while  those  placed  in  large  towns 
and  cities  are  about  equally  sure  to  return  to 
their  former  evil  habits.  By  employing  our 
boys  in  gardening,  we  gradually  form  in  them 


120 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


March 


a  lore  for  such  labors,  and,  at  the  same  time 
we  prepare  them  to  be  useful  at  once  to  the 
farmers  with  whom  we  so  much  desire  to  place 
them. 

In  common  with  others,  we  have  been  se- 
verely troubled  during  a  part  of  the  past  year 
by  the  prevailing  disease  of  cholera  among  our 
swine,  brought  in  by  animals  purcha'^cd  at 
Brighton,  causing  the  death  of  upwards  of  six- 
ty hogs  and  pigs,  and  compelling  us,  in  order 
to  avoid  the  infection,  to  remove  our  piggery 
to  a  new  location  ;  thus  requiring  an  outlay  of 
about  a  thousand  dollars  for  removal  and  ne- 
cessary repairs,  besides  the  loss  of  stock,  which 
cannot  be  estimated  at  less  than  one  thousand 
dollars  more. 


DO   "WB   MCW   TOO   MUCH   LAND  ? 

So  far  as  our  observation  in  the  dairy  dis- 
tricts of  this  country  goes,  we  must  say  that 
altogether  too  much  land  is  devoted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  hay.  It  would  be  better  to  mow 
less,  and  let  that  part  of  the  farm  which  is  to  be 
mowed  be  so  managed  that  full  crops  may  be 
obtained,  while  the  balance  of  the  ground  mav 
be  put  to  pasture  or  grain  crop';.  Woidd  it 
not  be  better  to  put  thirty  acres,  for  instance, 
in  condition  to  produce  seventy  tons  of  hay  an- 
nually than  to  mow  over  and  take  care  of 
seventy  acres — one  ton  per  acre  is  about  our 
average — to  get  that  product  ?  At  a  meeting 
of  the  Farmers'  Club,  at  Little  Falls.  N.  Y.,  a 
year  or  two  ago,  Mr.  Lewis,  of  Frankfort, 
Btated  that  he  grew  enough  hay  on  twenty-five 
acres  for  the  winter  keep  of  fifty  head  of  cattle. 
The  twenty-five  acres  were  annuallv  treated 
with  the  liquid  manure  from  his  stock.  It  was 
absorbed  in  sawdust,  and  thus  easily  distribut- 
ed. When  in  England,  the  past  season,  among 
the  dairy  farms,  we  foimd  this  question  studied 
and  reduced  to  a  better  system  than  with  us. 
It  is  a  matter  of  some  importance  there  to 
know  how  to  keep  a  liberal  amotmt  of  stock  on 
a  small  space.  By  increasing  your  stock,  yon 
not  only  add  to  the  receipts,  or  income,  but 
add  also  to  the  fertility  of  your  soil  from  the 
increased  quantity  of  manures.  They  believe, 
therefore,  in  extending  the  area  of  pasture 
lands,  converting  the  green  food  into  milk, 
butter  and  beef,  while  the  hay  lands  are  reduc- 
ed to  the  smallest  compass  possible.  '  Wherev- 
er they  can  irrigate  a  mea<low  it  is  done,  and 
large  vields  result.  Some  adopt  the  system  of 
alternate  cropping  and  mowing,  in  order  to 
keep  up  permanent  meadows,  and  this,  of 
course,  in  addition  to  top-dressings.  But  they 
have  another  system  not  common  in  this  conn- 
try,  and  that  is,  the  production  of  hay  on  ara- 
ble lands,  in  regular  rotation  of  crops,  imder 
the  three,  four  or  five  course  shift.  For  in- 
stance, the  rotation  may  be  wheat,  turnips, 
barley,  grass.  The  last  may  be  mowed  one  or 
two  years,  according  to  the  shift  adopted,  when 
the  land  is  broken  up  and  put  to  wheat.  Now, 
under  this  system,  the  land  when  put  down  to 


grass  is  seeded  heavily,  oflen  with  from  IJ  to 
2  bushels  of  the  lighter  seeds  and  12  to  15  lbs. 
of  the  clovers.  The  result  is  an  immense  yield 
the  first  year — as  much  as  2i  tons  and  more 
per  acre.  I  went  upon  meadows  of  this  des- 
cription where  the  yield  of  hay  must  have  been 
at  least  2A  tons,  and  I  estimated  it  at  3  tons 
per  acre.  Then,  in  winter,  they  chop  the 
coarse  fodder  or  straw,  and  feed  it  with  oil 
cake,  and  in  this  way  get  along  with  much  less 
meadow  land  than  do  our  farmers,  beside 
keeping  more  stock,  and  making  more  am 
better  manure. — A".  A.  Willard,  in  Country 
Gentleman. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HYMN"    OF    THE   PARMER. 

BY   THE   PEASANT   BARD. 


Wlien  Adam  took  the  fruit 

From  gentle  Eva's  hand, 
Then  honest  Labor  first  took  root 

Deep  in  the  virgin  land. 

For  then  was  earth  accurst 

Tliat  man  should  toil  for  bread  ; 

But  God  for  good  o'er  ruled  the  worBt, 
And  man  was  blest,  instead. 

Blest  in  the  teeming  soil 

His  lalior  did  retrieve; 
Blest  in  his  vigor-giving  toil; 

Blest  in  beguiling  Eve. 

Welcome  to  Labor,  then. 
That  crowns  v/ith  health  our  lives  I 

Hail,  Adam,  first  of  Husbandmen  I 
Eve,  first  of  Farmer's  Wives  I 

But  unto  God,  alone. 
Our  homage  due  be  given  ; 

Who  deigns,  as  children,  us  to  own, 
And  breaks  us  bread  from  Heaven. 
Gill,  Mass.,  1866. 


Experiments  with  Manures. — E.  R.  Tow- 
ley  of  West  Berkshire,  Vt.,  gives  in  the  Ver- 
mont Farmer  the  following  result  of  experi- 
ments with  different  kinds  of  manure  on  com. 
the  past  season. 

The  land  and  cultivation  was  the  same.  The 
ground  was  an  inverted  greensM'ard,  heavily 
manured  on  the  surface,  and  the  fertilizers  put 
in  the  hill.  The  following  was  the  result  when 
the  corn  was  husked — each  plot  containing  two 
rows  through  the  fields. 

Plot  1,  No  manure,  2\  baskets  of  ears  ol' 
corn. 

Plot  2,  A  compost  consisting  of  hen  manure, 
ashes,  plaster,  and  earth,  2^  baskets. 

Plot ;!,  Lodi  Manufacturing  Co.'s  Poudrette, 
Di  baskets. 

Plot  4,  Rotten  barn-yard  manure  4 A  baskets. 

Plot  f).  Hog  manure  5  baskets. 

I'jot  6,  I5radley's  X.  L.  Superphosphate  of 
lime,  /)  baskets. 

The  degree  of  soundness  was  in  proportion 
to  the  yield,  the  last  being  the  best. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


121 


s^ 


A   PUKITAW   APPLE    TREE. 


Peregi'ine  White,  the  first  English  child 
bom  in  New  England,  lived  in  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  Marshfield,  where  he  also  died,  in 
1704,  at  the  age  of  83.  His  farm  was  in  the 
possession  of  a  descendant  of  the  fifth  genera- 
tion, of  the  same  name,  in  1852.  On  these 
premises  stands  the  celebrated  tree  represented 
in  our  engraving.  Tradition  says  it  was  plant- 
ed about  the  year  1648.  "The  owner  states 
that,  as  far  his  memory  extends,  the  tree  has 
produced  fruit  almost  every  year  without  in- 
terruption. The  apples  have  a  superior  flavor, 
being  a  pleasant  sour,  and  of  a  beautiful  red 
color.  When  perfectly  ripe,  we  have  rarely 
eaten  a  better  apple.  When  the  writer  visited 
this  tree  in  1852,  only  the  right  hand  branch 
was  standing ;  this  appeared  to  be  a  vigorous 
shoot  from  the  old  stock  ;  the  residue  of  the 
tree,  being  partially  decayed,  had  been  remov- 
ed. 

Every  thing  that  relates  to  our  ancestors, 
or  the  times  in  which  they  lived,  is  of  interest 


to  us,  as  their  descendants.  Would  the  reader 
perpetuate  his  own  memory  and  secure  the 
blessing  of  coming  generations,  let  liim  plant  a 

tree. 

i  DATRYMATsT'S    COWVENTIOW. 

I  The  Second  Annual  Convention  of  the 
j  American  Dairyman's  Association  was  held  at 
\  Utica,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  6th  and  7th.  Delegates 
were  present  from  Vermont  and  other  New 
'  England  States,  from  several  of  the  Western 
I  States  and  from  Canada,  but  the  convention 
'  was  largely  composed  of  the  dairj^men  of  New 
!  York. 

In  his  opening  address,  the  president,  W.  H. 
Comstock,  of  Utica,  reviewed  the  results  of 
the  work  for  the  year  past.  Their  represen- 
tative in  England,  Mr.  Willard,  had  fulfilled 
bis  mission  admirably,  towards  whose  expenses 
$1630  had  been  paid.  American  cheese  was 
fast  gaining  a  good  name  in  England.  It  was 
used   upon   the   tables   of  many  Englishmen. 


122 


NEW  ENGLAM)  FARMER. 


March 


The  speaker  suggested  several  subjects  for 
discussion,  which  were  subsequently  assigned 
to  disputants.    Officers  were  elected  as  follows  : 

President — Geo.  Williams,  of  Oneida.  Vice 
Presidents — Hon.  B.  N.  Huntingdon,  of  Oneida; 
Seth  Miller,  of  Lewis  ;  M.  H.  Cochrane,  of  Canada 
East;  Bradford  Stiles,  of  Madison;  Dwiglit  J. 
"Woodworth,  Cattaraugus;  A.  D.  Hall,  of  Ohio; 
Alanson  Slawtcr,  of  Orange ;  A.  A.  Moore,  of  Ver- 
mont; George  Williams,  of  Oneida;  Kinney,  of 
Illinois  ;  C.  E.  Chadwick,  of  Canada  West. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer — G.  B.  Weeks,  of  Ve- 
rona, N.  Y. 

Government  Tax  on  Cheese. 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  pro- 
ceed to  Washington  to  see  what  could  be  done 
iu  regard  to  having  the  tax  taken  off  from  fac- 
tories on  the  ground  of  the  perishable  nature 
of  milk  and  its  productions.  In  some  remarks 
upon  this  subject,  Mr.  Storms  of  Montgomery 
said: 

A  cheese  is  in  its  prime  at  from  one  to  four 
months  old,  according  to  the  state  of  the 
weather ;  after  that  time  it  begins  to  deterio- 
rate, and  soon  becomes  too  rank  for  the  popu- 
lar taste.  Whether  a  reduced  temperature  and 
an  air-tight  composition  or  varnish  would  main- 
tain the  flavor  for  a  greater  length  of  time,  re- 
mains to  be  determmed  by  experiment.  We 
are  consequently  compelled  to  seU  or  submit  to 
inevitable  loss  by  holding  on. 

Profitableness   of  Dairying. 

In  relation  to  the  alleged  profitableness  of 
dairy  farming,  the  same  gentleman  submitted 
the  following  figures : 

I  suppose  the  average  number  of  acres  in 
dairy  farms  is  about  125,  and  these  should  car- 
ry, one  year  with  another,  25  cows,  a  span  of 
horses,  and  other  necessary  stock.  From  these 
cows  there  should  be  made  11,500  pounds  of 
cheese,  and  butter  sufficient  for  the  family,  if 
made  at  a  factory.  At  15  cents  per  pound, 
this  amounts  to  $1,725.  Add  $100  for  sale  of 
pork,  and  we  have  $1,825  as  receipts.  For 
expense  account,  we  have  interest  on  land  at 
$80  per  acre,  and  $2,000  in  stock  and  ma- 
chinery— $810 ;  a  man  at  $30  per  month, 
eight  months;  a  woman  at  $12  per  month; 
sometimes,  and  an  extra  hand  in  haying 
and  harvest,  one  month,  $62 ;  this  amounts 
to  $238,  leaving  $587,  out  of  which  the  far- 
mer must  board  his  help,  pay  taxes,  make  re- 
pairs, and  clothe  his  family.  All  that  remains 
after  deducting  reasonable  compensation  lor 
his  own  and  his  wife's  labor,  need  not  astonish 
any  body.  If,  In  view  of  these  facts  and  fig- 
ures, any  one  supposes  that  dairying  Is  so  very 
profitatjie,  their  faith  must  be  marvellous  in- 
deed. 

Purity   of  Flavor. 

After  discussing  the  expediency  of  the  branch 
eystem,  the  convention  considered  the  ques- 


tion. What  are  the  requisites  of  purity  of  fla- 
vor in  cheese,  and  how  can  It  be  secured  ? 

Mr.  G.  WilHams,  President  elect,  consid- 
ed  pmity  and  flavor  to  be  the  essentials  of 
cheese.  He  did  not  think  the  quality  of  cheese 
depended  altogether  upon  the  manufacturer. 
It  depends  mainly  upon  the  kind  or  quality  of 
grass  or  grain  upon  which  cows  are  supported. 
Grass  must  not  only  be  pure,  but  everything 
with  it  must  be  pure.  No  pasture  should  be 
used  which  Is  mixed  with  weeds.  Eating  these 
impure  articles  of  food  invariably  produced 
impure  milk,  and  no  good  cheese  can  be  made 
from  impure  milk.  Cows  must  be  in  perfect 
health.  It  is  the  mterest  of  dalrjinen  to  se- 
lect only  such  cows  as  will  produce  pure  milk, 
even  sacrificing  quantity  to  quality.  Milk 
must  be  kejjt  where  nothmg  Impure  can  influ- 
ence It.  Milk  is  a  very  susceptible  article, 
and  readil}'  partakes  of  the  properties  of  what- 
ever surrounds  it.  Onions  in  the  same  room 
with  milk  will  communicate  their  pungent  qual- 
ity to  it. 

Mr.  Farrington,  of  Canada  West,  thought 
there  was  danger  of  getting  too  much  of  the 
water  out  of  curd.  Where  too  much  water 
was  taken  out  sour  cheese  Is  invariably  the 
result.  Private  factories  he  did  not  believe  to 
be  as  good  as  large  factories.  He  had  tried  it, 
and  had  given  it  up  in  disgust.  The  j^rlvate 
system  could  never  be  carried  out  and  It  never 
would  be  tried  generally  again.  Concerning 
purity  in  cheese,  Mr.  Farrington  said,  the  impu- 
rity and  bad  c^uaUty  of  cheese  during  the  past 
year,  was  owing  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  wet 
season.  Mr.  F.  discussed  this  part  of  the  cjues- 
tion  from  a  scientific  point,  attributing  the  Im- 
purity of  cheese  to  the  surplus  of  ammonia  In  the 
food  of  the  cows.  Upon  the  question  of  soil  Mr. 
Farrington  agreed  with  those  who  held  tliat  the 
quality  of  cheese  depends  somewhat  upon  the 
soil,  citing  the  fact  that  different  localities  pro- 
duced cheese  of  very  widely  different  quaUty. 

Mr.  'Willard's  Address. 
An  able  and  extensive  address  was  delivered 
on  Tuesday  evening  by  Mr.  X.  A.  Willard, 
which  occupied  about  two  hours.  His  lecture 
treated  mostly  of  English  agriculture  and  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  dairy  husbandry  of  that 
country,  although  he  travelled  through  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Ireland,  France  and  Switzer- 
land. He  gave  a  description  of  the  dairy  dis- 
tricts of  England — the  appearance  of  the  coun- 
try, the  character  of  soil,  grasses  and  manner 
in  which  farms  are  generally  conducted.  The 
dairy  farmers  of  America  had  much  to  learn 
in  the  management  of  farms.  English  farming 
was  vastly  superior  to  ours.  It  may  be  com- 
pared to  our  garden  culture.  AVeeds  are  not 
permitted  to  get  possession  of  the  soil.  The 
English  farmer  uses  more  capital  in  his  busi- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


123 


ness  than  we  do.  His  rents  and  taxation  are 
often  more  than  the  whole  receipts  of  a  farm 
of  the  same  number  of  acres  with  us,  and  yet 
he  pays  these  and  makes  a  large  profit. 
Best  Stock  for  the  Dairy. 
A  lengthy  debate  on  the  best  stock  for  dairy 
pm-poses,.  resulted  in  these  propositions  : 

That  it  is  neither  safe  or  profitable  to  depend 
on  purchasing  cows  at  random  for  filling  up 
dairies. 

That  calves  can  be  raised  with  better  results 
as  to  cost  and  quality. 

That  care  should  be  strictly  observed  in 
breeding  for  the  dairy  in  the  selection  of  the 
bull  as  well  as  the  cow,  so  that  the  good  quali- 
1  ies  of  the  one  may  not  be  counteracted  by  the 
bad  ones  of  others,  and  by  this  means  we  may 
be  quite  sure  of  superior  milkers. 

That  good  cows  are  cheaper  than  poor  ones, 
the  best  way  you  can  fix  it. 

Butter  from  "Whey. 

A  statement  was  made  in  relation  to  a  pa- 
tent for  making  butter  from  whey,  which 
brought  out  the  following  statement  by  Mr. 
Riggs  of  Lewis  county,  of  his  success  in  this 
line,  without  the  patent  process  : 

After  separating  the  whey  from  the  curd, 
place  it  in  a  tin  vat  and  add  a  liquid  acid. 
One  gallon  to  the  whey  of  50  gallons  of  milk, 
if  the  whey  is  sweet  but  less  quantity  if  changed. 
After  this,  apply  heat  until  it  indicates  a  tem- 
perature of  from  200  to  212  degrees,  Fahren- 
heit. When  the  cream  rises  and  is  skimmed 
off  and  placed  in  a  cool  place,  let  it  stand  till 
the  next  day.  Then  it  is  churned  at  a  temper- 
ature ranging  from  oG  to  68  degi-ees,  depend- 
ing on  the  weather,  and  it  is  worked  over  and 
salted  in  the  usual  manner  of  butter  making. 
It  will  produce  on  an  average  one  pound  of 
butter  from  the  whey  of  1.50  pounds  of  milk. 
The  acid  is  made  by  taking  any  quantity  of 
whey  at  boiling  heat  after  the  cream  is  extract- 
ed, adding  1  gallon  of  strictly  sour  whey  to  10 
gallons  of  this  boiling  whey,  when  all  the  casein 
remaining  in  the  whey  is  collected  together 
in  one  mass  and  is  skimmed  off.  After  the 
whey  is  let  stand  from  21  to  48  hours,  it  is 
ready  for  use  as  acid.  This  process  is  repeated 
as  often  as  necessity  requires. 

Best  Grasses  for  Dairy   Stock. 
The  kinds  of  grasses,  &c.,  for  pastures  and 
meadows,    and   for  soiling  and  feeding  cows 
being  under  consideration  : — 

Mr.  Lewis  said  he  was  aware  he  should 
meet  a  fierce  opposition  in  advocating  the 
good  qualities  of  quack  grass.  He  said  it  was 
the  most  tenacious  of  life  and  did  better  than 
timothy  or  clover  for  pasture.  Quack  grass 
would  grow  either  end  up  on  the  poorest  soil, 
and  even  on  rocks  (provided  the  rocks  be  cov- 


ered deeply  enough  with  soil) ,  or  even  in  the 
best  cultivated  and  ridiest  soiled  gardens. 
Quack  produced  better  hay  than  timothy  for 
cattle.  Mr.  Lewis  virged  upon  the  attention 
of  the  convention  the  fact  that  nature  never 
designed  that  timothy  and  clover  should  grow 
on  every  kind  of  soil.  Soils  that  will  not  sus- 
tain those  popular  grasses  will  produce  abun- 
dance of  rich  hay  from  other  kinds  of  grass. 
On  the  subject  of  grain  Mr.  L.  said  he  had  not 
had  experience  lately  in  grain  feeding.  He 
had  let  his  grain  "go  to  grass"  until  his  friends 
had  called  him  a  Nebuchadnezzar  on  grass. 
After  mentioning  the  different  kinds  of  grain 
and  their  quality  as  food  for  milch  cows  he  ad- 
vised the  feeding  first  oat  meal,  second  oat 
meal,  and  third  oat  meal,  thus  expressing  his 
opinion  on  the  grades  of  grains  for  food. 

The  following  recommendation  was  finally 
read  and  apparently  endorsed  by  the  conven- 
tion : — 

Grasses  for  hay  or  meadows  on  good  soils — 
June  or  blue  grass,  timothy,  orchard  grass, 
red-top,  smooth  stalked  meadow  grass,  tall  fes- 
cue, and  fowlmeadow  grass. 

For  pastures  on  good  soils — Clover,  red  and 
white,  smooth-stalked  meadow  grass,  timothy, 
orchard  grass,  meadow  foxtail,  sweet-scented 
vernal  grass,  and  last,  but  not  least,  June 
grass. 

For  pastures  and  meadows  on  moist  soils — 
Rough-stalked  meadow  grass,  red-top  orchard 
grass,  tall  fescue,  June  grass,  and  floating  fes- 
cue. 

For  soiling — "Winter  rye,  lucerne,  red  clover, 
medium,  fall  oat-grass  and  millet. 

For  pastures  and  meadows  or  exhausted 
or  wet  clay  soils — red-top,  couch  grass,  and 
quack. 

The  questions  as  to  the  best  course  to  be 
pursued  to  secure  fair  prices  for  cheese,  and 
as  to  the  expediency  of  publishing  a  "circular," 
or  paper,  were  discussed,  on  Wednesday,  and 
a  committee  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions 
to  the  latter. 

The  foregoing  brief  abstract  of  the  proceed- 
ngs  of  the  Convention  is  condensed  from  a 
fuU  report  in  the  Utica  Herald. 


Connecticut  River  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety.— At  the  annual  meeting  of  this  associa- 
tion, at  Windsor,  Vt.,  the  following  officers 
were  elected: — President,  Henry  Hubbard, 
Charlestown,  N.  H. ;  Vice  President,  Geo.  01- 
cott,  same  place;  Secretary,  Alexander  Mc- 
Lane,  Fairlee,  Vt.  Board  of  Management,  in 
New  Hampshire :  Hon.  Robert  ElweU,  Lang- 
don  ;  D.  F.  Tillotson,  Orford ;  Capt.  Chester 
Pike,  Cornish  ;  George  Rust,  Walpole  ;  L.  L. 
Church,  West  Lebanon ;  Joseph  Powers,  Ha- 


124 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


verhill ;  F.  E.  Newcomb,  Keene  ;  in  Vermont, 
Nathan  Taplin,  Corinth ;  J.  D.  \Vheat,  Put- 
ney ;  Eben  Bridge,  Pomfret :  James  Y .  Pres- 
cott,  Newbury;  Daniel  Davis,  Jr.,  Windsor; 
Richard  Bradley,  Brattleboro' ;  George  W. 
Black,  Westminster  ;  Darius  Russ,  Hartford  ; 
Jona.  Johiison,  Bradford  ;  Edward  Douglass, 
Chelsea ;  H.  H.  Stone,  BeUows  Falls ;  E.  R. 
Jennings,  Quechee,  and  H.  W.  Kimball,  West- 
minster. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
SUBSOILING. 

"Why  is  there  so  little  said  upon  the  above 
subject  at  this  time  ?  Is  it  because  the  subject 
was  overdone  a  few  years  since  ?  My  impres- 
sion was,  at  that  time,  that  every  good  farmer 
would  have  his  subsoil  plow  and  use  it  con- 
stantly. But  what  are  the  facts  ?  A  few  far- 
mers bought  the  plows  and  used  them  for  a 
short  time  ;  but,  as  the  evidence  comes  to  me, 
they  are  mostly  put  away  with  other  "rubbish." 

The  arguments  then  put  forth  in  favor  of 
subsoiling  were  good,  and  generally  accepted 
by  the  farming  community.  Those  arguments 
are  just  as  good  now.  That  there  is  need  of 
breaking  the  soil  below  the  action  of  the  com- 
mon plow,  is  a  fact  beyond  any  doubt.  No 
man  who  is  posted  pretends  to  deny  the  utility 
of  it.  No  good  farmer  woidd  object  to  having 
his  soil  loosened  to  any  depth.  But  most  of 
us  object  to  having  the  subsoil  turned  up  top. 
We  rather  it  would  lie  at  the  bottom,  but  in 
condition  to  be  the  receptacle  of  the  roots  of 
whatever  crop  is  grown  on  the  soil.  We  would 
be  most  tenaciously  particular  to  have  the  soil 
stirred  deeply  when  roots  are  to  be  raised. 
And  very  necessary  is  it,  when  an  orchard  is  to 
be  set. 

But  the  old  subsoU  plow,  for  some  reason, 
is  mostly  discarded.  And  why?  Because  it 
costs  so  much  to  do  the  work,  says  one.  In 
subsoiling  common  old  ground,  it  takes  a  team 
at  the  common  plow,  and  another  with  the  sub- 
soil plow.  With  most  farmers  this  is  a  serious 
objection.  We  can  easily  calculate  on  one 
team,  but  when  two  are  required,  we  find  our- 
selves minus.  The  difficulty  then  of  doing  the 
work,  is  obviously  the  reason  why  subsoiling 
has  been  mostly  abandoned.  The  reasons  for 
it  yet  remain,  and  it  is  a  work  that  will  pay, 

Erovided  it  can  be  reasonably   accomplished, 
.et  us  see  if  it  can,  and  what  the  means  we 
have  at  hand  at  this  time. 

Some  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  an  old  farmer 
out  somewhere  in  New  York,  who  had  a  way 
of  doing  his  own  farming  and  black-smithing 
with  the  same  hands,  conceived  the  idea  of 
putting  an  attachment  to  a  common  plow,  to  be 
used  as  a  subsoiler,  which  should  be  simple, 
cheap  and  cdfective.  After  various  experi- 
ments the  thing  was  done.  His  attachment 
could  be  allbrded  for  five  or  six  dollars,  and 


put  upon  any  plow  in  one  hour.  He  used  it 
himself,  and  his  neighbors  about  him  used  it. 
It  was  so  well  liked,  that  the  old  man  was  ad- 
vised to  patent  it.  He  did  so,  and  now  in  his 
old  age  enjoys  a  competence  from  this  little  in- 
vention. I  refer  to  what  is  called  "Burnham 
&  Pierce's  Subsoil  Attachment."  Perhaps  it 
has  been  before  alluded  to  in  your  columns,  in 
a  manner  corresponding  to  its  meiits.  But  I 
fear  that  this,  like  many  other  subjects,  will  need 
"line  upon  line  and  precept  uj^on  precept,"  to 
make  the  farmers  believe  in  it  enough  to  try  it. 
When  once  tried  it  is  never  given  up. 

It  is  a  trowel  shaped  implement  attached  to 
a  bar  two  feet  long.  A  clamp  on  the  inside  of 
the  plow  beam  holds  the  top  of  the  bar  in 
place,  and  a  rod  running  from  the  plow  back, 
holds  the  block  in  its  proper  position.  It  runs 
in  the  furrow  after  the  plow,  and  can  be  raised 
or  lowered  at  pleasure.  When  it  runs  three  or 
four  inches  deeper  than  the  plow,  a  good  horse 
extra  is  required  to  move  it.  In  order  to  fur- 
nish your  readers  a  little  evidence  of  what 
practical  farmers  think  of  it, — in  order  to 
strengthen  their  faith, — I  subjoin  a  report  of  a 
special  committee  raised  by  the  old  Hillsbo- 
rough County,  N.  H. ,  Agricultural  and  Me- 
chanical Society,  during  its  fair  last  fall. 

To  the  President  and  Officers  of  the  Hillsborough  Agri- 
cultural Society. 

Gentlemen  : — The  undersigned,  a  special  com- 
mittee, raised  at  your  fair,  October  4th,  1866,  to 
witness  tlie  trial  of  the  recently  invented  Subsoil 
Attachment  to  plows,  beg  leave  to  report  that  we 
witnessed  the  trial  of  one  attached  to  a  swivel 
plow  by  Z.  Breed,  of  Weare,  and  one  attached  to  a 
common  plow  by  T.  H.  Harvell,  of  Amherst,  and 
hereby  express  the  opinion,  that  these  implements 
did  the  work  better,  and  in  a  more  expeditious 
manner  than  any  we  have  before  seen,  and  we  con- 
sider it  a  valuable  appendage. 

It  can  be  applied  to  any  sod  or  breaking-up  plow, 
either  swivel  or  land-side,  at  moderate  expense  by 
any  one  wishing  to  adopt  the  principle  of  subsoil- 
ing. Its  operation  is  to  loosen  the  soil  but  not  to 
turn  it  up.  Henry  D.  Pierce,  T.  G.  Holbrook,  R. 
Holbrook,  Thos.  Cloutman,  David  Butterrtcid,  N. 
F.  Richardson,  J.  G.  Morse,  George  Buss,  J.  Cleaves, 
O.  B.  Clark,  E.  Ware,  T.  G.  Banks,  W.  D.  Locke. 

Subsequent  to  this  trial  "W.  D.  L.,"  a  cor- 
respondent of  the  Mirror  and  Farvier,  wrote 
as  follows  :  "At  the  late  fair  at  Millord,  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  holding,  for  a  few  rods,  a  re- 
versible plow  with  subsoil  attachment.  Truly, 
it  was  an  era  in  ray  farming  experience,  at  the 
age  of  "three  score  years."  I  am  sure  it  Avas 
the  most  perfect  plow  I  ever  laid  hands  upon, 
turning  the  rod  naturally  and  completely  break- 
ing the  subsoil,  and  pulverizing  it  in  a  mas- 
terly manner,  to  any  desirable  depth  below  the 
usual  furrow  bed.  I  have  had  great  confidence 
in  subsoiling  ibr  twenty  years,  but  had  never 
before  seen  an  implement  so  well  adapted  to 
the  woi'k — simple,  cheap  and  durable.  I  felt 
proud  of  the  inventive  genius  of  my  country- 
men of  the  agricultural  class,  for  it  must  have 
been  the  result  of  the  study  of  some  practical 
plowman.  True,  the  subsoiler  takes  more 
team,  but  then  it  does  its  work  so  admirably, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


125 


so  deeply,  that  the  subsequent  plowings  will  be 
much  easier,  to  say  nothing  of  the  increase  of 
crops.  I  most  heartily  congratulate  the  tillers 
of  the  soil  in  view  of  its  general  introduction. 
And  then,  the  hoeing  is  so  much  easier,  one 
can  hardly  refrain  from  "three  cheei's  for  the 
invention." 

Excuse  me  for  this  lengthy  letter.  Perhaps 
T  have  taken  more  space  than  I  should,  but 
having  used  the  implement,  and  experienced 
its  benefits,  I  wished  to  present  the  evidence. 
Yours  for  "the  best,"  always, 

Weare,  N.  H.,  Jan.,  18G7.        Z.  Breed. 


For  the  New  England  FaTmer. 
APPLE    TREES— SEEDING   LAND— 
BONES,  &c. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — ^Please  accept  the  thanks 
of  "^n  Inquiring  Owner  of  a  Murk-bed''''  for 
your  replies  to  inquiries  in  the  Farmer  of 
Dec.  8th.  I  am  not  in  ecstacies  over  being 
made  suddenly  rich,  but  shall  endeavor  to  profit 
by  your  calculations,  and  find  out  by  actual 
trial  what  benefit  there  is  in  the  muck,  and  try 
to  make  "two  blades  of  grass  grow  where  only 
one  grows  now." 

I  was  also  so  well  pleased  with  your  article 
on  Pruning  Apple  Trees,  in  reply  to  a  corres- 
pondent, and  was  so  '  convinced  by  your  logic 
that  the  first  suitable  day  I  went  into  my  or- 
chard and  trimmed  the  trees  that  were  left  in  the 
smnmer. 

1 .  Now  I  wish  to  be  informed  if  apple  trees 
set  out  where  old  apple  trees  stood  will  do  as 
well.  My  orchard  was  set  out  by  my  father, 
perhaps  40  years  ago,  and  what  trimming  it  has 
had  was  in  the  spring,  when  he  was  ready  to 
plow  it.  Many  of  the  trees  are  decayed  where 
the  larger  limbs  were  cut  off,  and  do  not  produce 
any  perfect  fruit.  I  wish  to  take  away  those 
trees  this  winter,  cultivate  the  ground  well  dur- 
ing the  summer,  manuring  it  well,  and  next 
spring  set  other  trees  in  then*  places.  Will  they 
thrive .'' 

2.  I  have  two  acres  of  stalk  ground ;  on  one 
half  of  It  I  wish  to  sow  oats,  and  on  the  other 
plant  potatoes,  and  seed  do^vn  in  the  fall  with 
rye  and  grass.  I  propose  to  sow  the  oats  with- 
out manure,  as  it  was  heavily  manured  for  corn 
last  spring,  but  to  manure  for  potatoes  at  the 
rate  of  10  or  12  cords  per  acre,  then  sow  on 
gi'ound  bone  at  the  rate  of  half  a  ton  per  acre, 
as  bone  does  better  on  my  land  for  grass  and 
gi'ain  than  any  other  fertilizer  that  I  have  ever 
used. 

When  is  the  best  time  to  sow  the  bone  ?  when 
the  ground  is  prepared  for  potatoes,  when  they 
are  being  cultivated,  or  when  the  ground  is  laid 
down  ?  When  is  the  best  time  to  sow  it  on  the 
oat  ground  ?  and  will  it  pay  to  plow  the  oat 
ground  more  than  once  after  the  oats  are  taken 
off? 

I  would  lilce  the  experience  of  others  with 
these  crops,  and  that  is  why  I  send  these 
inquiries  now,  for  I  feel  that  the  columns  of  the 


enlarged  Farmer  will  be  of  too  much  value  to 
betaken  up  with  my  imjuiries  or  experience. 

This  is  a  progressive  age,  and  there  is  a  grow- 
ing interest  in  agriculture.  Farmers,  young 
farmers  in  particular,  are  reading  more,  and 
are  more  desirous  to  acquire  information  on 
the  subject  and  to  learn  the  experience  of  those 
grown  wise  in  the  business,  than  ever  before ; 
and  I  think  I  am  justified  in  the  assertion  that 
there  are  more  agricultural  papers  and  books 
read  now  than  in  any  previous  year. 

I  would  therefore  like  to  put  one  (juestion  to 
our  successful  and  experienced  farmers.  IIov;- 
can  you  give  your  infiuonce  to  advance  the 
farming  interest  of  New  England  more  than  by 
spending  a  portion  of  the  cold  and  stormy  days 
of  this  winter  in  giving  jour  experience  through 
the  columns  of  tfie  Farmer  on  the  management 
of  farm  and  stock  P  Experior. 

Mij  Farm,  Mass.,  Dec.  22,  18GG. 


Remarks. — 1.  Young  apple  trees  set  out 
where  old  ones  have  been  growing  will  undoubt- 
edly do  well  under  proper  treatment,  although 
we  should  prefer  another  location.  They 
will  need  a  deep,  rich  soil,  and  a  half  peck  of 
unleached  ashes  strewed  around  them  once  in 
each  year.  If  large  trees  with  overshadowing 
branches  are  near,  they  will  affect  the  young 
trees  ;  but  if  30  or  40  feet  away,  they  will  not 
sensibly  injure  them,  under  the  treatment  sug- 
gested for  the  new  ones.  It  will  be  of  advan- 
tage to  dig  about  the  young  trees  whenever 
the  land  lies  in  grass — the  broader  the  diameter 
the  better. 

2.  Bone  acts  slowly,  and  we  should  therefore 
sow  it  when  the  ground  is  prepared  for  the  crop- 
either  of  potatoes  or  oats. 

The  columns  of  the  "enlarged  Farmer"  will 
always  welcome  your  inquiries  or  cxpei'ience. 
Would  that  many  others  would  furnish  theirs. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    TARIFF   UPON   WOOL. 

I  have  watched  with  deep  Interest,  as  have 
a  great  many  others,  all  that  has  been  said 
upon  the  question  of  the  tariff  upon  avooI;  and 
I  see  by  your  issue  of  Jan.  5,  that  you  think 
that  Congress  is  not  going  to  Increase  the  du- 
ties on  wool  so  as  to  help  the  wool  growing  inter- 
est. I  suppose  it  is  owing  in  a  great  measure 
to  the  outside  pressure  or  lobbying  of  the  man- 
ufacturers. Now  it  seems  to  me  that  the  man- 
ufacturers are  not  only  injuring  the  farming 
interest  of  the  country,  but  are  also  cutting 
their  own  throats,  as  the  prosperity  of  the  wool- 
producer  and  manufacturer  are  so  closely  con- 
nected that  what  works  for  the  interest  of  one 
must  work  for  the  interest  of  the  other. 

I  see  it  stated  that  there  has  been  imported 


120 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


March 


$70,000,000  worth  of  wool  the  past  year.  It 
seems  as  though  they  must  see  that  sending  so 
much  money  out  of  the  country  for  wool,  while 
so  many  of  our  farmers  hold  one  clip,  and  a 
great  many  hoo, — and  flooding  the  country 
with  cloth  more  than  there  is  any  sale  for,  will 
not  work  for  their  advantage.  If  that  money 
had  been  paid  out  at  home  much  of  it  would 
have  found  its  way  back  to  the  manufactitrers. 

In  my  small  circle  of  ac(]uaintances  I  know 
of  several  old  overcoats  and  cloaks  that  will 
have  to  do  duty  another  year,  because  "wool 
don't  sell,"  and  I  dare  say  it  is  so  throughout 
the  country.  You  may  say  that  this  only  ap- 
plies to  a  few, — the  wool-growers.  But  I  be- 
lieve it  has  a  wider  application  than  one  would 
at  first  think.  When  the  farmers  are  short  for 
money  they  do  not  buy  new  tools  ;  do  not  re- 
pair their  buildings  ;  do  not  hire  help  to  ditch, 
and  make  other  improvements  on  the  farm  ;  do 
not  travel  for  pleasure  ;  do  not  buy  unnecessary 
clothing.  This  reminds  me  of  a  "little  story" 
I  once  heard  my  fixther  tell  of  a  very  poor 
neighbor,  who  lost  his  cow.  It  was  at  a  time 
when  cows  were  cheap,  and  some  of  his  friends 
were  congratulating  him  that  he  could  buy 
another  for  ten  dollars.  "Yes,"  says  he,  "if 
you  could  buy  one  for  two  cents,  and  you  hain't 
got  the  two  cents,  what  good  will  it  do?" 

Our  country  is  broad  enough  to  raise  all  the 
wool,  and  that  of  every  kind,  that  is  needed, 
if  it  can  be  properly  protected.  Although  the 
cloth  may  cost  a  trifle  more,  the  money  will  be 
here  to  pay  for  it  with.         Wool  Grower. 

Norivich,  Vt.,  Jan.  10,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
SQUASHES   AND   "WATERMELONS. 

A     BIT     FOR     THE     BOYS. 

It  is  no  trifle  of  a  matter  to  know  when  and 
how  to  plant  and  sow.  And  then  it  is  some- 
thing to  understand  what  seeds  to  put  into  our 
land.  Seeds  may  be  too  old  to  grow  ;  and  they 
may  be  too  fresh,  we  know.  We  shall  none  of 
us  be  too  wise,  if  we  study  long ;  and  without 
care  we  may  be  quite  foolish  and  wrong. 

Last  summer  I  planted  about  aijuarter  of  an 
acre  of  squashes.  They  were  of  the  Autum- 
nal Marrow.  Part  of  the  seeds  were  several 
years  old,  and  part  were  fresh  seeds  of  1865. 
They  were  in  the  same  field,  but  not  mixed  to- 
gether. The  ground  was  all  dressed,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  alike.     Well,  what  of  it? 

The  fresh  seeds  came  up  more  readily,  in 
little  if  any  more  than  half  the  time  taken  by 
the  old  seeds.  They  were  all  planted  on  the 
first  day  of  June,  which  is  as  early  as  I  ever 
want  to  plant  such  squashes,  except  perhaps 
some  to  be  very  early. 

The  ))laiits  from  the  old  seeds  had  squashes 
set  on  tlicm  a  week  or  ten  days  earlier  than 
those  from  tlic  fresh  seeds  ;  and  they  matured 
more  and  Itctter  scjuashes  than  the  others,  and 
no  mistake. 

It  is  not  always  best,  boys,  to  plant  fresh 


seeds.  I  hold  squashes,  at  least,  to  be  an  ex- 
ception. I  like  to  have  seeds  selected  from 
the  very  best,  and  carefully  dried,  and  then 
carefully  marked  in  the  package,  as  to  the  kind, 
and  the  year  they  were  raised.  The  children 
of  young  seeds  are  like  unsteady  boys,  too 
fond  of  running  about — grow  too  much  vine. 

And  another  bit  for  the  boys.  Don't  you 
like  good,  first-rate  ivatermelons  ?  If  you  do, 
the  cows  do  likewise.  I  like  to  have  enough 
of  them  to  select  the  best ;  and  then  the  cows 
will  pay  for  what  you  give  them,  liberally. 

A  compost  of  night-soil,  charcoal  dust,  plas- 
ter and  muck,  will  grow  as  nice  watermelons 
as  a  king  or  a  cow  ought  to  covet.  They  are 
not  only  very  delicious  for  us  poor  humans, 
but  they  are  among  the  very  best  bits  to  bring 
down  a  flood  of  nice,  sweet  milk.  Will  the 
boys  about  the  farm  put  this  in  a  corner  of  their 
thinking-caps  for  next  summer's  use  ?  I  think 
they  will  not  regret  it,  and  I  know  the  cows 
will  not.  A.  G.  C. 

Lee,  N.  R.,  Jan.,  1867. 


Remarks. — In  the  above  writer,  the  older 
readers  of  the  Farmer  will  recognize  the  well 
known  features  of  a  most  genial  and  well  re- 
membered acquaintance,  w'hom  we  shall  all  be 
glad  to  see  more  frequently  during  the  present 
"Happy  New  Year." 


EXTRACTS   AND    REPLIES. 

WARM    BREAKFAST   FOR   THE    HENS    IN    AVINTER. 

It  is  a  practice  with  many  who  Iceep  poultry  to 
feed  tliem  these  sharp  winter  mornings  witli  grain 
so  cold  and  frosty,  that  our  hands  aclie  the  little 
time  that  is  required  in  throwing  it  out.  Let  those 
who  dislike  a  cold  breakfast  themselves  take  a  dish 
of  corn  and  set  it  under  the  stove  a  few  moments, 
or  pour  hot  water  on  it.  It  will  soon  heat  either 
way.  After  feeding  of  your  poidtry,  the  lively 
cooing  and  singing  will  repay  you  for  your  trouble. 

Now,  Mr.  Farmer,  if  you  feel  disposed  to  ele- 
vate your  eyclirows,  because  a  woman  has  stepped 
in  your  path,  my  excuse  is  that  had  you  done  your 
duty,  I  should  not  have  deemed  it  mine  to  speak 
for  "the  biddies.  Millie. 

Waterbury,  Vt.,  Dec.  26,  1866. 

Remarks. — "Elevate  the  eyebrows  ?"  Why,  in- 
stead of  that,  one  of  our  blandest  smiles  was  excit- 
ed by  your  humane  suggestions.  But,  dear  "Millie," 
we  know  of  a  good  woman  who  not  only  warms  a 
dish  of  corn  for  her  hens  of  a  cold  morning,  but 
also,  very  slightly,  a  dish  of  clean  water,  which 
she  thinks  adds  much  to  the  volume  and  richness 
of  that  song  of  gratitude  which  so  well  repays  you 
for  your  care  and  labor. 


feeding  bees. 

Information  is  wanted  as  to  the  best  time,  place 
and  mimncr  for  feeding  bees.  There  are  almost  as 
many  ways  of  feeding  bees  as  neat  stock.  I  know 
of  no  method  which  possesses  any  merit  but  top 
feeding. 

Dissolve  the  best  grade  of  lirovvn  sugar  in  water, 
bring  to  a  scald,  remove  the  scum.    It  should  then 


186;, 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


127 


be  of  the  thickness  of  molasses.  If  too  much  wa- 
tei'cd  it  will  cause  dysentery.  Fill  empty  comb 
with  this  material,  and  place  it  in  the  chamber  of 
a  chamber  hive ;  or  if  in  an  old-fashioned  hive, 
bore  thruufrh  the  centre  of  the  top  with  an  inch  and 
a  quarter  bit  or  aug'er;  remove  the  chips,  trim  off 
the  sjilintcrs  with  a  knife.  If,  while  doinif  this,  the 
l)ccs  manifest  a  disposition  to  come  up,  pour  a  little 
of  the  bee  feed  in  among  them,  which  will  keep 
them  down  for  the  time  being ;  then  place  the  comb 
tilled  with  the  bee  feed  upon  the  top  of  the  hive 
and  cover  with  an  open  inverted  box  or  peck  meas- 
ure. Wrap  up  the  hives  with  rugs  or  quilts.  The 
best  time  to  feed  them  is  as  soon  as  possiljle.  The 
best  place  is  up  cham))cr,  directly  over  the  kitchen 
or  living  room  of  the  house. 

Feed  them  in  this  manner  right  straight  along 
up  into  the  spring,  till  the  bees  arc  so  numerous 
and  the  weather  so  warm  as  to  render  feediTig  im- 
practicable. When  unusually  fine,  warm  days  oc- 
cur during  the  winter,  set  them  out  on  their  suuinicr 
stands  and  allow  them  to  fiy.  This  must  l)c  rigidly 
adhered  to,  for  to  confine  bees  from  fall  till  spring 
without  an  oppoi'tunity  to  Hy,  is  almost  sure  death 
to  them.  By  this  method  I  have  fed  first  and  sec- 
ond SAvarms,  which  did  as  well  and  swanned  as 
early  as  the  best,  although  extremely  deficient  of 
both  honey  and  comb.  They  need  feeding  as  often 
as  twice  a  week,  or  at  least  seeing  to.  I  am  at 
pi-esent  feeding  four  swarms  and  have  never  failed. 
The  expense  is  less  than  the  value  of  the  swarms 
after  they  are  wintered.  It  is  well  kno^vn  that  bees 
almost  always  have  honey  enough  to  last  them  till 
the  first  or  the  middle  of  the  winter.  But  very  few 
swanns  accumulated  sufficient  winter  stores  the 
past  season.  A.  Leavitt. 

Chichester,  N.  H.,  Jan.  15,  1867. 


CLOTH   PEDDLERS. 

A  correspondent  in  Ashbumham,  Mass.,  thinks 
that  the  tricks  of  irresponsible  cloth  peddlers  in 
that  section  ought  to  be  shown  up.  In  the  first 
place,  should  not  the  folly  of  those  who  buy  of 
such  men  articles  which  they  do  not  know  the  value 
of,  be  shown  up,  till  people  learn  to  patronize  deal- 
ers of  known  responsibility  and  character  ?  Our 
correspondent  says : 

The  one  that  was  here  last,  said  that  a  great  fail- 
ure had  recently  occurred  in  New  York,  which  had 
sent  out  a  great  many  teams  with  directions  to  sell 
for  what  the  goods  would  fetch,  even  if  less  than 
one  quarter  of  the  cost  of  the  articles  was  realized, 
so  as  to  save  something  for  the  company.  He  saicl 
there  would  be  retail  teams  along  in  tlie  course  of 
a  week,  which  would  sell  six  to  nine  quarter  cotton 
cloth  for  '25e  per  yard,  American  calico  for  6c, 
French  at  10c,  and  woolen  cloths  at  prices  to  cor- 
respond. He  had  samples  of  the  cotton  cloths,  and 
a  few  pieces  of  woolens  with  him,  which  he  offered 
at  wholesale, — nothing  less  than  ^'io.  He  had  a 
great  coat  pattern  that  he  saitl  was  worth  i$oQ  in 
New  York  when  first  put  into  the  store,  liut  he 
would  sell  the  two-and-a-half  yards  for  $25.  I 
finally  l)ought  it  for  $10.  It  proves  to  be  cotton 
warp  with  fair  shoddy  filling — a  good  cloth  of  the 
kind,  but  not  what  I  Itargained  for.  So  much  for 
my  shave.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  put  such  fel- 
lows on  paper,  that  honest  people  may  be  put  on 
their  guard,  if  nothing  more  can  be  done. 

A.  W. 


FILM    ON   AN   ox's    EYE. 

I  noticed  in  the  Farmer  of  Jan.  5, 1866,  an  in- 
(jniiy  by  "E.E.  A.,"  of  Sunderland,  Mass.,  if  there 
is  "any  simple  way  to  take  a  film  from  an  ox's 


eye  ?"  I  would  say  that  I  have  never  known  the 
following  to  fiiil ;  talce  cheekerbcrry  leaves,  sim- 
mer them  in  lard  until  they  arc  brittle,  and  when 
cooled  so  that  it  is  barely  wann  to  the  touch,  ap- 
ply it  to  the  ox's  eye  ball,  either  with  a  feather  or 
by  taking  the  ox  by  the  horn  and  turning  his  head 
up,  so  as  to  turn  itinto  the  eye.  I  prefer  the  latter. 
No.  Sutton,  N.  H.,  Jan.  9,  1867.       J.  Puessey. 

Remarks.— "H.  P.,"  of  Wilton,  N.  H.,  writes 
that  he  has  found  turkey's  oil,  applied  a  few  times 
to  the  eye  with  a  feather,  to  effect  a  cure  in  both 
oxen  and  horses. 


use  of  touacco. 

Our  long  winter  evenings  have  come,  and  now 
shall  we  not  have  a  discussion  through  your  paper 
on  the  use  of  tobacco.  Inquirer. 

Brandon,  Vt.,  Dec.  21,  1866. 

Remarks. — Were  this  subject  appropriate  to  our 
columns,  who  that  has  the  use  of  his  eyes  and  nose 
would  seriously  argue  in  favor  of  a  practice  which 
injures  health  and  unfits  one  for  association  with 
the  clean  and  tidy. 


A  FINE   PIG. 

W.  H.  H.  Peabody,  of  Wilmot,  killed  a  pig,  8 
months  20  days  old,  that  weighed  when  dressed, 
after  hanging  up  one  day,  -505  llis  ;  width  across  the 
hips  and  shoulders  22  inches  ;  length  6  feet.  Fed 
on  milk  and  potatoes  to  the  first  of  September; 
since  then  has  had  4bushds  barley,  and  13  of  com. 

Wilmot,  N.  H.,  Dec.  24,  1866.  A.  w.  m. 


FOUR   GOOD   PIGS. 


1  slaughtered  a  few  days  since  four  Chester  Co., 
pigs,  Q\s\\t  months  old,  which  weighed  as  follows  : 
276  lbs.;  279  lbs.;  297  lbs.;  and  332  lbs.;  whole 
weight  of  the  four  pigs,  1184  lbs.      D.  D wight. 

Dudley,  Mass.,  Jan.  11,  1867. 


PROFITABLE    HENS. 

Mr.  John  Buckman,  of  Stoneham,  Mass.,  a  sub- 
scriber to  the  Farjier,  commenced  an  account, 
March  1st,  with  22  hens.  Up  to  November,  the 
sales  from  his  henery  amounted  to  $126.  He  had 
also,  16  nice  pullets,  worth  $1.50  each,  or  $24.  Mak . 
ing  the  total  income  $150  \\\}  to  that  time.  Grain 
fed  $35.  Further  particulars  promised  at  the  close 
of  the  year,  March  1st. 


BOOK   ON   DOMESTIC   ANIMALS. 

Will  you  do  me  the  favor  to  name  some  practical 
work  or  works  on  the  horse  and  other  domestic 
animals, — not  Youatt's  or  Mason's, — that  would 
suit  a  small  fanner.  I  do  not  notice  any  advertise- 
ments of  such  as  I  want  in  your  pa;.K'r. 

S.  H.  Melcher. 

La  Grange,  Tenn.,  Dec,  1866. 

Remarks. — There  is  a  work  on  Domestic  Ani- 
mals,  their  breeds,  management,  diseases,  &c.,  by 
R.  L.  Allen,  published  in  New  York ;  The  Ameri- 
can Cattle  Doctor,  by  G.  H.  Dadd ;  and  Cole's,  quite 
a  small  but  good  book.  As  good  a  work  as  you  can 
find,  probably,  is  the  Farmer's  Encyclopedia, — that 
treats  of  all  stock  and  all  crops  on  the  farm,  soils, 
&c.,  &c. 


128 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Mahch 


MARKET  REPORTS. 

Your  Market  Reports,  of  which  you  boast  so 
mvich,  appear  to  mc  to  fall  behind  the  New  York 
Tribune  in  the  price  of  veal  calves,  and  lump  but- 
ter, both  of  which  we  farmers  deal  in  to  some  ex- 
tent, and  we  want  to  know  the  highest  as  well  as 
the  lowest  prices  of  both  these  articles. 

An  Old  Subscriber. 

Shelbtirne,  Mass.,  Jan.  19,  1867. 

Remarks. — Our  cattle  reporter  informs  us  that 
he  is  no  better  satisfied  with  hisreportof  veals  than 
"An  Old  Subscriber"  appears  to  be.  In  New  York 
calves  are  sold  by  weight,  as  are  cattle,  sheep,  hogs 
and  poultry.  But  among  the  peculiar  whims  which 
have  caused  Boston  to  be  nicknamed  the  "City  of 
Notions,"  are  the  habits  of  allowing  five  quarters 
to  an  ox,  of  paying  for  only  about  two-thirds 
of  his  actual  live  weight,  and  of  buying  calves 
on  commission — that  is,  of  giving  the  drover 
one  dollar,  more  or  less,  per  head  for  buying 
and  delivering  them.  "The  highest  as  well  as 
the  lowest  prices"  of  veals,  therefore,  depends 
very  lai-gely  on  the  skill  or  luck  of  the  drover 
in  trading  with  the  individual  farmers  of  whom 
he  bixys ;  and  consequently  the  price  is  decided 
in  the  country  rather  than  at  Brighton.  If  not 
sold  in  this  way  they  are  bargained  for  by  the 
head — the  eyes  of  drover  and  butcher  being  the 
only  standard  of  weight  and  price — the  range  of 
$j  to  f  25  each,  being  often  exceeded  at  each  ex- 
treme, according  to  size  and  quality.  How  can 
such  an  unintelligible  style  of  doing  business  be 
intelligibly  reported  ? 

Our  retail  prices  of  lump  butter  are  corrected 
weekly  by  the  gentlemen  whose  names  head  that 
table.  Our  wholesale  prices  arc  also  corrected 
weekly  from  the  most  reliable  financial  papers,  as 
well  as  by  dealers  in  leading  articles  of  produce. 

The  fancy  prices  which  are  paid  by  a  few  fami- 
lies for  the  butter  from  certain  dairies  of  estab- 
lished reputation  for  the  production  of  a  superior 
article,  arc  no  criterion  of  the  state  of  the  market, 
and  if  quoted  would  tend  to  raise  expectations 
which  would  be  sure  to  be  disappointed. 


conveniences  for  water — NO.    II. 

In  my  last  I  promised  to  give  examples  of  fail- 
ures in'thc  use  of  the  hydraulic  ram,  and  some  of 
the  causes  of  failures. 

Case  1.  In  a  town  in  Orleans  County  I  knew  a 
farm  that  was  watered  l)y  a  ram  situated  at  a  dis- 
tance of  150  rods ;  the  water  being  elevated  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet.  The  ram  was  constantly 
needing  repairs,  "and  I  was  called  on  to  apply  a 
remedy.  It  had  never  operated  more  than  two 
weeks  without  an  entire  overhauling,  and  often  a 
failure  of  pipes  and  ram  occurred  at  the  same  time. 
My  patient  was  examined.  After  ascertaining  the 
price  the  farm  Avould  bring,  and  a  careful  consid- 
eration of  the  whole  case,  the  best  and  only  prac- 
tical thing  I  could  recommend  was,  "Sell  your 
farm.  Sir,  and  buy  where  water  will  run  down  hill, 
and  let  this  l)c  divided  up  for  pastures."  The  ex- 
treme elevation  was  too  much  for  a  sure  operation 
of  the  works  wifhout  an  outlay  for  fixtures  that 
was  unwarrantable  for  the  fai-ni.  Any  practical 
inquirer  would  have  advised  not  to  put  in  the  work, 
had  there  been  no  pecuniary  interest  accruing  to 
himself,  which  should  never  be  in  the  way. 


Case  2.  The  opposite  extreme.  A  ram  in  Wind- 
sor County  was  a  failure.  The  distance  was  six 
rods  and  the  elevation  about  eight  feet.  The  ope- 
ration was  very  uncertain.  When  in  operation  it 
threw  a  large  and  intennittent  stream — and  stopped 
without  any  cause  visible  to  the  owner.  On  exam- 
ination I  found  there  was  too  small  an  elevation, 
and  the  airchamber  had  no  ctfect.  The  remedy 
applied  was  simply  a  tight  plug  of  wood  at  the 
place  of  discharge,  and  instead  ol"  an  open  pipe  only 
an  outlet  the  size  of  a  cambric  needle  was  left. 
This  caused  the  flow  to  be  checked,  and  the  water 
retained  in  the  air-chamber,  which  condensed  the 
air  and  caused  it  to  expand  and  contract  again  at 
each  stroke  of  the  piston.  The  effect  was  all  that 
could  be  desired — a  small,  permanent  stream  for- 
cibly ejected  from  the  place  of  discharge  instead  of 
the  lazy,  intermittent,  uncertain  stream  before. 

If  the  reader  will  lay  these  papers  aside  for  fu- 
ture reference  it  may  be  of  interest,  as  I  propose  to 
mention  other  cases  of  failure,  from  time  to  time, 
which  may  draw  out  a  scientific  explanation  of  the 
princijile  involved  in  the  opei'ation  of  the  ram,  from 
some  more  competent  person  than  myself,  and 
which  is  not  given  in  the  text  books  of  philosophy. 

Orleans  County,  Vt.,  1867.  P.  J. 


PINE  trees 

In  the  winter  season  we  should  all  have  some 
forecast  for  the  coming  busy  months.  In  my  trav- 
els I  have  been  struck  with  the  appearance  of  a 
piece  of  road  on  one  side  of  which,  for  aljout  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile,  pine  ti-ees  have  been  set  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  road  from  the  high  wind. 
There  was  much  beauty  in  this  arrangement  of  the 
highway,  and  a  delightful  shade  in  summer.  But 
its  ol)vious  utility  was  what  presented  itself  most 
forcibly.  How  many  miles  of  bleak  and  drifted 
roads  might  be  made  comfortable  and  even  pleas- 
ant in  winter  by  means  of  this  cheap  method.  How 
many  thousands  of  dollars  might  be  saved  to  towns 
in  the  item  of  bi-caking  out  highways  in  winter ; 
besides  all  the  vexatious  delays  and  losses  incident 
to  travellers,  on  account  of  drifts  and  blocked  up 
roads. 

There  are  in  many  of  our  most  enterprising 
towns,  associations  formed  for  the  purpose  of  set- 
ting out  trees,  to  improve  and  adorn  the  highways 
and  public  grounds.  Why  cannot  these  tree  soci- 
eties extend  their  operations  so  as  to  embrace  im- 
provements of  this  kind ;  or,  if  this  is  too  extensive 
a  field  of  labor,  why  cannot  they,  or  other  public- 
spirited  individuals,  bring  the  matter  to  the  atten- 
tion of  their  respective  towns  ?  It  seems  to  mc  that 
here  is  a  matter  in  which  almost  every  town  in 
New  England  might  be  greatly  benefited  by  a  lit- 
tle expense  judiciously  applied. 

Thei-e  are  also  many  places  where  pine  trees 
might  be  set  to  advantage  around  unsightly  rocks 
in  fields  near  the  dwelling.  A  hardy  variety  of 
grape  might  also  be  planted  in  such  places,  and 
the  pine  trees,  as  soon  as  large  enough,  would  for 
several  years  form  one  of  the  very  Ijest  supports.  I 
have  had  grapes  ripen  in  such  pines,  uninjured  by 
frosts,  a  fortnight  after  the  fruit  had  been  destroyed 
in  other  localities.  e. 

Massachusetts,  Jan.,  1867. 


WINTERING    BEES. 

I  am  truly  interested  in  your  valuable  paper, 
treating  o\\  so  nuxny  interesting  sulijccts.  But  the 
articles  on  bee  management  have  partictdarly  in- 
terested me,  especially  that  written  l)y  C.  S.  Wild, 
in  Fakmer  of  Dec.  29,  on  keeiuug  l)ccs  from  per- 
ishing during  tiic  winter,  which  I  niucli  approve. 
I  thinic  the  locatii^u  has  soinctiiing  to  do  with  the 
siu'cess  of  Ix'c-lvccping.  The  bcc  house  should 
stand  in  the  warmest  place  that  can  be  found,  so 
that  the  bees  can,  as  cai'ly  as  possible,  start  the 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


129 


young  brood,  as  this  work  will  be  delayed  if  the 
place  is  cold.  The  building  should  not  be  connect- 
ed with  any  other  building,  or  fence,  to  avoid  the 
spiders  as  much  as  possible,  which  devour  a  great 
many  bees  in  the  course  of  the  season.  The  house 
should  stand  so  the  sun  can  shine  upon  the  hives 
from  early  morn  till  evening  shade;  the  back  as 
well  as  the  front  being  left  open,  so  that  the  bees 
will  have  the  same  chance  to  pass  in  and  out  both 
back  and  front.  This  gives  a  draft  of  fiTsh  air  and 
tends  to  keep  them  dry  and  healthy.  This  plan  is 
practiced  out  "West.  I  also  noticed  that  they  raised 
the  hive  trom  the  bottom  board  from  one-half  to 
one-third  of  an  ineh,  by  a  small  piece  of  wood  at 
each  corner.  Tliis,  however,  is  not  done  till  the 
white  clover  heads  out,  which  is  considered  the 
best  part  of  the  honey  season,  when  it  is  found 
that  ordinary  entrances  are  not  sufficient  for  the 
industrious  m;i.liitud'-s.  At  this  time  there  is  no 
danger  of  swf  rrns  robbing  or  l)eing  robbed,  but  the 
hives  should  1)e  let  down  as  soon  as  the  clover  sea- 
son is  over. 

The  hive,  if  made  of  boards,  should  be  from  one 
and  a  quarter  to  one  and  a  third  of  an  inch  thick. 
If  inch  boards  are  used,  the  inside  should  l>c  lined 
with  stuff  one-fourth  or  one-third  of  an  inch  thick, 
with  a  space  between  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch. 
Then  let  them  be  well  painted,  and  oftencr  than 
you  paint  your  dwelling-house.  A  hive  of  this  de- 
scription, with  a  decent  swarm  and  plenty  of  honey, 
will  hardly  freeze  anywhere.  But  notwithstanding 
all  this,  I  recommend  friend  Wild's  plan  of  pack- 
ing round  the  straw.  If  you  have  a  small  swarm, 
give  them  a  little  extra  care  l)y  puting  over  them  a 
few  old  blankets,  or  something  of  the  kind. 

Putting  bees  in  cellars  I  think  is  bad  policy.  The 
bees  get  damp,  and  the  comb  comes  out  black  in 
the  spring.  The  bees  that  make  out  to  live  come 
out  generally  feeljle,  so  fiir  as  my  experience  goes. 
The  whole  secret,  then,  of  wintering  bees  and  h.av- 
ing  them  come  out  strong  in  the  spring,  is  a  warm 
place,  a  warm  hive,  plenty  of  honey,  and  plenty  of 
pure  air.  J.  C.  Hill. 

East  Saugtcs,  Mass.,  Jan.  7,  1867. 


THINK,    TALK,    PUBLISH. 

I  often  think  that  the  editor  of  the  FARMEKmust 
be  a  patient  man  to  answer  so  deliberately,  fully 
and  respectfully  all  the  minute, — not  to  say  simple 
— Inquiries  that  are  asked.  I3ut,  after  all,  I  am 
not  sure  you  are  not  doing  that  which  the  world 
stands  the  most  in  need  of.  The  whole  creation  is 
made  up  of  particles  so  minute,  that  we  are  told 
the  most  powerful  microscope  fails  to  present  to 
the  eye  the  form  of  the  minutest  atom.  The  world 
of  thought,  who  shall  limit  it  ?  And  if  we  think, 
why  not  talk  ?  If  talk,  why  not  write  ?  But  if 
eveiy  one  is  to  write  out  his  own  thoughts  and 
keep  them  to  himself,  he  might  as  well  not  write  at 
all.  But  we  are  not  going  to  stop  there — tliinlc  and 
talk  wc  will.  Yes,  Ijut  how  are  we  going  to  reach 
the  ears  of  those  who  are  hundreds  of  miles  away 
from  us,  when  our  own  voices,  at  the  loudest,  can- 
not reach  lieyond  our  own  neighljorhood  ?  We  are 
going  to  use  the  printer;  yes,  that's  it ;  he  will  do 
the  job;  he  will  give  our  thoughts  to  the  winds, 
whi^h  like  the  seed  in  its  downy  balloon,  shall  be 
floated  to  a  genial  soil,  where  it  shall  take  root  and 
reproduce  its  kind.  C.  Steadns. 

Ashhurnham,  Mass.,  Jan.  5,  1867. 


FEEDING   BEES. 

In  reply  to  "P.  E.  S."  in  Farmer  of  Jan.  12, 1 
would  say,  I  know  of  no  way  to  feed  bees  if  ke])t 
in  a  place  as  cold  as  an  ordinary  bee  house.  If 
they  need  feeding  before  it  is  wann  enough  to  fiy, 
they  will  need  it  very  often,  every  day  or  two. 
They  will  require  about  as  much  care  as  a  pig. 


The  place  must  be  warm  enough  for  them  to  leave 
the  cluster  and  go  to  the  feed  without  becoming 
chilled.  Feeding  so  ofreu  and  keeping  them  so 
warm  will  keep  them  constantly  excited,  nuu'Ii  to 
tlic«ir  in  jui-y.  If  it  is  wami  enough  where  the  t)ees 
are  kept  for  them  to  go  into  the  chamber  of  the 
hive,  they  can  be  fed  there  more  conveniently  than 
in  any  other  part  of  the  hive.  Candy  has  been 
recommended  as  winter  feed  for  bees.  "l  have  tried 
it  with  unsatisfactory  success.  Feeding  bees  in 
season,  say  in  July,  August  or  September,  will  pay  ; 
if  neglected  then,  a  swarm  destitute  of  honey  "in 
the  winter  is  of  doubtful  value.  Refined  sugar 
made  into  a  syrup  as  thick  as  it  can  be  kept  in  that 
condition  is  as  good  feed  as  can  ho  desired  for 
bees.  It  must  be  put  into  something  pi'ovided  with 
a  floor  to  protect  the  bees  from  being  wet  with  it. 
The  floor  may  be  perforated  so  as  to  allow  the  bees 
to  reach  the  feed.  A  wooden  feeder  in  winter  is 
better  than  a  metallic  one,  because  it  is  not  so  cold. 
They  will  require  food  not  only  for  themselves  but 
for  the  the  brood,  which,  in  early  spring,  will  be 
considerable.  A  weak  swarm  fed  liberally  in  early 
■will  repay  it  with  interest  before  the  season  spring 
is  through.  F.  F.  Fiske. 

Mast  Yard,  N.  H.,  1867. 


EXPERIMENTS   WITH    SPECIAL    MANURES. 

I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  in  relation  to  my  ex- 
perience in  using  flour  of  bone.  When  new  articles 
are  offered  for  sale,  even  though  highly  extolled,  I 
am  generally  very  cautious  in  beginning  with  them, 
first  testing  them  before  using  them  much.  The 
editor  of  the  Farmer,  endorsee!  the  flour  of  bone — 
said  it  was  a  valuable  fertilizer,  adapted  to  all  soils. 
I  bought  two  barrels  at  a  cost  of  over  $22.  I 
plowed  a  piece  of  lightish,  sandy  land  in  my  pas- 
ture, and  put  on  a  light  dressing  of  manure  from 
the  barn-yard,  and  turned  it  under,  doing  by  the 
whole  field  as  much  alike  as  possible.  I  bought 
fish  guano,  composted  with  muck,  and  spread  on 
and  haiTowed  in,  at  the  rate  of  between  400  and  500 
pounds  to  the  acre.  About  an  acre  I  reserved  and 
sowed  on  the  flour  of  bone  and  harrowed  it  in,  I 
think  about  200  pounds  to  the  acre.  The  coiti  all 
came  up  well.  June  was  a  cold  month.  It  did  not 
push  ahead.  Where  the  fish  was  the  corn  was 
thrifty,  kept  a  good  color,  and  yielded  a  better  crop 
than  I  expected.  Where  the  bone  was  used,  the 
corn  looked  feeble,  sickly,  and  yellow,  and  pro 
duced,  by  the  acre,  rather  more  than  half  as  much 
as  the  other,  more  than  one-third  of  which  was  un- 
ripe. I  had  another  piece  of  an  acre  and  a  half 
which  I  manured  much  better  and  sowed  on  flour 
of  Ijone  to  give  the  corn  a  start,  but  with  no  better 
result  than  the  other.  I  sowed  a  strip  of  grass 
land  with  it,  in  two  fields,  but  never  discerned  a 
particle  of  ditfei-ence  where  it  was  applied.  I  hope 
the  readers  of  the  Farmer  will  be  benefited  l)y  the 
experience  of  f;xrmers  using  it,  in  different  locali- 
ties and  in  diflferent  States.  Elijah  Gunn. 

Montague,  Mass.,  Dec.  .31,  1866. 

Remarks. — ^We  are  obliged  to  our  coiTcspondent 
for  communicating  his  experiments.  They  show 
the  importance  of  testing  all  new  things  in  a  small 
way.  That  his  experiments  with  the  bone  were  un- 
satisfactory, is  not  strange.  It  could  hardly  be  ex- 
pected that  200  pounds  of  bone  to  the  acre,  in  an 
unfermented  condition,  would  make  much  change 
on  "lightish,  sandy  land,"  with  only  a  "light  dress- 
ing of  manure."  If  all  the  manure  had  been  put 
upon  half  aw  acre,  and  the  bone  flour  had  been  fer- 
mented with  muck,  and  applied  to  the  liill,  we  have 
no  doubt  but  a  paying  crop  Avould  have  been  the 
result.    Bone  acts  very  slowly.    Even  if  reduced 


130 


NEW    ENGLAIiTD    FARMER. 


March 


to  flour,  its  effects  will  be  slow,  unless  it  is  brought 
into,  or  very  near  the  putrefactive  state  before  it  is 
used. 

The  same  results,  however,  sometimes  occur  in 
the  use  of  bam  manure.  Wc  can  show  our  corres- 
pondent a  smooth  pasture,  one  portion  of  which 
was  covered  with  coarse,  but  rich  barn  manure,  in 
the  autumn  of  1865,  and  another  portion  of  the 
same  piece  highly  dressed  with  the  liquids  from 
the  cattle  stalls.  In  the  spring  of  1866,  the  coarse 
portions  of  the  manure  were  raked  up  and  carried 
a-iVay,  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  was  expect- 
ed on  both  pieces ;  but,  lo !  it  did  not  come.  Spring 
rains  did  not  give  it  any  unusual  vitality,  and  sum- 
mer suns  and  showers  came  and  passed  away  with 
the  same  result !  Why  ?  Will  our  correspondent 
tell  us  ?  We  do  not  know,  and  can  only  conjec- 
ture. Such  cases  are  not  uncommon.  Is  it  strange, 
then,  that  similar  failures  should  sometimes  take 
place  in  the  use  of  a  substance  so  dry  and  hard  as 
bone? 

Wc  hope  our  con-espondcnt  will  not  be  entirely 
discouraged  by  one  or  two  trials,  but  mingle  bone 
with  muck  or  soil,  and  let  it  remain  until  a  slight 
heat  ensues,  and  fermentation  takes  place,  and  then 
mingle  it  liberally  with  the  soil  in  the  hill,  and  care- 
fully note  the  result. 

Flour  of  l)onc  will  heat  rapidly,  and  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  let  it  go  too  far.  An  experiment 
showed  that  a  single  gill  of  bone  flour,  mixed  with 
muck  and  put  in  a  warm  place,  gave  a  heat  of  112 
degrees,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days. 


THE    CONGENITAL    SCROTAL   HERNIA   COLT 

For  which  I  asked  advice  in  the  Farmer  some 
months  since,  has  entirely  recovered,  without  the 
castration  recommended,  "or  any  other  application! 
So,  also,  has  my  neighlior's  colt,  in  the  same  con- 
dition ! 

Did  any  of  vour  readers  ever  know  of  such  a 
case,  that'did  not  recover,  if  allowed  a  fair  chance  ? 

Vermont,  Jan.,  1867.  Lectum. 


CURE    FOR   BOO   SPAVIN. 

Please  advise  David  George  to  apply  an  India 
rubber  bandage  for  his  bog  spavin,  and  keep  it  on 
until  the  swelling  is  reduced.  a.  l.  t. 

Fitchburg,  Dec.  17,  1866. 

A   PAIR   OF   NICE    HOOS,    ON    UNCOOKED    FOOD. 

I  purchased  two  pigs,  four  weeks'  old,  October 
16,  1864.  They  were  a  small  breed,  partly  Chester 
County.  TheV  were  kept  mostly  on  skimmed 
milk,  with  a  very  little  meal,  till  May,  1865.  From 
May  to  July  they  were  kept  almost  wholly  on 
milk  'vith  a  "few  weeds.  When  tlry  weather  com- 
menced, not  having  sufficient  milk  for  them,  I 
began  to  give  them  meal,  increasing  the  quantity 
of  meal  as  the  milk  lessened.  In  Scpteniltcr,  I  be- 
gan to  give  them  potatoes  and  ))iimi)kins,  but  did 
not  disiontinnc  the  meal.  For  several  monihs 
their  usual  allowance  was  three  quarts  of  meal 
three  times  a  day,  wiili  what  milk  we  had,  and  the 
same  (juautity  of  potatoes,  or  an  equivalent  in 
pumpkins.  Sev(>ral  weeks  before  they  were  killed 
I  began  gradually  to  lessen  the  quantity  of  i)Ota- 
toes,  but  gave  tlu'm  some  at  every  mcai.  I  never 
cooked  anytliing  for  them,  and  never  gave  any- 


thing warm.  They  were  never  sick,  and  never 
took  any  medicine.  Dec.  15,  1865,  one  weighed, 
dressed,  396,  the  other  342  pounds. 

Quite  a  number  of  pigs  of  this  same  litter  were 
sold  to  different  individuals  and  killed  about  f?he 
same  time,  but  not  one  of  them,  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  weiglxed  over  300  pounds.  There  ai-e  cer- 
tainly two  weighty  reasons  in  favor  of  giving  hogs 
uncooked  food.  It  saves  labor,  and  avoids  all 
danger  of  injurinij  them  with  hot  food.         e.  b. 

Derry,  N.  H.,  1866. 


■WOOL-GROWERS'    ASSOCIATIONS. 
Pennsylvania. 

Our  thanks  are  due  to  some  kind  friend  for 
slips  of  the  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  papers,  containing 
the  proceedings  of  the  Wool-Growers  of  that 
State,  at  the  annual  meeting,  Jan.  16th.  The 
following  oilicers  were  elected  : — 

President— Dr.  F.  Julius  LeMoyne,  of  Washing- 
ton county. 

Vice  Presidents— James  Slocum,  Fayette  county  ; 
J.  C.  White,  Lawrence;  H.  H.  Crell,  Greene;  J.  J. 
Bard,  Butler;  George  Ilea,  Westmoreland;  J. 
Hoagland,  Mercer ;  John  Cain,  Beaver ;  Gen.  Har- 
ry White,  Indiana;  Joseph  A.  Thompson,  Arm- 
strong ;  Asa  Manchester,  Washington ;  Hon.  Wil- 
liam F.  Johnston,  Philadelphia. 

Secretary  and  Treasurer— John  McDonald 
Glenn,  Alleghany  county. 

Executive  Committee  —  John  Ewing,  David 
Houston,  Samuel  McFarland,  Washington  county. 

Representative  to  the  National  Society — James 
Slocum,  Fayette  county. 

In  some  discussion  upon  the  tariff  bill,  Mr. 

Lee,  of  Alleghany  expressed  fears  that  if  the 

bill  should  pass  in  its  present  form,  eighty-five 

per  cent,  of  the  foreign  wools  imported 'would 

come  in  at  three  cents  duty ;  alluding  probably 

to  the    "third  class,"  which  provides  for  the 

Importation  of  "carpet  wools,'"  at  that  rate. 

The  same   fear  has  been  expressed  by  others. 

After  a  full  discussion,  however,  the  following 

resolutions  were  adopted  as  the  sense  of  the 

meeting : — 

That  it  is  of  the  first  importance  that  the  wool- 
growers'  interest  of  our  country  should  have  amiilc 
protection  ;  and  vhat  the  presenc  tariff  is  wholly  in- 
adequate for  that  pui'posc;  that  the  association, 
therefore,  respectfully  but  earnestly  urges  uiion 
Congress  the  passage  of  the  tariff  bill,  on  Wool 
and  Woolens,  as  passed  by  the  lower  House  of 
Congress  at  its  last  session. 

Ohio. 
At  the  regular  winter  meeting  of  the  Wool- 
Growers'  Association,  at  Columbus,  Jan.  8,  a 
more  elaborate  series  of  resolutions  to  the 
same  eflect  were  carried  nearly  unanimously, 
although  a  memorial  was  read  by  John  H. 
Klippart  fi-om  the  Franklin  county  society, 
whicli  set  forth  in  substance,  as  we  learn  by 
tlu'  Ohio  Farmer,  that  by  the  arrangement  be- 
tween the  Wool-Growers  and  Woolen  Manu- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


131 


facturers  at  Syracuse,  and  through  the  action 
of  the  Joint  Committee  of  those  bodies  after- 
ward, the  wool-growers  had  surrendered  their 
rights  to  equal  protection,  and  had  been  adroit- 
ly over-reached  by  the  manufacturers  in  the  ad- 
justment of  tariif  duties  on  wool  and  woolens. 
The  following  elections  were  made  : — 

Hon.  Cohimbus  Delano,  of  Knox  coiinty,  was 
elected  President;  Dr.  H.  S.  Conklin,  of  Shelby 
county.  Vice  Prct-ident;  S.  D.  Harris,  of  Cleve- 
land, Secretary  and  Treasurer ;  R.  M.  Montgom- 
erj%  Eeprescnlalivc  in  the  Executive  Committee  of 
National  Wool-Growers'  Association ;  J.  C.  Stev- 
ens, of  Hardin  comity,  J.  B.  Jamison,  of  HarrisoU) 
and  N.  S.  Townscnd,  of  Lorain,  Directors. 

A  vote  of  thanks  for  the  untiring  labors  of 
their  late  president,  Hon.  R.  M.  Montgomery, 
then  at  his  post  in  Washington,  was  adopted. 
Illinois. 

The  wool-growers  of  Illinois  met  at  Spring- 
field, Jan.  8th.  The  attendai>ce  was  large, — 
members  from  nearly  all  parts  of  the  State  be- 
ing present.  A  series  of  twelve  resolutions 
were  adopted,  which  show  that  the  farmers  of 
that  great  State  are  in  earnest  in  their  demands 
that  the  house  tariff  bill  on  wools  and  woolens, 
or  the  one  equally  protective,  now  pending  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  shall  become  a 
law  of  the  land.  They  also  resolve,  that  we 
are  opposed  to  our  country  remaining  any 
longer  the  rag-bag  of  the  Avorld,  and  that  Con- 
gi-ess  ought  to  put  a  stop  to  the  importation 
of  shoddy  or  woolen  rags,  either  by  direct  law 
or  such  rates  of  duty  as  will  effectually  prohibit 
them. 

Better  protection,  by  State  Legislation,  from 
dogs  is  also  insisted  upon. 


STATE   AGRICULTTJBAL    SOCIETIES. 

Maine. — At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State 

Agricultural  Society,  at  Augusta,  Jan.  16,  the 

following  officers  were  elected  : — 

President— Seward  Dill,  of  Phillips. 
Secretary — Samuel  L.  Boardman  of  Augusta. 
Treasurer — Wm.  S.  Badger,  of  Augusta. 
Trustees— Samuel  Wasson,  of  Ellsworth;  "War- 
ren Percival,  of  Vassalboro'. 

At  the  annual   meeting  of  the  Maine  Board 

of  Agriculture,  at  the  same  time  and  place,  the 

election  of  officers  resulted  as  follows  : — 

President— Samuel  Wasson,  of  Ellsworth. 
Vice  President— Asa  Smith,  of  Mattawamkeag. 
Secretary— S.  L.  Goodalc,  of  Saco. 
Messenger— Asa  R.  Boardman,  of   South  Nor- 
ridgewock. 

This  Board  during  its  annual  session  of  sev- 
eral days  discussed  a  wide  range  of  agricultural 
subjects,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  list 


of  topics   which  were  presented    by  the  Busi- 
ness Committee : — 

1 — Under  what  conditions  will  agriculture  in 
Maine  be  most  successful  f 

2 — To  what  extent  can  the  preparation  of  the 
soil  for  crops  be  profitably  carried  in  autumn  ? 

3 — In  what  manner  and  to  what  extent  should 
fanns  be  fenced  ? 

4 — The  construction  of  bams. 

5— To  what  extent  should  mixed  husljandry  be 
practiced  ? 

6— What  are  the  best  methods  of  seeding  do^yn 
to  grass  ? 

7 — Do  health  and  economy  require  more  atten- 
tion, on  the  part  of  our  farmers,  to  the  production 
and  use  of  garden  vegctaliles  and  fruits  ? 

8 — The  imperfect  obligations — as  tlicir  discharge 
affects  the  physical  as  well  as  moral  health  of  the 
farmer  and  his  family. 

9 — Are  the  direct  and  indirect  advantages  of 
sheep  husbandry  with  the  present  tariff  on  foreign 
wool  such  as  to  warrant  its  increase  in  Maine  ? 

10 — Which  is  the  most  profitable,  the  raising  of 
cattle  or  sheep  ? 

11 — By  what  practicable  method  can  an  effective 
and  useful  connexion  between  the  Industrial  Col- 
lege and  the  common  schools  be  affected  ? 

12 — Can  artificial  manures  be  in-otitably  used, 
and  if  so,  what  kind,  and  to  what  extent  ? 

13 — The  comparative  advantages  of  the  culture 
of  Indian  corn  and  the  smaller  gi-ains. 

The  Maine  Farmer  of  Jan.  24,  gives  a  re- 
port of  the  first  five  days'  proceedings,  which 
we  have  laid  aside  for  future  use. 

Connecticut. — ^At  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Connecticut  Agricultural  Society,  at  New 
Haven,  Jan.  9,  the  following  officers  were 
elected : — 

President — Ephralm  H.  Hyde,  of  Tolland. 

Vice  Presidents — Robbins  Battell,  of  Norfolk, 
H.  L.  Stewart,  of  Middle  Haddam. 

Corresponding  Secretary — T.  S.  Gold,  of  Corn- 
wall. 

Recording  Secretary — Burdett  Loomis,  of  Wind- 
sor Locks. 

Treasurer — F.  A.  Brown,  of  Hartford. 

County  Directors — New  Haven  County,  Dr. 
Charles  B.  Whittlesey ;  Hartford  County,  C.  M. 
Pond ;  New  London  County,  James  A.  Bill ;  Fair- 
field County,  Charles  Hough ;  Windham  County, 
Benj.  F.  Sumner;  Litchfield  County,  George  C. 
Hitchcock;  Middlesex  County,  P.  M.  Augur; 
Tolland  County,  S.  F.  West. 

Chemist — Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  of  Yale  College. 

The  State  Board  of  Agriculture  created  by 
the  Legislature  in  May  last,  met  at  the  same 
time  and  place.  The  President  (ex-officio  a 
member)  is  the  Governor  of  the  State ;  the 
Vice  President  is  Hon.  E.  H.  Hyde,  of  Staf- 
ford;  and  the  Secretary  is  T.  S.  Gold,  of 
Cornwall.  The  members  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  were 
Hon.  Mr.  Hyde,  Howard  Collins,  Esq.,  of 
Canton,  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson,  of  New  Haven, 
and  Mr.  Gildersloeve,  of  Portland.  Each 
county  society,  or  society  receiving  State  aid, 
is  entitled  to  name  a  member. 

Ohio. — The  Oldo  Farmer  furnishes  full  re- 


132 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


March 


ports  of  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State 
Board  of  Agriculture,  at  Columbus,  Jan.  9th. 
We  have  space  merely  to  say  that  the  business 
committee  reported  several  subjects  for  discus- 
sion, on  the  first  of  which,  the  State  Agricultu- 
ral college,  Judge  Jones  of  Delaware  county, 
one  of  the  Commission  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor to  consider  and  report  upon  the  subject 
of  location,  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  if  the 
committee  had  been  authorized  to  locate  the 
college,  eligible  sites  and  the  necessary  funds 
would  have  been  pi-ofTered.  The  land  donated 
by  Congress  had  all  been  sold  at  an  average 
of  53  cents  per  acre,  and  had  thus  availed  only 
about  half  the  amount  that  was  expected.  At 
the  close  of  Mr.  J.'s  remarks,  the  convention 
voted  to  adhere  to  the  resolution  it  adopted  in 
its  session  of  18G5,  expressing  itself  in  favor 
of  one  college  and  opposed  to  the  division  of 
the  funds.  Resolutions  were  presented  de- 
nouncing monopolies  and  combinations,  and 
arguing  against  the  enactment  of  an  eight-hour 
labor  law. 

The  Board  organized  by  the  election  of 
Daniel  McMillian  as  President ;  James  Buck- 
ingham, Treasurer ;  John  H.  Klippart,  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  and  Henry  S.  Babbett, 
Recording  Secretary. 


Time  of  Sowing  Winter  and  Spring 
Wheat. — At  a  late  discussion  by  the  Fitch- 
burg,  Mass.,  Farmer's  Club,  Mr.  Ephraim 
Graham  is  reported  by  the  Sentinel  to  have 
said  that  winter  wheat,  if  sown  the  last  of 
August  or  first  of  September,  is  usually  a  sure 
crop,  but  if  sown  in  October,  doubtful.  In 
case  spring  wheat  cannot  be  sown  as  soon  as 
April  20,  it  is  better  to  seed  with  some  other 
grain.  Mr.  Solon  Carter,  of  Leominster,  said 
that  wheat  paid  him  less  than  any  other  crop. 
His  grass  Avas  the  most  profitable,  but  he  could 
not  get  good  grass  without  preparing  the  land 
by  raising  corn. 


Ayhsiiirr  Herd  Book. — The  committee  ap 
pointed  by  the  "Association  of  Breeders  of 
Thorough-bred  Neat  Stock,"  consisting  of  G. 
B.  Loring,  Salem,  Mass.,  H.  S.  Collins,  Col- 
Hnsville,  Ct.,  Wm.  Birnie,  Springfield,  Mass., 
request  all  breeders  and  owners  of  such  stock 
to  send  in  full  pedigrees  of  each  animal,  with 
the  fee  of  fifty  cents  each,  that  they  may  be 
registered  in  the  second  volmne  of  their  herd 


book,  on  or  before  the  first  of  July  next.  All 
letters  and  money  should  be  addressed  to  J. 
N.  Bagg,  of  West  Springfield,  Mass.,  who  has 
undertaken  the  editorship  of  the  new  herd  book. 


Caledonia  (Vt.)  Agricultural  Society. 
— At  the  late  annual  meeting  of  the  Caledonia 
County  Agricultural  Society,  the  following  offi- 
cers were  elected  for  the  year  ensuing :  E.  A. 
Parks,  Waterford,  President;  H.  M.  Hall, 
Burke,  W.  J.  Henderson,  Ryegate,  Vice 
Presidents  ;  I.  W.  Sanborn,  Lyndon,  T.  M. 
Howard,  St.  Johnsbury,  J.  H.  George,  Hard- 
wick,  Secretaries ;  E.  F.  Brown,  St.  Johns- 
bury,  Treasurer. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  requesting  the 
Vermont  Congressmen  to  do  all  they  can  to  se- 
cure the  passage  of  a  bill  to  protect  the  wool- 
growing  interest  of  the  State  and  nation. 


Sterling,  Mass.,  Farmers'  Club. — This 
town  club,  with  a  membership  of  121,  holds 
an  annual  Fair.  In  September  last,  $264.84 
were  distributed  in  premiums,  leaving  $283  in 
the  treasury.  Joseph  P.  Hey  wood.  President ; 
Luke  Sawyer,  Vice  President ;  Ezra  Sawyer, 
Secretary ;  William  D.  Peck,  Treasurer. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
MUCK. 

At  a  recent  farmer's  meeting,  at  which  the 
^^preparation  of  manures''''  was  the  subject  of 
discussion,  the  debate  hung  for  some  time  upon 
the  question  whether  muck  was  of  any  value 
except  as  an  absorbent. 

E.  B.  considered  it  as  possessing  intrinsic 
value  of  itself  as  a  fertilizer,  and  said  if  the 
droppings  from  animals  were  his  only  resource 
for  enriching  his  land,  he  should  quit  farming 
at  once.  He  believed  that  by  drawing  muck 
into  his  yards  and  letting  it  lie  a  few  years,  he 
had  tripled  the  products  of  his  ilirm.  He  did 
not  tliink  liquid  manure,  from  any  animals,  re- 
quired any  al)sorbcnt  in  the  winter  season,  the 
solid  part  being  sufficient  to  absorb  it  all.  He 
believed  manure  is  often  too  strong,  and  that 
muck  and  manure  composted  together  are  bet- 
ter than  clear  manure  separate.  lie  had  rather 
have  a  load  of  muck  than  a  load  of  straw. 
Said  corn  planted  on  nuick  will  always  come 
up,  if  ever  so  dry  !  The  best  corn  raised  on 
Col.  M.'s  farm  was  raised  on  clear  muck  that 
laid  ten  years  rotting  ! 

D.  II.  thought  turf,  or  soil,  fully  as  good  as 
muck  ;  only  not  as  liglit  and  easy  to  handle. 

Col.  ]VL  thought  there  was  a  great  difference 
in  the  (juality  of  nuick. 

McC.  said  much  depends  upon  the  nature  of 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


133 


the  soil,  as  to  the  usefulness  of  muck,  whether 
loamy,  sandy  or  clayey. 

C.  M.  n.  said  he  had  bent  his  long  back  a 
good  deal  shoveling  muck.  Didn't  think  it 
paid ;  believed  the  turf  from  the  roadside,  or 
even  the  dirt  under  it,  worth  more  than  muck. 

G.  F.  N.  thought  muck  had  other  value  than 
as  an  absorbent,  and  believed  it  "will  pay"  to 
cart  it  two  miles,  if  not  more  than  half  way 
irp  hill ! 

A.  B.  M.  would  not  use  wet,  low-land  muck 
at  all.  Had  tried  spreading  it  on  grass  land 
Avithout  any  benefit.  Said  it  was  naturally 
sour,  and  tends  to  produce  sorrel.  Was  in 
favor  of  decayed  leaves  and  other  vegetable 
matter  from  high  lands. 

S.  H.  thought  the  chief  value  of  muck  is 
as  an  absorbent. 

C.  M.  II.  would  rather  have  straw,  and  did  not 
think  muck  worth  looking  at,  only  as  an  ab- 
sorbent. 

F.  D.  said  swamp  muck  is  over  90  per  cent, 
water,  and  considered  it  worthless  except  as 
an  abi-orbent.  The  dirt  taken  from  a  well  l)ot- 
tom,  spread  around  his  yard,  produced  a  rank 
growth  of  grass  ! 

A.  B.  M.,  C.  M.  H.,  S.  H.  and  others  made 
similar  statements  in  regard  to  the  elFect  of  the 
hard-pan  taken  f.om  four  to  five  feet  below 
the  surface  and  spread  upon  cultivated  fields. 

Mr.  Editor,  what  do  you  say  ?  If  the  entire 
value  of  muck  consists  in  its  absorbing  pro- 
perty— it  may  be  of  importance  to  some  of 
your  readers  to  know  it,  as  they  can  get  saw- 
dust, India  wheat  hulls,  refuse  straw,  &c.,  that 
will  absorb  as  much  liquid,  more  conveniently 
and  wiih  less  labor.  Will  it  pay  to  dry  and 
house  common  soil  for  an  absorbent  ? 

Vermont,  Jan.,  18G7.  Lectum, 

Remarks. — There  is  a  great  difference  in 
muck.  Some  of  it  is  worthless,  but  not  inju- 
rious to  the  soil.  Other  beds  are  particularly 
injurious,  as  when  it  is  thrown  out  no  plant 
wiU  spring  into  life  upon  it,  perhaps  for  two  or 
three  years,  until  it  has  been  ameliorated  by 
atmospheric  .action.  Good  muck  that  is  thrown 
out  in  the  fall  or  winter  will  be  generally  cov- 
ered with  plants  of  some  kind  the  succeeding 
summer. 

As  an  absorbent,  muck  is  certainly  valuable. 
It  is  our  opinion,  based  upon  an  extensive  use 
of  muck,  that  two  cords  of  muck  and  one 
cord  of  manure,  thoroughly  mingled,  are  as 
good  as  three  loads  of  the  same  kind  of  clear 
manure,  on  any  light  loams  or  sandy  soils. 
So  think  many  of  the  members  of  the  Concord 
Farmers'  Club,  if  not  every  one  of  them. 
Dana's  Muck  Manual  teWsus  that  if  two  pounds 
of  soda  ash,   or  thi-ee  pounds  of  potash  are 


added  to  100  pounds  of  fresh  dug  peat,  all  the 
good  effects  of  real  cow-dmig  will  be  produced. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    SUPPLY   OF    FBUIT. 

In  seasons  like  the  past,  when  the  apple  and 
pear  crop  were  so  much  below  the  average 
yield,  fruit  raisers  naturally  ask  the  C[uestion, 
What  shall  we  do  to  secure  our  usual  supply  of 
fruit  for  family  use,  or  for  the  market?  The 
first  thought  is  the  danger  of  depending  upon 
one  or  two  kinds.  In  such  case  we  are  liable 
to  an  over  supply  in  one  season  and  a  deficien- 
cy in  another.  If  the  land  ownei',  for  example, 
plants  only  an  apple  orchard,  he  may  have  all 
that  he  wants  and  an  overplus  besides  when 
the  year  proves  favorable ;  but  he  will  be 
annoyed  by  a  deficiency  in  unfavorable  years. 
The  true  way  to  avoid  this  is  to  provide  as 
many  legs  to  one's  stool  as  possible  ;  or,  in 
other  words,  to  secure  as  great  a  variety 
of  kinds  as  may  be  practicable.  We  do  not 
mean  by  this  a  very  large  number  of  varieties 
of  each  kind,  but  a  large  number  of 
kinds.  Thus  in  one  year  apples  may  be 
abundant,  but  peaches  and  grapes  may  be  en- 
tirely deficient ;  during  another  season  the  re- 
verse may  take  place  ;  hence  it  is  desirable  to 
plant  all  the  kinds  that  are  easily  cultivated. 
Taking  the  circle  of  fruits,  and  beginning  with 
strawberries  and  the  earliest  cherries,  followed 
by  currants,  raspberries,  the  earliest  pears  and 
apples,  and  plums,  blackberries,  and  subse- 
quently by  the  general  supply  of  apples, 
peaches,  pears,  plums  and  grapes,  temiinating 
with  the  late  keeping  pears,  packed  grapes 
and  winter  apples, — we  shall  find  on  an  average 
a  certain  percentage  or  rate  of  failure  in  dif- 
ferent kinds  that  may  be  relied  upon.  In 
some  localities  there  will  not  be  one  failure  in 
ten  among  these  different  fruits ;  Avhile  in 
others  the  deficiency  may  be  as  one  to  five,  or 
one  to  three,  as  the  case  may  be.  All  we 
have  to  do,  therefore,  is  to  enlarge  our  number 
so  as  to  insure  the  certainty  of  a  supply  from 
one  or  more.  The  year  past,  for  example,  has 
furnished  us  with  a  profusion  of  strawberries ; 
a  good  supply  of  currants,  when  the  hellebore 
treatment  was  promptly  given  to  the  cui-rant 
worm  ;  raspberries  ;  a  fair  supply  of  blackber- 
ries ;  most  varieties  of  the  hardy  grape,  &c. 
In  my  opinion,  there  should  be  an  increased 
reliance  on  the  grape,  for  although  it  may  fail 
in  some  seasons,  the  cause  of  that  failure  is  un- 
like that  which  destroys  the  crop  on  most  of 
our  fruit  trees.  The  latter  is  often  the  result  of 
severe  winters,  and  very  frequently  it  is  caused 
by  abundant  rains  about  the  time  of  blooming. 
But  the  grape  is  never  winter-killed  in  the 
fruit  buds,  nor  by  the  rains  of  spring,  because 
the  fruit  is  formed  on  the  new  shoots,  which 
grow  at  a  later  time  in  the  year.  We  should, 
therefore,  plant  them  more  extensively  for 
fiimily  use.  New  sorts  of  excellent  quality 
have  been  added  to  our  list  within  a  fcAv  years, 


134 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


March 


and  much  has  recently  been  given  to  the  pro- 
duction of  early  varieties,  while  those  for  win- 
ter use  have  not  been  overlooked. 

Let  us  compare  the  ^rape  wiJh  the  apple  as 
to  the  amoinit  which  may  be  obtained  from  a 
given  area  of  land.  The  most  productive 
apples,  such  for  instance  as  the  Baldwin  and 
Rhode  Island  Greening,  have  yielded  in  good 
seasons  at  the  rate  of  some  400  bushels  to  the 
acre,  while  100  or  200  are  a  more  common 
crop.  Taking  15  or  20  of  the  more  popular 
sorts,  we  shall  probably  not  be  able  to  rely  on 
much  more  than  IGO  bushels  to  the  acre, 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  different  seasons, 
or  not  over  three  or  four  tons.  Now,  in  ordin- 
ary vineyard  management,  four  tons  do  not 
constitute  an  extraordinary  crop  even  for  such 
excellent  sorts  as  the  Isabella,  Concord  and 
Delaware.  Some  of  these  have  yielded  over 
six  tons  per  acre.  It  may  be  questioned, 
therefore,  whether,  on  the  whole,  the  apple  or- 
chard will  yield  more  than  the  vineyard ;  the 
latter,  it  is  admitted,  requires  far  more 
care  in  cultivation  and  pruning,  and  more  at- 
tention also  in  pi-eserving  the  fruit.  But  we 
are  all  learning  that  fruit  should  have  as  much 
care  as  corn,  turnips,  and  potatoes,  and  are 
becoming  willing  to  give  it.  While,  therefore, 
we  would  not  diminish  the  amount  given  to 
strawberries,,  currants,  raspberries,  goose- 
berries, blackberries,  cherries,  apples,  peaches, 
apricots,  plums,  pears,  &c.,  we  especially 
recommend  at  the  present  time  a  larger  atten- 
tion to  the  best  hardy  grapes. 

Otis  Tinkiiam. 

Lakeville,  Mass.  Jan.,  1867. 


I      On  another  piece   I  planted  potatoes,    on 
part  of  which  I  put  a  single  handful  of  a  com- 
post of  sheep  manure   and   leached  ashes   in 
the  hill,  and  on  the  other  part  of  the  piece  I 
I  put  about  a  tablespoonful  of  flour  of  bone  in 
I  the  hill.     Otherwise  there  was  no  manure  used 
I  on  the  piece, — which  was  plouglied  the  fall  be- 
j  fore.     At  digging  time,  where  the  sheep  ma- 
nure and  ashes  were  put  the  potatoes  were  the 
best. 

On  another  piece  I  planted  beans.  This  was 
well  manured  with  barn-yard  manure .  skipping 
certain  rows,  and  noting  the  product  at  har- 
vesting time,  between  the  rows  to  which  bone 
flour  was  applied  and  the  rows  without  the 
flour,  and  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  not  tell  the 
difference. 

I  ploughed  up  one  and  three-fourths  acres 
in  my  pasture  last  May  and  planted  it  with 
potatoes.  I  used  bone  flour  on  most  of  it, 
but  left  certain  rows  with  nothing  in  the  hill ; 
and  certain  other  rows  had  about  twice  as  much 
unlcached  ashes  in  the  hill,  as  I  apulied  of  bone 
flour.  The  result  stands  thus  :  nothing  in  hill. 
No.  3 ;  flour  of  bone  in  hill.  No.  2,  and  un- 
leached  ashes  in  the  hill.  No.  1.  This  piece 
had  no  other  manure  than  bone  and  ashes.  I 
am  satisfied  I  am  out  of  pocket  for  a  part  of 
the  $11.92  up  to  this  date,  but  what  I  may  get 
of  it  in  the  future  I  can't  tell.  If  we  could 
have  the  whole  substance  of  the  bone  as  it 
comes  from  the  animal,  and  not  lose  a  great 
share  of  the  glue  and  oil  by  the  process  of 
manufacture,  undoubtedly  .our  crops  would  be 
more  satisfactorv  than  they  now  are. 

Bradford,  N.  H.,  Jan.  8,  1867.    j.  f.  d. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

EXPERIMENTS   "WITH   FLOUR    OP 
BONE. 

The  past  season  I  bought  one  barrel  of  flour 
of  bone,  made  by  the  Boston  INIilling  and  Man- 
ufacturing Company ;  it  cost  me  §11.92.  Be- 
ing partial  in  its  flivor,  I  thought  I  would  give 
it  a  fliir  trial.  My  farm  is  mostly  of  a  dark 
yellow  loam,  having  been  formerly  covered 
with  a  growth  of  beach,  birch,  maple,  oak, 
pine,  &c. 

I  planted  a  piece  of  corn  which  had  a  heavy 
coat  of  horse  and  sheep  manure  ploughed  in. 
Of  this  field  certain  rows  were  served  with  a 
limited  amount  of  compost,  made  of  leached 
ashes  and  hen  manure  ;  other  rows  with  a  com- 
post of  night  soil  and  gravel ;  certain  other 
rows  with  about  a  tablespoonful  of  (lour  of 
bone,  all  being  applied  in  the  hill ;  and  other 
rows  were  planted  without  anything  in  the  hill. 
The  result  was  that  where  the  hen  manure  and 
night  soil  were  put  the  corn  got  the  l)est  start 
and  kept  it  tbrongh  the  season.  At  harvesting 
time  I  kept  two  rows  served  with  flour  of  bone 
separate^  and  two  rows  without  anything  in  the 
hill.  I  husked  and  measured  them  by  them- 
selves, and  the  diderence  in  the  amount  of  corn 
from  the  two  lots  was  ahuost  imperceptible. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FLOUR   OF    BONE. 

Messrs.  Editors  of  Neio  England  Farmer : — 
Your  correspondent,  Mr.  Rufus  Nutting,  of 
Randolph,  Vt.,  gives  some  statements  in  the 
last  issue  of  your  valuable  journal,  in  reference 
to  Flour  of  Bone  ;  being,  as  he  states,  results 
of  his  own  personal  use  of  it  the  last  season ; 
and  it  not  being  up  to  his  expectations,  Mr. 
Nutting  proposes  to  write  solely  in  the  interest 
of  the  farming  community,  jjro  bono  ])ublico, 
and  disclaims  all  intention  to  injure  persons  or 
corporations.  We  take  him  at  his  word,  and 
shall  answer  him  as  a  man  really  and  honorably 
anxious  only  to  get  at  the  truth.  Mr.  Nutting, 
we  presume,  will  not  deny  the  importance  of 
bone  as  a  mamn-e.  That  point  is  too  well  es- 
tablished to  admit  of  discussion.  All  scientific 
authorities,  particularly  Liebig  and  Johnston, 
place  it  at  the  head  of"  the  list  of  special  ma- 
nures, and  devote  great  space  to  the  exposition 
of  its  merits.  All  practical,  intelligent  far- 
mers equally  acknowledge  it.  In  England  and 
the  Continent  of  Europe,  where  bone  lias  been 
used  very  extensively  for  more  tlian  lialf  a  cen- 
tury, its  value  is  considered  beyond  a  doubt. 
In  Germany  it  is  rated  so  high  that  by  law  its 
exportation  is  forbidden. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARJUER. 


135 


The  use  of  bone  in  all  countries,  however, 
has  been  conOned  to  that  which  has  been  sim- 
ply crushed,  or  broken  into  (ra<i;ments  of  con- 
siderable size.  But  all  the  authorities  agree 
in  the  great  advantage  oi'  having  bone  reduced 
to  a  powder  by  mechanical  means.  Although 
it  has  long  engaged  the  attention  of  in- 
ventors, no  machine  has  been  made  which 
would  reduce  bone  to  powder  till  the  invention 
of  those  used  solely  by  the  Boston  Milling  and 
Manufacturing  Company. 

Now  what  the  public  wishes  to  be  assured  of 
is,  whether  this  pulverized  bone,  manufactured 
by  this  Corporation  is  pure  and  unadullerated. 
To  this  we  reply,  that  from  the  first  we  have 
advertised  everywhere  that  its  2jerJ'ect  purity 
was  preserved ;  no  adulteration  or  admixture 
whatever  being  introduced,  except  Jive  per 
cent,  of  common  salt,  as  a  preservative  when 
packed  in  barrels.  A  guarantee  to  this  effect 
can  be  given  by  this  Corporation.  We  have 
constantly  solicited  investigation,  and  it  has 
been  a  subject  of  inquiry  by  many.  We  have 
been  permitted  by  all  the  agiicultiiral  newspa- 
pers in  this  city  to  refer  to  them  upon  this  sub- 
ject for  now  nearly  one  year,  because  they 
have  given  our  mills,  our  process  and  our 
Flour  of  Bone  a  thorough  examination. 

We  should  be  glad  to  give  Mr.  Nutting  an 
opportunity  of  examining,  and  here  offer  him 
and  his  friends,  through  the  medium  of  your 
columns,  a  full  and  free  invitation  to  inspect 
our  works,  processes  and  their  results.  We 
guarantee  one  thing,  at  least : — to  satisfy  them 
that  we  furnish  perfectly  pure  hone,  grotmd 
fine  by  a  strictly  mechanical  process,  without 
burning  or  using  acids.  Of  course  we  do  not 
guarantee  that  it  will  prove  a  success  in  every 
description  of  soil  or  in  every  season.  Did 
Mr.  N.  ever  know  of  any  manure  which  could 
be  absolutely  promised  to  produce  the  same 
effect  under  every  and  all  circumstances,  all 
differences  of  soil,  climate,  &c.,  &c.  ?  Is  it 
fair  to  condemn  our  article,  because,  as  he 
states,  it  once  failed  with  him  ?  We  think  not. 
Not  to  occupy  too  much  of  your  paper  in  our 
matter,  we  conclude  by  expressing  the  hope 
that  Mr.  N.  will  give  us  an  opportunity  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  him  personally.  For 
we  believe  that  he  will  then  be  satisfied  that 
we,  too,  also  have  an  interest  in  the  well-be- 
ing of  agriculturists  generally,  and  if  honest 
efforts  can  prove  this,  he  may  rest  assured  of 
o.jr  making  them.  Respectfully  yours. 
A.  F.  Dkvereux  &  Co., 
Agents  Boston  Milling  and  Manufg  Co. 
Boston,  Mass.,  Dec.  14,  1866. 


FERRETS  AWD  RATS. 
Rats  are  a  great  nuisance.  My  pig-pens 
and  buildings  are  overrun  with  them.  .1  often 
wish  for  a  pair  or  two  of  ferrets  and  a  couple 
of  good  terrier  dogs.  We  could  have  some 
glorious  sport.  When  I  was  a  boy.  In  Eng- 
land, I  used  to  keep  ferrets,  and  can  well  re- 


member many  days  when  I  was  too  sick  to  go 
to  school ;  but  cannot  recall  a  day  when  1  was 
not  well  enough  to  go  "a  ferreting!"  We 
used  to  stack  nearly  all  our  grain,  and  as  it 
was  never  threshed  until  the  winter,  and  fre- 
((uently  not  before  the  next  summer,  t!i(!  stacks 
that  were  on  the  ground  were  a  favoiilc  haunt 
for  rats.  I  have  seen  old  stacks  tliat  were 
completely  riddled  with  rat  holes — sides,  top 
and  bottom.  Such  a  stack  afforded  real  sport 
for  us  youngsters.  Armed  with  a  good  stick, 
we  stood  one  on  each  side  of  the  stack.  The 
ferrets,  having  been  fasted  over  night,  were 
turned  into  the  holes.  They  would  creep 
along  there  slowly  at  first,  but  "as  soon  as  a  rat 
was  scented  they  were  more  active,  and  when 
the  game  was  fairly  started  Master  Rat,  or 
Madam,  must  make  good  pace  to  save  their 
skin.  With  a  rush  he  leaps  from  the  stack, 
Avhen  a  terrier  makes  short  work  of  him. 
When  the  sport  is  lively,  half  a  dozen  or  more 
are  on  the  ground  at  once,  and  dogs  and  boys 
have  all  they  can  do  to  attend  to  them. 

The  smaller  the  ferret  the  better,  as  she 
can  follow  the  rats  more  easily  and  rapidly 
through  the  holes.  The  large  male  ferrets  are 
seldom  as  good  rat  catchers — or  more  prop- 
erly, vdtfrigldeners — as  the  small  female  fer- 
ret. ]f  kept  perfectly  clean  and  in  a  warm 
but  well  ventilated  pen  or  box,  and  fed  regu- 
larly with  a  little  new  milk  and  scraps  of  fresh 
meat,  birds,  heads  of  chickens,  blood,  etc.  ; 
there  is  no  difficulty  In  raising  them. 

AVhy  cannot  we  keep  ferrets  in  this  coun- 
try ?  The  only  difficulty  I  can  think  of  Is  our 
severe  winters.  But  it  would  seem  that  this 
could  be  overcome  by  keeping  them  in  a  barn 
cellar  and  furnishing  them  with  plenty  of  dry 
l^eddlng.  In  which  they  can  burrow  and  form  a 
nest. 

I  see  ferrets  are  advertised  at  $20  a  pair ! 
When  I  was  a  boy  I  frequently  raised  seven, 
and  in  one  case  nine  at  a  litter,  and  used  to 
feel  rich  when  I  could  sell  the  young  ones  for 
$  1  50  per  pair.  They  breed  twice  a  year ; 
and  some  of  our  young  farmers'  sons,  espe- 
cially in  the  milder  sections,  would  find  a  plea- 
sure and  profit  in  keeping  them. — Joseph  Har- 
ris, in  American  Agriculturist. 


BEST  -WAY  OF  SEEDING-  DOWN. 
The  Harvest  Club  of  the  Connecticut  Valley 
discussed  this  subject,  at  a  late  meeting  at 
Thaxter  Shaw's,  in  Montague,  Moses  Stebbins 
in  the  chair.  As  reported  by  the  Boston  Cul- 
tivator, Thomas  J.  Field,  Pi-esldent  of  the 
Franklin  County  Society,  opened  the  discussion. 

He  recommended  12  lbs  of  clover  seed,  6 
quarts  of  herdsgrass,  and  1  bushel  of  red  top  to 
the  acre ;  also  that  fanners  raise  their  own 
seed.  The  best  clover  seed  in  market,  he  said 
Is  that  grown  in  Putney,  Vt.  Farmers  grow- 
ing their  clover  seed  need  not    separate  the 


136 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


<;liafF  from  it,  but  should  sow  both  together. 
Time  for  sowing  herdsgrass,  from  the  10th  of 
Aug.  to  the  1st  of  Sept.  :  some  sow  after  the 
3d  hot'ing  of  corn  ;  also  with  turnips  in  August. 
The  soil  should  be  well  prepared  for  seeding. 
He  gave  an  instance  of  a  piece  of  worn  out  land 
that  a  farmer  ploughed  7  or  8  times  in  one  sea- 
son, sowed  it  to  rve  and  seeded  it  down  to  clo- 
ver, and  got  heavy  ci-ops  of  both  rye  and  clover. 
lie  advised  to  use  300  lbs.  of  Peruvian  guano 
per  acre  on  thin  soils,  or  about  twenty  bushels 
of  ashes.  He  would  use  a  bush  and  roller  after 
seeding  down,  but  preferred  the  bush  if  but  one 
is  used.  ]\Ir.  Stedman  of  Chicopee  preferred 
the  roller  to  the  bush. 

J.  M.  Smith  of  Sunderland,  said  he  cared 
not  to  cover  hay  seed  at  all — preferred  to  bush 
before  rather  than  after  sowing  it :  the  fall  of 
rain  covers  it  sufficiently  for  vegetating :  the 
danger,  he  remarked,  is  of  covering  it  too  deep. 
He  said  red-top  runs  out  clover. 

Mr.  Taylor  of  Montague,  said  he  stocked 
down  in  the  fall,  manured  with  composts,  about 
half  as  much  as  in  growins;  corn,  say  5  cords 
per  acre,  and  covered  the  seed  with  a  horse- 
rake  ;  he  puts  sand  in  his  hogpen,  and  regards 
muck  as  good  for  nothing  until  put  in  the  barn- 
yard :  oats  smother  grass — wheat  and  barley  he 
deemed  the  best  grains  to  seed  after.  He 
thought  clover  winter  killed  worse  by  leaving  a 
rank  growth  uncut,  than  by  mowing  and  remov- 
ing it. 

Mr.  Soverins  of  So.  Deerfield,  used  a  larger 
number  of  kinds  of  seeds  than  farmers  usually 
do,  Avhether  for  meadow  or  pasture  :  herdsgrass 
stools,  hence  open  spaces  that  should  be  filled  : 
to  seed  down  for  one  or  two  years  he  would  use 
only  clover  :  on  moist  land  he  would  use  red- 
top  and  fowl  meadow  ;  till  the  soil  well  as  for 
tobacco  beds  ;  would  bush  after  seeding:  pre- 
ferred a  clod  crusher  to  a  roller. 

N.  A.  Smith  of  Sunderland,  regarded  herds- 
grass  as  an  exhausting  crop. 

T.  K.  Brown,  of  Bernai'dston,  recommen- 
ded fall  seeding,  whether  the  ground  be  moist 
or  dry.  He  thinks  farmers  err  in  not  sow- 
ing more  red-top ;  he  thought  he  had  tons 
more  of  hay  the  past  season  for  having  seed- 
ed with  red-top,  as  it  is  not  liable  to  freeze 
out,  and  produces  from  2i  to  3  tons  per  acre  ; 
it  grew  with  lierdsgrass  from  4  to  5  feet  in 
height ;  in  seeding  he  sowed  from  8  to  10  lbs. 
of  clover  seed  per  acre,  with  from  8  to  12 
quarts  of  herdsgrass  and  the  same  of  red  top  : 
preferred  to  seed  with  wheat :  seeds  also  Avith 
turnips  al)out  the  1st  of  August,  and  would 
neither  bush  nor  roll  wet  land  :  would  feed  off 
or  mow  a  fiill  crop  of  clover  rather  than  let  it 
remain  on. 


— W.  C.  Flagg,  of  Madison  Co..  111.,  the  owner  of 
a  large  and  prodtablc  farm,  estimates  tliat,  by  the 
use  of  mowers,  hay-rakes,  and  horse-forks,  lie  can 
cut,  cure  and  stack  hay  at  a  cost  of  from  $1.00  ,o 
$1.50  a  ton. 


"WINTEK   FEED  AND  CAKE  OF  SHEEP. 
,  .  ,'  II K    farmer,     duriiiir    a 

considerable  portion  of 
the  year,  has  the  whole 
care  of  the  food  of  sheep ; 
selects  and  lays  it  before 
them.  It  has  been  dried 
and  stored  away  for 
winter  use,  and  is  fed 
to  them  at  stated  times, 
so  that  they  have  no 
choosing  to  do,  but  must 
eat  such  as  they  can  get 
or  go  without. 
When  in  the  pasture  they  have  a  choice ; 
certain  plants  they  reject  and  modify  the  quan- 
tity of  others  as  their  appetite  requires, — ^but 
during  the  winter  this  is  entirely  under  the 
control  of  man.  In  order  to  produce  healthy 
sheep  and  good  wool,  roots  are  essential  in  ad- 
dition to  hay  and  grain.  Good  muscle-produc- 
ing food  is  necessary  for  wool.  Sheep  like  the 
jOTtato,  turnips  of  various  kinds,  beets,  carrots, 
parsnips  and  mangold  wurtzel.  A  prejudice 
exists  against  the  use  of  these  roots,  which 
grows  out  of  the  erroneous  idea  that  it  is  very 
expensive  to  raise  them,  and  that  they  are  not 
very  nutritious.  The  argument  is,  that  be- 
cause the  potato  contains  80  per  cent,  of  water 
it  is  not  nutritious  and  cannot  be  economical. 
The  same  reason  may  be  urged  against  grass, 
or  against  the  beef-steak  for  our  ovra  eating. 

Numerous  experiments  show  that  all  stock, 
even  poultry,  fed  partly  upon  succulent  roots, 
thrive  better  and  at  less  cost,  than  when  fed 
entirely  upon  hay  and  grain.  "There  is  some- 
thing more  required  in  the  animal  economy 
than  mere  nutrition.  In  some  inexplicable  way 
roots  are  either  capable  of  enabling  the  animal 
to  extract  more  nutriment  from  its  other  food, 
or  of  economizing  that  which  it  does  extract." 
Our  own  practice  through  many  years,  satisfies 
us  that,  with  the  aid  of  modern  implements, 
roots  can  be  raised  cheaper  than  Indian  corn, 
cereal  grains  or  beans  as  part  food  for  sheep. 

Sheep  like  variety  and  should  be  indulged 
in  it.  Not  to  feed  a  few  days  or  a  few  weeks 
on  one  kind  entirely  and  then  change  to  some- 
thing else,  but  to  feed  a  variety  every  day. 

Mr.  T.  L.  Hartwell,  of  West  Cornwall, 
Ct.,  writing  us,  says  :  "There  arc  none  of  our 
domestic  animals  whose  nature  seems  to  re- 
quire so  gi'cat  a  variety  of  food  as  the  sheep. 
They  will  grow  restive  and  uneasy  if  confined, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


137 


even  m  the  best  feed,  if  of  one  kind,  and  break 
out,  if  possible,  and  roam  over  the  dry  pastures, 
perfectly  contented  if  they  can  get  sufficient 
variety  to  supply  the  demands  of  their  nature. 
No  amount  of  grain  or  roots  will  compensate 
for  the  want  of  variety." 

It  has  always  been  our  practice  to  supply  the 
flock  with  evergreens  of  hemlock,  spruce  and 
the  various  pines,  after  they  have  been  feeding 
for  several  weeks  upon  dry  food.  They  will 
browse  them  eagerly  if  scattered  through  their 
yards,  after  January  comes  in,  and  they  seem 
to  renew  their  appetite  and  remain  more  con- 
tented for  the  indulgence.  Sheep  should  be 
fed  when  in  fold  at  least  three  times  a  day,  and 
always  at  the  same  hour.  No  animal  knows 
better  than  a  sheep  his  usual  meal-time,  or  is 
more  impatient  of  its  postponement.  The  ap- 
petite comes  with  the  appointed  hour,  and  the 
food  is  then  eaten  with  the  greatest  relish  and 
least  waste. 

We  say  nothing  of  iveigJd  or  measure  in 
feeding.  This  must  be  governed  by  circum- 
stances, but  chiefly  by  the  temperature.  In 
cold  weather  they  will  require  more  food ;  in 
mild  weather  less.  The  lower  the  temperature 
the  more  rapidly  heat  escapes  from  the  body, 
and  the  more  food  is  required  to  keep  it  up. 
Much  may  be  done  toward  equalizing  the  heat 
of  the  body  by  proper  shelter.  Sheep  will  en- 
dure a  great  degree  of  cold  if  the  weather  is 
dry,  and  will  leave  the  barn  in  clear  cold  nights 
of  winter,  when  the  thermometer  ranges  near 
zero,  and  lie  upon  the  litter  in  the  yards.  If 
alloAved  to  go  out  of  the  yard,  they  will  fre- 
quently seek  some  dry  elevation  to  pass  the 
night,  even  when  there  is  a  stiff  breeze.  But 
if  rain  or  snow  is  falling,  or  if  the  atmosphere 
be  damp  they  will  seek  shelter  in  their  sheds 
or  barn,  although  the  weather  maybe  warm. 
Their  accommodations  should,  therefore,  be  so 
arranged,  that  they  can  go  in  and  out  at  will. 
Their  instincts  will  govern  them  correctly  in 
this  particular,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of 
ewes  who  may  come  in  early. 

If  these  conditions  are  not  observed,  the 
wool  will  suffer,  the  food  which  the  sheep  eats 
will,  instead  of  making  wool,  go  to  produce 
heat  to  keep  the  body  warm.  If  the  sheep  are 
merinos  the  result  will  be  a  weak  place  in  the 
staple,  and  dry  harsh  wool ;  but  if  the  long- 
wooled  breed,  then  in  the  bottom  of  the  staple 
will  be  produced  another  crop  of  wool,  consist- 
ing of  fme  fibres  locking  with  those  already 


produced,  which  will  felt  to  such  a  degree  as 
almost  to  defy  the  power  of  man  to  tear  the 
fleece  in  pieces  when  shorn  !  If  the  sheep  is 
not  sufficiently  fed  to  produce  bcth  heat  and 
wool,  nature  will  apply  the  food  where  it  is 
most  required. 

This  is  the  result  of  food  not  sufficiently 
nutritious,  as  it  is  also  of  old  sheep  and  of  ewes 
drawn  upon  heavily  by  lambs— in  short,  what- 
ever interferes  with  the  supply  of  nutritious 
food  or  prevents  a  proper  assimilation  and  ap- 
plication to  the  system,  tends  to  produce  poor 
wool.  If  we  desire  good  wool  and  heavy  fleeces, 
sheep  must  leave  their  winter  quarters  in  as 
good  condition  as  when  they  entered  them. 

In  another  article,  next  week,  we  shall  speak 
of  the  injurious  results  sometimes  arising  from 
sudden  changes  in  food  and  from  changes  in 
temperature,  &c. 


AGRICULTTJBAL   ITEMS. 

—Losses  by  cattle  disease  in  England  are  sum- 
med up  at  $17,865,000  in  gold. 

— The  Detroit  Tribune  estimates  the  wheat  crop 
of  Michigan,  for  1866,  at  12,000,000  bushels. 

—The  Richmond  Enquirer  has  made  the  dis- 
covery that  New  England  farmers  "are  generally 
poor,  ignorant  and  unintelligent." 

— The  Secretary  of  the  Iowa  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture claims  that  full  one-third  of  the  receipts  of 
wheat  at  Chicago  are  from  Iowa. 

—Every  child  that  eats  fruit  should  be  taught 
the  importance  of  saving  and  sowing  seeds  and 
rearing  them  up  to  fruit  bearing. 

—In  1860,  the  United  States  had  more  cattle  and 
hogs  than  any  other  country.  It  is  thought  they 
now  have  more  sheep. 

— It  is  claimed  that  Chase  Co.,  Kansas,  with  a 
voting  population  of  226,  sold  $150,000  worth  of 
cattle,  wool  and  sheep,  last  year. 

— Twenty  years  ago  there  were  no  vineyards  in 
the  Department  of  the  Indre,  in  France ;  at  the 
present  time  the  extent  under  vineyards  is  about 
60,000  acres. 

— On  the  pine  lands  of  Georgia,  which  possess  a 
quick,  warm  soil,  two  crops  are  frequently  obtained. 
A  wheat  harvest  is  gathered  in  June ;  a  corn  crop 
is  then  planted  which  ripens  by  the  last  of  October. 

— The  State  Horticultural  Society  of  Iowa  passed 
unanimously  a  resolution  approving  the  decision 
of  the  Committee  in  New  York,  who  awarded  the 
"Greeley  Prize"  to  the  Concord  Grape. 

— A  Kansas  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Tribune  says,  it  is  not  generally  known  that  wild 
gi-asses  improve  in  quality  as  one  goes  West.  As 
far  West  as  Colorado  the  dead  grass  is  nearly  as 
good  as  oats.    In  Kansas  some  good  fanners  think 


138 


NEW   ENGLAM)    FARMER. 


March 


the  native  grass  as  valuable  as  timothy.  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  Fall  frosts  take  out  its  life,  and 
cattle  quickly  fall  away.  But  it  is  singular  that 
combined  with  a  very  little  green  grass  in  early 
spring,  cattle  quickly  get  fat. 

— The  plan  of  planting  a  few  acres  with  foi-est 
trees,  to  be  used  as  fuel,  and  allowed  to  grow  up 
again,  thus  furnishing  a  perpetual  supply,  is  strong- 
ly recommended  to  prairie  farmers  by  some  recent 
writers. 

— A  Scotch  paper  says  a  farmer  in  that  county 
found  two  lambs  in  a  culvert  where  they  had  been, 
without  any  food,  for  21  days.  A  third  lamlj  had 
died,  but  these  two  were  still  alive,  although  very 
weak. 

— Hon.  Sanford  Howard  and  T.  T.  Lyon  have 
presented  a  memorial  to  the  legislature  of  Michi- 
gan for  the  adoption  of  some  measures  to  prevent 
the  needless  destruction  of  forest  trees  in  that 
State. 

— The  Utica  Herald  quotes  Messrs.  Corderoy's 
Annual  Circular,  Londou,  January  1st,  as  saying 
that  American  cheese  "where  the  description  is 
really  choice,  is  as  readily  taken  as  first-class 
Cheddar  by  ordinary  consumers." 

— A  writer  in  the  American  Stock  Jour^ial  says 
that  costivcncss  and  its  accompanying  evils  are  the 
main  cause  of  sows  destroying  their  young,  and 
that  green  and  other  proper  food  are  the  preventive 
and  cure. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Ohio  Farmer  thinks  a 
sow  should  not  be  allowed  to  breed  until  at  least  a 
year  old.  He  thinks  that  until  the  boar  and  sow 
reach  the  age  of  four  or  six  years,  their  progeny  is 
better  than  from  young  hogs. 

— J.  Harris  saj's,  in  the  American  Agriculturist, 
ohat,  on  the  whole,  he  does  not  think  it  will  pay  to 
cook  food  for  neat  cattle.  He  has  tried  it  with 
milch  cows,  and  thinks  it  too  much  trouble.  Cook- 
ed food  for  hogs  pays  best  in  his  opinion. 

— Comstock's  Rotary  Spader,  from  which  much 
was  expected  a  few  years  since,  as  a  substitute  for 
the  plow,  does  not  seem  to  be  adapted  to  small 
farms,  nor  to  those  in  which  there  are  any  stumps 
or  stones.  It  is  liable  to  choke  with  weeds  or  grass, 
and  docs  not  prove  to  be  snfflciently  substantial. 

—The  agricultural  statistics  of  France  for  the 
[>ast  year  are  decidedly  unfavorable.  The  grain 
crop  is  below  an  average ;  potatoes  rotting  in  the 
itorc  houses ;  tobacco  also  alfccted  with  a  rot ;  ai'.d 
■'he  silk  business  presents,  perhaps,  the  darkest  fea- 
ture of  the  picture. 

— A.  S.  Fuller,  of  Bridgcwood,  N.  J.,  offers, 
through  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  one  hun- 
■Ircd  dollars  for  the  best  four  quarts  of  raspberries, 
for  general  cultivation,  as  a  market  fruit.  The 
only  restrictions  are  that  the  plants  shall  be  hardy 
ind  proliiic. 

— C.  Booram,  Jr.,  of  a  flax  mill  in  New  Jersey, 
told  the  Now  York  Farmers'  Club,  that  in  Western 


Illinois  they  are  beginning  to  learn  the  value  of  the 
flax  crop.  Estal)lishments  have  been  erected  for 
M'orking  up  flax,  which  this  year  yielded  a  profit  of 
from  $30  to  $40  an  acre. 

— The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Illinois  State 
Agricultural  Society,  at  their  recent  meeting  at 
Springfield,  passed  resolutions  strongly  urging  that 
the  funds  for  the  establishment  of  an  Industrial 
University  in  the  State  should  be  kept  together, 
and  that  no  scheme  for  their  division  should  be 
listened  to. 

— The  average  price  of  domestic  fleece  wool  in 
the  United  States  from  1827  to  1861,  was,  for  fine, 
50  3-lOc. ;  for  medium,  42  8-lOc. ;  and  for  coarse, 
3.5  5-lOc.  Average  price  for  four  years,  from  1861 
to  1865,  (during  the  war,)  for  fleeces,  63  to  S3c. ;  for 
pulled,  56  to  61c.  Average  price  for  the  year  1866, 
Fleeces,  45  to  72c. ;  pulled,  29  to  64c. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
who  has  this  year  1700  bushels  of  beans  to  feed  to 
his  sheep,  considers  them  worth  equally  as  much 
as  corn.  He  says  it  is  necessary  to  feed  carefully 
at  first,  mixing  in  some  lighter  feed,  till  the  sheep 
l)ecome  accustomed  to  them,  as  beans  will  clog 
them  sooner  than  any  grain  he  ever  used. 

— The  rose  bugs  destroy  the  grapes  of  a  Never  • 
sink,  N.  J.,  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentle- 
man. He  says,  fumigation  and  sprinkling  with 
villainously  smelling  compounds  do  not  seem  to 
have  the  least  effect.  Why,  you  can  soak  the  little 
rascals  in  a  mixture  of  kerosene  and  sulphur,  and 
they  will,  after  a  six  hour's  bath,  come  out  as  lively 
as  ever. 

— In  consequence  of  the  effects  of  the  cattle 
plague  in  England,  which  appears  to  have  been 
more  disastrous  to  the  products  of  the  dairy  than 
was  anticipated,  the  markets  of  that  country  en- 
ter upon  the  year  with  a  meagre  stock  of  inferior 
quality.  American  cheese  is  taking  its  place  by 
the  side  of  the  best  English  made,  and  commands 
so  high  a  price  that  the  Utica  Herald  quoted  the 
price  at  Little  Falls,  January  21,  at  20c  per  lb.  In 
London,  January  1,  from  58  to  74  shillings  per  100 
lbs. 

— A  Norfolk,  (Eng.)  correspondent  of  the  Courv- 
try  Gentleman,  says  that  the  average  rent  of  farms 
in  that  county,  the  soil  of  which  is  by  no  means 
first  rate,  is  between  twenty-five  and  thirty  shil- 
lings— four  to  five  dollars  per  acre — the  tenant  pay- 
ing, tythcs,  taxes,  &c.,  and  finding  all  the  live 
stock,  implements,  &c.  The  old  calculation  that 
the  tenant  ought  to  have  a  capital  equal  to  $50  per 
acre  is  found  of  late  years  to  be  too  small.  He 
says  that  the  rental  system,  on  the  whole,  "works 
admirably  well." 


Good  Steeus.— Mr.  C.  P.  Wliitncy,  of 
Westminster,  Vt.,  has  a  pair  of  steers,  19 
montlis  old  the  first  of  Noveml)er,  weighing 
219(5  lbs.,  being  a  gain  of  nearly  50  lbs.  per 
month  since  the  first  of  April  on  simple  pasture 
feed. 


1867 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


139 


EXTBACTS   AND   KEPLTES. 

PROFITABLE   UENS. 

I  have  five  hens  that  laid,  on  an  average,  three 
eggs  a  day  through  the  fall.  About  the"  tirst  of 
December  I  removed  them  to  a  new  house  12  by  6 
feet,  and  4  feet  Ligh,  which  is  "airy,  dry  and  sun- 
ny, and  protected  from  winds  and  dampness." 
Have  Ubcd  a  "variety"  of  food :  "boiled  potatoes, 
mashed  with  com  meal ;  diy  corn,  oats,  barley  and 
scraps ;"  clams  and  clam  shells,  "gravel,"  and 
"ashes  in  one  corner  of  their  house."  Results  : — 
Have  had  ))ut  three  eggs  since  they  have  occupied 
their  new  house.    Whose  hens  can  beat  mine  ? 

My  Farm,  Ct.,  Jan.  21,  1867.  Experior. 

Remarks. — The  "old  speckled  hen"  of  the  song 
is  seldom  equalled  by  any  of  her  prosaic  descend- 
ants, though  furnished  with  the  nicest  apartments, 
and  allowed  to  fare  sumptuously  every  day.  Mr. 
Bement  puts  SO  to  100  eggs  as  the  average  produc- 
tion of  hens  per  year.  Possibly  your  hens  thought 
that,  after  manufacturing  "three  eggs  a  day  through 
the  fall,"  they  had  as  good  a  right  to  the  holidays 
as  Congressmen,  or  their  master's  family. 


I  her  head  well  in  cold  water,  and  she  soon  got  well. 
But  although  he  was  also  washed,   he  continued 
poor  and  weak  all  summer.    He  had  more  milk 
'  than  she  did,  and  run  in   the  same  pasture  with 
'  her.    In  the  tail,  when  I  put  them  in  the  barn,  she 
j  was  in  good  condition,  but  he  was  poor.    I  gave 
him  extra  feed  and  cave,  and  he    ate  well  and 
chewed  his  quid  naturally.    When  he  drank,  how- 
ever,  something  troubled  him.    The  diiHcultv  I 
i  think  wa^  in  his  throat,  as  he  always  drank  vcrj- 
,  slowly,  and  often  choked.     He  grew  poorer  all 
I  the  time,  and  died  a  week  ago.    He  ate  hay  and 
turnips  well  the  day  he  died. 

No  one  here  ever  saw  anything  like  it  before. 
Can  you  or  any  of  your  readers  give  me  any  infor- 
mation as  to  the  nature  of  his  disease  ? 
Jaffrey,  X.  H.,  Jan.  23,  1867.        A.  B.  Davis. 


MAXrRING     LAND      FOR     GRASS — GREEX     OATS     OR 
HUNGARIAN    GRASS   FOR  FODDER. 

I  have  a  piece  of  pretty  good  com  land  which  I 
design  to  seed  down  to  grass  next  spring.  I  have 
no  barn  manure  to  spare  to  put  on  it.  Will  300 
pounds  of  flour  of  bone  and  three  bushels  of  salt 
per  acre,  be  sufficient  dressing  to  make  It  produce 
a  fair  crop  of  hay,  say  average  a  ton  per  acre  for 
four  or  five  years  ?  The  land  was  broken  up  and 
manured  in  the  hill,  and  planted  with  potatoes  last 
spring. 

Which  will  be  most  profitable  for  fodder,  oats 
cut  in  the  milk,  or  Hungarian  grass  ?  j.  p. 

Southampton.  X.  H.,  Jan.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  above  are  difficult  questions  to 
answer.  If  the  land  was  highly  manured  and  well 
tended  when  planted  with  potatoes,  we  should 
think  that  300  pounds  of  bone  and  three  bushels  of 
salt,  per  acre,  would  give  a  yield  of  one  ton  of  hay 
per  acre,  for  three  or  four  years — perhaps  longer. 
If  the  bone  and  salt  were  composted  with  one  cord 
of  good  muck,  and  spread  evenly  over  the  land  in 
March  or  Api-il,  we  should  expect  a  larger  crop 
and  one  that  would  continue  longer. 

We  have  no  exact  data  upon  which  to  form  an 
opinion  with  regard  to  the  comparative  value  of 
oats  cut  while  the  seed  is  in  the  milk  and  Hunga- 
rian grass.  While  we  know  that  both  are  excel- 
lent, we  shonld  select  the  grass,  if  taking  a  choice. 


A    SICK    CALF. 

Last  spring  a  gentleman  in  Agawam,  Mass.,  gave 
me  a  full  blooded  Durham  bull  that  was  three 
weeks  old.  He  was  large,  but  not  very  active,  be- 
ing very  weak  in  his  back.  A  few  days  after  I  had 
him,  a  bunch  appeared  on  the  right  side  of  his  jaw 
or  check.  Though  kept  in  a  warm  place,  he 
coughed  and  shivered  most  of  the  time.  The 
■weight  of  one's  hand  on  his  back  would  make  him 
crouch  nearly  to  the  ground.  He  drooled  much. 
His  eyes  were  heavy  and  run.  Wliat  passed  him 
was  white  and  frothy.  He  drank  milk  well,  but 
could  not  odt.  He  was  put  it  a  pen  with  a  heifer 
calf  of  aliout  his  own  age.  She  soon  showed  the 
same  symptoms,  but  in  a  milder  form — both  her 
checks  being  swelled.  I  took  her  away  and  washed 


PACKING   CABBAGES   FOR   -WINTER. 

I  saw  in  your  paper  directions  for  keeping  cab- 
bages. I  have  tried  all  ways  recommended,  but 
yours,  and  also  a  way  of  my  o^vn.  It  strikes  me 
yours  is  the  most  economical,  if  not  the  best  in 
other  respects.  Will  you  please  to  answer  me 
through  your  paper,  the  following  questions  :  Do 
you  wet  all  the  straw  in  packing,"or  only  the  bot- 
tom ?  Do  you  head  up  the  barrel  entirely  to  ex- 
clude the  air  ?  Do  they  wilt  any,  packed  that  way  ? 
Which  is  best,  straw  or  hay  ?  "  Phineas  Pratt. 

Deep  River,  Mass.,  1866. 

Remarks. — The  above  got  mislaid  or  it  would 
have  been  attended  to  before  this  time. 

Wet  every  layer  of  straw,  and  cover  the  barrel 
with  a  layer  three  or  four  inches  thick.  They  do 
not  need  to  be  headed. 

The  plan  in  a  cheap  and  excellent  one.  We  have 
barrels  of  cabbages  in  that  condition  now. 

We  prefer  straw  for  packing,  though  hay  an- 
swers well. 


FEEDING   BEES. 

A  neighbor  had  a  large  colony  of  bees  that  came 
out  in  September,  1862.  They  were  hived  in  a  nail 
keg  which  they  tilled  three-fourths  full  with  comb. 
Frost  occurring  early,  the  bees  had  but  little  hon- 
ey in  the  comb.  Now  here  Avas  a  dilemma.  A 
young  Italian  queen,  for  I  had  reared  it,  and  prob- 
ably a  hybrid  in  the  old  hive.  The  original  colo- 
ny was  in  the  Langstroth  hive.  I  put  ^hem  in  a 
good  warm  bee-house  and  took  the  super,  or  cap, 
oft'  from  the  Langstroth  hive,  and  set  tne  keg  on 
the  honey-board,  with  holes  open  under  the  keg. 
I  expected  that  the  bees  above  would  go  below, 
but  the  swai-ms  in  the  spring  were  separate,  and  in 
good  condition.  I  bored  a  hole  in  the  top  of  the 
keg  and  put  on  a  small  box  of  honey,  which  the 
bees  took  as  needed. 

Did  the  warm  breath  of  the  bees  below  contain 
nutriment  for  those  above  ?  My  experience  is  that 
when  bees  are  kept  at  the  right  temperature,  they 
consume  but  very  little  honey  unril  they  com- 
mence rearing  young.  C.  G.  McN. 

Big  Spri>ig,  Johnson  Co.,  lotca,  Jan.  21,  1867. 

FILMS   ox    EYES. 

Thirteen  years  ago,  having  a  horse  that  had  a 
film  commence  on  the  eye,  I  tried  the  fresh  butter 
remedy,  but  to  no  purpose,  as  she  became  entirely 
blind.  Last  October  one  of  my  horses  scratched 
his  eye  badly.  It  wept  very  freely,  and  finally  a 
film  grew  all  over  it.  Several  remedies  were  re- 
commended ;  among  them  the  fresh  butter  pre- 
scription, but  I  used  none  of  them.  The  eye  was 
carefully  washed  in  cool  water  several  times  a  day, 
and  in  a  short  time  his  eye  was  well,  though  a  scar 


140 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


March 


remained  on  the  eyeball,  but  not  at  all  injuring  its 
Bight.  I  have  another  horse  that  scratched  his  eye 
a  few  days  since,  but  I  thought  I  would  not  tor- 
ment him  with  "tobacco,"  "checkerberry  leaves," 
or  "butter,"  and  it  is  fast  getting  well ;  the  film 
being  nearly  gone. 

I  think  it  much  the  best  way  to  throw  the  drags 
in  the  barn-yard,  and  use  nature's  own  remedy — 
pure,  soft  water,  hot  or  cool,  as  the  case  may  i-e- 
quire.  If  "Z.  B."  had  used  water  instead  of  but- 
ter, perhaps  his  colt  and  dog  would  have  done  as 
well,  or  Isetter.  A.  B.  Davis. 

Jaffrey,  N.  H.,  Jan.  23,  1867. 


EGG-HATCHING    MACHINE. 

Can  you  or  any  of  the  readers  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer  inform  me  where  I  can  buy  an 
Egg-Hatching  Machine,  and  what  is  the  price  of 
them  ?  Jacob  C.  Cilley. 

Exeter,  N.  H.,  Jan.  28,  1867. 

Remarks. — Some  months  since  we  gave  a  cut  of 
such  a  machine,  more  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  than 
of  practical  value.  The  most  economical  egg- 
hatching  machine  within  our  knowledge,  and  the 
only  one  that  we  can  conscientiously  recommend, 
is  an  oId-fa^■hioned  egg-making  machine,  which 
travels  on  two  legs,  is  covered  with  feathers,  and 
may  still  be  found  in  almost  every  neighborhood 
in  New  England.  If  we  hear  of  a  better  one,  you 
shall  at  once  have  ths  benefit  of  our  discovery. 


PLASTIC    SLATE. 

Having  seen  notices  of  this  new  roofing  material, 
I  wish  to  inquire  how  it  is  put  on,  what  is  the  cost 
per  square  or  foot  ?  Can  it  be  put  upon  a  leaky 
felt  coal  tar  and  gravel  roof,  and  is  it  applied  to 
flat  as  well  steep  roofs  ?  A  Subscriber. 

Remarks. — The  pamphlets  of  the  company  give 
directions  in  detail ;  but  we  shall  venture  to  advise 
you  to  employ  a  workman,  as  you  would  probably 
do  in  ease  of  plastering  the  walls  of  your  house. 
Messrs.  Hinkley  &  Makepeace,  agents,  23  State 
Street,  Boston,  infonn  us  that  the  cost  is  from  six 
to  eight  cents  per  foot,  or  .$6  to  $8  per  "square." 
The  old  felt  should  be  removed,  and  two  thick- 
nesses of  the  new  applied.  It  can  be  used  on  flat 
as  well  as  steep  roofs. 

ROTS   IN    HORSES. 

Those  who  have  seen  the  noble  horse  fall  a  vic- 
tim to  these  torments,  will  g'adly  hail  any  prof- 
fered remedy  which  shall  hold  out  a  reasonable 
prospect  of  relief.  A  new  one,  (to  me,  at  least,) 
comes  well  recommended  througli  the  Agricultu- 
ral Department,  which,  if  it  proves  successful,  will 
be  of  great  public  value. 

It  was  communicated  by  Brevet  Col.  J.  Hamil- 
ton to  Pi-of.  Glover,  entomologist  of  the  Depart- 
ment, Raleigh,  N.  Carolina,  and  was  published  in 
the  Monthly  Report  for  November  and  December, 
1866,  as  follows : 

"I  obst'rve  in  your  report  for  1864,  that  you  s.ay  that 
no  very  certain  means  of  ridding  the  horse's  stomach  of 
the  bota  has  yet  been  published.  Since  rocciivini;  the 
followinji  from  Dr.  Gee,  of  Florida,  I  am  glad  that  1 
have  bad  no  opjiortunity  of  trying  it,  bnt  it  has  the  air 
of  ctTicacy,  and  1  certainly  .sAaZZ  on  the  first  opportunity. 
You  are  aware  that  it  is  hard  sometimes  to  distinguisli 
between  an  attack  of  the  bots  and  one  of  the  colic;  this 
remedy,  however,  is  equally  efficient  for  either.  The 
reason  tbatabot  can  resist  tlie  action  of  agents  adminis- 
tered is  his  power  of  drawing  liis  head  into  tlie  walls  of 
the  Btomach  by  his  tentacles.    But  he  cannot  resist  the 


chloroform.  A  tablespoonful  of  chloroform  screened  by 
a  couple  of  spoonfuls  of  any  good  mucilage  will  make 
him  let  go  his  hold  on  the  stomach  even  after  having 
bored  nearly  through." 

If  you  turn  to  the  Agricultural  Report  for  1864, 
page  5G3,  it  will  be  seen  that  Dr.  Harris  says  that 
"no  sure  and  safe  remedy  has  yet  been  found  for 
removing  the  bots  from  the  stomach." 

Let  any  one  who  has  an  opportunity  to  try  this 
simple  remed.y,  do  so  at  once,  without  fear  of  its 
deleterious  efiects,  and  report  results  ;  also,  if  any 
of  the  readers  of  the  New  England  Farmer  have 
tested  it,  or  seen  it  tested,  let  them  report. 

Farmington,  Me.,  Jan.,  1867.         O.  W.  True. 


A   NEW   HAMPSHIRE    PIG. 

W.  H.  H.  Peabody,  of  Wilmot,  N.  H.,  killed  a 
pig  8Tnonths  and  20  "days  old,  that  weighed,  when 
dressed,  after  hanging  one  day,  505  pounds. 
Length  of  pig  6  feet.  Thickness  through  hips  and 
shoulders  22  inches.  Fed  on  milk  and  potatoes 
until  Sept.  1.  Since  then' has  eaten  4  bushels  of 
bai'lev  and  13  bushels  of  coni.       H.  W.  Mason. 

Wilmot,  N.  H.,  Jan.  1,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE  RESOURCES    OP  THE    FARM   FOR 
FERTILIZERS. 

It  Las  become  very  well  settled  by  e.xperi- 
ence,  that  commercial  manures  cannot  be 
profitably  relied  upon  to  maintain  and  increase 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  New  England. 

Our  soils  will  not  continue  to  yield  remu- 
nerative crops,  unless  an  annual  return  is  made 
to  them,  equivalent  to  the  draft  annually  made 
upon  them.  Commercial  manures  may  be 
used  to  complement  the  use  of  home-made 
manures,  or  as  stimulants  to  hasten  the  maturi- 
ty of  some  crops  which  it  is  desirable  to  get 
ready  for  an  early  market,  or  to  secure  from 
early  frosts.  Except  the  preparations  of  lime, 
they  confer  no  permanent  benefit  upon  the 
soil,  and  contribute  nothing  to  its  permanent 
improvement.  The  great  question  then  for 
every  farmer  is,  what  resources  have  I  within 
the  limits  of  my  own  farm,  or  in  my  immediate 
vicinity  ?  These  resources  will  differ  consider- 
ably, owing  to  location  or  topographical  situa- 
tion. One  is  a  hill  farm,  another  is  on  lowland, 
and  consists  of  intervale,  or  meadows.  Anoth- 
er consists  largely  of  sandy  plains,  a  fourth  is 
upon  the  sea  shove,  and  a  fifth  is  in  the  vicinity 
of  some  city,  or  manul'acturing  establishment. 
And  again  the  use  to  Avhich  the  farm  is  put, 
affects  in  no  small  degree  its  resources  for 
fertilizers.  One  is  a  milk  flirm,  another  is 
used  in  producing  market  vegetables,  a  third 
is  a  stock  farm,  and  the  force  of  another  is 
employed  in  raising  corn  and  potatoes.  Let 
us  look  somewhat  in  detail  into  the  resources 
of  these  several  farms.  The  fann  upon  the 
hill  is  a  good  grazing  farm.  It  yields  sweet 
grasses,  which  spring  early,  but  are  not  so 
early  affijcted  by  the  frosts  as  the  grasses  on 
the  lowlands.  Hence,  yotmg  stock  and  sheep 
thrive,  and  (;attle  are  cheaply  fatteiied  in  its 
pastiu-es.  Such  farms  have  a  source  of  fer- 
tility which  is  often  overlooked  hy  their  owners. 


1867 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARJ^IER. 


141 


although  the  gnrtrlinp;  rills,  and  the  green 
stripes  upon  the  declivities  constantly  invite 
their  attention  to  it.  Irrigation  is  the  great 
resource  for  such  farms.  A  small  dam  across 
a  ravine  would  often  enable  the  owner  to 
throw  the  water,  in  the  sprinsr  or  after  the 
summer  rams,  over  many  acres  lymg  upon  a 
lower  level,  which  would  give  him  successive 
luifailing  crops  of  sweet  hay  or  rich  pasturage. 
A  pit  sunk  a  f(iw  feet  in  a  side  hill  and  where 
there  would  be  a  fall  of  thirty  or  twenty  or 
ten  feet,  would  enable  him  to  throw  the  water 
which  now  breaks  out  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
over  other  acres,  with  the  same  result — 
and  this  watli  but  a  trifling  expense.  There 
are  hundreds  of  farms  in  Worcester  county, 
and  in  the  hilly  parts  of  the  State,  where  ten, 
twenty  or  thirty  acres  of  good  grass  land  may 
be  irrigated  at  very  little  expense.  This  irri- 
gation would  be  equal  to  a  top  dressing  of 
manure  annually,  worth  from  ten  to  fifteen 
dollars  per  acre.  A  dressing  of  this  value  to 
such  a  number  of  acres,  would  be  properly  ap- 
preciated by  every  farmer  in  the  State  ;  and 
yet,  in  how  many  instances  do  farmers  neglect 
to  avail  themselves  of  that  which  wonld  be  of 
equal  value,  although  the  labor  would  be  much 
less  than  it  would  be  to  haul  and  spread  the 
manure,  even  if  it  were  furnished  to  them  gra- 
tuitously. Leaves  and  soil  from  the  forests, 
loam  composted  with  barn  manure,  and  irri- 
gation are  the  principal  resources  of  hillfarms. 

Intervale  and  lowland  farms,  and  farms  con- 
taining meadow  and  swamp  lands,  on  the  other 
hand,  require  draining  to  get  rid  of  the  cold 
surface  water,  and  sweeten  the  soil.  After 
drainage,  dressings  of  sand  or  gravel  wdl  be 
found  very  efficacious.  When  meadow  lands 
have,  by  draining  and  dressing  with  sand  or 
gravel,  become  sufficiently  consolidated  for 
the  plough,  barn  manure  will  give  large  crops 
of  corn,  oats  or  potatoes ;  and  these  may  be 
followed  by  grass,  with  light  dressings  of  sand 
or  loam,  with  a  plowing  once  in  five  or  six 
years.  Such  lands,  if  kept  properly  drained, 
and  occasionally  plowed,  will  be  among  the 
most  productive  of  lands  for  a  long  time.  But 
the  plowing  once  in  a  few  years,  must  not  be 
neglected,  as  there  is  a  constant  tendency  in 
such  lands  for  the  coarse  grasses  to  come  in 
and  kill  out  the  finer  grasses,  which  can  be 
prevented  only  by  occasional  plowing  and 
dressing  with  manure.  I>arge  quantities  of 
good  hay  may  be  raised  in  this  way,  with  the 
use  of  but  small  quantities  of  stable  manure. 
This  hay  will  add  much  to  the  means  of  the 
farm  for  raising  other  crops. 

Draining  and  mixing  of  soils,  then,  are  the 
great  reso:nTes  of  low-lying  farms. 

Farms  consisting  of  sandy  loams  and  pine 
plains  usually  contain  more  or  less  wet  mead- 
ows and  swamps,  for  the  reason  that  they  are 
so  level  that  the  surface  water  accumulates  in 
the  hollows,  and  forms  bogs  and  swampy  places. 
And  thus,  as  it  were  by  special  design,  nature 
provides  the  means  needed   and  best  suited  to 


supply  the  most  urgent  wants  of  such  soils. 
This  want  is  humus  or  decaying  vegetal >le  mat- 
ter. This  is  collected  and  preserved  in  the 
swamps  and  bogs  in  the  form  of  peat  and 
muck. 

This,  pulverized  by  the  frost  and  used  alone 
or  composted  with  l)arn  manm-e,  is  the  great 
resource  for  such  farms.  They  are  little  reten- 
tive of  manures,  but  allow  the  salts  to  leach 
through  them  in  a  short  time.  Peat  lasts  long- 
er in  them  than  barn  manures.  Hence  com- 
posts are  better  adapted  to  such  soils  than 
crude  stable  manures.  Clay,  too,  is  valuable 
in  improving  such  soils,  as  it  Is  retentive  of 
both  ammonia  and  water.  When  this  can  be 
readily  obtained,  it  should  be  put  in  heaps  or 
beds  of  about  a  foot  deep,  ard  allowed  to  lie 
for  a  year  or  more,  and  be  frequently  stirred 
with  the  plow  or  harrow,  to  break  the  lumps 
and  make  it  fine,  and  then  spread  upon  the 
surface  and  plowed  In.  Thirty  or  forty  loads 
of  clay  applied  in  this  way,  to  an  acre  of  dry 
sandy  soil,  will  sometimes  work  a  wonderful 
change  in  its  fertility.  The  plowing  in  of 
green  crops  is  another  valuable  resource  for 
such  farms.  Two  crops  of  buckwheat  may  be 
plowed  In,  In  a  year.  The  next  year,  dress 
with  lime  and  seed  with  clover,  and  plow  un- 
der in  July.  And  in  September,  seed  down  with 
clover  and  red-top,  and  you  may  take  off  the 
following  year  a  good  crop  of  hay,  and  have  a 
good  pasture  for  several  years.  Such  farms 
are  easily  worked,  and  with  light  dressings  of 
manure,  and  the  liberal  use  of  peat  and  clay 
may  be  made  very  productive.  Where  farms 
lie  upon  the  sea-coast,  the  waves  furnish  an 
unfailing  resource  which  can  be  easily  and 
profitably  used.  Within  eight  or  ten  m/Ies  of 
the  city  staVjles,  they  furnish  the  best  resoiu'ce 
for  the  market  gardener.  This  manure,  when 
well  rotted,  and  composted  with  vegetable 
waste,  will  bring  forward  the  vegetable  crops 
more  rapidly  than  any  other  material,  and  the 
good  cultivator  will  apply  It  in  sufficient  quan- 
tity to  keep  his  land  always  growing  better.  If 
superphosphate,  bone  flour,  ashes  or  plaster 
are  occasionally  added.  It  is  all  the  better,  but 
they  cannot  be  depended  on  alone  by  the  mar- 
ket gardener.  Large  quantities  of  stable  ma- 
nure must  he  used  at  the  same  time.  Farmers 
In  the  vicinity  of  soap  works,  woolen  mills, 
and  other  mills,  will,  of  course,  avail  them- 
selves of  the  resources  which  such  establish- 
ments afford. 

The  milk  farmer,  especially  if  he  soils  his 
cows,  has  a  resource  within  himself.  A  judi- 
cious use  of  dry  peat  or  loam  In  the  barn  cellar, 
enables  him  to  make  a  large  quantity  of  valuable 
compost,  that  will  constantly  increase  his  crops 
of  hay  or  other  fodder,  by  which  he  will  be  able 
to  increase  annually  his  stock  of  cows,  and  con- 
sequently his  quantity  of  compost.  Lime  in 
anv  form,  and  ashes  when  they  can  be  obtained, 
may  be  used  with  great  advantage,  especially 
on  soils  that  have  been  exhausted  by  long  pas- 
turage and  cropping.     And  now,  brother  fann- 


142 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


er,  which  of  these  resources  have  you  upon 
your  own  farm,  of  which  you  have  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently availed  yourself?  If  you  find  that  you 
have  one  or  more  of  them,  have  the  courage  to 
resort  to  them  at  once,  and  you  will  never  re- 
gret it. ^• 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE  GARDEjXT. 
Every  one  who  lives  outside  of  the  most 
thickly  settled  limits  of  a  city  or  village,  and 
owns  a  small  piece  of  ground,  usually  devotes 
a  portion  of  it  to  a  garden  ;  and  in  these  tunes 
of  high  prices  is  supposed  to  want  to  make  the 
mostTie  possibly  can  from  it.  In  order  to  do 
this,  the  ground  must  be  thoroughly  worked, 
and  but  little  devoted  to  each  kind  of  produce, 
as  we  usually  desire  to  produce  a  variety. 
The  farmer  who  owns  his  broad  acres  is  under 
no  necessity  of  crowding  his  garden,  as  he  is 
who  owns  only  a  city  or  village  lot;  but  can 
have  a  goodly  sized  garden  with  one  department 
devoted  to  the  production  of  kitchen  vegeta- 
bles ;  another  ibr  Iruit,  and  yet  another  for 
flowers.  But  with  tlie  generality  of  farmers  a 
small  portion  of  ground  is  all  that  is  usually 
devoted  to  the  garden,  and  too  frequently  this 
is  not  made  the  most  of.  But  1  am  happy  to 
say  that  of  late  years  there  is  more  interest 
manifested  in  growing  a  greater  variety  ot  veg- 
etables, fniit,\^tc.,  and  giving  the  garden  bet- 
ter culture  and  attention. 

The  garden  that  satisfied  our  forefathers  \vill 
but  illy'satisfv  the   more   cultivated  or  dainty 
appetite  of  tlie  present  age.     Few  at  the  pres- 
ent dav  rest  satished  with  the  salt  meat  and  po- 
tatoes "of  former  days,   which  constituted  the 
farmer's    boiled    dinner.     A   gi-eater   variety 
is  craved,   and  as  a  general  thing   we   lind  it 
conducive  to  healtli  to  gratify  the   appetite   in 
this  particular.     The  gardener  or  agriculturist 
performs  but  Uttie  work  except  with  reference 
to  future   results.     If  he   plants,   or  sows,  he 
does  it  with   reference  to  the  returns  it  will 
make  in  the  future,  and  patiently  awaits  the  re- 
sult.    I'he  winter,  being  a  comparatively  leis- 
ure season  with  the   tanner,   is  the   time   he 
should  give  to  study  and  planning  ibr  the  com- 
ing busy  season.    Let,  then,  those  who  have  iiota 
gai-den' suitable  for  growing  a  sufficient  variety 
of  vegetables,  fruits,  &c.,  locate  a  new  one  or 
enlarge  the  old,  and  plan  it  with   reference  to 
all  th'e  dilicrent   varieties  of  vegetables,   &c., 
desired  to  be  produced  lor  a  gooil  liunily  sup- 
ply, from  early  spring  to   late   autumn,   with  a 
supply  to  store  away' for  winter  use.     A  small 
portion    of  ground    devoted  to   a  garden  and 
toell  tended  will  give  very  much  greater  proht 
to   a   llunilv,    than    any    other   e(iual   portion 
of  the  farm,  aside  from  the  pleasure  it  aifonls 
in  having  its  productions  fresh  and  seasonable. 
Many  things  needed  for  the  successful  culture 
of  the  garden   may  be   got  in  readiness   for 
Rpring  use,  by  making  new,    or   repairing   old 
ones. 


Hot-Beds. 

No  garden  is  complete  without  one.  They 
are  desirable  for  starting  many  kinds  of  plants 
and  vegetables  early  before  the  weather  will 
admit  of  open  air  culture.  The  frames  may 
be  got  in  readiness.  If  new  ones  are  to  be 
made,  they  may  be  made  of  matched  inch  .boards 
or  plank,  the  front  12  inches  and  the  back  24 
inches  high,  with  the  ends  slanting  to  match. 
The  frame  should  be  wide  enough  for  a  sash  of 
sufficient  length  for  five  panes  of  G  X  8  glass, 
and  of  any  desirable  length ;  cross  bars  are 
placed  from  front  to  rear  of  the  frame  for  the 
sash  to  slide  upon  ;  and  the  upper  edges  of  th- 
front  and  rear  sides  bevelled  to  make  a  close 
tit.  A  stock  of  fine  rich  garden  mould  is  need- 
ed to  make  the  bed.  If  not  already  provided, 
this  may  be  procured  when  a  thaw  occurs  and 
put  under  cover,  and  turned  over  occasionally, 
where  it  may  be  had  when  wanted,  for  use, 
otherwise  it  may  be  frozen  or  wet._  Cold 
frames  are  useful  for  keeping  many  kinds  of 
plants  under  during  winter  and  early  spring  or 
other  times  ;  theseare  of  similar  construction 
as  the  hot-bed  frame,  with  this  difference,  the 
back  side  is  not  as  high  by  4  to  6  inches. 


Manure. 

Here  lies  the  secret  of  success  in  good  crops 
both  in  the  garden  and  field — abundance  of 
manure.  Lav  in  for  a  good  supply  and  increase 
it  by  every  known  means  of  saving  and  add- 
in"-  such  'materials  as  may  be  converted  into 
plant  food.  Good  loam,  sods,  muck,  &c., 
added  to  the  barn  vard.  stables,  piggery,  privy, 
and  hen  roost,  will  add  to  the  supply  without 
deteriorating  the  quality. 

Poles  for  beans,  brush  for  peas  and  other 
trailing  plants  needing  something  to  run  on  for 
support,  can  be  procured  and  prepared  now 
better  than  during  the  more  busy  season  of 
spring  or  early  summer  when  wanted  for  use. 

Seeds. 
A  stock  can  be  procured,  if  to  be  purchased, 
now,  better  than  later  in  the  season,  as  at  pres- 
ent the  seedsmen  have  a  better  stock,  and 
are  more  at  leisure  to  attend  to  your  or- 
ders than  they  will  be  by  and  by ;  look  over 
all  seed  saved  to  see  that  they  are  in  order,  and 
try  them  by  sprouting  in  wet  moss  or  damp  soil 
in  a  warm  room. 

Tools. 

Generally  farmers  provide  but  few  if  any 
tools  expresslv  for  garden  use.  yet  there  are  a 
few  very  durable  ones  lor  this  purpose;  these, 
if  to  be  purchased,  shotdd  L)e  procured  at  the 
earliest  opportunity;  if  hoes,  shovels,  forks, 
&c.,  let  them  be  of  the  best  (piality  of  steel,  and 
li»ht ;  thev  mav  cost  a  little  more  at  lirst  than 
tiu)se  of  poorer  (pialitv,  but  in  useing  them  you 
will  never  begrudge  their  cost,  as  wliat  was  e.x- 
nended  in  money  is  more  than  saveelm  muscle. 
If  old  ones  need  repairing  see.  that  it  is  done, 
and  all  in  order  ready  lor  use.     Have  a  tool- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAR.MER. 


143 


room,  and  a  place  for  every  tool,  and  when 
not  in  use  see  that  it  is  in  place,  and  be  par- 
ticular after  using  to  clean  it  dry  belore 
putting  up.  Try  this  and  see  the  amount  ot 
time  and  vexation  it  will  sa\e  you  in  one  short 
season.  Little  else  than  a  i'ew  sinillar  prepar- 
ations to  the  above  can  be  done  in  either  the 
vegetable,  fruit  or  ilower  garden,  or  lawn,  so 
long  as  the  ground  remains  covered  with  snow, 
unless  it  be  to  see  that  the  trees,  &c.,  are  not 
overloaded  with  ice  or  snow. 

1  omitted  above  to  say  glazed  sash  for  hot- 
beds and  cold  frames  should  be  made  ready 
now,  by  obtaining  new  or  repairing  old 
ones.  Have  them  well  glazed  and  painted 
ready  for  use.  Wji.  H.  White. 

South  Windsor,  Conn.,  Jan  16,  1867. 

The  following  cuts  will  serve  to  illustrate 
our  correspondent's  directions,  and  may  be  of 
service  to  those  who  wish  to  forward  a  few 
plants  a  week  or  two  earlier  than  can  be  done 
in  open  cultivation.  Great  experience  and 
care  are  necessary  to  the  successful  manage- 
ment of  large  and  early-started  hot-beds.  But 
if  not  started  until  after  severe  cold  weather 
has  passed,  some  time  may  be  gained  with 
much  less  trouble. 


A  Clieap  Hot-bed  without  Glass. 
This  bed  may  be  "made  up"  in  less  than 
half  a  day  by  any  active,  handy  boy.  Old 
boards  or  plank,  with  a  few  stakes,  are  all  the 
material  needed  for  the  frame-work.  It  should 
have  a  south-eastern  or  southern  exposure,  and 
be  protected  from  cold  winds  by  a  board  fence 
or  building.  It  should  be  some  18  inches  deep  in 
front  and  two  feet  at  back.  Fill  to  within  six 
inches  of  the  top  with  fresh  unfcrmented  horse 
manure,  then  to  the  top  with  good  loam.  Over 
the  cross  poles  an  old  blanket,  or  something 
of  the  sort  is  to  be  thrown  every  night  when 
there  is  danger  of  i'rost.  The  cloth  must  be 
removed  in  the  morning.  It  may  be  well  in 
severe  weather  to  cover  with  some  old  boards. 
Seeds  may  be  planted  in  pots  made  of  birch 
bark,    pasteboard,  or  other  material,  or  even 


between  sods,  placed  in  this  primitive  hot-bed, 
or  the  seeds  may  be  sown  directly  upon  its 
surface,  in  this  way  two  or  three  weeks  may 
be  gained  for  plants  which  require  a  long  sea- 
son. 

But  if  you  wish  to  experiment  a  little  with  a 
real  "glass  house,"  the  following  cut  will  give 
an  idea  of  the  construction  of  perhaps  the  most 
simple  form. 


Simple  Glass  Hot-bed. 

To  save  all  digging,  it  is  placed  directly  on  a 
bed  of  manure,  lying  upon  the  ground.  Inside 
of  the  frame  the  manure  must  be  of  sufficient 
thickness  to  generate  the  necessary  heat,  over 
which,  of  course,  there  must  be  placed  lioii  as 
directed  above. 


AMERICA  IN"   MINIATURE. 

A  great  national  park  is  to  be  established  in 
Washington.  A  correspondent  says  it  is  pro- 
posed to  make  the  park  a  "working  modef '  of 
the  United  States — "to  delineate,  if  not  to  re- 
product-  in  miniature,  the  topography  of  the 
contlneni — to  set  Huron  and  Ontario  in  re- 
duced scale  upon  a  living  map  some  two  miles 
long,  not  in  water  colors,  but  in  the  element 
itseli^to  lead  a  toy  Mississippi,  from  its  baby 
nursery  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  of  real  rock, 
through  a  little  continent  to  a  small  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Colorado, 
and  all  other  great  rivers  are  to  be  represented 
by  mimic  streams  ;  and  without  intending  any 
allusion  to  the  exclusion  of  the  States  lately 
in  rebellion,  all  the  States  and  Territories  are 
to  be  represented,  preserving  their  relative 
position  and  proportion.  It  is  proposed  that 
museums  shall  be  erected  upon  each  of  these 
little  representative  tracts,  and  that  the  States 
and  citizens  shall  be  invited  to  contribute  to 
their  cabinets  specimens  of  the  natural  and 
artificial  productions  oi'thc  States  represented.'" 

This  is  a  grand  scheme,  and  will  require 
considerable  ingenuity  anil  labor  to  carry  it  out. 
It  would  be  altogether  unitpie  and  a  great  ad- 
dition to  the  attractions  of  the  capital. 


144 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


IMarch 


THE   CLYDESDALE   HOBSE. 


The  river  Clj'de,  on  which  the  city  of  Glas 
gow,  in  Scotland,  is  situated,  has  the  honor  of 
floating  the  first  steamboat  ever  built  in  Eng- 
land, and  of  christening  one  of  the  best  breeds 
of  draft  horses  in  the  world.  The  Clydesdale 
horse  owes  its  origin  to  a  cross  of  a  stallion 
from  Flanders  with  the  best  mares  of  the  par- 
ish of  Lanark,  one  of  the  many  beautiful  towns 
situated  on  the  river  Clyde.  Mr.  Youatt  says 
that  the  Clydesdale,  although  inferior  in  weight 
and  physical  strength  to  the  black  horse,  is 
larger  than  the  Suffolk,  and  has  a  better  head, 
a  longer  neck,  a  lighter  carcass,  and  deeper 
legs ;  he  is  strong,  hardy,  pulling  true,  and 
rarely  restive.  On  the  road  these  horses  perform 
tasks  that  can  scarcely  be  surpassed,  and  in 
the  fields  they  are  found  steady,  docile  and 
safe.  ]\Ir.  Low  says  that  the  Clydesdale  horse 
as  now  bred  is  usually  sixteen  hands  high.  The 
prevailing  color  is  black,  but  the  brown  or  bay 
is  common,  and  is  continually  gaining  upon  the 
other,  and  the  gray  is  not  unfi-equently  pro- 
duced. When  in  England,  Mr.  Sanford  How- 
ard, now  of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College, 
saw  many  of  this  race  in  the  principal  breed- 
ing districts,  and  at  fairs,  &c.  He  says  their 
■weight  ranges  fi-om  1700  to  upwards  of  2000 


lbs.  "Many  of  them  are  very  symmetrical — 
are  higher  in  the  withers,  and  particularly  more 
oblique  in  the  shoulders  than  the  English,  and 
walk  with  ease  and  rapidity,  equalling  in  this 
gait  any  horses  I  have  ever  seen.  They  have 
good  constitutions  and  are  cheaply  kept.  They 
are  seldom  driven  out  of  a  walk.  The  Scot- 
tish fanners  generally  keep  lighter  kinds  of 
horses  for  the  road.  Li  some  of  our  cities  the 
supply  of  draft  horses  has  been,  of  late,  ob- 
tained in  part  from  Canada  West,  where  a 
cross  of  the  Clydesdale  prevails  to  some  ex- 
tent." 

The  above  cut  is  a  tolerable  representation 
of  this  breed  of  draft  hoi-scs.  And  we  intro- 
duce it  for  the  purpose  of  suggesting  to  the 
breeders  of  horses  the  expediency  of  giving 
more  attention  to  the  rearing  of  heavier  and 
stronger  horses  than  those  which  ha-\'e  so  gen- 
erally been  exhibited  on  the  grounds  of  our 
agricultural  fairs. 


BdB^  The  Vermonter  who  was  imprisoned  in 
Ohio,  on  a  charge  of  blackening  sheep  and  sel- 
ling them  as  merinoes,  has  turned  the  tables. 
His  sheep  were  genuine,  and  the  prosecutor  is 
now  in  jail  for  false  imprisonment. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


145 


From  the  Hound  Table, 
SNOW   BIRDS. 


BY  W.   L.   SHOEMAKER. 


The  tanager  and  oriole 

Are  birda  of  fineet  feather, 
And  their  sweet  songs  delight  the  Bonl 

In  sunshine  summer  weatlier; 
But  tliey  have  flown  away  with  hosts 

Of  other  swift  or  slow  birds, 
And  hither  now  from  polar  coasts 

Fly  flocks  of  merry  snow-birds. 

II. 

The  blackbird  and  the  bobolink, 

The  pi'wee  and  the  swallow, 
From  Winter's  withering  breath,  too,  shrink, 

And  Summer's  footsteps  follow. 
In  the  crisp  meads,  and  bleak,  bare  trees, 

I  And  but  few  or  no  birds, 
Save  those  that  love  the  chilly  bresze, 

The  lightsome  little  snow-birds. 

III. 
The  brooding  wren,  her  wooden  house 

Has  long  ago  left  lonely; 
In  many  a  home  on  wild-wood  boughs 

There  nestle  dry  leaves  only; 
But  Winter,  who  drives  birds  away, 

Would  on  us  fain  bestow  birds. 
To  soothe  the  rigor  of  his  sway. 

So  sends  the  twittering  snow-birds. 

IV. 

The  robin's  with  us  yet,  I  know, 

The  chickadee  and  blue  bird. 
And  so,  too,  is  the  sable  crow. 

Through  every  change  a  true  bird; 
But  winter  is  no  friend  of  theirs, 

No  good  these  rude  airs  blow  birds, 
They  seem  to  think  ;  and  not  one  shares 

The  joyauce  of  the  snow-birds. 

V. 
When  all  the  air  is  dark  and  drear. 

And  clouds  o'er  Heaven  are  flying, 
And  wailing  winds  we  shivering  hear, 

The  tempest  prophesyhig; 
Like  jolly  sprites,  in  garments  grey, 

Lo  1  sudden  come  and  go  birds; 
We  look  around,  and  sigh,  and  say, 

"  'Twill  snow,  for  there  are  snow-birds  I' 

VI. 
'Tis  true,  they  oft  are  harbingers 

Of  rough  and  stormy  weather; 
But  joy,  not  grief  my  spirit  stirs, 

To  see  them  sport  "togi^ther. 
Methinks  they're  for  our  solace  sent. 

And  counsel,  too,  although  birds, 
For  who  on  dark  days  teach  content 

So  well  as  do  the  snow-birds  ? 

VII. 
The  snow,  by  many  signs  foretold, 

Now  fast,  at  last,  is  falling; 
The  lone,  lost  winds,  grown  bitter  cold. 

With  muffled  voice  are  calling. 
O  I  how  will  now  those  revellers  fare? 

No  ruth  the  frost-imps  show  birds, 
Vain  fear  I  they  for  no  shelter  care. 

The  tiny  stoic  snow-birds. 

vin. 

For  they  were  cradled  in  the  storm; 

Their  males  were  icy  breezes; 
Their  good  grey  coats  will  keep  them  warm, 

Whatever  round  them  freezes. 
Ah  1  let  us  pray  that  One  above. 

As  we  are  not  below  birds. 
Will  guard  us  with  His  heavenly  love, 

Ev'n  as  He  guards  the  snow-birds  I 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CULTURE    OF     POTATOES. 
Read  bv  Mr.  James  P.  Brown,  before  the  Concord  Farm- 
ers'  Club,   Nov.    22,  1SG6,  in  reply   to   the  question, 
What  kinds  of  potatoes  shall  we  raise  for  family  use, 
or  for  market  ? 

1  suppose  that  one  farmer  would  name  one 
kind,  and  another  some  other.  For  fall  or  early 
winter,  the  Jackson  Whites  are  best;  for  late 
or  spring  use,  I  prefer  the  Garnet  or  Davis' 
Seedling.  For  market,  the  Jacksons  are  de- 
cidedly the  best,  as  they  sell  better  than  most 
other  kinds.  Besides  this,  I  can  raise  about 
one-quarter  more  Jacksons'  on  the  same 
ground,  than  of  any  other  sort.  The  differ- 
ence in  cultivation,  I  should  think,  is  in  favor 
of  the  Jacksons,  as  they  can  be  planted  a  little 
nearer  together  than  other  kinds. 

To  raise  a  good  crop,  there  are  three  or 
four  things  to  be  considered.  First,  we  must 
have  good  land  and  a  plenty  of  barnyard  ma- 
nure, with  good  seed  and  good  cultivation.  I 
prefer  to  take  land  that  brought  rye  the  pre- 
ceding season,  plough  in  the  stubble  in  the 
fall,  at  least  eight  inches  deep  ;  then  in  early 
spring  cart  on  twenty-live  ox-loads  to  the  acre 
of  coarse  manure  from  under  the  barn,  spread 
as  even  as  possible,  and  plough  in  about  (v^ 
or  six  inches  deep,  with  a  small  plough.  Har- 
row it  down  smooth,  then  furrow  with  a  small 
horse  plough  about  three  feet  each  way.  For 
seed,  1  prefer  to  go  to  Boston  and  buy  the 
best  seed  I  can  find  of  the  late  Jackson  sort, 
cut  theni  fine — not  having  more  than  two  eyes 
to  the  piece — and  put  two  pieces  in  the  hill ; 
api^ly  a  little  plaster,  cover  them  lightly  with  a 
hoe,  and  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  break  ground 
run  the  cultivator  through  both  ways,  and  it 
will  not  be  much  work  to  hoe  them.  In  about 
ten  days  go  through  the  same  opei-ation  again. 
If  the  land  is  pretty  clear  from  Aveeds,  three 
times  hoeing  will  answer ;  if  not,  go  over  it 
the  fourth  time.  I  planted  about  two  and  one- 
half  acres  in  this  way,  and  raised  550  bushels 
of  good,  sound  potatoes  this  last  season,  which 
I  think  was  a  very  good  crop.  If  I  desired  to 
plant  grass  land,  I  should  plough  in  the  fall, 
and  proceed  as  before  stated. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WOOL  TARIFF. 
Of  what  avail  is  it,  fellow  farmers,  that  we 
embrace  by  actual  count  three-fourths  of  the 
voters,  and  more  than  that  proportion  of  the 
taxable  property  of  the  country,  if  we  are  dis- 
regarded in  the  Senate,  and  degraded  in  our 
own  markets  to  competition  with  the  outlaws 
of  Britain  in  the  Old  World,  and  the  half  sav- 
age tribes  of  the  New  ?  What  is  the  policy — 
what  the  justness  of  such  a  state  of  things .'' 
What  did  England  do  for  us,  in  our  life  strug- 
gle, that  the  product  of  her  convict  labur  in 
Australia  should  take  the  place  of  that  of  our 
tried  and  true  ci'izens  in  their  own  market? 
We  surely  wish  all  the  South  American  States 


146 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


well,  but  what  peculiar  claim  have  they  upon 
our  charit}",  that  they  find  in  our  ports  Avhat  is 
to  them  a  prime  market  for  a  vast  amount  of 
wool,  to  the  ruinous  depression  of  our  own 
heavily  taxed  product  ? 

For  what  are  Governments  formed  if  not  to 
protect  the  people  from  external  as  well  as  in- 
ternal encroachments  upon  their  welfiire.  Even 
the  private  citizen,  who  neglects  to  provide  for 
his  own  house,  is  by  the  highest  authority  pro- 
nounced "worse  than  an  infidel."  Our  na- 
tional existence  we  consider  of  the  greatest 
worth.  It  cost  us  deai'ly  to  preserve  it.  The 
price  is  not  yet  paid.  Twenty-five  years  of 
extra  taxation  is  the  shortest  time  yet  men- 
tioned in  which  it  can  be  canceled.  Should 
not,  then,  every  art,  every  industry,  every  pro- 
duction that  is,  or  may  be  American,  be  foster- 
ed? AVhat  did  Napoleon  I.  in  his  gigantic 
wars  ?  English  products  were  by  the  Bei-lin 
decree  excluded.  Every  product  and  improve- 
ment was  stimulated ;  every  art  encouraged, 
so  hat  after  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury of  frightfid  war,  France  could  show  a  bet- 
ter financial  condition  than  at  the  beginning. 

We  are  not  now  asking  the  exclusion  of  for- 
eign goods,  but  we  do  ask  a  just  protection. 
We  ask  that  our  patriotism  and  our  citizenship 
be  not  dishonored  by  placing  us  in  competition 
with  the  half  savage,  convict  and  pauper  por- 
tions of  the  world.  Henky  C.  Fitch. 

North  TJu'fford,  Vt.,  Jan.  7th,  1867. 


TRAINIIfG   COLTS. 

Let  the  education  commence  with  the  birth. 
The  colt  should  be  fed  with  a  little  oats  in  a 
pan  ;  it  will  soon  learn  to  feed  I'rom  your  hand. 
It  should  then  be  fondled  and  petted,  at  the 
same  time  the  hand  should  frequently  be 
passed  over  the  body  and  occasionally  carried 
down  the  limbs.  The  tiny  feet  should  at 
length  be  raised,  and  afterwards  the  hoof  be 
gentlytapped.  Thesethings  should  be  repeated 
till  they  are  submitted  to  witliout  any  evidence 
of  fear  being  excited  by  the  liberties  taken. 

When  weaning  has  by  the  process  of  nature 
been  accomplished,  the  colt  should  not  be 
turned  out  and  neglected  until  it  is  old  enough 
to  work ;  it  should  still  be  sheltered  and  nour- 
ished, the  previous  lessons  being  enforced 
with  greater  emphasis  as  the  age  progresses. 
When  kept  in  the  stable  it  should  be  accus- 
tomed to  the  harness,  M^earing  it  a  few  hours 
in  the  stall.  He  should  next  be  taken  out 
and  led  gently  about  to  get  accustomed  to  the 
rattling  of  the  chains.  No  attempt  should  be 
made  to  put  the  colt  to  work  before  he  is  three 
and  a  half  or  four  years  old. 

If  the  colt  has  been  treated  as  previously  di- 
rected, there  will  be  little  (lifFiculty  in  breaking 
him  to  harness  work.  Put  him  by  the  side  of 
an  old  and  steady  horse,  and  a  light  wagon 
witliout  a  load,  and  handle;  iiim  gently,  until 
he  is  made  to  understand  what  is  re(juired  of 
him.     When  about  to  put  him  in  single  harness 


he  should  be  brought  out  and  have  the  wagon 
shown  him,  being  allowed  to  smell  it  and  ex- 
amine until  he  has  become  familiar  with  every 
part  of  it.  Every  part  of  the  wagon  and  har- 
ness should  be  strong  and  well  made,  so  that 
there  can  be  no  possibility  of  breaking.  When 
he  is  put  in  the  vehicle,  every  strap  should  be 
buckled  securely  and  none  left  to  strike  against 
him.  He  should  then  be  made  to  advance, 
and  the  wagon  gently  pushed  from  behind, 
that  he  may  not  feel  its  weight  for  a  short  dis- 
tance. The  horse  should  on  no  account  be  al- 
lowed to  trot  until  h©  is  perfectly  familiar  with 
the  sound  of  the  wheels.  After  being  driven 
sevei'al  times  he  may  be  trotted  gently,  but 
should  not  be  put  to  his  speed  nor  kept  in  liar- 
ness  until  he  is  tired  out. 

Most  harness  horses  are  too  imperfectly 
broken.  Theii'  education  is  too  hurried,  and 
seems  to  be  considered  perfect  as  soon  as  the 
animal  Avill  merely  take  to  the  collar.  Many 
young  horses  are  soon  ruined  by  the  unfeeling 
employment  of  the  bearing  rein,  which  disables 
the  organs  of  respiration  and  renders  the  light- 
est draft  a  burden.  When  starting  to  drive  a 
young  horse,  the  driver  should  mount  his  seat 
quietly,  gather  up  his  reins,  and  get  his  horse 
under  way  quietly  by  speaking  or  chirrupping ; 
never  starting  with  a  jerk  or  striking  with  a 
whip — allowing  him  to  increase  his  pace  by 
degrees  to  the  speed  required,  instead  of  forc- 
ing it  on  a  sudden.  Keep  at  a  regular  gait ; 
do  not  go  by  fits  and  starts. — Am.  Stock  Jour, 


LABOR. 

Many  sermons  have  been  written  on  the 
"dignity"  of  labor,  and  much  pains  has  l)een 
taken  to  persuade  young  men  that  it  Is  "digni- 
fied" to  roll  up  their  sleeves,  and  toil  and 
sweat  in  the  dirt.  Has  any  one  been  persuaded 
that  this  is  "true  preaching,"  and,  if  so,  has 
he  been  prompted  by  it  to  go  to  work  ?  No. 
No  man  ever  worked  because  of  the  dignity  of 
labor,  and  the  argument  may  as  Avell  be 
dropped. 

]\Iost  men  work  from  necessity,  or  what 
seems  to  them  so, — all  should  work  because  it  is 
their  dut>/.  This  is  the  word — duty.  It  is 
due  to  himself,  his  friends,  his  country,  and, 
al)ove  all,  to  Him  who  gave  the  faculties  and 
the  power  to  work,  that  every  young  man 
should  take  hold  at  once  of  that  which  lies  be- 
fore him,  and  do  it  with  his  might. 

We  like,  therefore,  the  preaching  of  Gov. 
Wm.  Smyth,  of  Vivginia,  who,  in  his  speech 
at  tlie  Farmer's  Convention  at  Richmond,  is 
reported  as  follows  :  "When  he  got  home  af- 
ter the  war,  he  found  citizens  of  the  village 
standing  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  the 
yoimg  men  idle — but  lie  reminded  them  of 
their  duty.  He  told  them  if  they  could  not 
earn  a  dollar  a  day  then  they  ought  to  take 
less,  and  they  would  have  the  consolation  of 
knowiui;-  they  liad  done  their  duty.  That  was 
the   principle."     Tliis  is  indeed  the  "princi- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


147 


pie," — the  very  beginning  of  all  right  doing, 
that  a  thing  be  done  because  it  ought  to  be 
done. — American  Farmer,  Maryland. 


A  "WINTER   MORNTNG. 


BY  ANDREWS   NORTON. 


The  keen,  clear  air— the  splendid  Bight— 

"We  waken  to  a  world  of  ice, 
Wliere  all  things  are  enshrined  in  Ught, 

As  bj-  some  genii's  quaint  device. 

A  shower  of  gems  is  strewed  around, 
The  flowers  of  winter  rich  and  rare, 

Rubies  and  sapphires  deck  the  ground, 
The  topaz,  emerald,  all  are  there. 

The  morning  sun  with  cloudless  rays, 
His  powerless  splendor  round  us  streams  ; 

From  crusted  boughs,  and  twinkling  sprays, 
Fly  back  unloosed  the  rainbow  beams. 

With  more  than  summer  beauty  fair. 
The  trees  in  winter's  garb  are  shown; 

What  a  rich  halo  melts  in  air, 
Aroimd  their  crystal  branches  thrown  I 

O  God  of  Nature  !  with  what  might 

Of  beauty,  showered  on  all  below. 
Thy  guiding  power  would  lead  aright 

Earth's  wanderer  all  thy  lo%-e  to  know  I 

MASSACHUSETTS    BOARD    OP   AGRI- 
CULTURE. 

The  State  Board  of  Agriculture  met  at  the 
office  of  the  Secretary,  at  the  State  House,  on 
Thursday,  Jan.  31st.  Present,  Messrs.  Bill- 
ings, Bull,  Chadbourne,  Clement,  Davis,  Hos- 
mer,  Hubbard,  Huntington,  S.  Johnson.  J. 
Johnson,  Jr.,  Iving,  Moore,  Perkins,  Salton- 
stall,  Sanderson,  Slade,  Smith,  Stedman,  Stock- 
bridge,  Taft,  Thompson,  Ward  and  AYatkins. 
Mr.  Davis  in  the  chair. 

Thursday's  session  was  chiefly  occupied  bv 
the  delegates  appointed  to  attend  and  report 
upon  the  exhibitions  of  the  several  county  so- 
cieties. 

As  we  have  not  space  this  week  for  anv  ex- 
tended report  of  the  proceedings  during  the 
sessions  of  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  of 
last  week,  and  of  Monday  and  Tuesday  of  the 
present  week,  we  can  only  say  that  the  busi- 
ness has  been  transacted  promptly,  and  that 
the  reports  and  discussions  were  most  inter- 
esting,— too  interesting  and  valuable,  it  strikes 
us,  to  be  confined  to  a  narrow  room  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  capitol.  True,  they  will  be  print- 
ed and  read,  but  why  should  not  the  livino- 
voice  as  well  as  the  printed  report  reach  the 
people  who  are  interested  in  the  subjects  upon 
which  the  Board  have  been  in  deliberation 
these  five  days  past  ? 

Among  the  subjects  which  we  were  fortunate 
enough  to  hear  reported  upon  and  discussed, 


were  an  essay  by  Prcs.  Chadbourne  on  the 
Culture  of  Chicorj';  by  Mr.  Smith,  on  the 
management  of  Agricultural  Societies  ;  by  Mr. 
Stockbridge,  on  Plants  as  an  Indication  of  the 
nature  of  the  Soil ;  by  Mr.  Moore,  on  the 
Adaptation  of  Crops  to  Soils  ;  by  Mr.  Clem- 
ent, on  Transplanting  Fruit  and  Forest  Trees  ; 
by  Mr.  King,  on  the  Cultivation  of  Cranber- 
ries ;  by  Mr.  Hubbard  on  Dairying ;  by  Mr. 
Clement,  on  the  Agriculture  of  Middlesex 
county ;  by  Mr.  Perkins  on  Agricultural  Edu- 
cation ;  by  Mr  Hubbard  on  the  Agriculture  of 
Worcester  South,  &c. 

Pres.  Chadbourne  made  a  statement  m  re- 
lation to  the  State  Agricultural  College.  His 
suggestion  that  each  of  the  twenty-five  agri- 
cultural societies,  represented  in  this  Board, 
should,  by  subscription  or  otherwise,  procure 
a  scholarship  to  be  awarded  by  them,  under 
such  regulations  as  they  saw  fit  to  prescribe,  to 
some  meritorious  young  man  who  would  en- 
gage to  remain  in  the  county  after  his  educa- 
tion was  completed,  appeared  to  be  well  rc^ 
ceived  by  the  members  of  the  Board,  as  were 
also  his  other  statements  and  suggestions  in 
relation  to  the  institution  of  which  he  is  now 
the  head. 

Among  the  many  items  of  business  which 
were  passed  upon,  the  following  seem  to  de- 
serve an  early  publication : 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Board  be  re- 
quested to  notify  all  of  the  Societies  receiving  the 
bounty  of  the  State,  that  hereafter  in  addition  to 
the  financial  returns  now  required  by  law  to  be 
made  ou  or  before  the  10th  day  of  December,  they 
will  be  required  to  return  a  full  and  complete  report 
of  their  doings,  printed  in  pamphlet  form  on  or  be- 
fore the  loth  day  of  January  following,  and  that  the 
Secretary  will  not  be  authorized  to  "certify  to  the 
legislature,  or  to  the  State  auditors  that  a  society 
has  complied  with  the  law  and  is  entitled  to  its 
bounty  unless  it  has  conformed  to  this  require- 
ment. 

Voted,  That  the  several  Agricultural  Societies  re- 
ceiving the  bounty  of  the  State,  l)e  hereafter  re- 
quiicd  to  offer  annually  three  premiums  of  not  less 
(>han  eight,  six,  and  four  dollars,  respectively,  for 
the  best  reports  of  Committees  who  recommended 
premiums. 


1^^  The  Rhode  Island  statute  prohibits  the 
ofi'ering  of  quails  or  partridges  for  sale  in  the 
markets  after  the  1st  of  January,  and  a  Provi- 
dence man  was  lately  fined  §2  and  costs  apiece 
for  every  bird  of  a  lot  which  he  tried  to  sell  in 
violation  of  the  law.  The  quails  were  killed  in 
Ohio,  and  brought  to  Providence  for  sale,  but 
the  law  did  not  recognize  the  distinction. 


t^' There  are   but   seven    scholars  in    the 
Vermont  Agricultural  CoUesre. 


148 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


March 


abks*    fficpartmtnt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 


HOW   TO   MAKE    HOME   PLEASANT. 


BY      ANNE      G.      HALE. 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
1866,  by  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co.,  in  the  Clerk's  Ofllce  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


CHAPTER  n. 
HOUSE  PLANTS— THEIR  CARE  AND  CULTURE. 

Plants  that  are  cultivated  within  doors  are 
generally  exotics,  and,  being  for  the  most  part 
natives  of  warmer  climates  than  ours,  they  re- 
quu-e  shelter  through  the  winter.  AVhile  we 
supply  that  necessity,  there  arises  a  desire  to 
receive  from  them,  in  return,  the  beauty  and 
fragi-ance  which  they  yield  naturally  only  dur- 
ing the  summer; — for,  although  we  hear  of 
countries  where  "The  roses  are  blooming  all 
the  year  round,"  this  is  not  absolutely  the  fact 
— they  must  have  seasons  of  rest,  or  they  soon 
die  of  exhaustion. 

The  time  of  their  blossoming  may  be  changed, 
however.  Indeed,  in  the  case  of  tropical 
plants  that  have  been  adopted  by  us  it  has  been 
changed,  or  our  winters  would  not  be  glad- 
dened by  their  cheerful  presence.  Luxuriant 
green  foliage  is  always  pleasant  to  the  eye, — 
more  particularly  when  all  else  looks  barren 
and  dreary.  But  we  do  not  feel  satisfied  with 
that  alone.  We  want  mingled  with  that  ver- 
dure the  bright  colors  and  the  sweet  fragrance 
of  beautiful  blossoms.  A  knowledge  of  the 
habits  of  each  individual  plant  which  we  take 
under  our  care,  and  of  its  susceptibility  to  the 
influence  of  certain  substances  which  we  fur- 
nish it  for  food,  and  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  principles  of  floral  art,  together  with  a 
strict  attention  to  the  hints  which  Nature  is 
continually  giving  us,  will  bring  about  the  de- 
sired result — buds  and  blossoms  waiting  or 
coming  at  our  will. 

Our  grandmothers  qan  tell  us  that  before  the 
use  of  stoves  and  furnaces  (^steam,  even,)  for 
the  heating  of  our  houses,  nobody, — except 
those  few,  who,  making  the  propagation  of 
plants  a  business,  built  winter  houses  for  them, 
— lliought  of  keeping  plants  alive,  much  less, 
in  bloom,   out  of  the  cellar.     If  one  was  ibr- 


tunate  enough  to  own  a  monthly  rosebush,  or 
an  orange  tree,  or  a  Jerusalem  cherry ;  a 
prickly  pear,  a  sweet-scented  geranium,  or  a 
hydrangea  (that  wonder  to  my  young  eyes, — 
with  its  huge  balls  of  flowers  changing  so  mys- 
teriously from  white  to  pink,  to  blue,  and  back 
again  to  white,) —  it  was  wrapped  in  mats,  as 
soon  as  frosty  nights  came,  and  banished  to  the 
"arch,"  the  "donjon-keep"  of  childhood's  im- 
agination, there  to  pass  the  time  in  inglorious 
idleness  till  the  spring  breezes  wakened  the 
young  buds  of  the  trees.  Then  they  were  re- 
leased from  their  prison,  and,  restored  once 
more  to  the  sunshine  and  free  air,  they  quickly 
regained  their  wonted  vigor  and  loveliness. 

This  ancient  necessity  is  now-a-days  some- 
times held  as  a  threat  over  plants  that  do  not 
flourish  and  blossom  ju.st  when  and  as  we  wish, 
in  the  same  way  that  injudicious  mothers  talk 
of  the  dark  closet  to  rebellious  and  refractory 
children  ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that,  often- 
times, as  with  those  unreasonable  mothers,  the 
threat  is  actually  executed,  through  pretence 
of  benefiting  the  unfortunate  objects  of  our 
neglect,  when  in  reality  it  is  to  rid  om-selves  of 
the  presence  of  a  standing  disgrace.  Faithful 
and  loving  care  in  either  case, — gentle  pruning 
of  wrong  tendencies,  warm  encouragement  of 
feeble  eflbrts  that  are  put  foi-th  in  the  right  di- 
rection, and  a  patient  watchfulness  against  all 
hurtful  influences  wUl  ensure  to  both  mortal  and 
immortal  plants  that  true  sjTnmetry  of  growth, 
that  strong  and  rich  flourishing,  which  will  con- 
duce to  the  perfection  of  the  good  fruit  for 
which  they  were  designed  by  an  all-wise  and 
benevolent  Creator. 

If  house-plants  are,  usually,  exotics,  there  is 
no  good  reason  why  we  should  not  also  take  to 
our  hearts  and  homes  the  lovely  things  that 
make  beautiful  the  solitary  paths  of  the  forest; 
that  enamel  the  meadows,  and  embroider  the 
margins  of  our  summer  streams  and  lakelets. 
So,  when  the  spring  opens,  with  the  first  com- 
ing of  May,  it  will  be  well  to  give  ourselves  a 
lioliday  from  household  cares,  and  go  with  the 
children  in  search  ol"  floral  gems.  We  shall 
want  a  trowel,  and  a  basket,  and  one  of  the 
boys  had  better  bring  a  spade.  We  must  be 
provided,  too,  with  thick  gloves ;  and  a  stout 
knife  may  not  come  amiss.  Of  course,  over- 
shoes and  winter  clothing  will  be  worn,  for  the 
fields  are  yet  dami>,  and  we  shall  l)e  obliged  to 
cross  marshes.     We  must  get  at  least  two  spec- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


149 


imens  of  the  dark-leaved  Sanguinaria,  called 
by  the  eountry  peoiile  Blood-root,  for  its  deli- 
cate flower  so  nearly  resembles  the  orange 
blossom  that  it  can  very  well  take  its  place  at 
any  wedding  of  our  friends  next  winter.  We 
will  take  also  a  plenty  of  the  damp,  boggy 
earth  where  it  dwells,  so  that  it  shall  not  miss 
its  usual  nutriment ;  and,  gently  loosening  its 
root,  by  the  aid  of  the  trowel,  from  the  tangled 
vines  around  it,  place  it  with  this  soil  in  the 
basket. 

Next  we  will  select  a  group  of  Hepaticas, 
or  Liver-wort ;  and  cutting  the  turf  carefully 
with  the  knife,  lest  the  roots  should  be  detached 
from  the  fibrous  peat  where  it  first  opened  its 
eyes,  lift  the  whole  clump  with  the  spade,  and 
place  it  with  the  Sanguinaria.  These  are  all 
the  roots  wanted  to-day.  We  shall  gather 
from  among  the  last  year's  dead  leaves  hand- 
fuls  of  the  sweet  Arbutus,  or  Mayflower,  for 
vases  at  the  home  ;  and  set  the  children  hunting 
for  the  tiny  buds  of  the  Houstonia,  or,  as  we  love 
to  call  it.  Innocence  ;  and  look  ourselves  after 
the  shy  violets  ;  by  and  bye,  when  the  sunshine 
has  lured  them  from  their  beds,  and  the  velvet 
casket  of  the  young  spring  grass  is  lit  up  with 
their  sapphires  and  pearls,  we  will  come  and 
take  our  choice  for  a  new  setting  with  our  fam- 
ily jewels.  But  we  must  not  spend  the  whole 
day  in  the  woods, — the  roots  we  have  taken 
ought  to  be  potted  immediately. 

It  will  be  well  to  set  the  two  Sanguinarias  in 
separate  pots  ;  in  the  autumn  they  can  be  put 
together,  if  both  live.  Pots  three  inches  in 
diameter  at  the  top  will  be  the  proper  size — 
No.  9.  Let  the  children  gather  a  handful  of 
pebltles  about  the  size  of  a  plum-stone.  Put 
eight  or  ten  of  these  in  the  bottom  of  each  pot, 
then  a  little  of  the  bog  earth,  to  which  you 
have  added — sprinkling  it  in  with  the  hand — 
loam,  from  an  old  bed  in  the  garden ;  then 
more  of  the  bog  earth.  Now,  set  the  root  of 
the  plant  exactly  in  the  centre,  hold  it  gently 
in  place  with  the  left  hand,  with  the  right  add 
more  of  the  soil  and  loam,  till  the  pot  is  nearly 
fuU.  Press  it  lightly  around  Ae  collar  of  the 
plant — ^just  enough  to  keep  it  steady,  not  hard, 
nor  closely.  Strike  the  side  of  the  pot  two  or 
three  times,  to  settle  the  earth  firmly.  Add  a 
little  more  soil,  and  strike  in  the  same  manner, 
till  the  earth  lies  evenly  around  the  plant.  Fill 
the  pot  nearly  to  the  rim.  Water  with  warm 
Water.  If,  after  watering,  the  soil  is  loosened 
around  the  plant,  add  a  little  more.     Pinch  off 


the  ilovvcr  buds.  Keep  the  plant  in  a  shady 
place  till  August — watering  it  every  day,  free- 
ly. Then  bring  it  gradually  to  bear  the  sun- 
shine,— but  it  never  needs  much ;  you  can 
keep  it  in  the  winter  on  a  bracket  at  the  side  of 
the  window,  and  it  will  spread  out  its  large 
leaves  and  lift  up  its  pure  blossoms  as  gaily  as 
as  in  its  native  marsh. 

The  clump  of  Hepaticas  must  have  a  pot  of 
the  next  larger  size.  Place  the  pebbles  as  for 
the  other  plants,  cover  them  Avith  rich  loam, 
and  then  set  upon  it  the  turf  in  which  the  he- 
paticas are  still  firmly  fixed — it  will  do  Ijotter  if 
the  roots  are  not  disturbed.  Fill  in  around  the 
crevices  more  of  the  loam.  Shake  the  pot  to 
settle  it  well,  and  water  as  you  did  the  San- 
guinarias. Cut  off  the  blossoms,  and  all  the 
buds  as  fast  as  they  appear — because  you  wish 
for  bloom  in  the  winter.  Set  the  pot  in  the 
shade.  In  order  that  no  woi-ms  shall  get  into 
pots  that  are  kept  out  of  doors  in  the  sum- 
mer, a  space  should  be  set  apart  for  them, 
and  the  coal  clinkers  and  fine  cinders  left  from 
the  winter's  fires  should  be  spread  over  it,  and 
on  these  jilace  the  pots.  Treat  this  as  you  do 
the  Sanguinarias,  only  it  will  want  a  front  place 
at  the  window  when  cold  weather  comes,  if  you 
desire  deep  blue  flowers. 

When  the  violets  are  in  bloom  go  again  to 
the  woods,  and  take  your  choice  of  tlie  differ- 
ent species,  and  do  for  them  as  for  the  hepati- 
cas. Then,  if  you  wish  to  domesticate  more 
wild  flowers,  get  the  beautiful  blue  Harebell,  in 
its  season ;  and  then,  the  elegant  Lobelia  car- 
dinalis.  There  are  the  Ferns,  too,  so  curious, 
and  of  such  easy  culture  ;  and  the  Mosses, — 
don't  forget  them.  A  very  pretty  ornament 
for  the  table,  or  the  mantel,  is  a  dish  of  Ferns, 
or  of  Mosses.  Early  in  October  go  to  some 
sequestered  spot  in  the  woods  and  bring  away 
as  many  kinds  as  you  can.  Get  them,  as  you 
did  the  hepaticas,  still  clinging  to  their  native 
soil.  A  common  deep  dish  is  the  best  thing  to 
hold  them.  Fill  the  dish  with  leaf-mould, — 
that  is,  the  rotten  leaves  and  fibrous  soil  of  the 
woods — so  that  it  is  a  little  higher  in  the  cen- 
tre ;  set  your  Ferns  securely  in  this,  and  ar- 
range around  them  bits  of  the  different  kinds 
of  moss.  Set  this  dish  witliin  another  two  sizes 
larger.  Fill  the  outer  dish  with  water.  Get 
a  bell-glass  to  fit  the  inner  dish,  like  the  glass 
cover  used  by  confectioners  and  bakers  for 
their  show-cake.     It  will  rest,  without  the  in- 


150 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


March 


ner,  in  the  water  contained  in  the  outer  dish. 
Occasionally  supply  water,  it  will  need  it  very 
seldom,  however, — by  its  evaporation  it  feeds 
the  plants  in  the  form  of  dew  and  the  first  sup- 
ply will  last  a  long  time.  Mosses  can  be  grown 
very  nicely  without  this  cover  and  outer  dish, 
if  you  water  them  as  other  plants  are  watered 
and  keep  them  in  the  shade.  In  collecting 
your  mosses,  try  to  find  other  little  things  to 
grow  among  them.  A  tiny  seedling  pine,  or 
juniper ;  a  bit  of  houstonia ;  an  anemone  ;  a 
root  of  the  partridge  berry,  will  add  greatly  to 
the  beauty  of  your  mound ;  especially  if  you 
set  the  littte  trees  in  the  centre,  and  arrange 
the  mosses  and  flower-roots  tastefully. 

So  much  for  native  plants.  Let  us  now  turn 
our  attention  to  their  naturalized  brethren, 
upon  whom  we  mainly  depend  for  winter  llow- 
ers. 

In  deciding  what  varieties  we  can  best  attend 
to,  regard  must  be  paid  to  the  space  we  can 
allow  for  their  accommodation.  They  must  be 
kept  in  the  family  sitting-room  where  the  air 
will  be  of  the  proper  and  most  equable  tem- 
perature. You  can  probably  spare  one  Avin- 
dow  for  their  use.  The  best  stand  for  a  few 
plants  is  very  simple — only  a  narrow  taljle  as 
long  as  the  window  is  wide.  On  this  place  a 
shallow  wooden  tray  (what  might  be  called 
a  flat  drawer,  being  only  about  an  inch  and  a 
half  deep)  lined  with  zinc,  or  galvauiiced  iron  ; 
in  tliis  most  of  your  pots  should  be  placed. 
Five  of  the  smallest  size  that  you  have,  hold- 
ing jilants  of  low  growth,  for  the  front  row ; 
behind  them  four,  possibly,  five,  taller  and 
larger ;  and,  if  the  tray  be  wide  enough, 
get  another  row  of  larger  plants.  The  pots 
ought  not  to  touch,  there  should  be  a  free  pas- 
sage for  air  around  and  between  them.  Cover 
the  floor  of  the  tray  with  moss,  after  )ou 
have  arranged  your  pots ;  this  will  absorb 
whatever  water  is  spilled  in  watering,  and,  also, 
give  the  stand  a  neat  and  pretty  appearance. 

At  each  side  of  this,  if  you  have  an  oleander 
and  abutilon  tall  enough  to  reach  the  sunshine 
when  set  upon  the  floor,  lay  a  small  piece  of 
painted  canvass,  and  upon  that  either  zinc  or 
galvanized  iron  for  the  accommodation  of  those 
two  pots.  Ilauging  plants  are  so  graceful  you 
will  want  tlicrn  lor  the  upper  part  of  the  win- 
dow,— one  for  the  centre,  and,  if  it  be  pretty 
wide,  one  on  each  side  of  that  depending  a 
little  lower.     An  ivy  will  look  well  placed  on  a 


bracket  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  if  its  branches 
are  trained  over  the  wall,  and  around  pictures. 
A  large-flowered  geranium,  or  a  rosebush  is 
also  an  elegant  ornament  placed  in  such  a  sit- 
uation ;  and  will  flourish  well  if  the  sunshine 
reaches  it,  or  if  you  let  it  exchange  2)laces  part 
of  the  day  with  some  plant  on  the  stand.  For 
a  bay  window  a  longer  and  wider  stand  may 
be  used ;  or  three  smaller  ones,  or  one  with 
graduated  shelves,  according  to  your  fancy. 
Some  arrange  shelves  on  small  supporters  or 
brackets,  near  the  panes.  These  have  a  fine 
eflfect  for  out-of-door  admirers,  but  if  you  wish 
to  enjoy  the  beaut}-  of  your  flowers  yourself, 
and  to  have  your  family  enjoy  that  beauty  also, 
the  movable  stand  is  preferable,  as  its  position 
can  be  quickly  and  easily  changed  to  suit  your 
vision,  and  in  case  of  sudden  change  in  the 
weather  the  plants  will  be  much  safer.  If, 
however,  any  plant  gets  frozen,  place  it  in  cold 
water,  and  keep  it  away  from  the  sun  till  the 
leaves  resume  their  natural  appearance. 

To  ensure  early  blossoming,  potting  should 
be  done  in  June,  and  the  plants  be  suffered  to 
rest  in  a  shady,  cool  place,  with  very  little  wa- 
tering, till  September.  Mostof  them  can  then 
be  brought  gradually  to  the  fall  sunshine,  and 
by  the  middle  of  October  they  should  be  fully 
established  for  winter. 

The  proper  kind  of  pot  has  been  mentioned, 
but  the  soil  varies  with  different  plants.  This 
is  an  important  point.  Each  j^lant  should  be 
so  studied  that  no  mistake  can  be  made  in  this 
respect.  For  most  plants  the  turf  of  peat 
meadows  thoroughly  dried  and  broken  up, 
mixed  with  leaf-mould,  or  other  decayed  vege- 
table matter,  is  considered  the  best.  To  this 
is  added  rich  loam  and  sand,  according  to  the 
native  soil  of  the  plant.  With  this,  to  deepen 
the  color  of  the  flowers  and  to  Increase  their 
beauty,  bits  of  old  Iron,  rusty  nails,  and  char- 
coal dust  are  frequently  mixed.  For  draining, 
upon  wliich  the  health  of  the  roots  depends, 
small  pebbles,  broken  brick,  or  crockery,  or 
flower  pots,  coal  clinkers,  or  cinders  must  al- 
ways be  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot. 

Fertilizers  are  best  applied  in  a  licjuiil  form, 
and  thev  should  be  used  sj)aringly.  They  are 
good  to  force  the  growth  of  the  plant  and  to 
hasten  the  blossoms ;  If  it  is  wished  to  delay 
the  time  of  flowering  all  fertilizers  should  be 
avoided  and  the  sunshine  denied.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  px'epare  for  winter  use  a  fertlUz- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARl\rER. 


151 


ing  mixture,, composed  of  stable  litter  and  drop- 
pings i'roin  the  hen  roost  or  pigeon  house. 
E(jual  parts  of  these  three  making  one  quart 
of  the  substance  is  best ;  to  this  add  a  quart 
of  pounded  charcoal.  Put  this  mixture  in  a 
keg  and  pour  upon  it  three  gallons  of  water. 
Stir  it  every  fi^w  days  for  a  fortnight,  it  will 
then  be  ready  for  nse. 

If  the  leaves  of  your  plants  do  not  put  forth 
as  rapidly  as  you  wish,  take  half  a  pint  of  this 
liquid  and  dilute  it  with  clean  warm  water,  and 
pour  it  upon  the  soil  near  the  edge  of  the  pot. 
There  will  be  sufficient  for  half-a-dozen  pots, 
unless  tliey  are  very  large.  Use  it  once  in 
three  days,  three  times ;  then  wait  ten  days, 
and  give  the  same  again.  This  will  probably 
be  sufficient  for  the  winter ;  if  not,  after  wait- 
ing a  month,  try  again  going  through  the  same 
process. 

Now,  a  few  words  about  colors  ;  in  arrang- 
ing your  flowers  have  regard  to  contrasting 
tints  and  the  harmony  of  the  whole. 

Too  great  a  variety  of  colers  in  a  group  of 
plants  is  as  detrimental  to  their  beauty  as  it 
would  be  in  a  person's  dress  or  in  the  furniture 
of  a  room.  Scarlet  and  crimson  should  never 
be  together ;  difTerent  shades  of  either  look 
well,  but  the  two  do  not  hai-monize.  Scarlet 
has  a  good  effect  with  white  and  green ;  or 
scarlet  and  deep  blue  and  deep  yellow  with 
plenty  of  green,  distinct  all  from  each  other, 
and  the  green  preponderating.  Bluish  white 
and  rose  color,  and  dark  glossy  leaves  agree 
well ;  bluish  white  harmonises  best  with  deli- 
cate colors, — clear  white,  with  brighter  gaudier 
hues.  A  variety  of  white  flowers  is  a  great 
addition  to  the  beauty  of  a  group. 

The  three  primitive  colors  may  be  all  to- 
gether— red,  blue,  and  yellow — provided  they 
are  all  pure  ;  the  red  only  one  Idnd  of  red,  the 
blue  not  purple,  and  the  yellow  not  orange ; 
then  with  plenty  of  green  and  white,  the  group 
will  look  well.  But  if  you  put  only  blue  and 
yellow  with  the  green  the  eye  naturally  looks 
for  the  complementary  color,  red,  and  feels 
the  deficiency.  Scarlet,  crimson  or  pink,  mix- 
ed with  green  alone,  satisfy  the  eye ;  and  pur- 
ple, being  a  mixture  of  blue  and  red,  contrasts 
well  with  yellow — orange,  formed  of  red  and 
yellow,  with  blue.  Pink  and  pale  blue  con- 
trast and  at  the  same  time  harmonize  well ; 
these  with  delicate  green  and  white  make  a 
pretty  show.     Keep  these  facts  in  mind  when 


aljout  procuring  your  plants  and  you  will  l)e 
saved  many  regrets  ;  above  all,  remember  how 
much  white  flowers  will  enhance  the  beauty  of 
all  the  rest. 

It  h  IS  been  estimated  that  there  are  over 
one  hundred  thousand  species  of  plants  now 
known  and  the  number  is  constantly  increasing 
as  new  countries  are  visited  by  naturalists.  In 
comparison  with  that  great  number,  the  follow- 
ing list  seems  small ;  but  it  Avill  be  found  to 
comprise  a  good  variety  of  colors  and  forms, 
and  they  are  all  well  adapted  to  house  culture. 

Abutilon,  Agapanthus,  Alyssum,  Amaryllis, 
Arum,  Auricula,  Azalea,  Begonias,  Cactus, 
Camellia,  Calceolaria,  Carnation,  Chrysanthe- 
mum, Daisy,  Daphne,  Eupatorium,  Fuchsia, 
Forget-me-not,  Geranium,  Heliotrope,  Hepa- 
tica.  Hydrangea,  Hyacinth,  Ivy,  (English, 
German,  Coliseum,)  Lantana,  Lemon,  Lily  of 
the  Valley,  Lobelia,  Mahonia,  Mignonette, 
Mimulus,  (Monkey  flower,)  Myrtle,  Oleander, 
Orrange,  Oxalis,  Pansy,  Petunia,  Pink,  Prim- 
rose, Pyrethrum,  Periwinkle,  Rose,  Sanguina- 
ria,  Salvia,  Verbena,  Violet,  Wall  flower. 

Abutilon. — Greek  name  for  mulberry  which 
the  leaves  of  many  species  resemble  in  shape. 
Native  of  New  Holland  and  South  America, 
in  light  sandy  soil.  Fill  pot  a  quarter  full  of 
broken  crockery  or  shreds  for  good  drainage. 
Soil,  two  parts  loam,  one  part  leaf  mould, 
one  part  sand ;  If  too  rich  it  will  grow  too  tall 
for  forming  handsome  side  branches.  Keep 
moderately  moist,  not  very  hot.  It  Is  readily 
increased  by  cuttings  placed  In  a  gentle  heat. 
First  introduced  to  notice  in  1821.  A.  Veno- 
sa — so  called  from  its  deep  red  veins — is  very 
beautiful,  bearing  large  yellow  bells.  A.  Es- 
culentum  is  much  esteemed  In  Brazil ;  at  Rio 
Janeiro  the  inhabitants  dress  and  eat  the  flow- 
ers with  their  food. 

A.  Striatum  Is  nearly  always  In  bloom.  Its 
bells,  of  a  bright  golden  yellow,  hang  on  slen- 
der, graceful  stalks  that  make  a  fine  appearance 
If  well  trained  to  a  stake  or  a  frame. 

Snow  and  sleet  against  the  pane 

Tell  of  winter  cold  .and  dreary; 
But  within  doors,  blithely  reign 

Bloom,  and  summer,  bright  and  cheery; 
Building  up  her  leafy  spire. 
Day  by  day  still  high  and  higher, 
Of  my  flowers  the  fairest  one, 
Grows  my  gay  abutilon. 

Heedless  of  the  frost  and  cold, 
Hanging  out  her  bells  of  amber 


152 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Maech 


Veined  with  scarlet,  tipped  with  gold, 

As  the  boughs  aspiring  clamher. 
Like  a  bright  pagoda  seeming, 
When  the  sunlight  inly  beaming 

On  her  bells  its  rays  hath  thrown, 

Stands  my  fair  abutilon. 

Agapanthus,  or  African  lily. — Name  signi- 
fies lovely  flower.  A.  Umhellatus  frequently 
sends  up  a  flower  stalk  three  feet  liigh.  The 
flower  is  of  a  beautiful  blue  color.  The  plant 
is  easily  cultivated  in  large  pots  ;  in  a  soil  con- 
sisting of  two  parts  loam  and  two  leaf  mould. 
Needs  plenty  of  water.  Must  be  shifted  often 
into  larger  and  larger  pots — generally  in  the 
autumn  before  taking  to  the  cellar.  It  is  gen- 
erally kept  for  an  ornament  of  the  verandah 
during  the  summer.  Take  oiF  offsets  till  the 
flower  bud:;  are  formed ;  the  plant  will  be  very 
large  before  blooming,  so  the  roots  must  have 
a  good  deal  of  room,  and  be  watered  liberally. 
First  introduced  into  Em-ope,  1692.  One  va- 
riety has  white  flowers  and  another  variegated 
foliage. 

Alyssum,  called  sometimes  Madwort. — The 
ancient  Greeks  thought  if  taken  internally  it 
allayed  anger.  A  native  of  Switzerland  and 
the  South  of  Europe.  It  is  well  adapted  to 
edgings  for  beds — is  injured  by  much  wet — but 
also  must  not  be  kept  too  dry ;  is  easily  raised 
from  seed  or  cuttings.  It  needs  a  soil  of  good 
rich  loam.  A  pot  of  this  little  plant  looks 
pretty  mth  pots  of  daisies  and  pansies  during 
the  winter,  and  is  in  much  request  as  a  funeral 
flower. 

Amaryllis,  or  Belladonna  Lily,  takes  its 
name  from  a  nymph  celebrated  by  the  old 
poets.  The  word  means  shining,  resplendent  ; 
which  applies  well  to  the  elegant  orange  scar- 
let flower.  It  should  have  rich  loamy  soil. 
After  it  has  done  blooming  give  it  but  little 
water,  that  the  bulbs  may  harden ;  it  will  then 
be  more  likely  to  produce  flowers  another  sea- 
son. Many  plants  ripen  seed,  which,  dropping 
upon  contiguous  pots  often  furnish  a  number 
of  good  bulbs  ready  for  transplanting  al- 
most before  you  are  aware  of  it.  A  piece  of 
the  outer  coating  of  the  bulb  with  a  leaf  attach- 
ed will  produce  another  bulb. 


Auricula. — This  is  sometimes  called  Eng- 
lish Primrose.  It  is  a  native  of  Switzerland, 
Italy  and  Germany.  It  is  also  found  in  Per- 
sia, of  great  beauty  and  fragrance.  First 
brought  from  Switzerland  to  England  in  1596, 
where  it  has  always  been  held  in  high  esteem ; 
especially  in  the  manufacturing  towns.  The 
weavers  and  mechanics  of  Scotland  and  of 
Lancashire,  Eng.,  cultivate  it  very  extensively ; 
and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  workingman 
who  earns  only  eighteen  to  thirty  shillings  a 
week  to  give  two  guineas  for  a  new  variety. 
It  needs  rich  soil  with  good  drainage. 

Azalea. — The  name  is  derived  from  a  Greek 
word  signifying  dry ;  in  allusion  either  to  the 
places  where  it  is  found,  for  it  loves  an  arid 
soil  or  to  the  bi'ittle  nature  of  its  wood.  It 
thrives  best  in  sandy  fibrous  peat  soil.  The 
pot  must  be  well  drained  with  clinkers,  and 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  overwater  it.  It 
can  be  transplanted  at  any  time,  even  when  in 
bloom,  with  a  ball  of  earth  about  the  roots. 
Young  cuttings  taken  off  close  to  the  plant  will 
root  readily  in  pots  of  sand.  Keep  it  out-of- 
doors  in  the  summer  in  a  shady  place.  When 
it  is  done  blooming  keep  it  Avarm  rnd  well-wa- 
tered, till  the  growth  of  the  new  v.  uod  is  per- 
fected ;  after  that  give  less  -water  ;  but  do  not 
let  the  roots  become  dry,  ff  r  it  will  die  if  the 
moisture  does  not  reach  taem. 

A.  Indica,  bearing  yellow  flowers,  is  the 
most  delicate  ;  this  comes  from  India. 

A.  Bubra  Is  a  native  of  North  America,  bears 
crimson  flowers. 

A.  Alba  comes  from  China  ;  has  double  white 
blossoms. 

Some  of  the  species  have  narcotic  qualities. 
Of  these  is  A.  Pontica,  which  bears  yellow 
flowers.  It  is  a  native  of  Turkey.  The  juice 
in  the  bottom  of  its  flower-cup  is  poisonous, 
and  is  said  to  communicate  this  poison  to  the 
honey  of  Pontus.  It  was  asserted  by  Xeno- 
phon  that  the  honey  gathered  by  the  bees  from 
these  flowers  caused  the  death  of  many  sol- 
diers in  the  famous  retreat  of  the  ten  thousand. 

The  Azalea  is  often  crossed  with  the  Rhodo- 
dendi-on  and  curious  hybrids  ai'C  thus  produced. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGRICULTUEE,  HORTICDTiTXJBE,  KSTD  KHSTDEED  ABTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  April,  1867. 


YOL.  I.— NO.  4. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Row 


MO^-THLY. 


S.  FLETCHER,"  '  i  Editors. 


APEIL,  1867. 

"When  Nature  clothes  the  various  scene 
With  tufts  of  flowers,  and  robes  of  green; 
When  limpid  streams  their  lustres  give, 
And  health  and  glad  contentment  live 
With  lovely  nymphs  and  happy  swains, 
In  humble  cots,  on  tranquil  plains, 
I  bless  her  bounties,  and  I  raise 
My  artless  tueme  to  sounds  of  praise." 

LL    animated    be- 
ings hail  the  re- 
turn   of   Spri7ig 
with     new     de- 
''light ;  man,  with 
his      voice       of 
thanksgiving; 
the    lambs,    the 
calves,  and  even 
the    older   kine, 
escaped  from  the 
restraints  of  winter,  frisk 
and  gambol  in  the  pure 
air,    and    glowing    sun. 
crow,  birds  sing,  and  in- 
sects, on  glad  wings,  hum  away 
^     their  little  life.    To  those,  even, 
""  who  have  passed  well  into  the 

vale  of  years.  Spring  comes  with  new 
inspirations  and  hopes. 

The  vegetable,  as  well  as  the  animal 
kingdom,  is  kindled  into  new  life.  The  earth 
gradually  exchanges  its  winter  robes  for  a  man- 
tle of  green ;  flowers  spring  up  at  our  feet ; 
trees  and  shrubs  put  forth  buds  which  are  soon 


5^^^ 


Si 


Cock« 


expanded  into  blossoms  and  leaves,  so  that  our 
first  feelings  are  those  of  wonder  and  delight 
at  the  marvellous  change. 

This  sudden  burst  of  vegetation  is  produced 
by  the  "increased  temperature  of  the  earth 
and  atmosphere,  assisting  the  natural  ten- 
dency of  the  plants  to  awake  from  the  lethar- 
gic state  into  which  they  are  thrown  during 
winter.  The  progress  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit 
towards  its  greatest  distance  from  the  sun, 
causes  that  luminary  to  ascend  higher  in  the 
heavens,  and  to  be  longer  above  the  horizon, 
ind  thus  produces  longer  and  warmer  davs. 
The  more  perpendicularly  the  sun's  rays  fall 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  greater  is 
the  heat  they  excite.  Hence,  as  the  sun  daily 
ascends  higher  above  the  horizon,  and  conse- 
quently darts  his  rays  upon  us  in  a  more  per- 
pendicular direction,  the  temperature  of  the 
earth  and  air  gradually  increases,  and  milder 
and  more  genial  weather  ensues.  *  *  The 
earth  opens,  as  it  were,  her  bosom  to  the  sun ; 
all  her  veins  feel  the  genial  influence ;  and  a 
vital  energy  moves  and  works  in  all  her  blos- 
soms, buds  and  leaves.  What  was  lately  bar- 
renness, becomes  fertility ;  from  desolation  and 
death  start  up  life  and  varied  beauty,  as  if  be- 
neath the  reviving  footsteps  of  a  present  Deity." 

Heat  is  the  great  external  agent  in  vegeta- 
tion. '  By  it  the  fibrous  and  cellular  substances 
are  gradually  expanded,  so  that  the  sap  as- 
cends from  the  roots  through  the  innumerable 
minute   tubes   and   cells    in   the   trunks   and 


154 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


branches,  and  circulates  through  the  finest 
veins  of  the  leaves  and  flowers.  This  heat  in- 
creases in  intensity  by  degrees,  and  if  it  be- 
comes too  great,  is  occasionally  checked  by 
atmospheric  changes.  When  these  occur,  the 
buds  seem  to  possess  a  wonderful  power,  (the 
natural  law,  we  suppose,  of  expansion  and 
contraction,)  of  shrinking  into  one-half  their 
former  size,  with  their  scales  or  covers  so  com- 
pletely closed  around  them,  as  to  exclude  the 
external  air.  Sometimes,  however,  the  cold  is 
so  great  as  to  condense  the  vapor  into  frost, 
and  tender  plants  are  ruined.  When  once  a 
plant  has  put  forth  its  foliage,  and  its  vital  ac- 
tion is  in  play,  it  will  bear  a  temperature  lower 
than  that  in  which  it  first  started. 

There  is,  also,  something  well  worthy  of 
thought,  and  extremely  interesting,  in  the 
adaptation  of  plants  to  the  climate.  A  very 
large  proportion  of  the  seeds  which  we  sow, 
are  committed  to  the  ground  in  the  spring. 
In  their  process  of  germination  two  things  are 
indispensable — warmth  and  moisture  ;  these 
must  be  moderate  and  constant.  July  suns 
would  excite  such  a  degree  of  evaporation  as 
to  abstract  nearly  all  the  moisture  from  the  soil, 
and  a  drenching  summer  shower  would  be  likely 
to  wash  seeds  from  their  places  or  drown  them 
out.  But  the  frequent,  "soft-falling  showers" 
of  April  and  May  are  calculated  to  aiford  all 
the  moisture  that  the  germinating  seed  needs, 
while  the  gradually  increasing  heat  keeps  the 
soil  just  in  that  state  of  warmth  best  calcu- 
lated to  send  upward  the  young  and  tender 
germ. 

In  June,  the  sun  is  more  vertical,  and  the 
heat  much  greater,  but  the  plants  have  now 
laid  strong  hold  of  the  soil,  by  sending  their 
roots  below,  where  the  warm  and  moist  air 
penetrates,  and  where  evaporation  has  but  lit- 
tle action.  Having  now  this  supply  of  mois- 
ture for  the  numerous  feeders  they  have  sent 
out,  the  influence  of  the  sun's  rays  are  benefi- 
cial and  greatly  promote  the  growth  of  the 
plants. 

The  "analogy,  therefore,  between  the  vege- 
tative effects  of  the  daily  increasing  tempera- 
ture of  this  season,  and  the  well-known  in- 
fluence of  climate  upon  the  geograpliical  dis- 
tribution of  plants,"  is  very  striking.  See, 
from  the  first  dawn  of  spring,  how  (lower  suc- 
ceeds flower,  and  tree  after  tree  comes  into 
leaf  in  regular  succession.     The  reatler  will 


observe  that  this  adaptation  continues  from  the 
frozen  region  of  the  polar  circle  to  the  equa- 
tor, giving  us  all  the  vegetable  forms  from  the 
lichens  of  Lapland  to  the  spice  trees  of  the 
tropics.  In  the  frozen  regions  of  the  north, 
the  reindeer  feeds  upon  the  apparently  dry  and 
unnutritious  mosses  that  cling  to  the  rocks, — 
while  "within  the  torrid  zone,  maize  and  rice 
begin  to  be  cultivated.  As  we  approach  the 
equator,  the  vegetable  productions  of  the  earth 
increase  in  richness  and  luxuriance.  In  the 
tropical  region,  we  meet  with  the  finest  fruits 
and  aromatics,  and  all  the  plants  that  most  ad- 
minister to  the  luxury  of  man.  There  flourish 
the  sugar  cane,  the  coffiee  tree,  the  bread  tree, 
the  palm,  the  date,  the  cocoa,  cinnamon,  nut- 
meg, pepper,  camphor  tree,  and  numerous 
other  vegetable  treasures." 

It  is  from  these  facts  that  the  farmer  may 
draw  the  most  important  inferences,  viz  :  that 
he  must  commit  his  seeds  to  the  soil,  when 
their  germination  and  growth  will  receive  the 
most  influence  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  sea- 
son to  Avhich  they  are  adapted  ;  that  unless  so 
committed  they  will  not  be  in  a  condition  to 
receive  the  greatest  benefits  from  the  succeed- 
ing seasons  of  growth  and  ripening ;  that  is, 
delay  in  preparation  of  the  soil,  and  sowing  at 
the  right  time,  will  be  delay  throughout  the 
growing  and  ripening  period. 


FARM  WORK  nST  APRIL. 
The  best  way  for  farmers  to  conduct  their 
affairs  is,  so  as  to  have  no  regrets.  Carpen- 
ters, lawyers,  shoemakers,  manufacturers,  &c., 
can  perform  their  work  at  almost  any  time,  and 
sometimes  get  along  very  well  in  a  slip-slop 
way ;  but  the  farmer  cannot.  The  Lord  of 
the  seasons  has  confined  him  to  the  observance 
of  natural  laws,  and  he  must  regard  them,  or 
all  will  be  barren  about  him.  If  he  will  have 
a  harvest,  he  must  have  an  appropriate  seed- 
time, or  he  shall  not  reap. 

Some  farmers  have  been  living  upon  regrets 
(and  other  things)  for  the  last  forty  years. 
Every  spring  regretting  that  they  did  not  set 
an  orchard  twenty  years  ago,  lay  out  a  garden 
and  plant  pear  trees,  set  currant  bushes,  rasp- 
berries, establish  an  asparagus  bed,  and  intro- 
duce a  few  choice  flowers,  where  a  wife  or 
daughter — now  saints  in  heaven — urged  it  many 
years  ago ! 

"How  sorry  I  am,"  said  farmer  A.,  that  I 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


155 


did  not  set  twenty  or  thirty  pear  trees,  in  the 
month  of  I\lay,  when  George  was  born.  My 
land  is  suitable,  and  had  I  set  them  then,  we 
might  have  a  variety  and  abundance  of  pears. 
Now  we  have  none."  So  hundreds  annually 
say  of  the  garden,  of  vegetables,  fruits  and 
flowers.     Delays  are  dangerous. 

Such  is  frequently  the  case  with  regard  to 
stock,  horses,  oxen,  cows  and  sheep.  The 
farmer  finds  his  old,  faithful  horse  away  be- 
yond his  "teens,"  and  his  cows  with  failing 
teeth  ;  and  yet  there  are  no  colts  or  calves  to 
supply  their  places. 

Now  is  the  "time  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf," 
and  have  something  coming  on  to  supply  the 
family  with  vegetables  and  fruits,  and  fill  the 
barn  witii  farm  stock. 

All  the  plans  for  sowing  and  planting,  set- 
ting trees,  shrubs,  plants  lor  small  fruits,  and 
for  completing  arrangements  for  all  the  spring 
work  should  be  completed  early  in  April. 
When  this  is  done,  the  fanner  has  a  definite 
object  before  him ;  has  no  doubts  about  this 
thing  or  that,  but  is  able  to  go  directly  ahead 
in  all  the  various  duties  before  him.  Why  is 
not  this  as  important  to  his  business  as  it  is 
important  in  most  other  engagements  ?  If  he 
tries  the  plan  he  will  find  that  it  is. 

Go  on  with  plowing  as  fast  as  the  soil  is 
sufficiently  dry  to  drop  to  pieces  when  moved. 

Add  something  to  the  extent  of  ditches,  as 
opportunity  offers. 

Scatter  droppings  of  the  cattle  on  mowing 
fields. 

Get  wood  under  cover  before  the  month 
closes. 

See  that  all  the  seeds  wanted  are  on  hand, 
and  of  good  (juality. 

Overhaul  manures  and  get  them  ready  for 
use.  The  finer  they  are,  the  more  useful  they 
will  be  the  present  year. 

Attend  to  the  setting  of  the  hens.  Let  them 
have  three  inches  in  thickness  of  earth  to  place 
their  eggs  upon.  See  that  vermin  do  not  annoy 
them . 

These  are  a  few  things  which  April  demands 
should  be  done  in  Api-il.  Do  them  season- 
ably and  well,  and  they  will  make  liberal  re- 
turns. 


— The  New  Orleans  papers  announce  the  arrival 
there  of  one  of  Fowler's  English  Steam  Plows. 
Its  trial  on  the  fair  grounds,  near  the  citj^  was  wit- 
nessed by  a  large  company  of  planters  and  others. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"GKAPE   FEVER."— No.   II. 

Partial  failures  have  led  some  persons  to 
speak  of  the  excitement  alluded  to  in  my  last, 
as  "grape  fever;"  and  some  others  have  used 
the  same  words  intending  thereby  to  warn  and 
discourage  persons  who  have  shown  an  interest 
in  the  discu-^sion  of  the  subject,  and  who  have 
seriously  made  up  their  niincls  to  cultivate 
grapes.  In  my  last  I  intended  in  a  somewhat 
humorous  way  to  suggest  some  of  the  causes 
of  fivilure,  and  I  did  seriously  mean  the  whole 
to  be  a  warning  to  those  who  are  liable  to  be 
humbugged  by  unscrupulous  dealers  in  vines. 
If  any  reader  of  those  remarks  should  think 
me  too  severe,  or  in  the  following  too  self-con- 
fident, I  can  only  say  that  if  they  will  call  upon 
me  at  my  home,  I  will  give  them  all  the  evi- 
dence usually  expected  in  such  cases,  that  such 
has  been  the  experience  of  myself  and  of  some 
of  ray  neighbors. 

I  now  return  to  the  question,  "Willit  pay 
to  grow  grapes  in  New  England?" 

The  varieties  called  Anna,  To-Kalon  and 
Catawba  I  have  never  seen  ripe  in  the  open 
air  in  Massachusetts.  I  have  seen  Catawba 
colored,  but  not  ripe  in  the  sense  that  makes 
it  fit  for  eating.  Diana,  Isabella  and  most  of 
the  seedlings  from  these,  and  from  Catawba, 
are  too  uncertain  in  ripening  their  fruit  to  be 
fit  for  general  cultivation.  All  these  varieties 
are  excellent  when  fully  ripe,  but  they  can  be 
seen  in  that  condition,  in  this  State,  only  in 
sheltered  places  and  favorable  seasons.  There 
are  other  varieties  which  can  be  cultivated  for 
the  market,  that  will  average,  in  a  series  of 
years,  double  the  amount  of  profit. 

Roger's  Hybrids,  Nos.  3,  4,  15,  19  and  83, 
are  all  strong  and  healthy  growers,  their  fniit 
is  beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  vei'y  good  as 
table  grapes.  It  is  said  by  some  that  they  will 
not  bear  our  winters  in  this  State  unless  they 
are  carefully  covered.  I  have  not  proved 
them,  except  in  one  instance.  I  purposely 
left  seven  each  of  Nos.  15  and  19  quite  ex- 
posed to  all  winds  but  the  west,  without  any 
covering  or  shelter  during  the  winter  of  1865 
and  1866,  and  they  all  lived  and  did  as  well 
the  following  season  as  any  plants  in  my  col- 
lection. I  have  some  exposed  this  winter.  I 
do  not  think  it  best  to  say  more  about  these, 
as  I  have  not  cultivated  them  under  all  those 
conditions  I  think  they  should  be,  to  prove 
them  reliable  as  a  market  grape. 

Allen's  Hybrid  and  Sweet  Water,  are  both 
good  white  grapes,  the  former  the  best  in  vine 
and  fruit,  and  the  very  best  white  grape  we 
have  at  present,  in  this  State.  It  is,  however, 
about  certain  to  winter-kill  if  left  uncovered. 

Adirondac,  Creveling,  lona,  Israella,  and 
Rebecca,  in  soil  and  location  to  suit  them,  are 
all  good  grapes.  lona,  the  best  of  grapes  in 
the  open  air  in  this  country,  where  they  can 
be  fully  ripened.  I  have  seen  it  in  that  con- 
dition in  this  State  but  once — I  fear  I  never 


156 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


shall  again,  except  in  unusually  dry  seasons. 
Of  Israella  and  Rebecca  I  must  say  the  same 
I  have  of  lona,  except  that  they  are  not  so 
strong  in  vine.  Here,  Creveling  is  a  strong 
grower,  the  frnit  sweet,  and  is  ripe  early  in 
the  season.  Adirondac  is  a  vigorous,  hand- 
some and  promising  variety — the  fruit  of  which, 
though  not  considered  as  good  as  lona  and 
Delaware,  is  very  sweet  and  melting.  It  is  a 
new  variety,  and,  although  it  originated  in 
about  44°  North  latitude,  some  speak  of  it  as 
not  being  very  hardy.  I  have  had  it  above 
ground  but  once  during  the  winter,  when  all 
the  wood  died  down  to  the  ground  ;  the  wood 
that  was  covered  lived  and  grew  well. 

With  the  experience  we  have  had  up  to  the 
close  of  last  season,  it  would  seem  to  be  un- 
wise to  plant  a  vineyard  of  either  of  the  fore- 
mentioned  varieties,  if  the  cultivatoi-'s  object 
is  prnjit  realized  in  growing  them  for  mai'ket. 
No  doubt  all  these  varieties  are  cultivated  with 
much  satisfaction  by  persons  of  taste  and  ex- 
perience, and  in  many  cases  the  fruit  is  worth 
double  the  cost  of  raising  it ;  yet,  with  each 
variety,  as  with  the  Delaware,  there  is  some 
one  defect,  or  some  one  condition  of  soil,  or 
location,  or  season,  or  some  habit  of  the  vine 
which  is  sufficient  to  disqualify  it  for  general 
culture  in  our  climate,  especially  if  the  owner 
has  not  had  long  and  careful  experience  in  their 
culture. 

There  are  two  varieties  of  grapes  that  re- 
quire no  more  experience  to  grow  them  suc- 
cessfully and  pi-ofitably  In  our  State  than  is 
required  to  gain  the  same  object  in  growing 
the  most  easily  raised  vegetable,  as  both  vari- 
eties are  natives  of  New  England,  will  do  well 
on  the  poorest  soils,  will  not  winter-kill,  and 
require  no  more  experience  in  training  the 
vines,  &c.,  than  can  be  gained  by  any  intelli- 
gent man  by  observing  for  one  season  the  fol- 
lowing rules :  — 

Get  plants  from  wood  grown  north,  of  no 
other  variety  than  Hartford  Prolific  or  Con- 
cord— the  last  is  the  best  grape,  and  will  bring 
the  greatest  price  in  the  market.  Plant  only 
those  vines  that  are  strong  in  growth,  hard  in 
wood  and  having  plump-looking  buds.  The 
soil  should  be  high,  and  free  from  stagnant 
water.  In  such  case,  most  soils  are  suited  to 
those  varieties  ;  but  those  having  lime  or  gran- 
ite in  them  produce  the  best  grapes.  Plant 
the  vines,  for  trellis,  one  to  every  six  feet;  the 
rows  from  six  to  eight  feet  apart ;  six  is  suffi- 
cient for  the  vines,  eight  gives  more  room  to 
cultivate,  and  where  land  is  jilenty,  is  the  best 
distance.  For  poles,  plant  the  vines  four  feet 
apart,  and  the  rows  should  be  six  feet.  Start 
the  vines  with  good  rotten  manure  or  compost, 
or  wood  ashes,  and  afterward  regulate  their 
growth  tjy  the  use  of  these;  use  wood  ashes  if 
you  can  obtain  them.  Never  stimulate  the 
growth  to  more  than  eight  inches  between  the 
buds,  or  the  wood  will  lie  spongy,  and  the  crop 
of  fruit  the  hsss  for  it  on  any  given  space. 
In  November,  cut  back  all  wood  but  that 


which  is  needed  for  forming  the  twist  around 
the  post  or  the  arms  on  the  trellis,  until  the 
vine  is  three  years  old ;  after  that  cut  back 
each  year's  growth  to  one  inch  above  the  sec- 
ond bud. 

The  first  year  of  bearing,  allow  but  from  two 
to  six  bunches  to  remain ;  weigh  these  and 
make  a  note  of  the  same,  so  that  next  year  you 
may  be  able  to  guess  at  the  weight  by  seeing 
the  bunches,  and  then  allow  from  six  to  ten 
pounds  to  the  vine,  and  so  on,  ac^-ording  to 
age  and  sti-ength,  until  your  posts  or  trellises 
will  bear  no  more  wood  for  want  of  space.  In 
this  way  you  will  avoid  losing  your  vines  from 
the  chief  cause  of  the  destruction  of  healthy 
vineyards  ;  namely,  overbearing. 

Now,  if  any  man  will  plant  Hartford  Prolific 
and  Concord  grape  vines,  and  cultivate  them 
by  the  rules  I  have  given,  he  will  make  more 
money,  if  they  bring  six  cents  per  pound,  in- 
stead of  sixteen,  as  they  now  sell  for,  than  he 
can  make  by  any  farm  crop  he  can  raise  on  the 
same  land. 

If  any  person  can  prove  the  contrary  of 
what  I  have  stated,  as  a  favor  to  myself,  and 
in  justice  to  many  who  think  as  I  do,  will  they 
be  so  kind  as  to  do  so  ? 

If  what  I  have  stated  cannot  be  disproved, 
then  to  grow  grapes  is  very  profitable,  and 
whoever  is  affected  by  such  a  '  'grape  fever" 
wiU  have  no  cause  to  regret  it. 

John  Fleming. 

SJierborn,  Mass.,  Feb.  23,  1867. 


Beet  Sugar — The  New  York  Tribune  gives 
an  encouraging  statement  of  the  success  of  the 
Beet  Sugar  Company,  at  Chatsworth,  Illinois, 
They  planted  400  acres,  mostly  fresh  prairie, 
and  raised  a  crop  of  4,000  twns  of  fine  beets, 
at  a  cost  of  $4  a  tun  in  the  pits.  The  delays 
consequent  on  starting  the  machinery  of  a  new 
factory  has  afforded  time  to  test  the  keeping 
qualities  of  the  beet,  and  it  appears  that  only 
one  per  cent,  was  lost  by  four  months  delay. 
The  works  are  now  in  operation,  and  upon  a 
trial  of  various  parts  of  the  crop  the  average 
yield  of  fiiir  refining  sugar  is  7  1-2  per  cent., 
and  of  refined,  equal  to  New  York  "B,"  5  1-2 
per  cent.  When  all  the  beets  are  worked  up, 
the  yield  must  reach  nearly  400,000  pounds  of 
refined  sugar.  It  is  claimed  that  this  experi- 
ment shows  that  beets  can  be  grown  on  the  raw 
but  rich  soil  of  the  West  as  well  as  on  the 
highly  fertilized  soils  of  Belgium  and  France; 
that  the  jield  of  sugar  is  almost  precisely  the 
same,  anil  that  the  beets  can  be  kept  till  they 
can  be  used. 

—According  to  Mr.  Lawes'  estimate  the  manure 
from  a  ton  of  wheat  straw  is  worth  .^2.G8,  while 
that  from  a  ton  of  clover  is  worth  $0.04. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


157 


COLUMBIAN    GAGE   PLUM. 


This  fruit  was  originated  by  Mr.  L.  U.  Law- 
rence, of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  from  seed  of  the 
Green  Gage.  It  ranks  as  the  best  of  the  large, 
dark  colored  varieties  of  the  plum.  Down- 
ing, who  is  the  best  authority  in  regard  to 
fruit  originated  in  New  York,  says  of  it : — 
"The  tree  is  remarkable  for  its  very  strong, 
blunt  shoots,  large,  roundish  leaves,  and  the 
spreading,  horizontal  form  of  its  head.  It  is 
also  highly  productive.  Branches  and  upper 
sides  of  the  leaves  downy.  Fruit  of  the  largest 
size,  six  or  seven  inches  in  circumference, 
nearly  globular,  one-half  rather  larger  than 
the  other.  Skin  brownish  purple,  dotted  with 
numerous  fawn-colored  specks,  and  covered 
with  much  blue  bloom,  through  which  appears 
a  reddish  brown  tint,  on  the  shaded  side. 
Stalk  about  an  inch  long,  rather  stout,  in- 
serted in  a  rather  small  cavity.  Flesh  orange, 
not  very  juicy,  but  when  at  full  maturity,  very 
rich,  sugary  and  excellent.  The  flesh  sepa- 
rates freely  from  the  stone,  which  is  small  and 
compressed."  Ripens  in  New  England  early 
in  September. 


Our  engraving  is  an  accurate  copy  of  a  spe- 
cimen of  the  plum,  gathered  by  us  from  a  tree 
in  the  garden  of  Mr.  Henry  Vandine,  at  Cam- 
bridgeport. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WHEAT  CULTURE. 
The  high  price  of  flour  and  its  excellence  as 
an  article  of  food,  bread  being  the  stafl'of  life, 
should  stimulate  every  farmer  to  its  cultivation. 
In  some  portions  of  New  England,  there  is 
considerable  prejudice  in  regard  to  the  culti- 
vation of  wheat.  INIany,  having  tried  once  or 
perhaps  twice  and  having  failed,  declare  that 
it  cannot  be  raised,  or  at  least,  successfully. 
I,  however,  believe  that  wheat  can  be  profit- 
ably cultivated  by  most  farmers  in  New  Eng- 
land, although  it  needs  some  experience  in 
order  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  wheat  as  well  as 
any  other  crop.  In  saying  this  I  do  not  wish 
to  be  understood  that  wheat  can  be  grown  on 
every  kind  of  soil,  for  it  cannot.  Still  I  do 
believe  that  most  of  us  can  and  ought  to  pro- 
duce our  own  flour.  Wheat  ought  to  be  raised, 
not  only  for  its  excellence  as  an  article  of  food, 
but  when  successfully  cultivated,  it  is  a  very 
profitable  crop,  uiore  so  than  any  other  grain 
crop.     Moreover,  it  exhausts  the  laud  less  than 


158 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Apkh, 


either  oats  or  barley,  and  grass  seed  sown  with 
it  is  much  more  apt  to  germinate  and  grow 
than  with  either  of  the  above  named  grains. 

Having  had  considerable  experience  and 
good  success  in  raising  wheat  and  other  crops, 
perhaps  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  relate  some  of 
it,  for  the  benefit  of  my  brother  farmers  ;  not 
that  I  feel  myself  master,  but  just  a  beginner. 
Agriculture  is  the  greatest  of  all  sciences,  and 
as  all  sciences  are  developed  from  small  begin- 
nings, why  may  I  not  add  my  mite  ?  The  sea- 
sons, of  course,  have  a  great  deal  to  do  in  the 
raising  of  all  crops,  but  still,  in  order  to  raise 
good  crops,  man  has  a  certain  duty  to  perform, 
and  if  we  expect  to  succeed  and  thrive,  it  be- 
hooves us  to  find  out  what  that  duty  is.  I  sel- 
dom fail  to  raise  a  good  crop  of  wheat,  as  I 
hardly  ever  realize  less  than  twenty,  and  have 
raised  as  many  as  thirty-five  bushels  to  the 
acre.  Last  year  I  raised  on  two  and  a  half 
acres,  and  from  four  and  a  half  bushels  sowing, 
seventy-five  and  a  half  bushels  by  Aveight.  I 
generally  sow  after  a  potato  crop,  and  my 
mode  of  proi-edure  is  as  follows  :  When  I  first 
break  up  a  i)iece  of  land  I  almost  invariably 
plant  corn,  manuring  only  in  the  hill,  applying 
ashes,  &c.  The  second  year  I  manure  heavily 
by  spreading  on,  and  plant  with  potatoes,  put- 
ting no  manure  in  the  hill,  but  using  some 
plaster,  and  I  have  had  but  two  poor  crops  in 
eleven  years,  and  some  seasons  have  raised  as 
many  as  four  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre. 
My  land  has  now  been  planted  two  years  and 
has  produced  t^vo  good  crops.  By  ploughing, 
and  by  hoeing  and  digging  the  potatoes,  the 
manure  that  was  spread  has  been  thoroughly 
pulverized  and  mixed  with  mother  earth,  in- 
stead of  being  left  in  coarse  lumps  to  dry  and 
evaporate  as  in  the  old  practice.  My  land  has 
been  enriched  and  equalized  and  is  in  good 
condition,  not  only  to  produce  straw,  but  also 
that  precious  berry  that  we  have  been  laboring 
for. 

If  you  have  manured  heavily,  plough  deep 
and  sow  early,  and  don't  be  afraid  to  get  the 
grain  in  too  deep.  Keep  off  your  old-fash- 
ioned iron-tooth  harrow,  for  it  does  not  work 
the  grain  in  far  enough,  and  the  more  you 
han'ow  your  land  with  it  the  harder  it  becomes. 
Get  a  good  cultivator  harrow — they  work  like 
a  charm — l(>ave  the  ground  light,  and  get  the 
grain  in  as  it  should  be.  I  sow  spring  wheat 
of  the  French  T  variety.     Yours  truly, 

Isaac  W.  Hutciiins. 

Templeton,  Mass.,  Feb.  22,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  are  proud  in  being  the  "or- 
gan'" of  th(!  practical  experience  of  such  far- 
mers as  Mr.  Iliitchins. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   CUTiTIVATION    OF   HOPS, 

Mr.  Ei)iTf)U: — TIk^  present  comparatively 
high  pi'icc  of  liops  is  awakening  an  interest  in 
their  cultivation.     They  were  formerly  ciJti- 


vated  quite  extensively  in  Eastern  Massachu- 
setts. The  reasons  which  led  our  farmers  to 
cease  to  cultivate  them,  were  chiefly  the  three 
following:  1st,  the  lluctuating  price.  This 
ranged  from  8  to  10  cents  to  40  or  50  cents. 
When  the  price  was  high,  they  would  set  new 
yards.  When  it  fell  below  13  or  14  cents, 
they  would  plow  them  up.  Fifty  years  ago  it 
was  thouglit  that  12^  cents  would  pay  for  their 
cultiviition.  Then  poles  were  worth  §7  per 
hundred,  and  labor  75  cents  per  day.  The 
second  reason  was  the  scarcity  and  high  price  of 
poles.  They  gradually  rose  to  ten,  twelve 
and  even  fifteen  dollars  per  hundred.  This 
decided  many  to  (juit  the  business.  The  third 
reason  was  that  they  required  much  manure, 
and  returned  nothing  to  the  soil.  If  they  cul- 
tivated a  large  field  of  hops  they  had  nothing 
with  which  to  raise  corn  and  grass,  and  in  a 
few  years  they  were  able  to  keep  but  small 
stocks  of  cattle,  and  of  course  had  but  little 
manure,  even  for  the  hops.  I  do  not  propose 
at  this  time  to  discuss  the  projiriety  of  farmers 
engaging  again  in  hop  culture.  1  have  some 
pleasant  recollections  of  the  old-time  hop-pick- 
ings, when  we  used  to  eat  the  luscious  water- 
melons and  roasted  corn  in  the  evenings  at  the 
hop-kilns,  and  when  the  buxom  daughters  of 
the  fiirmers,  with  their  gloves  and  sun-bonnets 
stood  at  the  bins  day  after  day  through  the 
hop  harvest,  and  when  the  bag,  Mith  a  hoop  at 
the  mouth  was  suspended  luider  the  trap  tloor 
in  the  slatted  floor  of  the  kiln,  and  the  dried 
hops  were  pushed  into  it  with  a  rake,  and  the 
smallest  boy  jum^jed  into  the  bag  to  tread 
them  down,  and  had  to  tread  for  dear  life  to 
keep  on  the  top  of  them,  and  prevent  being 
smothered  by  them.  They  were  pleasant  days, 
which  will  never  come  again  to  me  at  least. 
I  write  now  to  send  you  a  short  article  from 
the  Prairie  Farmer,  entitled  "Horizontal  Hop 
Yards,"  which  is  the  invention  of  a  Mr.  Col- 
lins, and  is  patented.  By  the  old  method,  two 
poles  per  hill  are  generally  used,  costing  very 
heavily. 

By  this  inetliod,  only  one  stake  per  liill  is  neces- 
sary, and  this  only  sufficiently  higfi  to  admit  of  tlie 
passage  of  men  and  horses  under  the  twine,  to  cui- 
tivate,  etc.  The  stakes  arc  set  about  one  fuot  in 
the  ground.  In  order  that  the  stakes  may  be  more 
dural)lc,  they  are  generally  coated  with  gas  tar; 
tarred  hemp  twine  is  also  used.  In  a  little  publi- 
cation on  Hop  Culture,  issued  by  Orange  Judd  & 
Co.,  the  following  comparison  between  the  expense 
of  establishing  a  yard  by  the  old  and  the  new 
modes,  is  made : — 

Cost  of  yai'd  witli  long  poles,  1400  poles  at  20c, 
P80;  sharpening,  $(10;  setting,  $7.  Total  cost, 
(not  counting  handling,)  aftor  setting  vines,  $'297. 

With  stakes:  7-Jl)  feet  lumber  for  stakes,  iail.5  to 
$20;  gas  tarring  stakes,  )S'2 ;  'io  llts.  twine  at  30c, 
$7 .-TO;  setting  stakes,  $1;  putting  on  twine,  50c; 
riirht  per  aero,  $10.  Total  cost  after  setting  vines, 
.^;>r,. 

The  stakes  are  generally  made  1  1-4  inches 
square,  though  of  ctJursc  the  size  may  l)e  varied. 
The  stakes  for  the  male  vines  are  made  longer,  say 
18  feet,  and  are  not  attached  to  the  other  stakes  l)y 
the  twine,  as  they  arc  atl'eetcd  more  by  the  wind, 
and  would  bo  liable  to  break  the  twiue.    The  ob- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


159 


ject  of  letting  the  male  vines  run  higlicr,  is  that  the 
pollen  may  be  distributed  over  the  yard.  The 
twine  is  tied  to  the  outer  stakes  only,  and  is  wound 
once  about  the  others. 

In  the  above  extract,  a  method  is  described 
by  which  a  large  part  of  the  cost  of  poles  may 
be  saved,  Avhich,  if  found  to  work  well,  will  do 
away  with  one  of  the  most  serious  difficulties 
in  the  business.     Yours,  &c.  J.  R. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Feb.,  18G7. 


CRANBERRY  CUTiTURE. 
The  following  observations  by  Nathan 
Briggs,  in  the  Barnstable  Patriot,  will  be 
found  to  answer  most  of  the  inquiries  which 
have  recently  been  made  of  us  in  regard  to  the 
cultivation  of  this  fruit. 

The  Choice  of  Location. — First,  cranberries 
will  grow  on  high,  moist  land,  and  sometimes 
produce  well,  but  their  proper  place  is  low  and 
springy,  or  wet  land.  The  best  place,  however, 
is  a  peat-bog  and  swamp  muck. 

Preparation  of  the  Ground. — First,  make 
the  surface  of  your  ground  as  even  as  possible, 
and  nearly  level,  with  a  slight  inclination  to- 
wards a  drain,  if  you  have  one,  in  order  that 
it  may  be  easily  Howed,  and  no  p;  nds  remain 
after  drawing  off  the  water.  This  may  be  done 
with  any  material.  There  should  then  be  put 
on  this  level  surfiice,  about  four  inches  in  thick- 
ness of  swamp  muck  or  peat,  which  should  be 
again  covered  with  about  three  inches  in  depth 
of  loose  sand,  free  from  grass  or  its  fibres,  and 
also  from  clay  or  stones.  It  is  not  important 
what  the  color  or  quality  of  the  sand,  if  it  be 
not  adhesive,  and  is  free  from  roots  and  grass. 
Clay  is  not  good. 

I'ime  of  Planting. — From  the  first  of  April 
to  the  middle  of  June — on  wet  ground,  con- 
tinuing through  the  summer  to  plant,  if  con- 
venient, and  as  it  is  wished.  In  dry  land  those 
planted  in  summer  sometimes  fail  on  account 
of  drought  and  heat.  Those  set  late,  lose  a 
year's  growth,  and  may  as  well  be  set  in  spring, 
if  the  land  be  not  too  wet. 

Manner  of  Planting. — The  form  of  plant- 
ing which  has  resulted  in  the  most  rapid  ad- 
vancement of  growth  and  production,  is  to 
scatter  whole  vines  upon  a  mud  or  peat  surface  ; 
then  press  them  into  the  mud  with  your  foot, 
and  scatter  over  them  light  sand,  about  one 
inch  in  depth.  Patches  planted  in  this  manner 
seem  to  be  a  year  ahead  of  those  planted  in 
the  ordinary  way.  The  general  plan,  however, 
is  to  set  them  in  hills  at  eighteen  inches  apart. 
Take  a  pointed  stick,  say  lour  inches  in  thick- 
ness, through  which  at  eight  inches  from  the 
point  insert  a  gauge  rod  eighteen  inches  long, 
which  serves  to  govern  the  distance  from  one 
hill  to  another.  With  this  pointed  stick  punc- 
ture the  ground  In  imifbrm  rows,  insert  into 
these  holes  a  small  handful  of  vines,  and  press 
the  mud  around  and  among  them,  spreading 
them  about  as  much  as  need  be. 


Quality  of  Vines. — Vines  should  be  pro- 
cured from  meadows  which  have  borne  well, 
and  of  good  fruit,  as  the  best  way  of  knowing 
good  bearers.  There  are  several  species,  such 
as  egg-shaped,  bell-shaped,  and  cherry-shaped. 
The  Ibrmer  are  most  approved,  and  are  said 
to  be  four  or  five  weeks  earlier. 

Cultivation. — The  cranberry  needs  little  cul- 
tivation. Having  your  land  properly  prepared 
as  before  stated,  and  properly  ditched,  and 
clear  of  roots  and  grass,  it  may  require  the  first 
year  a  little  hoeing  among  the  vines.  After 
the  first  year,  it  would  be  likely  to  do  as  much 
injury  as  benefit,  by  disturbing  the  young  fibres, 
which  are  now  thickly  set.  It  is  better  after 
this,  to  pluck  the  Aveeds  by  hand,  put  them  in 
a  basket,  and  carry  them  otf.  After  the  second 
year,  let  them  alone.  The  third  year  you  will 
get  a  fair  crop,  the  fourth  will  j)!  obably  be  the 
best.  It  is  not  yet  ascertained  how  many  years 
they  may  do  well.  Fair  bearing  is  considered 
one  bushel  to  a  rod  ;  there  have  been  instances 
of  one  barrel  to  the  rod.  Rushes,  and  bunches 
of  weeds  and  grass  may  at  any  time  be  cut  out. 

Flowing. — Flowing  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary. More  than  half  the  meadows  which  I 
saw  were  not  ilowable.  If  llowable,  the  water 
may  remain  on  all  winter,  and  let  oil"  in  March, 
It  should  be  let  on  about  the  20th  to  2oth  of 
May,  and  again  the  1st  of  June,  for  not  exceed- 
ing thirty-six  hours  ;  after  this  it  is  not  needful. 
Blossoms  are  injured  by  the  water  remaining 
on  too  long,  the  object  of  which  is  to  destroy 
the  insects.  After  the  second  llowing  there  is 
little  to  fear  from  them.  The  grade  of  the 
land  and  the  ditching  should  be  so  arranged  as 
to  easily  Hood  or  clear  the  surface,  and  the 
sides  of  your  drains  should  slope  to  an  angle 
of  foi-ty-five  degrees  or  more,  in  order  to  their 
permanence  and  utility  ;  the  number,  arrange- 
ment and  size  being  directed  by  good  judgment. 


The  Cental  System. — After  the  first  of 
March,  the  Boards  of  Trade  of  the  large  grain 
marts  of  the  country  have  agreed  to  buy  and 
sell  grain  by  the  100  lbs.  The  Bural  Neto 
Yorker  gives  the  following  rule  by  Avhich  buyer 
and  seller  can  make  their  own  calculations  : — 

The  standard  weight  of  wheat  per  bushel  is 
60  lbs. ;  Corn  and  Rye,  56  lbs.  ;  Barley,  48 
lbs.  ;  Oats,  32  lbs.  The  price  per  bushel  be- 
ing given,  to  find  the  price  per  cental  multiply 
the  price  per  bushel  by  100  and  divide  by  the 
number  of  pounds  in  the  bushel.  For  in- 
stance : — At  $1.50  per  bushel  for  wheat,  what 
is  the  price  per  cental? — loOX  100:=lo,000-f- 
G0^$2.50,  which  is  the  price  per  cental. 
Again :  The  price  per  cental  being  given,  to 
find  the  price  per  bushel  nudtiply  the  price  per 
cental  by  the  number  of  pounds  in  the  Inishel 
and  divide  by  100.  Example  :  At  $2.50  per 
cental,  what  is  the  price  per  bushel  of  GO  lbs.  ? 
— 250X60=15,000-^100z=$1.50,  the  price 
per  bushel. 


160 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HOT    BEDS. 
While   to  the  professional,  or  market  gar- 
dener  the  hot  bed  is  an  essential  adjunct,   to 
the  family   garden  it  is  a  very  convenient  ap- 
pendage ;  enabling  one  to  produce  the  choice 
products  of   the  garden  several  weeks  earlier 
than  they  can  be  had  otherwise.     Many  are 
deterred  from  constructing  a  hot  bed  from  an 
erroneous  impression  that  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense   are  greater  than  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  therefrom.     Necessarily  the  expense 
may  not  be  very  large,  as  a  cheaply  constructed 
frame  and  sash"  may  be  made  to  answer  a  very 
eood  purpose  ;  but  a  well-constructed  frame,  j 
End  good  glazed  sash,  If  properly  taken  care 
of    are  the  cheapest,  as  they  will  last  quit^  a 
number  of  years,  and  the  outlay  of  a  few  do  - 
lars  to  start  with  will  enable  one  to  have  all 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  good  hot 
bed.     One  other  objection  is  often  urged--tiie 
amount  of  manure  needed  for  the  bed.      I  his 
need  be  no  objection,  for  the  manure  may  be 
taken  for  other  purposes  after  being  used  in  the 
bed,  and  being  well  decomposed  is  admirably 
fitted  for  later  crops.  •  Frames  constructed  ol 
crood  plank,  and,  as  often  recommended,  with 
fron  liops  on  the  ends   of  the  sides,    to   pass 
through  mortices  in  end  pieces  at  the  corners 
and  fastened  by   inserting  keys   through   the 
loons,  will  make  (he  most  convenient  ones,  as 
they  maybe  readilv taken  apart,  when  through 
with   for  the    season,   and  packed  away  so  as 
to  occupy  but  little  space.     Sash  of  three  by 
six  feet,  well  glazed  and  i.aiuted,  are  about  as 
handy  as   any  size,  and  as  frcMpicntly  used  by 
market  -.ar.leners  as  any.     As  the  editor  verj- 
kindly  illustrated  a  cheap  and  easily-made  hot 


bed,  accompanied  with  remai-ks,  m  connect  on 
with  mv  former  article  on  ''The  Garde..       he 
reader  will  have  no  trouble  m  understanding 
the  principle  of  a  hot  bed  with  glass,  as  shown 
I  bv  the  above  cut.     In  constructing  the  bed 
I'prefer  to  excavate  a  pit  about  a  foot  larger 
I  on   every   side   than  the  frame,  and  some  18 
!  inches  deep.     Fill  this  and  raise  it  about  a  fbot 
i  above  the  surface  with  the  manure  and  on  this 
1  place  the  frame,  and  bank  up  Y^^h  earth,  cov- 
Lin-  the  manure  five   or  six  mches  deep,  or 
more,  outside  the  frame;  place   the    sash   on 
'  and  ik  the  manure  steam..    When  the  heat  ha 
subsided  to   about  90°-it  wil    go  to  lOO    or 
i^ore-spread  on  five  or  six  inches  of  fine  rich 
larden  mould,  well  filled  with  vegetable  matter, 
and  In  this,  after  warming  up  a  fevv  hours    sow 
your  seed  in  drills  from  front  to  back  side  of 
ihe  bed.     The  bed  should  face  the   south  to 
receive  the  full  benefit  of  the  sun's  rays      Be- 
ginners   are   too   apt  to  sow  their  seed  in  the 
hot  bed  before  the  heat  begms  to  subside    and 
thus  lose  them,  and  from  the  f^ailure  tl    s  rn 
duced,  become  discouraged;  whereas  had  they 
hurried   vwre  dowhj,  success  would  have  at- 
tended their  efforts. 

I   have    stated   that  manure  for  heating  is 
needed;    this  is  of  the  greatest   imporanee, 
and  also  that  it  should  be  of  lasting  materia  , 
that  the  heat  may  be  continued  as  long  as  pos- 
sible.    Horse   stable  manure,  pleutiluUv  sup 
plied  with   strawy  litter  Is  common  y  use.      a 
his  is  of  a  quicker  nature   than   other  animal 
manure.     'Ais   should   be   thrown  into  a  heap 
under  cover,  as  thrown  from  the   -^tal  .   a  few 
days  before  being  use.l-^have  oue-ha  t  1 1>  bul 
in  •  loaves    mixed   with  it  and  firmly  trod       In 
he  aSsence  of  leaves,  one-half  the  quantity  of 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


161 


cow  manure,  well  littered,  may  be  used,  to 
make  it  compact.  In  a  few  days  it  will  begin 
to  heat,  which  is  known  by  the  steam  rising. 
When  well  steaming,  throw  it  over,  mixing  it 
well  and  keep  it  trim,  to  prevent  having  frozen 
lumps,  &c.  When  used  in  the  bed,  spread  it 
evenly  over  the  whole  surface,  beating  it  down 
-with  the  fork  well,  and  if  lightly  trod  to  pack 
and  keep  even,  no  hami  is  done.  The  object 
is  to  keep  an  even  surface  when  the  bed  set- 
tles, as  settle  it  will,  after  heating  awhile. 

Care  after  Sowing  the  Seed. 

Any  one  who  is  indisposed  to  give  some 
time,  and  take  a  little  trouble  in  order  to  en- 
joy the  luxuries  that  may  be  derived  from  a 
well-managed  hot  bed,  had  better  not  meddle 
with  one,  for  we  may  not  expect  to  enjoy  the 
luxuries  of  life  without  care  and  trouble.  Es- 
pecially where  we  turn  nature  and  her  laws 
from  their  course  by  so  direct  an  interference, 
more  care  is  required  than  when  less  interfered 
with. 

The  bed  will  need  protection  from  the  heat 
of  the  sun  when  It  shines  bright  in  mid-day,  by 
sliding  the  sash  to  give  air,  or  in  shading  par- 
tially ;  also  protection  during  the  night,  till 
into  May,  In  this  latitude,  by  covering  with 
light  shutters  or  straw  mats.  It  will  also  need 
to  be  looked  to,  that  it  never  gets  dry.  The 
water  used  should  be  slightly  warmed  and  ap- 
plied from  a  watering  pot  with  a  fine  rose- 
sprinkler.  A  neglect  for  an  hour  of  any  one 
of  these  little  things  may  result  In  the  entire 
destruction  of  the  plants  that  have  been  started. 
By  failing  to  give  air,  or  shade,  when  the  sun 
is  hot  and  clear,  the  concentrated  rays  will 
often  burn  and  ruin  the  plants.  Hence  in 
clear  still  days  it  is  often  advisable  to  remove 
the  sash  entire  for  an  hour  or  two  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  day.  If  the  wind  blows,  with  a 
bright  sun,  slide  the  sash  down  a  faw  inches  to 
give  air.  While  guarding  against  the  effects 
of  heat,  don't  forget  the  frost,  lest  some  cold 
snap  may  leave  your  tender  plants  or  vegeta- 
bles with  the  chills,  or  you  find  them  fi-ozen 
in  the  early  morning. 

The  large  variety  of  plants  that  the  hot  bed 
is  useful  in  starting,  or  forwarding,  early  in  the 
season,  needs  no  repetition  here  ;  but  for  all 
that  require  a  long  season,  it  Is  almost  indis- 
pensable, as  well  as  for  those  early  spring  lux- 
uries which  can  be  had  In  no  other  way  as 
early.  March  is  the  proper  time  for  making 
up  the  hot  bed,  as  a  general  thing,  In  this  lati- 
tude. Wm.  H.  White. 

So.  Windsor,  Ct.,  Feb.  12,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"GRAPE   FEVER." 

Doctors  say  that  sometimes  fever  saves  life. 
I  suppose  they  mean  that  In  the  cases  alluded  to, 
the  fever  saves  the  Individual  from  a  worse  form 
of  disease.  But  as  '  'fever"  causes  undue  excite- 
ment and  loss  of  strength,  I  have  adopted  the 


heading  of  this  article  to  call  attention  to  the 
following  question, — Does  it  pay  to  grow 
grapes  in  New  England  ? 

The  agitation  of  this  question  is  producing 
so  much  excitement  in  the  minds  of  persons 
o\vning  land,  that  there  is  danger  of  much 
money  being  lost  by  some  of  those  who  will  be 
induced  to  plant  grape  vines  for  profit.  The 
love  of  money  and  the  necessity  of  possessing 
it.  Is  an  inducement  to  industry  In  good  men, 
but  in  bad  men  it  is  sometimes  an  inducement 
to  sell  that  which  is  worthless  and  to  misrepre- 
sent in  order  to  do  so.  The  Industrious  farm- 
ers of  our  neighborhood  are  In  danger  of  catch- 
ing a  fever,  which,  to  get  patients,  ignorant 
pretenders  as  well  as  experienced  doctors  can 
produce,  and  which  fever,  through  the  pocket, 
may  leave  them  shorn  of  their  strength ;  and 
ever  after  liable  to  have  an  intermittent  fever 
when  the  subject  of  grape  culture  comes  under 
their  notice. 

Under  one  class  of  conditions  grape  culture  is 
rtiinous  to  the  pocket,  under  another  class  of 
conditions  it  Is  remunerative. 

To  those  who,  by  wisdom  dearly  bought, 
have  proved  this  to  be  tnie,  it  is  a  matter  of 
regret  that  so  many  persons  write  about  grapes 
In  such  a  way  as  to  give  the  impression  that 
the  variety  of  grape  they  prefer  must  be  the 
best  for  general  cultivation,  without  saying 
anything  about  the  adaptation  of  the  vine  to 
the  various  conditions  of  climate,  soil  and  cul- 
ture ;  as  though  It  would  do  well  and  be  profit- 
able in  any  State  of  the  union — in  any  soil — 
where  coi-n  will  grow. 

Distant  propagators,  personally,  by  their 
agents  and  through  the  newspapers,  are  visit- 
ing our  towns  and  selling  large  quantities  of 
vines  that  are  useless.  If  profit  be  the  object  of 
the  purchaser.  A  large  number  of  the  varieties 
they  sell  can  no  more  ripen  their  fruit  here 
than  the  orange  or  lemon  can  ripen  its  fruit 
in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  such  a  degree  of  ripeness 
can  never  allow  of  profit  in  their  culture. 

The  demand  for  vines  has  been  so  great, 
that  persons  have  been  led  to  raise  them  from 
parent  vines  that  were  unfit,  by  reason  of  ex- 
cessive layering;  from  these  weakly  vines, 
others  have  been  propagated  ;  and  again  from 
these,  in  the  same  way,  many  times  in  succes- 
sion, until  of  some  varieties  It  seems  difficult  to 
get  a  healthy  plant.  AVhat  makes  the  matter 
worse  is,  that  the  demand  has  called  into  exer- 
cise skill  in  propagating  from  even  these  un- 
healthy vines,  under  glass,  and  from  green 
wood. 

Many  of  these  may  be  nursed  and  made  to 
do  pi'etty  well  In  a  warm  climate,  by  persons 
whose  object  Is  not  profit,  but  when  they  are 
sent  north  they  are  for  the  most  part  useless. 

Many  of  the  varieties  called  hardy  are  grown 
from  diseased  vines ;  some  from  wood  that  is 
feeble  as  to  size  ;  some  from  wood  that  is  soft, 
owing  to  the  soil  having  too  much  manure  In  it, 
and  some  from  wood  that  was  unripe  ;  none  of 
these  can  be  expected  to  be  profitable,  for  they 


162 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


April 


are  all  weak  in  constitution,  are  constantly  in- 
jured by  the  extremes  of  temperature,  and  will 
die  from  causes  that  a  healthy  vine  would  not 
be  injuriously  affected  by. 

A  great  many  vines  sold  in  New  England  re- 
quire long  nursing,  and  sometimes  uprooting, 
owing  to  the  injuries  received  by  careless  trans- 
portation and  by  passing  through  too  many 
hands  before  reaching  the  cultivator. 

That  vines  raised  out  of  New  England  will 
not  do  well  here,  I  do  not  say  ;  but,  that  vines 
grown  hero,  from  healthy  wood  that  is  fully 
ripe,  either  by  layers  or  by  cuttings,  and  in  the 
open  air,  are  the  vines  above  all  others  for 
New  England  culture,  I  think  but  few  observ- 
ing men  will  deny.  I  do  say,  that  of  all 
the  vines  sent  here  from  the  States  of  New  .Jer- 
sey and  New  York,  from  one  or  the  other  of 
the  causes  I  have  mentioned,  a  very  large  pro- 
portion of  them  die,  and  that  to  make  sure  of 
having  the  vines  we  want,  it  is  best  to  get 
them  as  near  as  possible  to  the  place  in  which 
they  are  to  be  planted. 

In  the  flanuary  number  of  the  Horticulturist 
George  Husmann  of  Missouri  says  : — "My  ad- 
vice to  your  readers.  North,  South,  East  and 
West,  is  to  try  for  themselves  for  their  loca- 
tions, and,  after  trying,  plant  that  which  suits 
them  best,  not  what  some  would-be  authority, 
a  thousand  miles  off,  recommends  as  the  best 
grape,  superior  over  all  others." 

Now,  provided  the  soil  be  suited  to  the 
grape,  and  the  culture  be  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  the  variety  cultivated,  what  has  been  said 
will  suggest  why  many  that  have  caught  the 
"grape  lever"  have  lost  much  strength  through 
the  pocket ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  all  who 
have  been  affected  with  "grape  fever,"  and 
have  been  treated  properly  by  Dr.  Grant  and 
other  doctors  in  our  profession,  have,  under 
the  conditions  herein  indicated,  in  all  cases, 
found  "grape  fever"  useful  in  saving  them  from 
worse  forms  of  excitement,  and  proved  that  on 
the  rod  or  the  acre  of  land,  more  profit  is 
made  than  can  be  realized  by  the  culture  of 
any  other  fruit  on  the  same  kind  of  soil. 

I  have  not  Avi-itten  a  word  for  a  newspaper 
since  the  "Basket- Willow  Fever"  was  so  de- 
structive. If  I  am  considered  as  correct  in  my 
views  of  "grape  fever,"  as  it  has  been  proved 
I  was  in  regard  to  the  "Willow  fever,"  and 
my  remarks  as  acceptable,  I  have  seme  other 
things  to  communicate,  which,  in  the  last  ten 
years,  I  have  learned  while  growing,  buying 
and  selling  grape  vines.        John  Fleming. 

Sherborn,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
PHILANTHROPY   IN    PASTUEE. 

It  is  certainly  an  honor  to  a  Christian  peo- 
ple to  be  engaged  in  multiplied  measures  to 
better  the  condition  of  communities  and  indi- 
viduals. The  building  of  light-houses  and  the 
improvement  of  iiarbors,  at  a  nation's  cost,  is 
Justified  by  the  consideration  of  a  publTc  bene- 


fit. Philanthropy  may  plead  for  a  better  com- 
pensation to  seamstress  or  scavenger,  because 
of  the  demands  in  either  case  ;  and  those  who 
scant  the  wages  of  the  workingman  or  work- 
ingwoman  may  claim  plain  rebukes  from  Chris- 
tian pulpits.  But  we  are  after  another  idea 
now, — out  in  a  New  England  pasture. 

Our  idea  is,  that  he  who  will  show  a  true  and 
proper  way,  within  the  means  ot  the  many,  to 
revive  the  productive  power  of  the  pastures  of 
New  England,  to  meet  our  natural  wants  in 
that  direction,  will  be  a  greater  benefactor  of 
the  poor  than  he  who  makes  tlte  best  breech- 
loading  rifle,  or  constructs  the  best  telegraph, 
or  builds  a  college,  or  founds  an  oiphan  asy- 
lum. Those  who  have  thought  little  about  it, 
may  think  that  this  is  extravagant  thinking. 

We  have  walked  among  the  workers,  and 
looked  among  the  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and 
children  ;  and  the  workers  on  the  hill-side  have 
wondered  how  the  pastures  could  be  made  pro- 
ductive ;  the  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  have 
shown  their  hair  or  ribs  in  sympathy  with  our 
subject ;  and  the  little  rosy  cherub  has  ci'owed 
over  the  full-flowing  pail  at  milking  time.  And 
so  our  suljject  is  full  of  the  very  fat  of  farming 
interest  and  necessity. 

We  will  not — dare  not — claim  to  be  equal  to 
the  emergency,  able  to  give  an  answer  to  those 
who  ask  most  anxious  questions — and  mourn 
over  the  mosses  and  other  mischiefs  of  our  pas- 
ture-picture. We  would  make  haste  to  seize 
the  honor  if  we  only  could.  But  a  few  simple 
suggestions  may  do  some  good. 

A  valued  and  honorable  farmer  asked  the 
simple  question,  "How  can  I  do  what  is  need- 
ed to  make  that  pastui'e  productive?"  In  an- 
swer, it  was  suggested  that  very  much  pasture 
land,  that  cannot  easily  be  plowed,  needs  to 
become  acquainted  with  the  power  of  a  mattock, 
until  its  junipers  and  similar  intruders  and  nui- 
sances find  that  "axe  laid  at  the  root,"  to 
their  destruction.  Why  let  a  thousand  such 
thieves  steal  the  sunlight  and  soil-strength  from 
the  growing  grass  ? 

To  find  how,  best  and  cheapest,  the  soil  may 
be  made  most  productive,  measui-e  off  a  narrow 
strip,  say  a  rod  wide,  right  through  the  pas- 
ture, and  set  sufficient  bound-marks.  Make  a 
record  of  the  time  of  doing  it.  Then  on  one 
rod  sow  evenly  a  quart  of  good,  gror.nd  plas- 
ter, which  will  be  nearly  at  the  rate  of  500  lbs. 
to  the  acre  ;  on  the  next  rod  sow  two  quarts, 
the  next  four,  and  the  next  six,  and  the  next 
eight  quarts  to  the  rod, — which  would  be  about 
equal  to  one-half  ton,  or  three-tburths  of  a 
ton,  a  ton,  &c.,  to  the  acre.  And  if  you  will, 
try  a  mixture  of  plaster  and  superphosphate  of 
huie,  half  and  half,  a  quart  on  one  rod,  two 
quarts,  tiu-ee  quarts,  four  quarts,  &c.,  to  the 
rod,  on  as  many  as  you  like.  Alake  a  critical 
record  of  all,  so  that  results  may  be  clearly 
understood.  Take  also  hard-wood  ashes,  and 
try  a  lialf-peck  to  the  rod,  a  peck,  &c.  Also 
soft-wood  ashes,  or  lime,  or  any  agent  within 
reach,  in  varied  quantities,  one,  two  or  any 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


163 


number  of  rods.  Note  the  results  from  time 
to  time,  and  follow  out  this  simple  plan  to  the 
practical  proofs,  and  we  think  it  would  soon  be 
found  that  our  philanthropy  going  to  pasture 
was  something  else  than  a  crazy  idea,  ii'  not, 
it  would  not  cost  much  to  test  it.  And  what  a 
man  knows,  he  knows.  Whathe  will  not  learn 
he  cannot  know  a.  G.  c. 

Lee,  N.  II.,  Feb.,  1867. 


HO"W  TO  MANAGE  YOUNG  LAMBS. 
Having  had  the  sole  charge  of  young  lambs 
for  se\t.ral  years,  and  generally  very  success- 
ful, I  will  give  my  experience.  A  )oung  lamb 
that  the  mother  will  not  own,  and  has  not 
strength  to  suck,  I  bring  into  the  house,  wrap  it 
up  in  an  old  blanket,  and  place  it  near  the  tire  ; 
then  get  some  ewe  milk,  warm  it  slightly,  and 
feed  the  lamb,  a  little  at  a  time,  (three  tea- 
spoonfuls,  say,)  every  twenty  minutes,  till  it 
begins  to  revive.  I  then  moisten  my  finger  in 
the  milk,  and  insert  it  in  the  lamb's  mouth, 
repeating  this  operation  until  it  learns  to  suck 
readily.  It  will  then  take  its  milk  readily  from 
the  ordinary  glass  sucking  bottle,  with  a  nip- 
ple used  by  babies.  Care  should  be  taken  to 
feed  sparingly ;  I  killed  many  lambs  by  over- 
feeding, when  I  first  commenced  raising  them 
by  hand. 

If  you  wish  to  I'eturn  the  lamb  to  its  mother, 
do  not  keep  it  from  her  too  long ;  return  when 
warmed  and  its  stomach  tilled,  and  confine  the 
two  in  a  small  pen  about  four  or  five  feet  square 
— suckle  it  often,  holding  the  ewe  for  that  pur- 
pose. It  is  a  good  plan  to  bring  a  dog  near 
the  pen ;  the  ewe  will  eye  the  dog  angrily, 
commence  stamping  her  fore  foot,  otherwise 
standing  perfectly  still,  and  the  lamb,  if  in- 
clined to  suck,  will  then  have  a  good  oppor- 
tunity. The  presence  of  the  dog  seems  to 
arouse  all  the  motherly  instincts,  and  she  will 
turn  round  her  head  and  caress  the  young  one 
with  true  maternal  regard.  By  persevering,  I 
never  have  any  difficulty  in  making  a  ewe  own 
her  offspring. 

It  frequently  happens  a  ewe  will  drop  twins 
— one  strong  and  the  other  weakly ;  the  one 
most  needing  her  affectionate  care  will  be  dis- 
carded. It  is  a  good  plan  in  this  case,  after 
■warming  and  suckhngthe  weak  lamb,  (if  chill- 
ed,) to  shut  the  ewe  with  it  alone,  keeping  the 
other  away  from  her.  (The  dog  operation 
here  comes  into  play  admirably.)  Do  not 
keep  the  favorite  from  her  too  long,  however 
— not  over  a  couple  of  hours,  say — or  she  will 
forget  it.  In  conclusion,  I  will  say,  whoever 
attempts  to  raise  lambs,  particularly  early  in 
the  season,  must  have  a  warm  building,  front- 
ing the  south  and  west  if  possible,  so  arranged 
that  the  ewes  can  be  shut  up  in  very  cold 
weather — a  number  of  small  pens  is  necessary. 
I  sometimes  have  a  half  dozen  different  lots, 
all  requiring  a  little  different  management,  and 
then,  most  of  all,  close  attention  is  requisite. 
Get  the  young  lambs  through  two  days,  and 


the  worst  is  over.  Wlien  they  are  old  enough 
to  pick  at  hay  a  little,  place  some  Indian  meal 
in  troughs  at  the  side  or  end  of  the  building, 
so  arranged  by  nailing  boards  in  front  that 
oidy  the  lambs  can  get  at  it.  It  is  astonishing 
the  (piantity  they  will  eat  in  this  way,  and  the 
extra  growth  it  produces.  I  should  have  re- 
marked before,  if  you  intend  to  raise  the  lamb 
by  the  bottle,  give  it  ewe  milk  for  two  days, 
and  after  that  cow's  milk  diluted,  half  water, 
and  warmed  to  blood  heat. 

If  the  above  experience  of  one  who  has  been 
eminently  successful  as  a  lamb  raiser,  is  faith- 
fully and  patiently  carried  out,  my  word  for  it 
the  next  census  will  show  a  material  increase 
in  the  number  of  sheep  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  these  United  States. — Horace 
Matlcer,  Blooming  Grove,  N.  Y.,  in  Country 
Gentleman. 


Dairy  Products  of  Vermont. — The  quan 
titles  of  butter  and  cheese  shipped  liom  St. 
Albans,  (Vt.)  depot  during  the  year  1866 
were:  Of  butter,  2.617,196  pounds,  and  of 
cheese  862,485.  The  shipments  lor  1865  were  : 
Butter,  3,035,257  pounds  ;  cheese,  1,174,251 
pounds.  These  figures,  pt  the  first  glance, 
would  indicate  a  startling  deci-ease  in  the  dairy 
productions  of  Franklin  county  for  1866,  com- 
pared with  the  preceding  year.  But  the  St. 
Albans  Messenger  says  the  abrogation  of  the 
Reciprocity  Treaty  in  March  completely  cut 
off  for  the  year  an  importation  of  butter  for 
shipment  which  has  been  quite  extensive.  In 
1864,  when  Canadian  importations  were  in- 
cluded, the  shipments  were  :  Butter,  2,474,854 
pounds.  Hence  it  appears  that  the  butter  pro- 
duction of  Franklin  county  alone  in  1866  was 
145,000  pounds  in  excess  of  any  previous  an- 
nual production  combined  with  importations 
from  Canada  ;  while  the  deficiency  in  cheese  is 
only  40,000  pounds. 


Swine. — The  total  hog  crop  of  the  West 
for  the  winter  of  1866  is  stated  at  1,406,239, 
as  compared  Avith  1,391,518  during  the  winter 
of  1865.  Chicago  packed  382,000  the  present 
season ;  Cincinnati,  380,005  ;  St.  Louis,  136,- 
000;  Louisville,  162,000;  Milwaukee,  86,- 
009  ;  and  Indianapolis,  50,130.  In  1865  Chi- 
cago packed  501,403;  Cincinnati,  354,079; 
St.  Louis,  11,760;  Louisville,  91,000;  Mil- 
waukee, 92,000  ;  and  Indianapolis,  36,000, 


Agriculture  in  California. — There  are 
now  about  4,000,000  acres  of  land  inclosed  in 
California  and  about  1,750,000  acres  under 
cultivation.  These  are  far  larger  areas  of  im- 
proved land  than  was  ever  before  reported. 
Three  years  ago  the  amount  of  land  under  cul- 
tivation was  only  1,107,984  acres.  Most  of 
the  increase  since  was  made  last  year.  A  con- 
siderable portion  of  it  was  in  the  larger  mining 
counties,  which  are  beginning  to  claim  import- 


164 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARjVIER. 


April 


ance  as  fruit  and  -wine  growing  districts.  The 
area  planted  to  wheat  was  about  500,000  acres 
a  gain  of  200,000  acres  in  three  years.  The 
yield  was  12,000,000  bushels,  or  7,000,000 
more  than  in  1868.  The  barley  crop  also 
shows  a  great  increase.  In  I860  it  was  about 
4,000,000  bushels  in  twenty-four  counties,  in- 
cluding all  but  three  or  four  of  the  strictly  ag- 
ricultural counties.  This  year  it  is  returned 
at  over  14,000,000  bushels  in  forty  counties. 


EXTRACTS   AND   BEPLIES. 

STANCHIONS  AND   STABLES. 


I  saw  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Farmer  a  plan 
for  cattle  stanchion.  To  this  and  all  other  plans 
which  I  have  used  and  seen  for  fifty  years,  there 
are  more  or  less  objections.  The  above  cut  repre- 
eents  a  style  which  I  prefer. 

Having  laid  the  stable  floor,  with  an  inclination 
of  three  inches  in  12  feet,  set  off  30  inches  from  the 
front  or  place  of  feeding,  by  striking  a  line  ;  then 
take  two  planks  8  inches  wide,  set  them  edgewise 
on  this  line;  put  the  upright  pieces  of  the  stan- 
chion between  them,  (as  seen  in  the  cut,)  and  spike 
the  plank  to  the  main  or  long  uprights.  After 
rounding  the  lower  end  of  the  short  uprights,  to 
prevent  clogging  with  chaff,  &c.,  put  a  pin  through 
the  bottom  for  them  to  turn  on.  Then  nail  a  piece  of 
board  5  inches  wide  to  the  main  uprights  on  each 
side,  letting  their  upper  edges  come  even  with  the 
top  of  the  siiort  upright.  Now  put  a  latch  or  fastener 
between  these,  back  of  the  short  uprights,  so  that 
when  closed  it  will  drop  and  make  it  fast.  It  is  a 
good  plan  to  run  a  shaft  the  whole  length  of  the 
stable,  inside  of  and  at  the  top  of  main  uprights ; 
then  with  a  string  connected  to  this  and  each  latch 
or  fastener,  so  that,  in  case  of  fii-e,  you  can  turn 
the  shaft,  raise  all  the  latches  at  once,  and  rush  the 
cattle  out  of  the  stable. 

The  upright  pieces  that  compose  the  stanchion 
are  made  as  follows :  Take  a  plank  long  enough 
for  the  stanchion,  which  will  be  about  7  feet,  and 
12  inches  wide.  Slit  it  by  commencing  three  inches 
from  one  edge,  running  to  the  other  end  three  inch- 
es from  the  opposite  edge.  Put  the  wide  ends 
down.  The  top  of  main  uprights  are  fastened  by 
nailing  a  strip  of  board  each  side  of  them  to  the 
joist  above.  The  stanchions  should  be  three  feet 
from  centre  to  centre. 

This  i)lan  is  cheap,  strong  and  durable.  One 
man  with  a  little  ingenuity  can  put  up  in  a  day 
enough  for  twenty  head  of  cattle. 

The  stable  floor  should  be  at  least  12  feet  wide, 
with  a  rise  on  which  the  cattle  stand  of  at  least  .5 
inches.  For  cows,  planks  for  this  rise  4  feet  long 
arc  sufiicicnt.  This  leaves  room  behind  them  fur 
the  droppings,  and  to  put  sawdust  or  dry  nnuk  to 
spread  over  the  place  at  each  clearing  out  of  the 
Btablc.  This  last  is  very  essential,  and  will  never 
be  neglected  by  a  good  fanner.  Saw  dust,  muck 
or  leaves,  will  absorl)  an  important  part  of  the  ma- 
nure, which  is  oftentimes  lost. 

"Wc  want  a  plan  for  barns  both  on  level  ground 
and  bide  hills,  the  expense  of  which  will  i)laee 
them  within  the  reach  of  farmers  of  limited  means 


— with  cellars,  of  course.  I  have  plans  which  I 
am  thinking  of  offering  if  no  better  ones  arc  given 
by  others.  E.  P.  Luther. 

North  Dorset,  Vt.,  Feb.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  foregoing  article  was  written 
with  a  pencil.  After  having  been  through  the 
hands  of  engraver  and  compositor  the  marks  were 
so  badly  defaced  as  to  cause  the  proof-reader  much 
trouble  and  uncertainty  in  determining  whether  our 
printers  have  "followed  copy"  or  not,  in  their  at- 
tempt to  reproduce  the  facts  and  figures  of  our 
correspondent.  Correspondents  can  hardly  appre- 
ciate the  difficulty  of  "setting  up"  a  manuscript 
written  in  pencil. 

compost  for  a  potato  crop  on  muck  land. 

I  own  a  piece  of  bog  land  containing  seven  acres, 
on  which  I  planted  potatoes  last  year,  and  I  intend 
to  plant  the  whole  field  with  potatoes  this  year. 
The  land  is  well  drained,  and  sanded  sufficiently 
to  give  it  firmness.  Was  plowed  last  October,  and 
turned  over  as  mellow  as  a  garden. 

I  am  making  a  compost  from  the  manure  of  one 
horse,  a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  two  hogs,  and  using 
sand  and  coal  ashes,  for  an  absorbent ;  but  I  can- 
not make  enough  in  this  way  to  manure  the  whole 
field.  How  shall  I  supply  the  deficiency  ?  Will 
coal  ashes,  plaster  and  salt  make  a  good  compost  ? 

The  comjiost  made  from  my  cows,  is  on  the  plan 
recommended  by  yoiu-self  and  the  Hon.  F.  Hol- 
brook,  of  Vt.,  and  published  in  the  "Patent  Office 
Report  on  Agriculture,  for  18-56,"  which  I  have 
constantly  practiced  since,  and  which  I  intend  to 
follow,  l)elieving  it  to  be  the  very  best  way  in  which 
muck  can  be  converted  into  one  of  the  best  of  ma- 
nures. This  compost  I  want  for  my  upland,  be- 
lieving it  better  adapted  to  such  land  than  to  the 
bog. 

If  you  will  give  me  your  advice  as  to  what  course 
to  pursue,  you  will  oblige  me,  and  many  others 
who  are  cultivating  such  land  in  this  vicinity. 

No.  Teivksbury,  Mass.,  IS67.    Thomas  Bridge. 

Remarks. — We  are  glad  to  learn  that  you  have 
succeeded  so  well  in  composting  and  using  muck. 
Green  crops  plowed  under,  and  a  plentiful  use  of 
muck,  may  be  made  to  convert  most  of  otir  New 
England  lands,  hard  and  repulsive  as  they  now 
are,  into  pliable  and  fertile  soils. 

Coal  ashes,  plaster  and  salt,  with  muck  would 
make  a  valuable  top-dressing  for  grass  lands  not 
so  far  run  out  as  to  be  nearly  exhausted  of  roots. 
Perhaps  it  would  bring  a  fair  crop  of  potatoes  in 
a  bog  that  had  been  cropped  only  one  }'ear.  If  you 
dissolve  potash,  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to  the 
square  rod,  and  mix  it  well  with  the  ashes,  salt, 
plaster  and  muck,  you  will  scarcely  fail  of  secur- 
ing an  abundant  crop.  Common  nitre  (saltpetre) 
may  answer  the  purpose  instead  of  potash.  For 
an  acre,  200  lbs.  would  undoubtedly  be  better  than 
160  lbs.  The  crop  of  potatoes  might  not  be  larger, 
but  future  crops  would  feel  its  force  for  several 
years. 

BONE  meal. 
I  h.ave  read  with  interest  the  correspondence  in 
the  New  England  Farmer  of  late,  relating  to 
l)onc  meal,  and  should  be  glad  to  see  the  subject 
more  fully  discussed,  and  cxpcrnnents  with  the 
article,  as  a  fertilizer,  more  generally  reported 
through  the  press.    Every  farmer  is  more  or  less 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


165 


interested  in  the  suhjcct  of  manures,  whether  they 
be  special  or  othorvvii^c  ;  and  such  facts  and  experi- 
ments as  prove  and  test  their  worth  as  fertilizers, 
are  especially  important.  Guano,  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  other  patent  manures  have  been  very 
generally  used  for  years,  and  in  many  cases  arc 
considered  prolitahle. 

Bone,  as  a  fertilizing  agent,  has  long  been  used 
in  the  old  countries  with  success;  and  with  the 
machinery  and  facilities  for  crushing  and  grinding, 
now  possessed,  it  will,  without  doubt,  prove  a 
profitable  feriilizcr  to  the  agriculturists  of  this 
country.  And  here  let  me  remark,  that  a  machine 
has  been  Invented,  and  is  now  in  successful  ojiera- 
tion,  at  the  Vermont  Bone  Works  of  Paddock,  Dean 
<S|  Co.,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  by  which  bone  is  gi'ound 
in  its  natural  state,  and  fitted  for  either  fertilizing 
or  feeding  purposes.  I  refer  to  Dean's  Patent  Bone 
Mill,  the  size  of  which  is  10x17  inches,  and  its 
weight  ten  hundred  pounds.  It  requires  from  four 
to  six  horse  power,  and  will  cut  from  one  to  two 
tons  of  bone  per  day.  It  is  very  simple  in  con- 
struction, and  can  be  readily  attached  to  any  steam 
or  water  power  machinery. 

I  enclose  a  specimen  of  the  bone  meal  as  received 
from  tlie  manufacturer,  which  they  warrant  to  be 
pure,  unburnt,  unadulterated  bone.  Our  farmers 
arc  using  it  to  some  extent  with  very  satisfactory 
results.  I  understand  the  company  have  machines 
and  patent  rights  to  sell,  which  they  would  do  well 
to  advertise  in  our  agricultural  papers ;  for  it  is 
through  such  a  medium  that  the  progressive,  busi- 
ness farmer  is  reached.  I.  W.  Sanborn. 

Lyndon,  Vt.,  Jan.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  bone  sent  us  looks  as  though  it 
were  rasped,  instead  of  ground,  but  is  sufQciently 
fine  readily  to  pass  into  the  fermentative  state,  under 
favorable  circumstances.  We  are  glad  to  learn 
that  mills  for  reducing  bones  are  in  operation  so 
far  in  the  interior.  They  will  be  the  means  of  pre- 
serving and  bringing  into  use  large  quantities  of 
one  of  our  most  valuable  fertilizing  agents. 


COMPLIMENTARY — FLOUR  OF  HONE. 

I  have  long  owed  you  a  eommunieation.  I  have 
prepared  a  hundred  articles  in  my  mind  for  your 
paper,  while  about  my  work,  which  increasing 
cares  and  a  decreasing  inclination  to  write,  have 
prevented  your  seeing.  Meantime  the  Farmer 
has  continued  a  welcome  visitor.  It  is  now  a 
handsome  paper.  The  type  is  of  refreshing  clear- 
ness. It  is  well  arranged.  The  Market  Reports 
are  full  and  valuable.  I  have  often  been  guided 
by  them  in  selling  and  buying,  to  my  advantage. 

I  wish  more  people  would  advertise  in  your  col- 
umns articles  and  animals  that  farmers  want. 
Such  notices  are  interesting  to  read,  and  bring  prof- 
it, sometimes,  to  all  concerned.  I  never  buy  fa- 
mous medicines,  nor  believe  parties  pay  such  tre- 
mendous wages  to  "active"  young  men ! 

That  communication  from  Rufus  Nutting,  giv- 
ing the  results  of  experiments  with  the  fiour  of 
bone,  interested  me  a  good  deal.  It  seemed  a  fair 
and  candid  statement,  and  was  not  flattering  to  the 
article.  Still,  I  do  not  think  those  experiments 
were  conducted  so  as  to  show  the  value  of  flour  of 
bone.  It  does  not  appear  in  any  case  that  the  bone 
was  fermented,  or  digested,  before  using.  I  un- 
derstand that,  when  applied  to  crops  ina  crude 
state,  it  is  not  plant  food.  Dr.  Nichols,  in  his  late 
excellent  lecture  before  our  Lyceum,  said  he  mixed 
it  with  diluted  sulphuric  acid.  Whose  practice  is 
the  necessary  one,  that  of  the  chemist  or  that  of 
the  unljenefited  Vermont  farmer  ? 

I  want  very  much  to  have  the  fiour  of  bone  prove 
a  most  valuable  article.  I  have  an  interest  in  some 


distant  land  to  which  it  is  not  expedient  to  team 
heavy  manures,  and  a  condensed  fertilizer  would 
be  just  the  thing.  W.  D.  Brown. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Jan.,  1867. 

Remarks. — How  many  articles  "prepared"  for 
our  columns,  in  this  way,  arc  every  year  lost  to 
the  world  1 


EARLY   potatoes. 

What  is  the  best  kind  of  early  potatoes  for  a  cli- 
mate similar  to  Boston  ?  The  price  of  them  a  bush- 
el in  Boston  ?  The  best  kind  of  manure,  phos- 
phate of  lime  or  fish  guano?  The  number  ot 
pounds  to  an  acre,  and  cost  of  it. 

Franklin  W.  Carson. 

North  Oxford,  Mass.,  Feb.  13,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  do  not  know  which  the  best 
kind  of  early  potato  is.  We  heard  the  question 
discussed  at  a  farmer's  club,  and  scarcely  any  two 
were  agreed  upon  it.  Thei'C  are  as  many  prices  as 
there  are  kinds,  varying  from  $1  to  $3  per  bushel. 
The  Early  Goodrich,  new  and  in  great  demand, 
P;  Sebec,  P;  Early  Jackson,  fl. 

The  kind  of  manure  used  ought  to  depend,  in  a 
considerable  degree,  upon  the  kind  of  land  on  which 
they  are  planted.  If  low,  heavy  land,  use  coarse, 
unfermented  manure.  If  dry,  use  fine  manure.  In 
either  case,  a  handful  of  plaster  of  Paris  in  each 
hill,  will  prove  of  service. 

No  experiments  have  been  made,  to  our  knowl- 
edge, between  superphosphate  and  fish  guano,  for 
potatoes.  Try  both,  at  the  rate  of  400  pounds  per 
acre. 


a   VERMONT   HORSE. 

Mr.  Wm.  W.  Day,  of  Lunenburg,  Essex  County, 
is  the  owner  of  a  gelding  horse  of  the  French 
Morrill  blood,  that  was  four  years  old  the22d  day 
of  last  June,  and  weighed  tlie  1st  of  December, 
fifteen  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  This  colt  is  a 
bright  baj%  black  mane  and  tail,  good  style,  and 
stands  seventeen  and  a  half  hands  high.  Wliose 
colt  beats  this  ?  f. 

Lunenburg,  Vt.,  Feb.  16,  1867. 


FEEDING    cows    AND     HOGS — WOOD    FOR   TROUGHS. 

How  much  corn  meal  can  be  given  to  a  milch 
COW  daily,  with  safety  ?  Can  shorts  be  given  to  a 
cow  without  injuring  the  butter } 

Can  oil  cake  be  given  without  injuring  the  cow  ? 

Does  corn  fodder,  fed  to  a  cow  green,  increase 
the  quantity  or  improve  the  quality  of  her  milk  ? 

What  kind  of  wood  is  best  for  a  liog's  trough, 
and  for  the  flooring  of  their  pen  ? 

Is  it  judicious,  in  fattening  iiogs,  to  keep  them 
wholly  on  a  plank  floor,  to  prevent  their  rooting  ? 

If  hogs  are  salted  alive,  should  the  salt  be  given 
to  them  clear,  or  mixed  with  their  food  ? 

If  the  latter,  in  what  proportion  ? 

When  hogs  are  kept  almost  wholly  on  meal, 
should  much  liquid  be  given  with  the  meal  ? 

Derry,  N.  H.,  Jan.  4,  1867.  E.  B. 


BEE   CULTURE. 

I  think  the  best  hive  is  one  about  30  inches  high, 
and  one  foot  square,  with  two  draws  in  the  upper 
part,  four  inches  high  and  six  inches  wide,  with  a 
glass  in  one  end  of  the  drawers.  The  hive  should 
have  two  fly  holes,  one  at  the  bottom,  the  other 
about  eight  inches  above.    The  lower   entrance 


16G 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


should  be  cut  in  the  bottom  board  and  slant  up 
into  the  hive.  This  gives  the  ])ees  a  better  chance 
to  defend  themselves,  and  keeps  the  water  from 
miming  into  the  hive.  The  fly-liolc  should  face  the 
west,  summer  and  winter.  If  it  faces  the  south  or 
east  in  summer,  the  bees  arc  tempted  out  too  early 
and  get  wet  with  dew,  and  fall  to  the  ground  and 
perish.  In  winter,  the  sxm  shining  on  the  fly-board 
excites  the  bees,  causing  them  to  sweat,  and  in- 
creasing the  liability  to  freeze  and  perish  on  the 
return  of  cold.  Both  fly-holes  should  be  closed  in 
winter  I)y  tacking  tin  over  them  with  little  holes 
made  througli  it.  n.  s.,  jr. 

Fcbruanj  4,  1867. 


When  storm-floud,  with  its  flakey  wing. 
Veils  noon-tide  ray  to  half  a  night, 

And  darkness,  with  its  snow-hid  track, 
An  hour  too  early  shuts  the  liglit; 

From  outer  world  and  work  we  come 

To  the  defences  of  our  home. 

Crackling  fire  and  hearts  contented; 

All  the  armor  that  we  need  ; 
Busy  group  with  cheerful  faces 

Listens  what  the  dame  may  read ; 
80  glad  the  "PARMEn"  came  the  day 
Before  the  snow-storm  blocked  the  way. 
Vermont,  1807.  k.  k. 

THE    SICK    COCKERTJL. 

I  noticed  an  inquiry  concerning  a  rooster  which 
had  lost  the  use  of  his  legs,  and  would  recommend 
that  he  be  kept  in  a  moderately  warm  i^lace,  and 
fed  three  times  a  day  with  a  dough  made  of  one 
pint  of  Indian  meal  and  one  teaspoonful  of  red 
pepper.  Also  rub  his  legs  with  camphor  once  a 
day,  and  I  think  he  will  get  well  soon. 

A.  L.  Barnes. 

South  Barre,  Vt.,  Feb.  18,  1867. 


CURE    FOR   CHILBLAINS. 

"Wet  the  stocking  over  the  parts  affected  with 
spirits  of  turpcniine,  and  wear  as  usual.  My 
neighliors  have  tried  it  with  good  success. 

Benj.  Sargent. 

Grantham,  X.  77.  Feb.  5,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  think  it  would  be  well  to  be 
careful  about  the  quantitj'  used  in  "wetting  the 
stocking." 


CULTIVATION  OF  CRANBERRIES. 

In  reply  to  "E.  E.  A."  I  would  say  that  to  grow 
cranberries  you  want,  in  the  lirst  place,  a  meado^^' 
that  you  can  flow  in  a  few  hours  in  the  fall  of  the 
year  to  keep  the  frost  off.  If  you  have  not  got  this, 
you  can  raise  them  without  water.  If  you  have 
the  water,  make  your  meadow  as  level  as  you  can, 
so  as  to  re(iaire  as  little  water  as  possiljleto  cover 
it.  Then  tlitch  it  dry  and  take  olf  the  top  surface, 
or  turf  it  as  it  is  called.  After  this  spread  on  sand, 
not  gravel,  two  or  three  inches  thick.  When  you 
select  your  vines  get  those  that  bear  from  the  root 
to  the  end  of  the  vines,  not  those  that  l)ear  on  top 
only,  and  set  them  out  in  rows  two  feet  by  six. 
They  should  l)e  hoed  so  as  to  keep  the  weeds  out 
until  the  vines  cover  the  ground.  n.  s.,  jr. 

Milford,  Mass.,  Jan.  8,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  use  of  water  is  about  as  impor- 
tant in  the  spring,  to  prevent  frosts,  or  in  the  early 
summer,  to  destroy  the  eggs  of  the  insect  that  in- 
fests them.  This  insect  is  very  much  like  the  com- 
mon apple  worm.  It  attacks  the  neic  growth  at  or 
about  the  time  of  blossoming,  commencing  at  the 


base  of  the  new  and  working  upwards.  Its  pres- 
ence may  be  known  by  the  appearance  of  a  fine 
web  which  encircles  the  upper  portion  of  the  plant. 
The  Fruit  Worm  is  the  most  destructive,  making 
its  attack  on  the  berry  aljout  the  last  of  July  or  the 
beginning  of  August.  This  is  another  time  when 
the  use  of  the  water  is  important,  and,  indeed,  is 
the  only  remedy  known  to  save  the  vines  and  fruit 
from  these  two  insects.  But  the  flooding  must  be 
done  with  care.  If  the  weather  is  hot,  it  will  not 
do  to  leave  the  water  on  long,  as  it  will  become 
warm  and  rot  the  vines.  From  21  to  -18  hours  will 
pro) jably  be  enough  to  drown  out  the  insects.  The 
temperature  of  the  water  must  be  tested  by  placing 
the  hand  in  it.  The  appearance  of  the  web,  spoken 
of  above,  will  indicate  the  time  for  flooding. 

The  plan  suggested  by  our  correspondent  seems 
to  us  a  judicious  one.  See  an  article  in  another 
column  on  the  subject. 


grafting. 

Will  you  please  inform  me  through  your  valua- 
ble jjajjcr  how  and  when  to  graft  apple  trees,  what 
time  of  the  year  to  cut  scions,  how  to  make  graft- 
ing wax,  whether  it  would  be  best  to  graft  old  trees 
that  are  in  a  good  condition,  and  if  it  would  be 
Ijcst  to  scrape  the  rough  bark  from  old  trees,  and 
when  to  do  it  ?  A  Subscriber. 

Remarks. — There  are  various  styles  of  grafting, 
but  the  "Cleft,"  as  seen  in  the  margin,  is  the  most 
common.  Mr.  Cole,  in  his  Fruit  Book,  gives  the 
following  directions : — 

"Saw  off  the  stock  with  a  fine  saw,  and  pare 
smoothly  with  a  sharp  knife;  then  split  the  stock 
with  the  grafting-knife,  and  open  it  wiih  the  wedge 
on  the  same.  Or  a  common  knife  and  a  wooden 
wedge  may  lie  used.  Sharpen  the  scion  on  both 
sides,  with  a  straight  scarf  like  a  wedge;  let  the 
scarf  be  aljout  1,'a  inches  long,  more  or  less,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  the  scion  and  the  splitting  of  the 
stock,  making  the  scarf  of  the  scion  as  long  as  it 
can  1)0  conveniently  fitted  to  the  stock.  It  is  best 
for  the  stock  to  cover,  or  almost  cover, 
the  scarfs  on  the  scion.  The  outer  part 
of  the  scion  should  be  slightly  thicker, 
to  nuike  a  close  fit  there.  Leave  two 
hulls  on  the  scion,  setting  the  lower  buds 
jiist  below  the  top  of  the  stock.  Adjust 
the  scion  so  that  the  joint  between  the 
hark  and  wood,  in  the  stock  and  scion, 
,\  ill  exactly  correspond;  this  is  import- 
ant, as  that  is  the  place  of  union  between 
ilicm.  Tliis  done,  withdraw  the  wedge, 
and  iipply  the  cement  or  clay.  In  cut- 
ting scions,  reject  the  butt,  as  the  buds  start  re- 
luctantly or  not  at  all,  ami  reject  the  top  also,  as  it 
is  too  scSft,  or  may  be  winter-killed. 

Scions  may  be  cut  at  any  time  from  November 
to  the  time  when  the  buds  begin  to  swell  in  the 
spring.  The  best  time,  perhaps,  is  a  few  weeks 
before  setting  and  the  swelling  of  the  buds.  They 
must  l)e  kept  moist,  by  rolling  in  a  damp  cloth  and 
laid  in  the  cellar.  April  and  May  are  the  usual 
months  for  grafting. 

To  make  grafting  wax,  take  1  part  good  beef  tal- 
low, 2  parts  beeswax,  4  parts  white,  transparent 
rosin,  melt  all  together,  turn  into  cold  water,  and 
work  and  pull  it  thoroughly,  as  shoemaker's  wax. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


167 


If  used  when  the  weather  is  eold  it  must  be  kept 
in  warm  \va;er. 

If  the  trees  are  thrifty  they  will  not  generally 
need  mueh  seraping;  if  they  ai-e  not  thrifty  it  will 
be  labor  lost  to  graft  them. 

AFOUT   SETTING    HENS. 

In  reply  to  inquiries  from  "S.  A.  A.,"  of  North 
Eastou,  wc  would  say,  we  think  that  hatehing  out 
and  bringing  up  one  brood  of  chiekcns  is  enough 
for  one  hen  to  do  in  that  line,  in  on^"  year.  Some- 
times they  will  bring  up  two  broods,  but  often  fail, 
and  are  worth  little  after  the  seeond  attempt. 

Some  hens  wish  to  set  three  or  four  times  a  year, 
and  various  means  are  resorted  to,  to  prevent  it — 
such  as  shutting  them  in  a  dark  place,  tying  the 
feet  within  two  or  three  inches  of  each  other  for  as 
many  days.  Some  practices  arc  resorted  to  which 
are  ci-uel,  such  as  plunging  tliem  into  eold  water, 
or  withholding  all  food  from  them  for  a  time. 

Do  not  allow  a  hen  to  set  in  the  same  nest  where 
a  brood  has  just  been  hatched  out,  without  first 
cleaning  it  out  in  the  most  tliorough  manner,  and 
washing  it  out  with  ashes  and  water  or  strong 
lime  water. 

Hens  may  go  to  setting  now,  if  a  warm  place  is 
provided  for  them,  and  for  the  chicks  when  they 
come  out. 

Eggs  arc  much  more  certain  to  be  hatched  if  the 
nest  is  large  and  composed,  at  the  bottom,  of  earth, 
and  then  lined  with  a  little  soft  hay  or  straw. 
When  hens  steal  their  nests,  they  usually  place 
their  eggs  upon  the  ground ;  this  becomes  so  thor- 
oughly warmed  that  when  the  hen  leaves  the  nest, 
for  food  and  exercise,  the  heat  from  the  earth  is 
imparted  to  the  eggs,  and  keeps  them  warm  until 
the  hen  returns  to  them. 


A    CROP   FOR   AN    ORCHARD. 

I  have  a  young  orchard  of  one  acre  of  land ;  the 
trees  shade  most  of  the  ground.  It  has  jjeen 
gi-assed  over  f.jr  four  or  tive  years.  Last  fall  I  had 
it  plowed.  What  crop  can  I  put  in  that  will  be  the 
best  for  the  trees,  and  return  me  the  most  for  my 
laljor  ?  I  have  plenty  of  manure  for  ;he  land — how 
shall  I  u.-c  it  ?  A  Subscriber. 

Quincij,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 

Remarks. — Hoed  crops  would  be  better  for  the 
land — such  as  potatoes,  cabbages,  carrots,  &c.  Ii' 
you  apply  plenty  of  manure,  a  grain  crop  of  barlc} 
or  oats  would  not  injure  the  trees.  We  have  known 
sweet  corn  to  l)e  sowed  broadcast,  and  harvested  for 
fodder  in  a  green  state,  or  cut  up  and  dried  for  win  • 
ter  use,  and  with  excellent  results.  If  you  hav<! 
cows  giving  milk — and  especially  if  a  little  short 
of  pasture — perhaps  the  best  thing  you  can  do  with 
the  orchard  will  be  to  put  in  a  crop  of  corn  for 
fodder. 


LEASING  farms. 

A  few  weeks  ago  I  noticed  a  very  well  written 
article  on  the  subject  of  tenant  farming  in  this 
country,  somewhat  after  the  plan  practiced  in  Eng- 
land. Now  if  any  one  believes  that  the  thing  is 
practicable  in  this  country,  and  I  see  no  reason 


why  it  slioiild  not  Ijc,  I  hcrel>y  offer  a  good  farm  of 
100  acres  in  Massiielnisetis,  siitlit'it'iuly  remote 
"IVom  town"  lo  give  cheap  land,  and  at  the  same 
time  wiihin  four  miles  of  as  good  a  market,  as 
there  is  in  tliat  State,  to  any  resi»onsible  man  for 
experiment,  for  front  one  lo'live  years,  on  a  lease 
at  G  ]ier  et.  ]ier  ami.  on  valtiatioii,  and  all  taxes. 
He  may  do  what  he  phases  wiiii  the  farm  and  its 
prodnets,  the  same  as  if  they  were  his  own.  The 
valuaiioii  of  farm  and  improvements  may  be  made 
by  three  disinterested  men.  Here  is  something 
tangilile  and  praetijal  on  the  subject,  and  ib  in- 
tended not  as  an  advertl;  cnient,  as  I  do  not  care 
to  lease  the  farm,  Ijut  as  a  test  of  the  faith  of  an- 
onymous i:oninbutors,  who  are  pleased  to  air  fhrir 
theories  in  the  pubiic  journals  from  time  to  lime, 
and  to  intimate  to  them  that  to  l)c  of  value  their 
suggestions  must  l)e  practical,  and  that  they  should 
also  be  able  to  find  those  who  will  practice  them. 
J.  Gilo.  Hubbard. 
Derrij,  N.  H.,  Feb.,  1867. 

HEN  MANURE,  WOOD  ASHES,  RICH  LAND. 

Some  time  ago  I  asked  what  I  should  do  with 
some  five  Ijarrels  of  hen  manure — the  clear  drop- 
pings of  the  roost.  In  your  "Extracts  and  Replies" 
you  advised  putting  it  in  the  corn  hills  at  planting, 
&c.  When  I  made  the  inquiry  I  stated  that  I  cul- 
tivated but  a  smalt  garden,  &c. 

Now  I  have  ten  barrels  of  manure,  the  same  gar- 
den, no  cornfield,  and  raise  what  they  call  in  York 
State,  "garden  truck,"  viz  :  peas,  beans,  potatoes, 
asparagus,  tomatoes,  melons,  cucumbers,  turnips, 
mangolds,  carrots,  and  parsnips,  etc.,  etc.,  and 
about  twenty  hills  of  sweet  corn.  I  have  too  much 
manure  for  the  twenty  hills  of  corn.  What  shall 
I  do  with  it  ?  I  wish  to  use  it  about  the  garden  if 
I  can  do  so  to  advantage.  What  is  it  worth  per 
barrel  to  sell  to  green-house  gardeners  or  others  ? 

What  is  the  best  thing  I  can  do  with  good  wood 
ashes  ?  I  have  one  hundred  bushels,  and  the  gar- 
den before  mentioned,  which  is  old  and  rich,  has 
been  for  years  stuffed  with  good  manure, — as  the 
hay  fields  have  been  also.  One  of  the  fields  is 
usually  too  wet  in  the  spring  to  cart  on  the  manure 
without  "cutting  it  up."  Ralph. 

Randolph,  Mass.,  Feb.  10,  1867. 

Remarks. — Sell  the  hen  manure.  We  do  not 
know  what  it  is  worth.  Sell  the  wood  ashes.  The 
ashes  are  worth  $30  for  the  hundred  bushels,  and 
haul  them  some  distance  if  they  are  pure.  Can  it 
be  possible  that  you  are  correct  ?  That  there  is 
one  piece  of  land  in  Massachusetts  that  does  not 
need  manure !  Even  on  an  old,  rich  garden,  we 
should  suppose  M'ood  ashes  would  prove  protitable, 
unless  it  had  been  dressed  with  them  frequently. 


CURE  FOR  THE  LAME  FOWL. 

In  reply  to  an  inquiry  for  a  cure  of  a  Brahma 
fowl  that  lost  the  use  of  his  legs,  I  will  say  that 
I  have  had  many  chickens  that  were  hatched  ear- 
ly, say  in  February  and  March,  and  kept  in  the 
coop  till  May,  as  well  as  those  three  or  four  years 
of  age,  lose  the  use  of  their  legs.  I  have  cured 
them  in  a  few  days  by  separating  them  from  the 
other  fowls  and  putting  a  few  drops  of  Iodine  in 
the  water.  Of  late  I  have  kept  iron,  such  as  old 
nails  and  pieces  of  iron  hoops,  &c.,  in  their  water, 
and  have  not  been  troubled  in  this  way  since  I 
adopted  this  plan.  James  Buffington. 

Halem,  Mass.,  Feb.  23,  1867. 


VERMONT  WHEAT  GROAVERS. 

I  wish  some  of  our  VeriHont  farmei's  would  give 
us  some  infonnation  relative  to  wheat  growing  in 


168 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARI^IER. 


April 


Vermont,  telling  us  whether  winter  wheat  or 
spring  wheat  succeeds  best — and  put  their  names 
to  their  communications,  so  that  we  can  correspond 
with  them,  and  buy  some  of  their  wheat  for  seed. 
Since  flour  has  gone  up  to  sixteen  and  eighteen 
dollars  per  barrel,  it  is  time  for  fanners  to  try  to 
help  one  another ;  for,  with  present  prices  and  high 
taxes,  I  am  fearful  we  shall  drift  on  to  breakers, 
especially  if  our  representatives,  as  in  Massachu- 
setts, vote  themselves  $600  per  session. 

Caleb  E.  Pakmenter. 
Attleboro',  Mass.,  Feb.  21,  1867. 


CHEESE-MAKERS'   ASSOCIATION". 

The  third  annual  meetinoj  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Cheese-manufacturers'  Association,  was 
held  in  West  Brooktield,  on  Thursday,  Feb. 
24,  Capt.  HoUis  Tidd,  President,  in  the  chair. 

Officers  elected  for  the  current  year,  were, 
for  President,  Hollis  Tidd  ;  Vice  Presidents, 
D.  S.  Ellis,  Warren,  and  J.  F.  Davis,  Barre ; 
Secretary,  N.  S.  Hubbard,  Brimfield ;  Treas- 
urer, B.  F.  Hamilton,  New  Braintree.  The 
Executive  Committee  is  constituted  of  the  fore- 
going list  of  officers. 

Reports  were  received  from  Barre  Central, 
Barre  South,  Hardwick  Centre,  Hardwick 
South,  Petersham,  New  Braintree,  Worcester 
Co.  in  Warren,  and  South  Adams  Factories. 
We  give  the  two  following  as  specimens  : — 

Barre  South. — Capital,  $o053  ;  began  mak- 
ing April  24,  and  ended  Nov.  8 ;  amount  of 
milk  707,297  lbs. ;  lbs.  of  milk  to  a  lb.  of 
cheese,  10.46,  or  nearly  lOi  ;  cheese  kept  be- 
fore sending  to  market  on  an  average  about  55 
days;  size,  853  weighed  from  70  to  80  lbs. 
apiece,  and  726  from  18  to  22  lbs. ;  help,  1 
man  and  1  woman,  at  a  cost,  including  board, 
of  $575.93;  cost  of  making  per  100,  $1.93; 
amount  of  cured  cheese,  67,570  lbs. ;  av.  num- 
ber of  cows,  175  ;  lbs.  of  cheese  per  cow,  406  ; 
av.  market  price,  $19.85  per  100;  net  return 
to  farmers,  $16.92  per  100  lbs. 

Hardwick  South. — Capital,  $4500 ;  began 
making  May  10,  and  ended  Oct.  15  ;  amount 
of  milk  722,526  lbs.  ;  lbs.  of  milk  to  a  lb.  of 
cheese,  10.3,  a  little  over  10| ;  cheese  kept  be- 
fore marketing,  from  3  to  6  weeks  ;  help,  1  man 
and  1  woman,  costing  $511.56;  amount  of 
cured  cheese,  70,963  lbs.  ;  net  return  to  farm- 
ers, $15.60  per  100. 

Process-  o/-'  Manufacturing,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Green,  of  the  New  Braintree  Factory,  was  as 
follows  :  Heat  the  milk  before  ])utting  in  the 
rennet  to  84  degrees ;  then  let  it  stand  from  1 
to  li^  hoar  before  crossing;  cross  and  let  it 
stand  15  or  20  minutes,  then  break  up  the 
curd  carefully  with  the  hands  and  heat  to  90° 
to  98°,  and  cover  up  warm  and  let  it  stand  un- 
til cooked  ;  thvn  dip  out  into  a  sink  and  let  it 
drain  dry  and  salt  at  the  rate  of  2  7-16  lbs.  per 
lOOO  lbs.  of  milk,  then  press  24  hours. 

Facts  or  statements  came  out  in  the  discus- 
sion, incidentally,  of"  great  interest,  such  as 
this  :  a  man  wlio  kept  three  cows,  sent  his 
milk  to  till!  factory,  who  got  but  $20  return  for 
them  before,  per  annum,   got  $40  return  per 


cow  after  sending  his  milk  to  the  factory.  Mr. 
Greene,  of  New  Braintree,  made  some  inter- 
esting statements  on  this  point,  such  as  it  took 
a  lb.  less  milk  at  the  factory  than  in  the  house 
dairy  at  home.  His  statements  were  founded 
on  actual  experience,  and  are  therefore  worthy 
of  consideration.  One  gentleman  stated  that 
the  net  return  to  the  farmer  from  the  milk  sent 
to  the  factory  would  exceed  what  he  could  get 
from  the  cheese  made  at  home ;  thus  showing 
the  labor  of  home-making,  with  rennet,  fuel, 
marketing,  &c.,  may  be  reduced  to  that  of  car- 
rying the  milk  to  the  factory,  and  he  be  the 
gainer.  It  was  also  stated  that  those  factories 
which  made  the  smallest  sized  cheeses  returned 
the  largest  amount  of  profit  on  the  milk  used. 

The  Convention  was  well  attended  and  har- 
monious in  its  action,  which,  taking  it  all  in  all, 
was  by  far  the  most  profitable  meeting  of  the 
association  yet  holden,  thus  demonstrating  that 
the  association  of  those  engaged  in  associated 
labor  tends  to  promote  progress  and  improve- 
ment by  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge. — 
Boston  Cultivator,  abridged. 


New  York. — At  the  Winter  Meeting  of  the 
New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  at  Al- 
bany, Feb.  13,  the  following  officers  were 
elected  for  1867. 

President — Gen.  Marsena  R.  Patrick,  Ontario. 

Vice  Presidents — Thos.  H.  Faile,  Jr.,  New  York, 
and  seven  others. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Benj.  P.  Johnson,  Al- 
bany. 

Recording  Sec'y — Erastus  Corning,  Jr.,  Albany. 

Treasurer — Luther  H.  Tucker,  Albany. 

Executive  Committee — Geo.  H.  Broivn,  Duchess, 
and  7  others. 

As  usual  at  this  meeting,  premiums  on  grain, 
roots,  butter,  fruit,  &c.,  were  awarded.  X. 
A.  Willard,  Esq.,  delivered  an  address  on 
English  farmina:. 


Hops. — Mr.  Z.  E.  Jameson,  of  Irasburg, 
Vt.,  writes  to  the  Country  Gentleman  that  a 
field  in  that  town  whicli  produced  2000  lbs.  in 
1865  yielded  only  200  lbs.  in  1866.  In  years 
past  roots  were  given  away.  Now  they  can- 
not be  obtained  without  difficulty  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  replace  the  dead  hills.  The  run- 
ners which  are  cut  up  into  sets  seem  diseased. 
Whether  this  state  of  things  is  wholly  the  ef- 
fect of  lice  or  partially  the  result  of  cutting 
the  vine  before  the  hop  is  fully  matured,  caus- 
ing it  to  bleed  and  exhaust  the  root  somewhat, 
I  cannot  say.  There  seems  to  be  a  prospect 
that  this  branch  of  agriculture  will  soon  be- 
come extinct,  unless  the  causes  which  have 
proved  so  detrimental  can  be  removed. 


— It  is  no  uncommon  thing  in  Scotland  for  far- 
mers wlio  enter  upon  a  lease  of  19  years,  to  invest 
some  $50  to  $75  per  acre  on  drainage,  liming  and 
other  improvements. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


169 


Five  years  ago  the  range  of  prices  on  beef  1 
cattle  at  Brighton,  as  stated  by  our  present  re-  ' 
porter,  was  $4.50  to  $6.50  per  100  lbs. ;    last ' 
week  it  was  stated  by  the  same  individual  at 
$10.50  to  14.00 — the  average  price  being  now  , 
more  than  twice  as  much  as  it  was  five  years 
ago.     It  may  also  be  remarked  that  the  pres-  I 
ent  high  rates  have  been  firmly  maintained  for 
about  a  year  and  a  half. 

Five  years  ago  mutton  sheep  were  reported 
by  the  same  authority  at  $4.25  to  $5.75  per 
100  lbs.;  last  week  $4.00  to  $7.25— a  com-; 
paratively  small  advance.  I 


In  England,  previous  to  the  great  disturb- 
ance of  prices  by  the  sad  effects  of  the  cattle 
plague,  beef  had  been  gradually  but  steadily 
advancing  for  a  series  of  years,  while  wheat 
has  been  as  steadily  declining  in  price,  during 
the  same  period. 

Statistics  which  we  need  not  hunt  up,  as  the 
fact  is  obvious  to  the  most  careless  observer, 
show  that  in  the  Eastern  portion  of  the  United 
States,  cattle  are  decreasing  nearly  as  fast  as 
population  is  increasing.  In  1862  there  were 
35,405  head  of  cattle  from  the  Western  States 
sold  in  Brighton  market ;  in  1866  the  number 


170 


NEW    ENGLAM)    FARIVIER. 


April 


was  increased  to  68,661,— nearly  double,  al- 
though large  numbers  were  received  from  the 
Northern  part  of  New  York,  from  the  Cana- 
das  and  New  Brunswick. 

Are  not  these  considerations  sufficient  as  a 
hint  to  the  wise  and  thoughtful  farmer  ?  Have 
we  not,  here  in  New  England,  in  the  laudable 
ambition  to  increase  the  production  of  wool 
and  other  necessaries  of  life,  overlooked  in  too 
great  a  degree  the  wisdom  embodied  in  the 
proverb,  that  "Much  increase  is  by  the  strength 
of  the  ox  ?"  A  few  far-seeing  individuals  among 
us — the  Chenerys,  Whites,  Loomises,  Langs, 
Andersons,  Meeches,  Hydes,  Eames,  Pierces, 
tVinslows,  tfcc,  &c.,  seem  to  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  stock  raising  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  New  England  States,  and  are  quietly  pre- 
paring the  means  for  a  great  improvement  in 
this  branch  of  farming,  when  the  attention  of 
a<^ricultural  societies  and  of  individual  farmers 
shall  be  turned  to  this  subject, — when,  in  fact, 
the  agricultural  press  shall  give  the  breeding 
of  stock  that  prominence  in  its  columns  to 
which  it  is  entitled,  as  compared  with  poultry- 
raising,  bee-keeping,  &c.,  &c. 

The  farmers  of  the  West  are  engaging  very 
extensively  in  the  improvement  and  feeding  of 
neat  stock.  The  fine  animal  Illustrated  by  the 
above  engraving,  was  bred  by  R.  A.  Alexan- 
der, of  Kentucky,  and  introduced  into  Illinois 
by  Hon.  John  Wentworth,  editor  and  Con- 
gressman, as  well  as  stock-breeder,  near  Chi- 
cago. The  "Chicago  Duke"  is  a  good  speci- 
men of  the  Durham  race,  and  of  the  "Western 
Steers"  of  Brighton  market. 


IVLvssACUUSETTS  Stock. — We  learn  by  the 
Country  Gentleman  that  H.  G.  White,  South 
Framingham,  has  sold  to  Mr.  G.  I.  Seney, 
New  York,  the  Short  Horn  cow  Hope,  by  im- 
ported Usurper  3522,  out  of  imported  Hope- 
less by  Horatio  (10,385,)  having  by  her  side 
bull  calf,  got  by  9th  Duke  of  Thorndale  5609. 
Also,  to  W.  Brown,  Hampton  Falls,  N.  H., 
Lottie  by  Garibaldi  3918,  out  of  Arabella  7th 
by  Double  Duke  115 U,  and  Inda  2d  by  Lord 
Derby  4919,  out  of  Inda  by  4th  Duke  of  Air- 
drie  3842.  Also,  to  G.  H.  Bartlett,  Alleghany 
Co.,  Maryland,  five  head  of  South  Downs, 
bred  from  Archbishop  stock,  and  a  Scotch 
Colley  dog.  Also,  Colley  dogs  to  B.  T. 
Hutchinson,  Suflblk  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  F.  L. 
Blandy,  Ohio. 


1^1 


PABMER'S   GARDENS. 

NUMBER    ONE. 

.^>-^_(-  OPING    that  some   thousands 

yS'^^^^<fi<^^  of  our  New  England  farmers 
^^'"i^^fiiy  may  be  induced  to  lay  out 
ili     jS|L  y  and  plant  a  garden,  that  shall 
'    '^     continue,    not  only  to  bless 
K^,^  themselves   and  their  house- 
'^i  holds,  but  to  bless  their  chil- 
dren and  children's  children 
for  ages  to  come,  we  propose 
to  publish,  between  this  time 
and  that  for  working  and  sow- 
^^^^     ing  the  garden,  several  arti- 
1^         cles  on  the  subject  of  Farm- 
er''s  Gardens. 
We  cannot,  in  a  few  brief  editorial  articles, 
enter  so  minutely  into  the  details  of  gardening 
as  we  should  be  glad  to,  but  shall  endeavor  to 
give  such  plain  suggestions  as  will  enable  those 
who  have   an  interest  in  the  matter,  to  go  on 
understandingly. 

A  good  vegetable  garden  is  conceded  by 
most  farmers  to  be  both  convenient  and  profit- 
able, and  yet  comparatively  few  farmers  have 
one.  The  reason  usually  given  for  this  ne- 
glect is,  that  they  do  not  have  time  to  attend 
to  it.  The  truth  in  the  case  is,  that  the  gar- 
den requires  a  little  care  daily,  and  demands 
thought,  patience  and  system,  in  order  to  se- 
cure success  and  profit.  Unhappily,  these  are 
just  what  most  farmers  dislike,  preferring  to 
tend  the  larger  crops,  Avhere  little  thought,  but 
more  muscular  power  is  required.  They  would 
be  glad  of  the  rich  products  of  the  garden 
upon  their  tables,  and  of  the  pleasure,  health 
and  profit  which  they  would  yield  to  the  family  ; 
but  the  habit  of  neglect  In  this  particular  has 
become  so  deeply  implanted  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  that  no  common  Influence  will  break 
it  up.  With  the  settled  conviction  that  half  an 
acre  devoted  to  garden  culture  would  annu- 
ally produce  more  profit  than  four  or  five  times 
as  much  land  in  any  of  the  other  crops  of  the 
farm,  thousands  of  our  farmers  still  remain 
without  a  kitchen  garden,  even,  that  is  worthy 
of  the  name.  It  would  seem  that  pecuniary 
interests,  and  the  comfort  and  health  of  the 
family  would  overcome  the  dislike  to  cuhivate 
a  garden  ;  but  the  aversion  to  systematic  care 
overrides  all  these  considerations,  and  the  gar- 
den remains  only  in  anticipation,  or,  in  some 
out-of-the-way  place.  It  consists  of  a  few  rows  of 
potatoes,  onions  and  beets,  with  a  few  sage 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


171 


roots  and  a  swamp  of  weeds,  whose  only  re- 
deeming I'eature  is  the  presence  of  winter 
birds  in  search  of  a  daily  meal  of  seeds. 
Without  a  garden,  the  winter  diet  of  the  fam- 
ily must  be  mainly  contined  to  bread,  meats 
and  potatoes.  When  warm  weather  returns, 
the  system  requires  less  stimulating  food  and  de- 
mands cooling  and  juicy  vegetables  fresh  from 
the  soil.  There  are  many  farmers  who  have  no 
garden — not  even  an  apology  for  one.  We  knew 
a  case  where  the  wife  of  a  famier  worth  ten 
thousand  dollars,  went  to  a  neighbor's  garden 
to  beg  a  few  fresh  vegetables  when  company 
was  expected.  Thousands  of  farmers'  tables 
are  rarely  graced  with  early  vegetables,  such 
as  lettuce,  radishes,  early  beans,  potatoes  and 
peas,  when  they  might  be  crowned  with  all  the 
vegetable  luxuries  peculiar  to  each  season  by 
a  little  labor  and  systematic  care. 

An  observing  gentleman  from  another  State 
in  writing  us  on  this  subject  says : — 

"No  part  of  the  farm  pays  as  well  as  the 
kitchen  garden,  if  well  taken  care  of.  I  do 
not  mean  by  this  that  every  farmer  can  make 
money  by  raising  vegetables  for  market,  be- 
cause that  is  impracticable,  but  it  is  a  self-evi- 
dent fiU't  that  the  farmer  must  procure  the  sup- 
port of  his  family  from  his  farm,  and  a  well 
conducted  garden  will  produce  more  towards 
this  than  any  other  part  of  the  farm  of  four 
times  the  extent. 

The  use  of  vegetables  and  fruit  as  a  diet  is 
said  by  medical  men  to  be  conducive  to  health, 
and  as  most  people,  and  especially  children  are 
fond  of  garden  fruits,  it  is  policy  for  every  far- 
mer to  provide  a  plentiful  supply  lor  home  con- 
sumption. It  would  seem  that  people  having 
all  the  conveniences  that  farmers  have,  as  re- 
gards land  and  plenty  of  leisure  time  to  take 
care  of  a  garden,  would  be  the  ones  that  would 
consume  the  most  of  such  things  ;  but  it  is  true 
that  the  people  of  cities  and  villages  use  more 
vegetables  than  the  same  number  of  land  own- 
ers. Take  a  look  among  the  fiirmers,  and  you 
will  find  that  one-half  of  them  have  no  garden 
at  all,  or  at  most,  a  little  corner  in  the  grain 
field  which  is  overrun  with  weeds.  Others 
have  a  place  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  but  do 
not  get  time  to  do  anything  in  it  until  all  the 
spring  fiirm  work  is  done,  thereby  making  it 
too  late  to  secure  any  of  the  vegetables  requir- 
ing early  planting,  and  destroying  the  possi- 
bility of  getting  early  kinds.  This  is  a  great 
loss,  when  we  taki;  into  consideration  that  such 
things  are  relished  a  great  deal  more  in  the  hot 
weather  of  June  and  July,  than  later  in  the 
summer.  What  is  more  aggravating  than  to 
know  that  one's  neighbor  has  green  peas,  new 
potatoes,  string  beans  and  the  like,  and  his 
own  but  just  up,  and  all  through  his  own  ne- 
glect by  not  planting  in  season. 


And  so  the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters, 
who,  during  the  first  two  or  three  months  of 
summer,  have  to  rack  their  brains  to  think  of 
something  to  get  for  dinner,  wiiich  the  men 
can  eat — ibr  when  they  come  in  from  the  field, 
weary  with  labor,  tlu'ir  stomachs  are  apt  to  re- 
volt at  salt  pork  and  old  potatoes.  But  if  there 
are  early  potatoes,  peas,  beans  and  other  veg- 
etables in  the  garden,  they  know  just  what  to 
get  for  dinner,  and  when  the  workmen  come 
in,  they  eat  with  a  relish,  and  nothing  does  the 
faithful  wife  more  good  than  to  see  her  hus- 
band eat  the  food  she  has  cooked  for  him,  as  if 
it  tasted  good. 

The  garden  should  be  near  the  house,  as 
housekeepers  do  not  always  have  time  to  go 
far  ;  and  if  it  is  close  by  a  great  many  leisure 
moments  can  be  spent  in  weeding,  &c.,  which 
could  not  be  done  if  it  is  remote." 

The  garden  should  also  be  enclosed,  so  that 
fowls  and  other  stock  cannot  enter  it.  No 
success  can  be  reasonably  expected  if  fowls  are 
allowed  to  range  in  it,  as  their  instincts  lead 
them  to  the  freshly-moved  soil  for  some  of 
their  most  essential  food.  They  are,  there- 
fore, always  ready  to  scratch  where  the  gar- 
dener has  just  fashioned  his  new  beds,  planted 
his  choice  shrubs  or  scattered  his  early  seeds. 
If  enclosed,  the  space  alongside  the  fences  may 
be  occupied  by  raspberries,  blackberries,  toma- 
toes and  other  climbers,  which  will  also  serve 
the  double  purpose  of  a  shelter  to  more  ten- 
der plants.  If  there  is  a  path  between  these 
and  the  more  central  portions  of  the  garden, 
these  chmbers  can  be  conveniently  cultivated 
from  it,  and  their  spreading  easily  prevented. 

"The  manure  for  the  garden  should  be  well 
rotted,  and  if  allowed  to  remain  in  a  vault  or 
cellar  through  the  summer,  all  seeds  would  be 
killed,  thus  saving  a  vast  amount  of  work  in 
loading.  Apply  the  manure  in  the  fall,  and 
plow  in  immediately,  plowing  again  in  the 
spring,  which  thoroughly  mixes  it  with  the  soil. 
As  soon  as  the  weather  will  permit,  plant  early 
potatoes,  peas  and  all  kinds  of  early  vegeta- 
bles, which  are  not  liable  to  be  killed  by  frost, 
putting  in  others  along  as  the  season  will  per- 
mit, and  when  they  come  up,  keep  them  weU 
hoed  and  free  from  weeds,  and  you  will  have 
the  satisfaction  of  having  something  good  as 
well  as  your  neighbor."  When  this  work  Is 
performed  early  and  faithfully  it  will  be  alto- 
gether more  easy  to  continue  planting  as  the 
season  advances,  and  to  keep  the  whole  in  good 
order.  Indeed,  when  the  commencement  is 
thorough,  it  greatly  aids  all  future  opera- 
tions. 


172 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Apru 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
EXPERIMENTS  "WITH  SPECIAL  PER- 
TILIZERS. 
It  is  a  difficult  task  to  conduct  successful  ex- 
periments with  animal  and  vegetable  life  and 
give  them  to  the  public  in  a  clear,  accurate  and 
definite  form.  The  novice  is  little  aware  how 
easily  he  can  prove  a  falsity,  how  liable  to 
confound  himself  and  mislead  others.  An  ex- 
perimenter should  first  acquire  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  subject  he  has  in  hand.  He  should 
be  a  close  observer,  a  patient  and  diligent 
searcher  for  _  truth,  free  from  prejudice,  and 
open  to  conviction,  as  well  as  comprehensive 
and  accurate  in  reasoning.  With  all  these 
qualities,  experience  increases  the  power  of 
determining  the  truth.  The  agricultural  works 
of  this  country  are  deficient  in  carefully  con- 
ducted experiments  in  all  departments.  The 
boards  of  agriculture  and  managers  of  our  va- 
rious societies  would  confer  favors  upon  their 
constituency,  if  they  would  make,  or  cause  to 
be  made  by  competent  persons,  experiments  of 
the  many  new  things  now  urged  upon  the  pat- 
ronage of  farmers,  and  fearlessly  publish  the 
results  ;  or  if  they  would  give  some  simple  and 
explicit  directions  to  those  who  choose  to  in- 
vestigate for  themselves. 

A  large  share  of  the  disappointment  and 
many  of  the  conflicting  results  with  the  special 
fertilizer  of  the  day,  arise  from  very  imperfect 
trials.  Either  the  premises  are  wrong,  the  de- 
tails or  attending  circumstances  negrected,  or 
the  conclusions  are  inaccurately  drawn. 

Take,  for  example,  what  is  now  attracting 
public  attention,  "Bone  Flour."  I  know  of  one 
instance  where  it  was  tried  without  apparent 
benefit  upon  a  mowing  field  which  is  kept  in 
high  condition,  and  where  the  grass  was  cut 
early ;  and  of  another,  with  like  results,  upon 
a  market  garden,  where  the  land  receives 
heavy  dressings  of  stable  and  vault  manure 
combined,  and  where  the  crops  are  taken  off 
early.  In  both  these  cases  the  experimenters 
condemned  bones  in  toto,  declaring  "bone  ma- 
nure not  worth  a  cent,  and  they  \vould  not  ap- 
ply it  if  given  to  them."  In  both  these  cases 
it  is  plain  that  the  mode  of  cropping  does  not 
take  from  the  land  much  phosphate  of  lime, 
and  consefjuently  the  very  liberal  applications 
of  the  richest  manures  supplied  all  that  was 
wanted. 

Again,  some  have  the  idea  that  the  flour  of 
bone  is  intended  for  a  substitute  for  barnyard 
manure,  and  try  its  effects  accordingly.  They 
deal  out  a  spoonful  or  two  in  a  hill,  in  one  row, 
maiuu-e  or  wood  ashes  in  the  next  row,  and  so 
on.  They  look  for  results  in  the  stalk  and  leaf; 
and  seeing  the  great  difference  in  favor  of  ma- 
nure, force  the  conclusion  at  once,  that  their 
land  does  not  need  bones. 

A  sliglit  knowledge  of  chemistry,  which  may 
be  actjuired  in  tiie  field  as  well  as  "in  the  labora- 
tory, shows  tlial  bones  or  phosphate  of  lime  is 
highly  inii)ortant  in  the  growth  of  plants,  and 


through  them  to  animal  economy.  But  it  is 
only  a  small  part  of  the  plant.  Other  elements 
are  necessary  to  the  formation  of  the  plant  than 
those  which  bones  furnish,  or  which  they  can 
produce  out  of  the  soil  by  any  action  they  may 
have  upon  it.  It  would  be  as  reasonable  to  ex- 
pect a  cliild  to  thrive  upon  sugar,  starch,  or 
butter  alone,  as  plants  to  grow  from  the  mere 
application  of  bone  flour.  It  was  never  in- 
tended as  a  substitute  for  barnyard  manure. 
It  is  only  a  help,  being  an  expeditious  and 
economical  way  of  returning  to  the  farm  what 
has  been  carried  away  in  products  sold.  AVhile 
the  ammonia  in  guano,  and  some  other  com- 
mercial fertilizers,  goes  to  form  the  blade,  stalk, 
and  leaf,  phosphate  of  lime  develops  the  fruit, 
seed  and  grain, — it  tends  to  perfiact  the  plant, 
rather  than  build  its  fibre  and  cellular  struc- 
ture ;  hence  its  benefits  are  not  so  easily  de- 
termined by  the  eye.  It  acts  slower  than  am- 
monia, and  one  year  is  not  sufficient  to  test  it, 
especially  if  the  season  is  dry.  Plants,  like  an- 
imals, requii-e  a  limited  amount  and  all  in  ex- 
cess is  rejected,  and  disappointment  will  follow 
large  applications,  if  immediate  returns  only 
are  expected. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  give  rules  by  which 
it  could  be  determined  what  field  would  be 
benefited  by  it ;  though  it  is  obvious  that  light 
and  poor  soils  are  sooner  exhausted  of  this  ele- 
ment than  heavy,  retentive  and  rock}-  ones, 
but  much  depends  upon  the  kind  of  crops 
raised  and  sold,  and  the  mode  of  cropping. 
Though  exhausting  crops  are  continually  rais- 
ed, there  will  be  little  impoverishment  of  the 
land  if  they  are  spent  upon  the  farm.  When 
seeds,  grain,  milk  and  animals  are  sold  year 
after  jear,  tlie  phosphates  are  taken  away  in 
large  quantities.  Such  farms  ought  to  fe"how 
good  results  from  their  return. 

For  convenience  in  experimenting  with  bone 
flour,  it  is  advisable  to  mix  it  with  muck,  sand 
or  any  kind  of  dry  fine  soil.  On  grain,  hay  or 
pasture  lands,  apply  as  early  in  spring  as  pos- 
sible. Sow  it  on  a  strip  across  the  field.  If 
there  are  variations  in  the  soil,  the  strip  select- 
ed should  cross  them  so  as  to  embrace  a  part 
of  all  kinds.  AVith  lioed  crops,  mark  out  two 
equal  lots  in  a  favorable  part  of  the  field.  On 
one,  apply  nothing  ;  on  the  other,  sow  the  mix- 
ture broadcast  or  in  the  drills.  Determine  the 
results  or  increase,  by  measure  and  weight. 
Trying  wood  ashes  or  stable  manure  at  the 
same  time,  and  comparing  their  results  with 
that  of  bones,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  expe- 
riment, and  is  apt  to  detract  the  attention  from 
the  main  point,  w'hich  is  to  ascertain  how  much 
more  land  willyield  withbone  flour  than  without 
it.  If  any  benefit  is  found,  a  liberal  aj)plication 
ouglit  to  show  good  effects  several  yi-ars.  Its 
action  and  nature  prove  that  it  is  intended  for 
occasional,  rather  than  constant  use.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  some  other  special  fertil- 
izers, as  ])Ias(er,  salt,  &c.  It  has  frt'(|uently 
happenc^d  that  a  slight  application  of  these  ar- 
ticles has  produced  good  results ;  larger  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


173 


more  frequent  applications  were  given,  with 
the  expectation  of  corresponding  increase  of 
crop ;  no  such  increase  was  obtained,  in  fact 
tlieir  action  was  soon  imperceptible  ;  and  dis- 
appointment and  general  distrust  in  all  special 
fertilizers  were  the  natural  consecpience.  In 
accounting  for  failures  of  this  kind,  may  it  not 
be  safely  inferred  that  the  land  had  received  a 
sufhcient  quantity  of  these  particular  elements, 
and  no  excess  could  stimulate  the  plants  to 
greater  growth. 

These  thoughts  are  suggested  by  my  own  at- 
tempts at  experimenting,  and  reading  and  study- 
ing the  efforts  of  others,  and  are  offered  to  my 
brother  liirmers,  simply  to  show  that  experi- 
ments, unless  most  skilfully  conducted,  are  of  no 
value,  however  honest  may  be  the  motives  that 
actuated  them,  in  giving  them  to  the  pub- 
lic, every  circumstance  that  can  possibly  influ- 
ence the  result  should  be  carefully  stated,  that 
all  may  draw  their  own  conclusions. 

•Jan.,  1SC7.  n.  s.  t. 


Goitre. — A  correspondent  of  the  Bural 
New  Yorker  in  Oakland  County,  Mich.,  lost 
most  of  his  lambs  in  1862,  by  goitre,  and  three 
quarters  of  them  in  1863.  Attributing  it  to 
feeding  too  much  corn  he  changed  the  feed  to 
oats,  but  the  disease  contined  just  as  fatal. 
The  next  winter  he  gave  no  grain  to  his  ewes, 
but  fed  them  ruta  bagas,  and  lost  about  half 
of  his  lambs.  During  all  this  time  the  ewes 
were  kept  closely  yarded,  having  an  open  shed, 
and  were  let  out  of  the  yard  half  an  hour  each 
day.  Thinking  that  perhaps  they  did  not  get 
sufficient  exercise,  he,  in  the  winter  of  1866, 
when  it  was  not  too  cold,  daily  turned  them 
several  hours  on  an  old  meadow,  forty  rods 
from  the  barn,  where  they  could  get  consider- 
able green  grass.  He  thus  sums  up  the  re- 
sult:— '"A  few  old  crones  died  and  I  cannot 
keep  my  sheep  in  quite  as  good  condition  as 
before,  but  1  lost  but  four  lambs  out  of  eighty 
from  goitre — though  most  of  them  had  it  very 
lightly." 

The  same  amount  of  study,  tact,  talent,  energy 
and  enterprise  that  suffices  to  make  a  man  moder- 
ately successful  in  a  professional  or  a  mercantile 
career  will  place  liim  in  tlie  front  rank  of  the  tillers 
of  tlie  soil. 

This  item  is  going  the  rounds  of  the  agri- 
cultural press.  We  wonder  at  it,  for  we  do 
not  believe  it  is  true.  On  the  contrary  we 
think  it  would  be  full  as  correct  to  transpose 
the  sentence  and  say,  that  the  same  amount  of 
talent,  tact,  industry,  energy,  economy  and 
enterprise  that  suffices  to  make  a  man  a  mod- 


erately successful  farmer  would  place  him  in 
the  front  rank  of  the  professional  or  mercan- 
tile classes.  And  we  appeal  to  the  history  of 
those  who  have  left  farming  for  the  professions, 
and  to  that  of  those  who  have  left  the  profes- 
sions for  farming,  for  confirmation  of  the  truth 
of  our  version. 


Addison  Co.,  Vt. — At  a  meeting  of  the  agri- 
cultural Society  of  this  county,  at  Middlebury, 
Jan.  23d,  Victor  Wright,  of  Middlebury,  was 
elected  President ;  H.  O.  Giffbrd,  of  New  Haven 
and  E.  S.  Stowell,  of  Cornwall,  Vice  Presidents  ; 
Geo.  Hammond,  Middlebury,  and  A.  J.  Child, 
of  Weybridge,  Secretaries  :  Edward  Vallette. 
Treasurer. 


Board  of  Agriculture. — His  Excellency 
the  Governor,  with  the  advice  of  the  Council 
has  appointed  Louis  Agassiz  of  Cambridge, 
and  William  S.  Clark  of  Amherst,  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts. 


The  Mothers. — The  Vermont  Farmer  says 
that  Mrs.  Hannah  Brown  of  St.  Jolmsbury, 
who  is  in  her  68th  year,  has,  during  the  past 
season,  besides  doing  her  own  work  and  a 
great  deal  for  others,  spun  68  skeins  of  yarn, 
and  woven  400  yards  of  cloth,  and  that  Mrs. 
Betsev  Church  of  Chester,  74  years  of  age,  has 
spun  350  ten-knotted  skeins  of  Avoolen  yarn 
within  the  last  four  months. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS    ANIMALS,   IWCIiCJDrN  G  IN- 
SECTS.— WO.    I. 

BY     I.     B.     HARTWELL. 

However  it  may  be  in  other  sections  and 
other  countries,  in  New  England  we  suffer  but 
little  from  the  depredations  of  the  larger  wild 
animals,  Avhile  some  of  the  small  vertebi'ates, 
especially  the  rodents,  are  (piite  troublesome ; 
and  that  class  of  the  articulates  called  insects, 
are  yearly  making  such  insiduous  and  extensive 
inio'ads  upon  vegetation  as  to  excite  alarm 
lest  these  implacable  and  uncompromising  foes 
shall  at  length  become  our  con(]uerors  and 
masters. 

We  find  in  a  late  number  of  the  New^  Eng- 
land Farmer,  the  statement,  "that  $300, 000,- 
000  a  year  will  not  cover  the  damage  done  to 
farmers  in  this  country,  by  insects  alone." 

But  before  speaking  more  particularly  of  ob- 
noxious insects,  we  have  a  word  for  the  ro- 
dents ;  and  because  in  the  Norway  rat,  Mus 
Decumanus,  culminates  all  the  villanies  of  his 


174 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARCER. 


April 


genus  and  order,  we  will  take  him  for  the  prin- 
cipal subject  of  our  first  two  numbers. 

If  a  civilized,  merciful  and  Christian  man 
can  possibly  have  an  enemy  so  detestable  and 
vicious  that  he  would  be  justified  in  seeking  to 
destroy  him  by  the  aid  of  cats,  dogs,  weasels 
and  ferrets  ;  by  all  kinds  of  traps  and  snares  ; 
by  poison,  by  fire  and  water,  by  starvation, 
fright  and  torture ;  such  an  enemy  must  be 
found  in  the  rat  family. 

Yet  in  fairness,  it  should  be  admitted  that 
this  rodent  is  not  thus  obnoxious  to  man's  ex- 
treme displeasure,  simply  because  he  is  a  sneak- 
thief,  murderer,  and  rat  cannible  ;  but  chiefly 
because  he  preys  upon  and  defiles  the  stores 
which  man  has  hoarded  for  his  own  special  use. 

And  it  may  also  be  said  in  behalf  of  the  rat, 
that  he  is  a  thief  from  necessity  ;  for  were  he 
ever  so  much  inclined  to  pursue  an  inoffensive 
course  of  life,  and  to  earn  his  subsistence  by 
honest  and  honorable  toil,  all  avenues  to  such 
a  course  are  to  him  effectually  closed.  And 
he  seems  to  understand  and  accept  the  situa- 
tion, well  knowing  and  fearing  the  impending 
penalty  for  his  acts,  and  ambitious  in  nothing 
but  the  attainment  of  a  bad  eminence  in  his 
profession.  We  do  not  know  whether  he  ever 
repines  at  his  lot,  or  presumptuously  inquires 
■why  he  was  made  a  rat,  and  not  rather  some 
more  favored  animal.  If  so,  we  advise  him  to 
read  Pope  : — 

"Then  in  the  scale  of  life  and  sense  'tis  plain 
There  must  be,  somewhere,  such  a  link  as  rat." 

But  perhaps  it  is  a  question  more  interesting 
to  man  than  rat,  why  there  must  be  such  a 
link  in  the  "vast  chain  of  being."  While  we 
are  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  and  benevo- 
lence of  the  Creator  of  all  things,  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  vai'ious  dependencies  and  relations 
of  the  countless  forms  of  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  is  too  limited  to  enable  us  to  compi-ehcnd 
clearly  the  necessity  or  utility  of  many  of  these 
forms.  A  very  common  solution  of  the  ques- 
tion before  us  is,  that  vermin  are  given  for  our 
discipline,  by  calling  into  exercise  our  inircnti- 
ity  ibr  their  destru<'tion,  or  our  patience  in  en- 
during their  depredations.  Perhaps  some  m.ay 
think  that  th;;y  are  consequent  to  man's  fall(>n 
condition,  and  should  be  incltemi  nts  to  the 
"seekin'4  of  a  better  country"  free  from  moths. 
Without  criticizing  too  severely  tiie  above  so- 
lution, we  may  be  allowed  to  say  tiiat  any  view 
of  the  animal  world  which  restricts  it  to  the 
use,  advantage  or  disadvantage  of  man,  must 
be  extremely  narrow  and  seL'ish.  If  we  may 
believe  the  nuords  of  geology,  the  republic  of 
animals  was  large  and  prosperous  before  the 
introduction  and  reign  of  man.  And  before 
we  can  a[)[)roach  a  true  solution  of  the  f|ues- 
tion,  w(!  mu  t  admit  that  animals  as  well  as 
men  have  ^oine  rights  whii'h  we  are  Itound  to 
respect  ;  nnd  Ihat  animal  life  and  enjoyment, 
irrespccti\(!  of  man,  is  of  some  little  importance 
in  lh(!  economy  of  nature. 

But  since   many   species   and    even  whole 


genera  of  animals,  from  time  to  time  In  the 
past  ages,  and  some  Indeed  within  the  historic 
period,  have  become  extinct  without  any  sen- 
sible disturbance  of  the  balance  of  power,  or 
apparent  shock  to  the  great  animal  fal)ric,  per- 
haps we  may  safely  proceed  to  exterminate  one 
or  two  species  of  vermixi  by  way  of  experiment. 
And  as  the  Norway  rat  is  an  interloper,  having 
come  to  America  about  1775,  we  may  the  more 
properly  take  him  as  the  first  example.  But 
'■'■Facilis  descensus — sed  revocare  gradumlioc 
opus,  hie  labor  est.''''  His  introduction  was 
easy — to  exterminate  him  Is  a  hard  job  ;  and 
Avill  probably  never  be  attempted  on  any  plan 
sufficiently  comprehensive  to  be  successful. 
And  therefore  rats  and  men  must  submit  to  live 
together  as  best  they  can,  hating  and  being 
hated.  But  if  these  detestable  gnawers  can- 
not be  utterly  destroyed,  they  may  be  dimin- 
ished, partially  excluded  or  frightened  away, 
and  compelled  to  change  their  base.  And  this 
brings  us  to  a  more  practical  consideration  of 
the  subject,  which  will  be  pursued  In  our  next 
number. 

Wllkinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
AMOUNT    OF    SEED    FOB  POTATOES. 

IlaA'ing  become  convinced  by  repeated  ex- 
periments that  one  can  obtain  more  bushels 
and  better  sized  potatoes  by  planting  the  butts 
of  large  potatoes  than  other  descrlpnons  of  seed, 
I  tried  an  experiment  last  year,  Mith  a  few  hills, 
to  ascertain  the  quantity  of  seed  necessary  to 
a  hill.  The  result  was  in  favor  of  a  much  more 
liberal  seeding  than  Is  commonly  practiced. 

To  put  the  matter  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt,  I  have  this  year  tried  an  experiment  on 
a  more  extensive  scale.  I  planted  780  hills  as 
follows  : — Commencing  at  one  end.  In  the  first 
row,  I  put  3  butts  In  a  hill.  In  the  second  row 
•4  butts  in  a  hill,  and  so  on  through  the  piece. 
Every  odd  row  had  3  butts  in  a  hill ;  every  even 
row  had  4  butts  in  a  hill.  I  dug  each  row  sep- 
arately and  weighed  the  product.  The  result 
was  ;  — 

39!)  hills  with  3  butts  yielded  1401  lbs.  14  oz. 

390  hills  with  4  butts  yielded  15G9  lbs.  l-j  oz. 

This  would  leave  a  gain  of  17  1-3  bushels  per 
acre  hy  ])lanting  4  butts  in  a  hill  instcnd  of  3. 
Take  out  10  bushels  for  the  extra  seed,  and  it  leaves 
7  1-3  bushels  clear  gain  over  and  above  the  extra 
seed. 

After  finishing  my  other  planting,  having  a 
pile  of  nmd  on  hand,  for  which  I  had  no  Iiume- 
diate  use,  I  leveled  it  down,  putting  it  in  an 
oblong  sijuare  form,  leaving  tlu;  mud  about  18 
inches  deep.  Here  I  i)lanted  V2  rows,  with  (i 
hills  in  a  row.  From  necessity  1  i)lante(l  small- 
er ])otatoes,  5  being  about  e(iual  to  -1  of  the 
others.  Here  every  odd  row  had  4  butts  In  a 
liiil,  and  every  even  row  had  b  butts  in  a  hill. 
On  digging, 

30  hills  with  4  butts  in  a  hill  violiled  l'2/)ll)s.4oz. 
36  hills  with  5  butts  in  a  hill  yielded  136  lbs.  12oz. 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


175 


This  would  leave  a  gain,  per  acre,  by  planting 
5  butts  in  a  hill  instead  of  4,  of  25  1-2  bushels. 
Take  out  8  bushels  for  the  extra  seed,  and  it 
leaves,  omitting  fractions,  17  1-2  bushels  clear 
gain  over  and  above  the  extra  seed. 

The  way  I  account  for  the  discrepancy  be- 
tween these  experiments  is  this  : — In  my  first 
experiment  I  commenced  planting  at  the  best 
end  of  the  field ;  and  consequently  as  we  ap- 
proached the  other  end,  which  was  poorer,  the 
odd  rows  were  on  better  soil  than  the  even 
rows.  Had  I  commenced  at  the  other  end  the 
result  would  doubtless  have  been  more  in  favor 
of  heavy  seeding.  Inequalit}'  of  soil  is  a  great 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  trying  accurate  experi- 
ments. In  my  second  experiment,  as  I  used 
no  manure  with  the  mud,  this  obstacle  was 
avoided. 

The  only  valid  objection  which  can  be  brought 
against  such  heavy  seeding  as  these  experi- 
ments indicate  is,  that  the  more  seed  you  put 
in  a  hill  the  smaller  will  be  the  potatoes. 
Whether  this  objection  outweighs  the  advan- 
tage of  a  larger  product,  each  one  must  decide 
for  himself.  I  think  I  had  as  many  good  sized 
eating  potatoes  from  4  butts  to  a  hill  as  fi-oni 
3 ;  so  that  the  extra  product  was  clear  gain, 
if  the  gain  was  in  small  potatoes. 

Sprouts  or  Eyes. 

1  wish  to  say  a  word  about  the  impropriety 
of  planting  small  potatoes,  or  large  ones  cut  in 
small  pieces.  The  root  of  the  potato  sprout 
or  eye  extends  to  the  center  of  the  tuber. 
Sever  the  sprout  or  eye  from  its  root,  and  you 
lessen  its  vigor.  In  proof  of  this,  pare  off  the 
outside  of  the  potato  to  the  depth  of  one-eighth 
of  an  inch,  and  the  inside,  if  planted,  will  com- 
monly grow,  Ijut  it  will  grow  feebly.  Plant 
the  paring  and  it  will  grow  feebly,  just  in  jjro- 
portion  to  its  thinness.  Cut  a  potato  as  you 
will ;  the  smaller  the  piece,  the  more  feebly  it 
will  grow.  As  to  planting  small  potatoes  it  is 
contrary  to  all  analogy.  When  tanners  win- 
nowed their  wheat  in  the  wind,  they  kept  the 
butt  of  the  heap  for  seed.  Gardeners  always 
prefer  the  middle  head  of  the  parsnip  for  seed. 
Thus  with  all  kinds  of  seeds  ;  the  largest,  most 
perfect  and  best  ripened  are  always  preferred. 
Should  one  go  counter  to  the  common  practice 
in  selecting  seeds,  his  sanity  would  at  once  be 
called  in  question.  Why.  then,  should  potatoes 
be  an  exception  to  this  universal  rule  ? 

Derry,  N.  H.,  Jan.  18G7.  e.  b. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

A   PLEA   FOR    THE    BIDDIES. 

Mr.  Editor: — I  am  right  glad  to  see  the 
pleasant  cover  of  The  Monthly  Farmer 
once  more.  I  have  greatly  missed  its  visits 
for  two  or  three  years  past.  True,  I  have  had 
the  weekly  Farmer,  but  that  is  not  in  a  proper 
form  for  occasional  reference  or  for  binding. 
It  is  only  a  newspaper ;  and,  at  the  week's  end, 


like  all  newspapers,  it  is  common  property  as 
wrapping  paper. 

But  your  i\Ionthly  collects  that  which  is  most 
valuable  in  the  weekly ;  gives  it  to  us  in  pam- 
phlet Ibrm,  which  says,  "hands  olf"  to  the  de- 
stroyer. And,  at  the  end  of  each  year,  we 
can  have  a  volume  for  reference  which  is  worth 
a  dozen  times  what  it  costs.  Few  books  in  my 
house  are  consulted  oftener  than  some  old  vol- 
umes of  The  MoN'raiA'  Fauaier.  If  those 
who  CTiltivate  the  soil  were  not  blind  to  their 
own  interest  you  would  print  a  larger  edition 
than  you  do.     But  we  must  wait  and  hope. 

And  now,  having  paid  you  what  1  really  feel 
to  be  a  well  deserved  compliment,  I  want  to 
point  out  what  I  think  is  a  glaring  inconsistency 
in  your  January  numljer.     On  page  10  you  say  : 

The  Poultry  — This  branch  of  farm  stock  prob- 
ably pays  more  for  the  money  invested  than  any 
other.  Treat  the  poultry  fairly  nud  the  poultry 
will  treat  you  to  Iksh  and  eggs  accordingly. 

All  that  is  strictly  true ;  but  on  page  26  I 
read  the  following : 

The  great  profits  which  arc  occasionally  realized 
on  a  few  fowls  induce  many  people  to  think  of  ex- 
tending the  business.  Frequent  inquiries  are  made 
for  our  opinion  as  to  the  expediency  of  engaging  in 
the  Inisiness  on  a  large  scale.  From  our  oljserva- 
tion  and  reading  wc  have  felt  obliged  to  advise 
against  all  such  enterprises. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  are  both  these  paragraphs 
true  ?  Is  it,  indeed,  a  fact  that  a  lew  fowls 
are  very  profitable  to  a  farmer,  but,  when  the 
n'.imber  is  increased,  the  business  becomes  un- 
profitable? For  one,  I  am  not  ready  to  accept 
(he  theory  or  admit  the  lact.  It  is  a  well  set- 
tled principle  that  one  can  feed  ten  cattle  or 
ten  sheep  proportionately  cheaper  than  we  can 
one  ;  that  we  can  cultivate  ten  acres  of  corn, 
or  cut  ten  aci'cs  of  hay  or  grain,  at  a  less  rate 
than  one.  Why  doesn't  the  same  rule  apply, 
at  least  in  some  degree,  to  the  poultry  yard  ? 

When  I  went  to  school — the  old  scjuare  brick 
house,  you  know ;  inverted  nn'il-hopper  lor  a 
roof;  brick  lloor ;  seats  around  the  walls  like 
a  mon-is-board,  it  took  me  some  time  to  mas- 
ter the  rule  of  which  these  signs  are  the  repre- 
sentative, :  :  :  :  But,  once  mastered,  I 
never  forgot  it.  And  I  aver  that  as  ten  fowls, 
well  kept,  15  to  "pay  better  than  any  other 
Ijraneh  of  farm  stock,"  so  is  a  hundred  fowls 
equally  as  well  kept  to  ten  times  as  nnich  profit. 

I  don't  say  that  I  am  not  wrong  in  this,  but 
if  I  am,  will  some  one  ])lease  to  tell  xcliy  'J  It 
is  no  argument  to  say  that  all  attempts  to  raise 
poultry  on  a  large  scale  have  been,  so  far,  fail- 
ures. Further  on,  in  this  very  January  num- 
ber you  (juote  from  a  Rhode  Island  paper 
which  tells  us  that,  "Mr.  A.  C.  Vose,  near 
Manville,  has  enclosed  an  acre  and  a  (juarter 
of  land  with  a  high  fence ;  and  in  this  enclo- 
sure he  keeps  about  a  hundred  and  fifty  hens. 
During  nine  months  of  the  year  these  fowls 
gave  a  net  profit  of  two  dollars  a  day,  or  five 
himdred  dollars  a  year." 

If  this  story  is  true,  why  could  n't  Jlr.  Vose 


176 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Aprii. 


enclose  another  acre  and  a  quarter  of  land  with 
a  hi<r\i  fence,  stock  it  with  fowls,  and  reap 
four  dollars  a  day  instead  of  two  ?  Or,  why 
could  he  not  have  ten  such  lots  with  a  like  in- 
creased income,  if  he  was  careful  that  all  his 
stock  was  equally  well  kept  ? 

I  ask  these  questions  earnestly  hoping  that 
some  one  will  enlighten  us  on  the  subject. 
Eggs  have  averaged  three  cents  each  in  our 
market  for  a  year  past,  and  how  much  higher 
they  will  go  unless  some  one  does  go  to  raising 
poultry  on  an  extended  scale,  no  one  can  tell. 
At  any  rate,  I  desire  that  our  Farmer  shall  be 
a  leader  in  all  good  works.  If  one  liills  down 
in  the  race,  let  him  be  picked  up,  the  dust 
brushed  off,  a  few  words  of  encouragement 
given  and  the  runner  set  on  his  way  again. 
Depend  upon  it,  it  is  a  great  deal  better  than 
telling  him  he  is  a  bad  boy  and  must  run  di- 
rectly home,  unless  }  ou  can  show  him  plainly 
and  conclusively  that  what  he  is  running  for 
cannot  be  reached.  When  I  see  that  such  is 
indeed  the  fact,  I  shall  lie  ready  to  give  in ; 
but  I  am  not  ready  to  throw  over  my  feathered 
friends  as  impracticable  just  yet.  Idex. 


CULTIVATION   OF   HOPS. 

The  high  pi-ices  which  hops  now  command 
will  induce  many  to  engage  in  the  business. 
Without  practical  experience  in  the  art  of 
growing  or  curing  them,  the  cultivator  should 
proceed  cautiously.  No  sort  of  produce  proba- 
bly has  fluctuated  in  price  like  the  hop.  This 
year  they  are  50  cents  or  more  per  pound ; 
and  in  a  year  or  two,  judging  from  the  past, 
theiy  may  be  worth  only  Irom  5  to  10  cents. 
Of  late,  too,  insect  depredation  has  proved 
most  disastrous  in  many  sections. 

We  copy  fi'om  the  Rural  New  Yorker  the 
following  article,  written  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Weller, 
of  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.,  in  reply  to  questions 
which  had  been  asked  by  another  corresjjon- 
dent : — 

"1st.  IIow  far  apart  should  the  hills  be 
])lanted  ?  Ans.  Seven  feet  one  way  and  eight 
the  other,  without  regard  to  cheai)ness  of  land. 
2d.  I  would  not  plant  the  corn  rows  near 
the  rows  ol'hops,  and  would  alternate  the  hills 
by  leaving  out  the  corn  wlu^-e  the  hop  7-oots 
arc  planted,  od.  I  Avould  advise  Hat  culture 
instead  of  hilling.  4th.  IIow  many  poles  to  a 
hill.*^  Two.  5th.  How  long  should  they  be  P 
From  18  to  22  i'eet.  Gth.  How  many  vines  to 
a  pole  ?     Two. 

I  will  give  a  little  more  advici!  than  is  asked 
or  called  lor,  with  I'cgard  to  the  roots  and 
planting.  The  roots  or  seed,  are  last  year's 
runners  ;  they  should  be  cut  five  or  six  inches 
long;  three  pieces  to  a  hill ;  they  should  be 
cut  so  that  the  eyes,  or  buds,  should  be;  hdt  on 
both  ends  of  the  roots.     They  should  be  plant- 


ed about  the  same  depth  proper  for  potatoes, 
and  should  be  dug  early,  before  the  buds  on 
the  roots  start,  put  in  a  cellar  and  kept  there 
until  you  are  ready  to  plant  your  corn.  Three 
bushels  to  the  acre  if  the  roots  are  good,  are 
enough. 

Another  correspondent  from  Wisconsin  sends 
the  Rural  the  following  on  the  same  subjects  : 
"Plant  seven  feet  apart  each  way.  I  make  no 
hills,  but  set  a  small  stake  18  inches  long  to 
denote  where  the  hill  is.  I  have  always  plant- 
ed potatoes  and  think  it  much  better  than  corn 
for  hops,  the  first  season  ;  plant  the  potatoes 
deep  so  as  to  avoid  hilling  as  much  as  possible. 
I  use  a  small  cultivator,  with  three  shovel  teeth, 
the  first  season.  Flat  culture  is  the  best  for 
this  section.  My  land  is  sandy,  and  we  some- 
times have  droughts  that  injure  the  hops,  if 
hilled.  Set  only  one  pole  to  the  hill  the  sec- 
ond season,  unless  it  is  a  very  strong  hill ; 
then  I  set  two.  Afterwards  set  two,  and  to 
the  strong  hills  three — leaving  only  two  vines 
to  a  pole.  I\Iy  poles  are  from  It)  to  20  feet 
long,  but  I  think  by  observation,  that  poles 
from  12  to  16  feet  are  long  enough.  Cedar 
rails  are  best. 

The  growing  is  nothing  to  getting  hops  in 
good  order  for  market.  One-half,  perhaps,  of 
the  hop  crop  does  not  command  over  one-half 
price  in  market,  for  the  want  of  proper  drying- 
houses  and  machinery  for  packing,  and  proper 
care  in  picking.  Any  neglect  on  the  jiart  of 
the  hop  grower  in  any  of  these  things  must  re- 
sult in  loss." 

Mr.  L.  H.  Hansen,  of  Clifton,  Va.,  an  ex- 
perienced hop-grower,  informs  the  Baltimore 
Farmer  that  he  plants  hills  at  six  feet  distance. 

"Holes  two  feet  square  and  irovafive  to  six 
(  ?)  feet  deep  Avere  dug  in  the  fall.  Early  in 
the  spring  the  holes  were  filled  with  fresh  horse 
and  cow  maniu'c,  about  one  foot  and  six  inches 
from  the  bottom.  On  top  of  the  manures  the 
top  soil  was  thrown,  and  about  two  feet  of  the 
hole  left  open  for  planting.  Three  weeks  af- 
ter the  manure  had  been  deposited  in  the  hole, 
the  hops  were  planted  and  surroimded  by  the 
subsoil,  which,  by  exposure  to  the  air,  sun, 
frost  and  i-ain,  through  the  winter,  had  lost  its 
oll'ensiveness  to  vegetation.  In  every  hole  on/t/ 
one  plant.  The  first  year  the  vines  were  tied 
to  small  poles,  to  enable  the  laborers  to  clean 
properly  around  the  plants.  The  next  year, 
and  so  on  for  every  year,  early  in  the  spring, 
the  dirt  was  removed  from  the  main  root,  and 
all  side  roots  cut  o(f  close  to  the  main  root, 
and  the  dirt  then  put  back.  As  many  of  the 
wiUings  as  were  re(juired  for  next  spring's 
])laMting,  were  put  in  ditches  one  loot  deep, 
kept  clean  during  the  summer,  and  plant(!(l  the 
next  spring.  On  the  head  of  the  hop-root 
ordj/  two  or  three  eves  were  allowed  to  grow 
into  vines,  the  balance  nipped  oil",  so  that  only 
one  pole  was  reciuired  for  every  hill.  These 
vines  grew   stronger,  made  more   hops,  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


177 


twice  as  large  fruits,  (I  have  had  them  four 
inches  long,)  as  any  other  hop  vines  I  ever 
have  seen.  As  soon  as  the  vines  have  reached 
the  top  of  the  poles,  about  twelve  feet,  their 
heads  are  cut  off  by  a  knife  tied  to  a  long 
handle." 

When  a  new  hop-garden  is  formed  in  Eng- 
land, the  ground  is  trenched,  Mr.  Stevens  says, 
to  the  depth  of  two  feet.  Where  labor  is  as 
dear  as  it  is  in  New  England,  few  farmers  will 
dig  holes  six  feet  deep,  or  trench  the  whole 
surface  to  the  depth  of  two  feet.  But  all  hop- 
growers  agree  in  the  importance  of  deep  and 
thorough  cultivation,  and  high  manuring.  In- 
deed the  hop  field,  like  the  tobacco  patch, 
claims  the  lion's  share  both  of  attention  and 
manure,  and  gets  it,  too,  where  hop-growing  is 
made  profitable.  The  following  directions  as 
to  the  subsequent  cultivation  and  kiln-drying 
were  written  for  the  New  England  Farmer 
some  five  years  ago  by  a  correspondent  who 
resided  in  Otsego  county,  the  great  hop-yard 
of  NcAV  York  : — 

"The  first  year,  they  are  cultivated  like 
corn,  no  poles  being  set,  and  in  the  fall  a 
shovelful  of  coarse  manure  is  thrown  on  each 
hill,  to  keep  them  fiom  freezing,  and  also  to 
keep  the  land  in  good  condition.  The  next 
spring  the  poles  are  set,  two  in  each  hill,  as 
soon  as  they  begin  to  show  themselves  out  of 
the  ground.  The  poles  should  be  set  very 
firm,  to  resist  the  winds,  which  exert  a  tre- 
mendous power  on  them  when  loaded  with 
vines.  Poles  are  generally  cut  eighteen  to 
twenty  feet  long,  which  admits  of  their  being 
sharpened  two  or  three  times  if  they  rot  off',  as 
they  always  do  in  a  few  years.  The  land  must 
be  cultivated  the  same  as  for  corn,  keeping  the 
weeds  down,  and  hilling  the  hops  up  about  the 
first  of  July,  the  same  as  corn,  As  soon  as 
the  hops  are  from  two  to  four  feet  high,  they 
must  be  tied  to  the  poles  with  woolen  yarn, 
putting  two  vines  to  the  poles,  and  cutting  off 
all  others  close  to  the  ground.  Nothing  more 
is  necessary  imtil  picking  time,  except  to  keep 
watch  and  fasten  up  vines  tliat  happen  to  fall 
down,  and  re-set  the  poles  if  any  should  hap- 
pen to  blow  over.  The  picking  is  usualh' 
done  by  women  and  boys  at  about  two  cents 
per  bushel.  Boxes  made  of  thin,  light  wood, 
and  holding  from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  are 
used  to  pick  them  in ;  tour  jiicking  in  a  box, 
and  having  one  man  to  pull  the  poles,  cut  off 
the  vines,  and  lay  them  on  the  box.  Large 
sacks  are  used  to  carry  them  to  the  kiln  where 
they  are  dried  before  they  are  marketable. 

"The  size  of  the  kiln  must  depend  on  the  size 
of  the  yard.  A  yard  of  two  acres  Avould  re- 
qui'-e  a  kiln  about  fourteen  by  sixteen  feet,  and 
twelve  foot  posts  ;  the  lower  room,  seven  feet 
between  joints,  and  lathed  and  plastered,  so 


as  to  be  perfectly  tight,  except  overhead, 
where  there  should  be  floor  timbers  eighteen 
inches  apart,  and  a  floor  of  slats  one  and  a  quar- 
ter inches  square,  and  laid  one-half  inch  apart, 
and  the  whole  covered  with  a  kind  of  open 
cloth  made  for  the  purpose.  On  this  floor  the 
hops  are  spread  from  four  to  six  inch(!s  deep, 
and  a  fire  of  charcoal  made  in  the  room  below, 
and  the  temperature  raised  to  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  degrees.  It  usually  takes 
about  twelve  hours  to  dry  a  kiln,  they  being 
stirred  up  every  hour,  and  a  teaspoonful  of 
sulphur  put  on  the  fire  about  as  often  ;  the  ob- 
ject of  which  is  to  bleach  or  whiten  them.  Af- 
ter being  dried  so  that  no  moisture  can  be  ex- 
tracted by  squeezing  them  between  the  thumb 
and  finger,  they  are  taken  off  and  prepared  in 
bales  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hun- 
dred pounds,  and  sent  to  market." 


Agricultural  Schools. — Every  farm  and 
workshop  ought  to  be  a  school  where  our  sons 
and  others  can  be  taught  to  guide  the  plow  and 
swing  the  scythe,  and  handle  every  tool  in  the 
most  appropriate  manner  known  to  those  skill- 
ed in  their  use.  In  the  one,  should  be  taught  the 
nature  of  soils,  the  qualities  and  uses  of  manure, 
and  all  the  minutiaj  of  the  cultivator's  art ;  in 
the  other,  the  Liavs  which  govern  mechanics 
should  be  studied,  and  the  pupil  should  be  in- 
structed in  all  the  mysteries  of  the  mechan- 
ic arts.  Thus,  in  both,  should  be  taught 
all  the  various  learning  which  goes  to  complete 
the  farmer's  and  the  mechanic's  education  for 
the  practical  duties  of  their  calling. — Mirror 
and  Farmer. 


FOREIGN    CLOTHING    MATERIAL. 

The  statistics  given  in  the  December  number 
of  the  report  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  at  Washington  show  enormous 
importations  of  clothing  material  for  the  year 
just  past.  The  wool  growers  of  the  L'nited 
States  complain  that  under  existing  laws  there 
is  no  inducement  to  continue  in  the  business  of 
growing  wool.  Prices  have  declined  under 
foreign  competition  and  excessive  importations 
to  a  point  where  wool  growing  ceases  to  be  re- 
munerative, and  hence  must  be  abandoned  un- 
less some  check  be  inaugurated  to  change  the 
tide  setting  in  against  home  fabrics  manufac- 
tured from  home  material. 

It  would  seem  that  a  country  as  extensive 
as  that  of  the  United  States,  and  with  resources 
so  abundant,  ought  to  produce  the  raw  material 
and  manufacture  out  of  it  her  own  fabrics. 
The  high  rates  paid  by  our  people  for  cloths 
ought,  in  part,  to  go  back  to  our  farmers,  who 
are  able  and  willing  to  grow  the  i^aw  material, 
instead  of  being  distributed  abroad  among  for- 
eign producers. 

The  figures  for  eleven  months  of  the  past 
three  years,  furnished  by  the  New  York  Cus- 
tom House  entries,  indicate  a  reasonable  cause 


178 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIklER. 


Arnii. 


of  alarm  in  roforoiuo  to  tho  i'uture  valuo  and 
prolUs  of  labor.  It  will  bo  soon  that  tho  ox- 
oossivo  inii>ortations  of  tho  past  yoar  aro  onor- 
mons,  and  amount  to  moro  than  !?'H\OlH).000 
moro  than  in  18()4.  Tho  folhnvino;  aro  tho  fig- 
uros  rotorroil  to,  showing  tho  imports  at  Now 
York  for  olovon  months  during  tho  yoars  18l>-K 
18ti«">  and  18tU>  rospootivoly  : — Ohio  Fiirnwr. 

IStU.  18(10.  isoo. 

Mamif  "turos  of  wool  |n4,-J72,lH>5  $T.40'.>.0;il  J;lS,lVJ8,'.H>7 

Miu\"f'turos  ofi'otton    •J.iHiS.-JJO  -J.oTl.S'.H)  ;'>,S;>0,;;")S 

Mamirtinos  of  silk  .     ft.lU>>,l;il  a.SJT.-jeS  7.010,;VJ3 

Mamirtinos  oftlux   .    4.Kli,404  S,;UC.4'J;>  (i.SlO.iVJO 

Mis(.-oll\nis  ilry  jioods  :,1U,7V2  SlVJ.l.M  1,500,;>4-J 
Total  oiitoivd  for  waro- 

lunisiTis; •27,7;U,47S  17,lH>6,7i>  40,717,110 

AiUl  I'utovoil  for  con- 

sumptiou  ....    42,20!'>,70"  t>3,725l,4i'2  70,516,014 
Total  I'liiorod  at  the 

port 70,031,185  81,380.147  120,233,l--'4 


Ykkmont  SiiKKV. — Tho  oorrospondont  of 
tho  Springtiold,  (^Mass.)  Union,  has  boon  vis- 
iting tho  shoo]>  t'arms  of  Cornwall.  Vt..  and 
roports  particulars,  llonry  F.  Doai\  has  a  oOO 
aoro  fai;m,  and  1 40  Spanish  morino  shoop,  val- 
nod  at  'SlO.lHH*  Hon.  Kollin  ,).  Jonos  has  a 
farm  of  liOO  aoros.  His  tlook  numbors  I'J,'), 
valuod  at  840.000.  F.  II.  1  Van.  ooO  aoros ; 
1;">0  brooding  owos  valuoil  at  !?,")00  oaoh — !B7o,- 
(XH).  Don't  doubt  it,  for  ho  has  boon  otloroil 
SlOOO  oaoh  ibr  tivo  of  thom,  ami  STlKH)  last 
voar  foi"  a  ibnr-yoar  old  Inu'k.  which  has  sinoo 
oarnod  him  $4000.  California  gold  minos  can't 
compare  with  that.  Morrill  Brigham.  400 
aoros ;  tlock.  oOO  thorongh-brod.  valuod  at 
^.il.OOO.  Simon  S.  KockwoU  has  a  llook  ol 
;>00  valuoil  at  SoO.OOO.  Ono  of  his  bucks  has 
netted  him  over  S-'\000  in  tho  last  four  yoars. 
Hon.  Jool  Kaiulall,  AOO  aoros,  and  'JoO  "of 
the  be>t  blooded  sheep,''  value  not  stated. 
He  sold  a  two-vear  old  buck  i-eeentlv  for  $oOOO. 


TANNING   WOODCHUCK    SKINS. 

Seeing  so  many  dilloront  ways  for  tanning 
furs,  woodchuck  .-kins.  t.tc.,  1  thought  1  would 
send  you  mine.  1  have  tried  various  ways,  and 
1  thiuk  my  way  the  least  labor,  and  tho  furs 
tanned  as  well,  if  not  better,  than  any  I  ever 
saw.  1  take  the  tirst  jnvmium  on  taiuiing  at 
our  (^ounly  Fairs  when  I  take  any  of  them. 

AVoodihut'ks  aiv  best  caught  in  winter  or 
spring.  In  an  open  winter  1  have  caught  them 
every  month  but  December.  They  oome  out 
very  early  in  the  spring,  and  it  is  very  easy 
catching  them — at  least,  I  never  had  any 
H-ouble.  Fiiul  where  they  oome  out,  set  the 
trap  in  the  month  of  the  hole,  cover  with 
leaves,  ami  I  am  snrt>  of  a  woodchuck  the  lirst 
time  one  comes  out. 

For  tamiing.  salt  tho  skins,  mil  up,  and  let 
them  lie  for  four  days  in  the  salt  ;  then  take 
them  and  stivtch,  and  let  them  ilrv  straight 
and  smooth.  Thcit  take  an  old  shave  or  some- 
thing ^imilar,  and  a  smooth  board  six  inches 
with'  to  work  i>n,  and  tlesh  the  .skin  clean  ; 
thei\  for  each  skin  take  of  salt  and  ])ul\erized 
alum  one  table  spoonful,  etjnal  parts  for  each 


skin — dissolve  the  salt  and  alum  in  warm 
water  just  enough  to  wet  the  mixture — put  it 
on  the  skins  warm — roll  up  the  skins,  and  let 
them  lie  from  two  to  four  weeks ;  then  par- 
tially dry  them ;  then  take  sand  paper  and 
rub  them  till  dry,  and  they  will  be  reaily  for 
use.  There  is  oil  enough  in  them  to  make 
thi'in  sotV  and  pliable. 

Woodchuck  fur  is  nice  plushed.  It  makes 
good  trinnning  for  children's  caps  and  nice 
mittens,  and  iloes  not  cost  one-fourth  as  much 
as  yarn,  and  outwears  them  by  half  for  mittens. 
1  make  the  inside  of  the  hands  ot  the  best  fidled 
doth  1  can  tiiul.  It  will  outwear  the  best  deei^ 
skin  1  ever  saw,  and  is  much  warmer,  and 
wetting  and  drying  iloes  not  make  them  hard 
like  deerskin.  1  have  tried  them  both,  and  I 
want  no  more  deerskin  ibr  me  vndess  for  chop- 
ping.— A.  ir.  jr.,  in  Countri/  Gcnfhman. 


A  Hint  FOit  the  Roys. — T  rejoice  to  say  I 
am  a  farmer.  Although  yoimg  yet,  I  lind  I 
can  ket>p  up  with  my  neighbors.  1  have  always 
lived  upon  a  farm  :  my  father  is  a  good  farmer, 
and  he  has  a  nice  little  workshop,  in  which  I 
lirst  learned  the  use  of  tools.  I  can  mend  a 
plow,  wagon,  sleigh,  or  an  ox-chain,  sharpen 
and  temper  a  crowbai',  make  a  gate  and  hang  it, 
mend  harnesses,  boots,  shoes  and  tin  ]>ans.  re- 
pair and  clean  a  clock  ami  watch,  and  on  a 
pinch  can  wash,  iron,  and  darn  stockings.  j\Iy 
apprenticeship  was  served  in  my  father's  f:\rm- 
shop  on  rainy  days  where  1  spent  my  leisure 
time,  instead  of  resorting  to  the  village.  This 
training  has  given  me  a  love  for  home,  with 
skill  and  ingenuity  to  keep  thingsneat  and  in 
repair,  and  to  make  home  attractive  to  myself 
and  family. — Hitfhlander,  j?j  liitrol  American. 


Agkicultitrk  in  FiUNCE. — The  Jounjal 
(.If  r  ^4 (//•/(■«///?//•(•  says  : — "The  agricultural  sta- 
tistics of  France  for  lStU)are  not  very  brilliant. 
The  corn  crop  is  below  the  average.  Wine 
will  be  abimdant.  but  of  very  ordinary  quality. 
Potatoes  are  rotting  in  the  storehouses ;  in 
many  Instances  fears  are  entertained  of  not  be- 
ing able  to  preserve  snllicient  ibr  the  next 
planting.  Olives  will  furnish  a  better  crop 
than  was  expected.  Tobacco  is  affected  with 
the  rot.  Walnuts  and  chestnuts  have  produced 
the  ordinary  ipiantity.  The  disasters  of  the 
silkworm  culture  atld  tlarker  shailows  to  the 
picture.  The  ciiler  fruits  oiVer  a  valuable  re- 
source, and  several  sjHHial  crops,  such  as  hemp 
and  colza,  have  been  good.  There  is.  there- 
ibre,  some  compensation  for  the  evil,  and 
above  all,  hopes  ibr  the  futuitJ." 


TnE  FiRE-Fi-Y. — This  is  one  of  the  most 

conunon  and  peculiar  insects  we  have,  and  some 
of  its  spocies  are  well  known  and  widely  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  United  States.  Hero 
it  is  popularly  known  as  the  "lightning-bug," 
on  account  of  their  sudden  and  brilliant  Hashes 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


179 


of  light  in  the  cvfnin^  and  on  daik  nights. 
Thcv  arc;  also  f-allffl  glow  worms.  It  belongs 
to  the  order  ('oUajdara,  family  Lampyrdf£. 
<^)ijr  .spf<-ir;s  of  glow-worm,  or  firc-fly,  is  a 
beetle;  about  a  tliird  of  an  ineh  long,  wings  of 
a  Ijrown  black  eolor  margined  with  pale  yellow 
and  thorax  light  erimson.  The  outer  wings 
are  of  a  softc^r  eonsistency  than  is  found  in 
most  beetles.  The  larva;  is  a  soft  blaek  flat 
grub  snppo'-fid  to  live  in  tlie  ground  in  low 
swampy  plaees.  Those  that  w*- have  observed 
emit  the  light  at  will  from  the  top  of  the  abdo- 
men, on  raising  their  wing.s.  The  females  of 
some  species  which  are  wingless,  are  also  said 
to  possr-ss  the  same  power.  This  peculiarity 
of  emitting  light  is  probably  done  by  the  in- 
sect to  attract  its  mate.  'Jhose  of  the  South- 
ern States  are  more  luminoMs,  and  it  is  said 
one  of  them  will  emit  sufficient  light  to  enable 
a  traveller  to  tell  the  hour  of  night  by  holding 
his  watch  near  the  insect. — Me.  Former. 


EXTRACTS    AND    REPLIES. 
SiiAix  I  I'UHCHAsr;  a  fakm  ? 

Advice  is  wanted  in  the  following  case.  Your 
opinion  will  decide  it  with  mc. 

I  live  in  tlic  city,  and  desire  to  remove  into  the 
country,  and  cnpigc  in  agricultural  pursuits.  I 
have  enough  to  buy  a  fann,  pay  for  it,  and  stock 
it,  and  not  owe  a  dollar  in  the  world,  and  have 
910,000  at  interest.  Can  I  do  it  and  get  a  living 
from  any  farm,  with  the  interest  from  my  §10,000, 
and  not  Ik-  ol;ligcd  to  draw  upon  my  principal  r 
Your  opinion  is  sought  for,  as  it  will  decide  the 
question  for  mc,  and  perhaps  for  many  others. 

The  farm  I  projKjse  to  buy  is  within  20  miles  of 
Boston,  upon  the  railroad;  there  are  73  acres, 
buildings  good.  It  keeps  11  cows,  1  yoke  of  oxen, 
3  horses,  4  jjigs,  and  the  pres-cnt  owner  appears  to 
get  along,  though  lie  don't  hurt  himself  with  v.ork. 
There  is  a  good  bed  of  muck  v.hidi  has  not  been 
used  much.  The  soil  is  good,  and  good  judges 
say  that  the  farm  is  well  worth  what  it  can  be 
bought  for. 

Let  me  have  your  oninion,  if  you  please,  in  the 
Fakmke.    I  am  a  weekly  reader  of  your  paper. 

Boston,  Jan.  29,  1867.  a.  b. 

Remarks. — We  have  had  many  letters  of  a  char- 
acter similar  to  that  of  the  above,  and  we  can  an- 
swer just  as  intelligently  as  our  querist  could  an- 
swer us,  if  we  should  say — "We  have  §10,000  to  in- 
vest in  a  dry  goods  store  in   Boston,  and  have 
910,000  more  as  a  working  capital"— <;an  we  get  a 
living  from  it,  and  not  trench  upon  the  principal  ? 
The  farm  you  describe  will  support  any  family  j 
which  has  health  and  industrj-,  and  will  practice  a  ] 
moderate  fnigality.    There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it.  1 
If  it  were  not  so,  the  earth  would  not  produce  j 
enough  to  sustain  even  a  sparse  population.  l 

You  do  not  state  how  much  taste  you  have  for  \ 
agricidtural  employments,  how  much  capital  you  ; 
have  invested  in  your  own  skill  for  reclaiming  the  | 
soil,  and  increasing  its  fertility  when  reclaimed; 
how  much  for  cultivating  fruits,  increasing  and 
composting  manure  heaps,  selecting  breeds,  and 
purchasing  and  selling  stock,  and  when  the  crops 


arc  produced,  in  getting  them  to  market  and  se- 
curing profitafdc  returns. 

The  points  of  more  importance  to  you,  and  your 
family,  than  any  you  have  mentioned  in  your  let- 
ter, you  have  not  touched  up)on. 

Few  persons,  in  any  of  the  walks  of  life,  make 
sadder  business  mistakes  than  those  who  have 
been  occupied  in,  and  led  a  city  life.  Many  of 
them  receive  the  fx^mmon  opinion  that  "any  body 
can  be  a  fanner,"  and  this  error,  with  a  sanguine 
temperament,  often  leads  them  into  unfortunate 
circumstances  which  are  irretrievable,  and  cloud 
all  their  future  life. 

Farming  is  just  as  much  a  business  that  requires 
the  prompt  application  of  the  powers  of  tjoth  mind 
and  body,  skill,  industry  and  perseverance,  as  any 
other  avocation  in  which  men  engage.  Indeed, 
there  is  no  other  business,  in  our  opinion,  that  re- 
quires HOTfi'dliivfj  of  all  the  hnowlnrj^c  taught  among 
men,  so  much  as  that  of  agriculture  and  its  kin- 
dred branches.  Unlike  other  arts,  it  has  few  un- 
varying ndes  to  govern  its  devotees,  even  in  the 
manipulations  of  the  soil.  The  same  course  that 
the  farmer  pursued  last  spring  in  getting  his  crops 
into  the  ground,  may  be  inapplicable,  in  mrmy  re- 
spects, this  spring.  He  is  always  sunounded,  trx), 
by  hosts  of  depredators,  (so  he  thinks,)  who  devote 
their  lives  to  destroying  the  fniits  of  his  labor. 
Frosts  cut  down  his  crops ;  droughts  pinch  them ; 
how  can  he  protect  himself  against  those  efTects  ? 
Drenching  rains,  mildew,  and  blight,  not  only  vis- 
it his  fields  but  disease  is  there,  too,  and  also  cuta 
off  his  cattle  in  their  stalls !  How  are  all  these  to 
be  prevented  ?  Only  by  the  extension  of  his  knowl- 
edge, and  to  acquire  this,  every  kind  of  informal- 
tion  that  is  useful  to  any  class,  will  be  useful  to 
him. 

There  are  many  other  points  that  ought  ftrnt  to 
be  considered,  before  dwelling  upon  the  main  in- 
quiries of  our  correspondent.  They  are  of  a  more 
personal  and  private  nature.  We  conld  recite  in- 
stances, and  the  circumstances  attending  them, 
enough  to  fill  a  page,  where  city  gentlemen  have 
sought  our  a^lvicc,  but  did  not  heed  it,  and  heavy 
losses,  disappointment  and  discouragement  was  the 
result.  In  one  instance,  more  than  §'20,000  was 
sacrificed,  and  that  loss  was  not  so  great  as  the 
loss  of  health  and  comfort  which  was  attendant 
upon  it.  In  other  instances  the  losses  have  varied 
from  §1000  to  §10,000.  The  advice  was  too  cheap. 
It  seemed  to  have  no  value  because  it  cost  noHiing. 
These  errors  are  committed  every  week,  and  the 
money  losses  attendant  upon  them  are  little  in 
comparison  with  the  wounded  pride,  (laudable, 
perhaps,)  blasted  prospects,  and  the  new  and  un- 
congenial mode  of  life  that  must  for  the  future  be 
pursued. 

Some  of  the  best  farmers  in  New  England  are 
those  who  have  spent  most  of  their  lives  in  the 
city.  Men  who  spent  their  chilhood  and  youth  on 
the  farm,  who  had  decided  tastes  for  rural  employ- 
ments, and  who  saw,  heard  and  tr«»sured  up  in 


180 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


their  minds  every  thing  that  took  place  about 
them.  These  were  facts  laid  down  as  a  basis,  to 
be  buildod  upon  in  all  after  life  by  reading,  reflec- 
tion, and  an  unceasing  and  acute  observation.  No 
wonder  that  they  entered  upon  the  farm  with  skill 
to  manage  their  capital  in  the  soil,  and  to  set  us 
excellent  examples.  Our  correspondent,  we  trust, 
is  one  of  this  class. 


"USE   AND    MISUSE    OF   BUCKS. 

I  read  with  much  interest  an  article  in  your  val- 
uable paper  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  H.  Boj-nton,  of 
this  State,  upon  the  "Use  and  Misuse  of  Bucks." 

With  your  permission  I  will  give  your  readers 
my  experience  the  past  season.  I  kept  forty-four 
ewe  sheep,  natives,  with  a  slight  sprinkling  of 
South  down  and  Leicester.  I  used  with  them  a 
buck  laml)  which  was  a  cross  of  the  Hampshire 
Down  and  Leicester.  I  "tended  the  buck"  by  let- 
ting him  among  the  sheep  with  a  rope  about  his 
neck,  with  which  to  regulate  him.  I  never  allowed 
him  to  serve  but  two  each  day,  and  those  but 
twice  each.  The  back  was  kept  in  the  stable  and 
fed  with  the  best  of  ha.y,  grain  and  roots,  with 
plenty  of  water,  which  kept  him  strong  and  vigo- 
rous.' About  three  weeks  sufficed  to  serve  the  flock, 
when  the  buck  was  allowed  to  run  with  the  sheep. 
Now  for  the  result : 

Two  of  the  ewes  had  no  lamb.  The  forty-two 
dropped  lifty-live  strong,  healthy  laml)S,  which  re- 
quired no  extra  attention,  except  a  little  feeding  of 
some  of  the  twins  for  a  few  days.  The  lambs  l^ie- 
gan  to  come  the  first  of  April.  I  lost  l)ut  one  of 
said  lamljs,  and  that  one  was  killed  by  a  dog  or 
fox  in  the  pasture.  I  sold  the  fifty-four  lambs  in 
Septcml)er,  for  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  dol- 
lars, wliich  was  licttcr  than  flocks  sold  for  in  tnis 
town  with  no  t«  ins  among  them.  The  same  i-hccp 
last  year  had  but  three  .sets  of  twins,  while  this 
year  thirteen  of  them  raised  twenty-six  lambs.  I 
have  managed  my  flocks  the  same  this  fall  and 
shall  note  the  rctult  in  the  spring. 

Jonathan  Lawrence. 

Si.  Johnsbunj ,  Ft.,  Jan.  22,  1867. 

P.  S.  I  might  have  given  my  manner  of  feed- 
ing and  caring  for  my  sheep  and  lainl)s,  but  my 
article  is  already  sufficiently  lengthy  for  a  new 
beginner.  j.  s. 

Remarks. — Just  about  the  right  length.  How 
much  valuable  matter  can  be  put  into  a  small 
space.  Your  direct  and  clear  manner  of  exi)ress- 
Ing  yourself  will  be  urged  by  thousands  of  the 
readers  of  the  Farmer  as  one  of  the  reasons  why 
you  should  give  them  your  very  successful  "man- 
ner of  feeding  and  caring  for  your  sheep  and 
lambs." 

A  NEST   OF    EGGS. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — Enclosed  I  send  you  a  sam- 
ple of  eggs,  with  the  nest,  as  I  found  them  on  my 
apple  trees,  while  jiraning  in  Novcuiljcr.  Some- 
times I  found  the  remains  of  an  insect  in  the  nest 
witli  the  eggs,  sometimes  the  eggs  ah)nc,  anil 
sometimes  the  remains  of  the  insect  witliout  the 
eggs.  To  what  species  do  they  belong  ?  And  are 
they  injurious  to  the  trees  or  fruit  ? 

I  also  noticed  many  little  (-ases  aljout  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  long,  fastened  to  the  under  side  of 
the  limbs,  ^nne  two  or  tliree  inches  apart,  right  in 
a  line  anil  always  lengthwise  of  the  l)r;inch,  con- 
taining a  very  small  worm.  What  are  the  habits 
of  the  creature  in  its  other  stages  of  development  ? 

I  have  alxnit  one  and  one-half  acres  of  (n-chard- 
ing,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  set  out  some 


thirty-five  years  ago,  and  for  the  last  twenty  j'ears 
has  had  about  all  done  for  it  that  I  have  seen  rec- 
ommended in  the  agricultural  papers.  Have  graft- 
ed, pruned,  plowed,  scraped  and  washed  the  trees, 
but  as  yet  have  not  received  as  much  from  the  land 
as  I  should  have  done  had  it  been  laid  to  grass  or 
planted  with  hoed  crops. 

The  soil  is  loamy,  i-esting  on  a  subsoil  of  loose 
gravel ;  a  portion  of  it  sometimes  suffers  from 
drought,  but  never  from  moisture.  There  are  about 
twenty  varieties  of  apples  in  the  orchard,  embrac- 
ing the  earliest,  latest,  and  medium  fruits.  The 
Sapsons  and  Greenings  have  made  the  best  growth ; 
the  foiTner  being  very  prolific,  the  latter  always 
bear  many  blossoms  but  little  fruit,  while  the 
Pearmain's  and  Peck's  Pleasant  seem  to  be  ordained 
for  the  woodpile,  and  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that 
I  love  apples  dearly,  a  great  portion  of  my  orchard 
would  be  in  that  vicinity  very  soon. 

Hebro7ivUle,  Mass.,  Dec.  28,  1866.    S.  L.  Read. 

Reaiarks. — We  have  examined  the  parcel  sent 
us,  but  no  living  thing  in  it  could  be  found,  al- 
though the  eggs  were  broken  and  placed  under  a 
microscope  of  very  high  power.  The  eggs  and 
cocoons  are  common,  but  we  cannot  make  out  their 
names  from  an  examination  of  Harris'  book. 

We  cannot  account  for  the  failure  of  j'our  orch- 
ard ;  perhaps  might  upon  seeing  it.  A  neigh- 
bor of  ours  set  150  trees  18  years  ago,  on  good  san- 
dy loam  land,  and  has  tended  them  well.  They 
arc  thrifty,  handsome  trees — but  he  has  not  ob- 
tained fruit  enough  from  them  to  supply  a  family 
of  ten  persons.  We  set  as  many  trees  at  the  same 
time,  on  a  granite  soil,  have  tended  them  well,  and 
cropt  the  land  heavily  every  year,  and  have  gath- 
ered 200  barrels  in  a  season.  Why  the  diftcrcncc  ? 
Who  can  tell  ?  One  is  a  granite  soil,  tXid  other  a 
rich,  sandy  loam.  Ours  is  on  high  land,  the  neigh- 
bor's is  on  a  level  between  hills  and  low  land. 


"YOUNG   OLIVE    PLANTS. 

When  the  "Farmer"  arrives,  each  one,  as  he 
takes  the  paper  in  hand,  turns  first  to  that  part 
in  which  he  or  she  is  most  interested.  The  fanner 
glances  over  the  first  page,  turns  to  the  prices  cur- 
rent, &c.,  while  the  housekeeper  will  turn  to  the 
last  page  to  read  the  receipts  for  cooking,  &c.,  and 
the  sentimental  miss  will  goto  the  poet's  corner. 

Now  I  am  not  much  interested  in  the  hints  about 
rearing  and  training  colts  or  calves,  Init  I  have  a 
small  flock  of  bipeds  as  fall  of  life  and  spirits  and 
sound  as  young  colts,  and  stand  in  need  of  as 
much  traiiiing.  Tliey  are  real  downright,  noisy, 
boyish  l)oys,  direct  descendants  of  old  father 
Adam,  and  have  the  inherent  craving  which  dis- 
tinguished that  particular  ancestor,  for  more  ap- 
j)les ;  consciiuently  they  arc  ready  at  all  times  lor 
a  raid  upon  the  commissary  department  for  juip- 
plics.  As  1  have  practiced  cooking  for  some  years, 
I  find  it  much  easier  (when  1  have  the  materials,) 
to  make  their  douglmuts  and  gingcr!)read  than  to 
make  them  docile  anil  gentle,  and  m.ich  less  trou- 
ble to  make  cakes  and  custards  than  to  Iciun  them 
carefulness  and  cleanliness.  Their  greatest  ambi- 
tiim  seems  to  be  to  slide  down  hill,  skate,  play 
ball,  and  have  a  good  time  generally,  without  re- 
gard to  raiment,  or  the  toil  and  care  necessary  to 
keep  it  whole  and  clean.  As  1  said,  they  arc  trou- 
bled with  no  ambitious  desire  to  become  I'resident 
or  anything  of  that  sort,  l)ut  son)etinies  when  their 
very  partirnlar  wishes  are  crossed,  ihcy  niiinifcst 
a  strong  tendency  to,  walk  in  I  he  l'oi)tstei)s  of  that 
personage,  by  taking  high  steps,  "swinging  round 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


181 


a  circle,"  oi-  rather  a  nnmhor  of  them ;  and  if  pos- 
scsticd  of  the  power,  v/oiild  remove  witli  a  will  all 
P.  M.'s  from  othcc — whieli  may  mean,  in  their  case. 
Post  Masters  or  Poor  Mammas  ;  it  makes  but  lit- 
tle ditFcrcncc,  in  that  state  of  mind,  which. 

I  will  say  no  more  of  their  propensities  or  hab- 
its now,  but  1  shall  look  with  eagerness  for  that 
part  of  "Domestic  Economy"  which  treats  of  plants 
— especially  "the  young  olive  plants"  which  were 
in  old  times  considered  as  blessed  gifts  to  a  poor 
man.  Although  it  is  getting  to  be  very  unfashion- 
able to  have  a  troop  of  boys,  yet  as  there  are  some 
boys  now,  some  hints  from  those  who  have  been 
successful  in  this  department  of  agriculture  would 
no  doubt  be  gratefully  received  by  many  others  as 
well  as  myself. 

I  am  not  the  Old  Woman  that  lived  in  a  shoe,  but 
have  so  many  children  that  I've  enough  to  do.  No 
doubt  you  think  I'd  better  be  doing  it.     M.  R.  C. 

West  Boxford,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 


GOOD   PIGS    ON    COOKED   FOOD. 

I  saw  a  statement  in  a  late  Farmer,  of  a  pair  of 
nice  pigs  fatted  on  uncooked  food,  iu  Derry,  N.  H. 
I  will  now  give  you  a  statement  of  a  pair  of  pigs, 
fatted  on  half  middlings,  half  Indian  meal,  with 
skim  milk,  cooked  every  time.  The  pigs  were 
bought  of  Mr.  William  Pickering,  one  of  my  neigh- 
bors, July  3, 1866,  at  six  weeks  of  age;  one  weigh- 
ing 19  1-2  and  the  other  20  1-2  pounds.  They  were 
slaughtered  Jan.  23,  1867,  making  them  thirty-five 
weeks  old.    Weights,  331  and  31.5  pounds. 

Wilmington,  Mass.,  Feb.  3,  1867.    J.  A.  Ames. 


A   BRAHMA    COCK   AND    HIS   LEGS. 

I  have  a  very  line  Brahma  cockerel  which  I  value 
very  highly,  it  being  the  onl}'  full-blooded  fowl  of 
the  kind  in  this  vicinity.  He  has  very  suddenly 
lost  the  use  of  his  legs,  or  nearly  so ;  he  appears  to 
be  all  right  every  other  way,  but  his  legs  don't 
serve  him.  Will  you,  or  some  one  else,  please  tell 
me  through  your  columns,  what  ails  him,  and  how 
to  cure  him  ?  and  oblige  a  subscriber. 

F.  H.  Lander. 

North  Auburn,  Me.,  Jan.  28,  1867. 


WHAT  IS   IT  ? 

On  opening  a  hog  recently  dressed,  I  found 
something  resembling  in  shape  and  appearance,  a 
flax  seed,  loosely  attached  to  the  fatty  portion  of 
the  entrails.  Sometimes  several  of  them  were  con- 
nected together  slightly  by  a  sort  of  mucous,  some- 
times they  were  entirely  distinct  from  each  other, 
were  varying  in  size,  always  retaining  the  same 
oval  shape,  pointed  at  one  end,  and  were  quite  sol- 
id in  substance.  None  have  been  discovered  yet 
in  the  meat.  Not  having  ever  noticed  them  before 
in  other  hogs  killed,  I  wish  to-  inquire  what  they 
are,  the  cause,  &c.,  &c.  The  hog  was  fed  with 
com  on  the  ear  until  a  few  weeks  past ;  its  food 
has  been  meal  scalded  at  each  time  of  feeding,  and 
then  cooled  to  a  milk  warmth.  G.  b. 

Remarks. — Who  can  tell  ? 


SCRATCHES  ON  HORSES. 

I  have  a  span  of  valuable  black  horses,  which 
have  the  scratches  so  badly  as  to  render  them  en- 
tii-ely  unfit  for  use.  Will  you,  or  some  of  your 
correspondents,  inform  me,  through  the  columns 
of  the  Farmer,  of  a  reliable  remedy  and  speedy 
cure  ?  R.  p.  T. 

Pittsburg,  N.  H.,  Feb.  3, 1867. 

Remarks. — If  the  disease  is  in  its  first  stages — 
that  is,  has  not  ulcerated — wash  the  parts  affected 
perfectly  clean  with  castile  soap  and  warm  water; 


rub  dry  with  the  hand  or  warm  flannel.  Then, 
with  a  soft  sponge,  bathe  freely  with  brine  from 
the  beef  or  pork  barrel,  three  or  four  times  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Exercise  the  animal,  by  walk- 
ing him  about,  two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of 
the  day.  Give  but  little  grain,  and  that  in  the 
form  of  a  mash ;  but  green  food  when  it  can  be  had, 
such  as  grass,  or  roots,  and  especial  13'  carrots. 

If  the  disease  has  assumed  the  ulcerated  form, 
the  hair  must  be  cut  off,  and  the  parts  cleansed  as 
stated  above.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  brine 
would  be  efiieacious  in  this  ease, — but  it  would  be 
well  to  try  it.  If  not,  prepare  a  lotion  as  follows, 
and  wash  three  times  each  day  with  it,  viz : — 

Chloride  of  zinc,  one  ounce. 

Creosote,  four  ounces. 

Strong  solution  of  white  oak  bark,  four  quarts. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  this  disease  in  some 
horses,  so  that  on  the  slightest  appearance  of  it, 
measures  should  be  taken  to  prevent  its  progress. 
The  hair  about  the  ankles  should  remain  there, 
certainly  through  the  winter.  "Cutting  it  away, 
and  thereby  exposing  the  heels  to  the  operation 
of  cold  and  of  wet  is  no  uufrequent  cause  of  grease. 
In  winter,  when  the  legs  most  require  warmth  and 
protection,  the  heels  are  depi-ived  of  the  cover 
which  nature  intended  should  protect  them ;  and 
parts  where  the  blood  flows  most  tardily  are  laid 
bare  to  the  effects  of  evaporation  and  frost," 
Dashing  cold  Mater  on  the  legs  of  a  horse,  when 
he  returns  from  his  work,  and  then  sending  him 
to  the  stall,  is  a  miserable  practice.  It  suddenly 
chills  the  legs,  which  is  considerably  increased  by 
the  greater  evaporation  caused  by  wetting  them. 
Wash  the  legs,  if  soiled,  and  rub  them  dry,  before 
putting  the  horse  into  his  stall.  It  will  requii-e  a 
little  time,  but  less  than  to  lose  the  services  of  the 
animal  while  curing  him  of  scratches. 

CHANGING  SEED. 

We  hear  much  about  changing  seed,  especially 
potatoes;  which,  doubtless,  is  all  very  well.  But 
I  wish  to  know  why  it  is  not  just  as  practicable  for 
me  to  plant  a  certain  field  on  my  farm  with  pota- 
toes which  were  raised  on  my  own  premises,  say 
50  rods  from  the  field  to  be  planted,  as  it  is  to  go 
to  my  neighbors,  across  the  way,  about  the  same 
distance  and  purchase  my  seed  ? 

I  can  readily  see  why  1  may  not  plant  the  same 
field  annually  with  flic  product  of  the  preceding 
year,  but  why  I  may  not  take  the  product  of  anotii- 
er  field  for  seed,  I  acknowledge  I  f;iil  to  perceive. 

Salisbury,  Conn.  W.  J.  Pettee. 

Remarks. — We  can  see  no  hai-m  in  changing 
seed,  provided  we  get  that  which  is  good.  We 
have  planted  potatoes  through  a  period  of  fifteen 
years,  on  the  same  farm,  and  on  fields  adjoining 
each  other, — selecting  small  potatoes  for  seed, — 
and  we  can  perceive  no  deterioration  yet,  either 
in  size  or  quality.  They  are  of  the  "Irish  Cup," 
"Dover,"  or  "Riley"  variety, — the  former  being 
their  true  name. 

In  plants  that  "mix"  freely,  such  as  com, 
squashes,  &c.,  it  is  well  to  change,  if  we  can  pro- 
cure pure  seed.    The  idea  that  frequent  changing 


182 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aprii 


of  seed  is  useful,  is  a  popular  one,  and  we  should 
be  glad  if  some  of  our  correspondents  would  set 
forth  the  advantages  to  be  gained  from  the  prac- 
tice. 


CALOMEL  AND  SULPHUR  FOR  FRUIT  TREES. 

A  Novel  Method  of  Doctoring  Fruit  Trees. — A  gen- 
tleman, of  Rochester,  was  lately  in  Saratoga  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  was  there  shown  an  apple  tree  in  tine  healthy 
condition  which  had  been  ill,  subjected  to  treatment 
with  calomel  and  thoroughly  cured.  This  tree  was 
afllicted  with  insects,  which  were  destroying  it  and  ren- 
dering it  unproductive.  A  hole  was  bored  in  the  body 
of  the  tree  nearly  through  the  sap,  and  two  grains  of 
calomel  inserted.  As  soon  as  this  calomel  was  taken  up 
by  the  sap,  the  vermm  on  the  tree  died,  and  it  began  to 
bear  fruit,  and  has  done  so  for  three  years,  to  the  entire 
eatiefaction  of  the  owner.  Stilphur  may  be  mixed  with 
the  calomel  and  produce  a  good  effect.  This  is  a  fact 
worth  knowing. 

The  above  extract  I  cut  from  a  Boston  daily 
paper,  some  time  ago.  If  you  have  not  publitihed 
it  in  the  N.  E.  Farmer,  will  you  do  so  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  call  out  from  the  author  or  some 
other  person  who  may  be  thoroughly  posted  in  the 
matter,  answers  to  the  following  questions  :  What 
time  of  the  year  was  the  "calomel"  put  in  }  What 
kind  of  vermin  ?  Will  it  take  a  larger  portion  for 
a  larger  tree  ?  How  large  in  diameter  was  the 
tree  ?  What  effect  woukl  a  larger  portion  have  on 
the  tree  ?  Is  the  fruit  affected  by  the  calomel  ? 
Would  the  calomel  have  to  be  administered  every 
year  ?  If  the  calomel  gave  entire  satisfaction,  of 
what  use  can  the  sulphur  be  ? 

Caterpillars  will  be  rather  scarce  in  these  parts 
next  spring.  They  did  not  many  of  them  go  to  seed, 
and  I  cannot  tind  but  few  of  their  spawns  on  the 
trees,  neither  last  autumn  nor  the  present  winter, 
— not  one  this  year  to  twenty  last  year.         a.  c. 

Stoughton,  Mass.,  Jan.  28,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  presume  that  the  above  extract 
has  never  been  published  in  the  Farmer,  as,  not 
having  any  faith  in  its  efficacy,  we  should  not  be 
likely,  of  our  own  accord,  to  select  it.  We  have 
heard  of  sulphur  and  other  materials  being  used 
as  above  du-ccted,  with  no  beneficial  effect.  The 
failure  may  have  been  in  consequence  of  the  insol- 
ubility of  the  materials  inserted,  and  we  are  not 
certain  that  calomel,  being  more  soluble,  may  not 
physic  away  the  insects,  but  we  must  repeat  that 
we  are  incredulous  as  to  its  beneficial  effects. 
Still  we  wish  to  have  it  tried.  Medicines  are  in- 
jected into  the  circulating  fluids  of  the  animal  sj's- 
tem.  We  have  heard  it  said  that  the  mouth  may 
be  made  sore  by  rubbing  blue  pills  upon  one's  leg 
— and  more  scientific  experiments  may  prove  suc- 
cessful in  salivating  insects  on  leaves,  and  fruit  by 
inserting  a  pill  into  the  trunk  of  our  fruit  trees. 
But  then  how  is  it  about  the  sap  cells  or  vessels  ? 
May  not  each  bud  have  one  of  those  little  channels 
which  the  microscope  shows  to  exist  in  wood,  for 
its  special  and  independent  feeder — its  exclusive 
line  of  communicati(m  and  supply  with  that  great 
btorc-housc,  the  soil  ?  If  so,  how  many  pills 
would  a  single  tree  require,  to  protect  each  leaf  ? 


farmers'  girls. 

We  little  maids,  up  here  in  the  country,  do  not 
like  to  I)C  treated  witli  neglect,  nor  do  we  like  tluit 
sort  of  notice  which  may  be  illustrated  by  such  ex- 
pressions as  "I  should  think  it  was  tinae  to  have 


something  to  eat,"  if  our  meals  are  not  ready  at 
the  exact  moment;  even  if  the  men  folks  have 
been  hard  at  work.  Could  they  not  think  of  how 
much  we  have  to  do,  and  how  willing  we  arc  to 
work  to  save  hiring  lielp,  and  reward  our  efforts 
by  an  occasional  thank,  or  at  least  a  smile  ?  It  is 
true  that  farmers  must  work  hard  to  provide  for 
their  families,  luit  are  not  their  wives,  daughters, 
and  sisters  willing  to  help  them  by  every  means  in 
their  jioner  ?  Tlicn  show  us  that  our  efforts  are 
apprcciat'^d,  by  those  little  acts  of  kindness  which 
are  far  dearer  to  us  than  the  most  costly  gifts. 
These  remarks  are  not  prompted  by  a  spirit  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  my  home  or  my  position  in  life. 
I  am  a  farmer's  daughter,  and  expect  some  time  to 
be  a  farmer's .    But  no  matter,  for,  at  present — 

I  am  a  wild  and  laughing  girl,  just  turned  of  sweet  sev- 
enteen, 
As  full  of  mischief  and  of  fun  as  ever  you  have  seen ; 
And  when  I  am  a  woman  grown,  no  city  beau  for  me, 
If  e'er  I  marry  in  my  life,  a  farmer's  wife  I'll  be. 

I  love  a  country  life ;  I  love  the  joyous  lireeze ; 

1  love  to  hear  the  singing  birds  among  the  lofty  trees. 

The  lowing  lierds,  the  bleating  flocks  make  music  sweet 

for  me ; 
If  e'er  I  marry  in  my  life,  a  farmer's  wife  I'll  be. 

I  love  to  see  the  chickens  skip,  I  love  to  milk  the  cows, 
I   love   to  hear  the  farmer's  boys   a  whistling  at  their 

ploughs ; 
And  fields  of  corn  and  waving  grain  are  pleasant  sights 

to  me ; 
If  e'er  I  marry  in  my  life,  a  farmer's  wife  I'll  be. 

I  love  to  see  the  orchards  where  the  golden  apples  grow ; 
I  love  to  walk  in  meadows  wliere  so  bright  the  streamlets 

flow; 
And  flowery  banks  and  shady  woods  have  many  charms 

for  me ; 
If  e'er  I  marry  in  my  life,  a  farmer's  wife  I'll  be. 

Let  other  girls,  who  love  it  best,  enjoy  the  gloomy  town, 
'Mid  dusky   walls  and  dusty  streets  to  ramble  up  and 

down  ; 
But  flowery  banks,  and  shady  woods  and  sunny  skies 

for  mo ; 
If  e'er  I  marry  in  my  life,  a  farmer's  wife  I'll  be. 

— But  at  the  same  time  I  do  often  feel  that  my  ef- 
forts to  please  do  not  always  secure  those  evi- 
dences of  Mndness  which  they  deserve. 
,  Feb.  5,  1867.  c.  d.  m. 


SOWING  WHEAT. 

Can  you,  or  the  many  readers  of  the  Farmer, 
inform  me  whether  you  have  ever  known  a  case  of 
sowing  winter  wheat  in  the  spring,  early  enough 
to  have  it  freeze,  and  thaw,  before  it  comes  up  ?  I 
intend  to  sow  a  small  piece,  in  March,  or  the  first 
of  April,  to  see  what  it  will  do.  I  think  I  shall 
take  part  of  the  wheat,  wet  it  and  let  it  fieezc,  then 
let  it  dry,  then  sow  it ;  and  sow  a  part  of  the  wheat 
on  the  land,  and  let  it  freeze  and  thaw  there,  and 
grow  at  its  leisure.  Fifteen  years  ago,  the  middle 
of  March  next,  I  sowed  a  piece  of  winter  rye,  part 
of  it  on  the  snow  bank,  and  when  it  was  time  to 
sow  spring  rye,  I  dredged  it  in.  I  Inul  a  good 
crop  of  winter  rye.  If  the  wheat  does  well,  j'ou 
may  expect  to  hear  from  me  next  summer. 

Essex  Junction,  Vt.,  Feb.  7,  1867.     II.  Gkiffin. 

IIemakks. — The  idea  is  new  to  us.  We  have 
heard  of  sowing  spring  wheat  very  late  in  <he  fall. 
Keep  us  informed,  whether  the  wheat  does  well  or 
ill. 


soil,  manure,  etc.,  for  melons  and  sou  ashes. 

Will  "A.  G.  C,"  Lee,  N.  H.,  have  the  kindness 
to  state,  in  the  New  England  Faumkh,  the  kind 
of  land  necessary  for  raising  watermelons  and  win- 
ter squashes,  the  best  kind  of  seed,  and  the  parts 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


183 


of  manure  in  making  the  compost  of  night  soil, 
charcoal,  dust,  plaster,  and  muck  ?    In  a  short 
time  I  will  give  my  experience  in  raising  garden 
vegetables,  and  how  to  have  a  good  garden. 
North  Oxford,  Mass.,  Feb.  5,  1867.        F.  W.  C. 


AGKICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

— Pig's  gall  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  application 
for  bums. 

— Bees  naturally  cluster  below  their  stores,  and 
the  heat  ascending  keeps  the  honey  from  freezing. 

^It  is  stated  that  two-thirds  of  the  manufactur- 
ing enterprises  of  the  State  of  New  York  are  con- 
ducted in  and  about  the  city  of  New  York. 

— In  Champaign  Co.,  111.,  corn  stocked  last  fall 
is  worth  25  cents  per  bushel  in  the  field  for  feeding 
cattle. 

— The  Mirror  and  Farmer  is  credibly  Informed 
that  over  forty  tons  of  maple  sugar  were  made  in 
the  town  of  Warren,  Grafton  Co.,  N.  H.,  last  spring. 

— The  next  fair  of  the  Illinois  State  Agricultu- 
ral Society  is  to  be  held  in  Quincy,  commencing 
Sept.  23. 

— I.  H.  M.  Cochran,  of  Craftsbury,  Vt.,  raised 
52  bushels  of  good  wheat  from  two  bushels  of  seed 
Bown  on  one  acre  and  a  quarter  of  land. 

— Alvin  Wilkins,  of  Stowc,  Vt.,  has  a  pair  of 
Bteers  which  when  less  than  twenty  months  old 
weighed  2,500  pounds. 

— That  great  English  experimenter,  Mr.  Lawes, 
states  that  500  pounds  of  barley  meal,  where  it  is 
made  a  sole  feed  for  swine,  will  increase  the  weight 
of  a  pig  from  100  to  200  pounds. 

— The  more  honey  bees  have  on  hand  in  March 
and  April,  the  faster  they  will  rear  young  bees, 
and  the  more  workers  will  be  ready  to  gather  the 
harvest  from  fruit  blossoms. 

— Salve  made  of  linseed  oil  one  pint ;  rosin  three 
ounces ;  beeswax  thi'ce  ounces,  melted  and  well 
mixed,  is  as  good  as  any  ever  sold  at  25  cts.  per 
box. 

— During  the  first  week  in  January  the  mercury 
sank  below  zero  in  several  places  in  Middlesex 
Co.,  England ;  sinking  to  9°  below  on  the  Cots- 
wold  hills,  Jan.  4th. 

— The  London  Agricultural  Gazette  says  that  the 
attendance  upon  the  exhibitions  of  the  local  agri- 
cultural societies  of  that  country  is  constantly  de- 
creasing. 

— L.  S.  Tucker,  Esq.,  of  South  Royalton,  Vt., 
who  in  years  past  has  done  so  much  to  improve  the 
horses  in  his  section  of  the  State,  has  recently 
bought  a  flock  of  twenty-five  thorough-bred  sheep. 

— It  is  said  that  the  vetch,  a  kind  of  pea  exten- 
sively raised  in  England,  and  considerably  in  Can- 
ada, is  indigenous  and  of  extreme  luxuriance  in 
the  territory  of  the  Northwest. 

— The  abortive  cow  disease  seems  to  be  extend- 
ing in  the  dairy  districts  in  Central  New  York. 


At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Little  Falls  Farmers 
Club,  the  propriety  of  adopting  some  such  strin- 
gent measures  as  crushed  out  the  pleuro  pneumo- 
nia in  Massachusetts,  and  the  cattle  plague  in  Eng- 
land, was  strongly  advocated. 

— The  Franklin  County,  Vt.,  agricultural  society 
at  their  annual  meeting  at  Sheldon,  elected  R.  J. 
Saxe,  president ;  L.  H.  Hapgood,  secretary,  and 
W.  S.  Green,  treasurer,  all  of  Sheldon,  for  the  en- 
suing year. 

— The  number  of  new  cases  of  the  cattle  plague 
in  England  during  the  four  weeks  in  December 
were,  respectively,  14,  7,  6,  and  9.  These  were 
nearly  all  slaughtered,  together  with  118  healthy 
ones  which  had  been  exposed. 

— We  learn  from  the  Portland  papers  that  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Agricultural  College, 
Hon.  Phineas  Barnes  of  that  city  was  elected  Pres- 
ident of  the  College,  and  his  salary  was  by  vote 
fixed  at  $3000  per  year. 

— No  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  Ohio  Farmer 
is  devoted  to  notices  of  the  organization  of  new 
County  Wool  Growers'  Associations  and  the  meet- 
ings of  old  ones.  Farmei-s  in  Maine  and  elsewhere 
are  also  astir  as  never  before. 

— A  Hampton  Falls,  N.  H.,  correspondent  of  the 
Country  Gentleman  says,  "Our  farmers  will  not 
use  anything  dug  from  the  salt  marshes,  when  fresh 
mud  can  be  obtained,  considering  the  latter  much 
more  valuable." 

— The  Country  Gentleman  notices  the  importa- 
tion of  a  lot  of  English  Lincoln  sheep,  by  Samuel 
Campbell,  New  York  Mills.  They  were  thirty- 
five  days  on  the  voyage,  and  ten  ewes  were  lost. 
Fifteen  ewes  and  two  rams  survive  and  are  now 
thriving  finely. 

— After  a  discussion  by  the  New  York  Farmers' 
Club  on  the  best  means  to  prevent  the  ravages  of 
mice,  the  chairman.  Alderman  Eli,  summed  up  the 
arguments  by  remarking,  "It  seems,  then,  that  the 
remedy  for  domestic  vermin  is,  to  be  surrounded 
with  rattlesnakes,  black  snakes,  and  garter  snakes." 

— The  New  Orleans  Times  says  that  the  sugar 
crop  of  Louisiana  this  year  will  reach  50,000  hogs- 
heads, against  16,000  last  year;  that  only  extraor- 
dinary obstacles  will  prevent  a  production  of  100,- 
000  next  year,  and  that  the  old  average  of  450,000 
hogsheads  will  be  restored  in  three  years. 

— An  Indiana  farmer  uses  poles  instead  of  tile 
for  draining,  by  splitting  them  through  the  mid- 
dle, then  start  the  heart  with  a  gouge,  and  take  it 
completely  out  with  a  tool  made  like  a  bent  draw- 
ing knife.  Two  halves  are  then  nailed  together 
with  sixpenny  nails,  when  with  a  tool  made  like  a 
huge  pencil-sharpener  the  ends  are  worked  off  so 
as  to  fit  each  other.    Joints  need  not  be  tight. 

— Mr.  A.Townsend,  Oeonomowoc,  Wis.,  informs 
the  New  York  Farmer's  Club  that  his  Delaware 
grapes  bear  in  16  months  from  starting  the  vines 
or  layers.    He  layers  the  ripe  wood  of  the  last  sea- 


184 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


April 


Bon's  growth  in  boxes  made  of  lath,  so  open  that 
the  roots  pass  througli  the  sides  and  bottom.  In 
the  fall  or  spring  he  removes  them  to  the  vineyard, 
and  has  fruit  the  next  September. 

— In  reply  to  the  remark  of  some  one  that  wild 
grapes  which  run  on  living  trees  are  vigorous  and 
healthy  on  hillside  and  swamp,  all  over  the  coun- 
try, a  correspondent  of  the  Rural  World  says  that 
in  scores,  perhaps  hundreds  of  rambles  in  the 
woods,  during  the  past  fifteen  years  in  Missouri, 
he  has  found  the  gi-ape  partially  or  completely 
rotted  on  the  trees,  alike  in  the  vicinity  of  cultivat- 
ed fields  and  in  the  depths  of  the  "grand  old  forest." 


A  Jp:rsey  Cow. — A  thorougli  bred  Jersey 
cow,  belonging  to  Mr.  Daniel  S.  Brown,  of 
West  Cambridge,  ]\Iass.,  though  three  months 
less  than  six  years  old,  had  added  six  calves, 
all  heifers,  to  her  owner's  stock — the  two  last, 
her  only  twins,  being  now  several  weeks  old, 
are  at  her  side.  Last  year  she  calved  in  Feb- 
ruary. Beginning  in  June,  her  milk  was  kept 
separate,  a  week  or  two,  occasionally,  for  four 
months,  and  her  average  product  of  butter,  at 
that  length  of  time  after  calving,  was  found  to 
amonnt  to  9  1-2  lbs.  per  week.  Her  keeping 
was  simply  pasture  feed.  No  meal  nor  messes 
of  any  kind  were  given  to  her,  excepting  the 
usual  corn  stalks  when  the  grass  failed  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  season. 


The  Concord  Grape.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  the  prize  of  $100  offered  by  the 
Hon.  Horace  Greeley  for  the  best  grape  for 
general  cultivation  was  awarded  to  the  Con- 
cord. This  decision  was  recently  under  dis- 
cussion by  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  when 
Mr.  Nichols  said,  "I  have  40  varieties,  and  I 
find  that  my  family  will  pick  the  Concord  first." 
Mr.  Cummins — "I  have  a  similar  experi- 
ence. While  there  are  nice  grapes  in  my  hot 
house,  my  family  pick  Concords  for  choice." 
Mr.  Dodge — "Of  18  choice  bearing  varieties, 
I  prefer  the  Concord."  Mr.  Meeker — "In 
the  warmer  parts  of  the  country  the  Concord 
rises  in  quality  and  is  highly  prized." 


The  quality  of  AVool  is  tested  by  taking 
a  lock  from  the  sheep's  back,  and  placing  it  on 
a  surface  representing  an  inch  in  length.  If 
the  spirals  count  from  thirty  to  thirty-three  in 
that  space,  the  wool  is  equal  to  the  finest 
"Electoral"  or  Saxony  wool.  The  staple  is 
inferior  accordingly  as  it  takes  a  lesser  number 
to  fill  up  the  same  space. 


THE   JAPAN  LILY. 

In  the  weekly  New  England  Farmer  of 
April  7th,  1866,  we  gave  a  cut  of  the  flower 
of  this  magnificent  Lily.  We  have  now  the 
pleasure  of  showing  a  plant  growing  in  a  pot. 
As  the  name  imports,  it  was  introduced  from 
Japan,  and  proves  to  be  hardy,  and  a  great 
acquisition  to  the  garden.  The  propagation 
is  simple  and  certain.  Mr.  Breck,  in  his  Book 
of  Flowers,  endorses  the  following  directions 
for  their  cultivation  in  pots,  as  n^presented  in 
the  cut : — 

"I  shall  detail  the  practic:c  I  have  pursued 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


185 


■with  success  for  some  years.  Immediately 
when  the  bulbs  go  to  rest,  in  the  autumn,  is 
the  proper  time  to  repot  them.  By  no  means 
destroy  the  old  roots,  but  carefully  place  them 
amongst  the  fresh  soil.  If  large  examples,  for 
particular,  display,  arc  required,  large  pots 
may  be  employed,  and  half  a  dozen  flowering 
bulbs  placed  in  each  pot.  The  soil  I  use  is 
rough  peat.  The  pots  should  be  well  drained, 
and  the  crown  of  the  bulb  just  covered  with 
the  soil ;  when  potted,  they  should  be  placed 
in  a  cold  pit  or  frame,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
soil  from  freezing,  although  Irostwill  not  injure 
the  bulb.  There  is  scarcely  any  plant  which  is 
so  much  benefited  by  liquid  manure  as  the 
Lily.  If  used  in  a  clear  state,  and  considera- 
bly diluted,  this  water  alone  may  be  applied 
fof  at  least  a  month  before  it  comes  into 
flower. 

"If  the  object  should  be  out-door  cultivation 
entirely,  I  should  recommend  them  to  be 
planted  in  beds ;  their  effect  is  exceedingly 
grand.  Exclvate  the  soil  eighteen  inches 
deep,  and  fill  in  the  bottom,  a  foot  deep,  with 
very  coarse  peat,  intermixed  with  one-fifth  of 
decayed  manure  or  leaf  mould.  The  remain- 
ing six  inches  may  be  entirely  peat.  If  the 
bulbs  are  large  enough  to  bloom,  plant  them 
twelve  inches  apart  every  way. 

"All  our  native  Lilies  are  beautiful,  and  very 
much  improved  by  cultivation.  While  we  are 
bringing  together,  from  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
the  treasures  of  Flora,  let  not  our  own  be  neg- 
lected. These  may  be  taken  from  our  fields 
and  meadows,  when  in  bloom,  by  carefully 
taking  them  up  with  a  ball  of  earth,  and  in  a 
few  years  will  richly  repay  the  trouble." 


Dwarf  Peak  Trees,  Currant  Bushes 
AND  Shrurbery. — These  plants  and  many 
others  need  attention,  now  that  the  deep  snows 
are  settling  about  them.  The  snow  softens 
around  them  on  the  surfiice  in  the  day  time, 
and  as  night  approaches  freezes  again,  but 
continues  to  settle  below,  and  drags  down  he 
branches  imbedded  in  it,  and  breaks  them  at 
their  junction  with  the  stem  of  the  tree  or  bush. 

At  this  time  of  writing,  Feb.  8,  the  snow  is 
BufRciently  hard  to  bear  up  a  man,  and  has 
already  caused  some  destruction  among  pear 
trees  and  currant  bushes.  It  settles  more  or 
less  every  day.  It  is  already  so  compact  as 
to  require  a  stout  spade  to  get  it  away.  De- 
lay will  be  dangerous  in  this  particular. 


FALL  AND  ■WINTER  FEED,  AND  CARE 
OP  SHEEP. 

OMETiMES  injurious  results 
arise  from  sudden  changes 
in  food  in  winter  as  well 
as  in  change  of  pasture. 
Sheep  should  not  be  kept 
out  late  in  the  season,  ex- 
posed to  the  autumn  rains 
and  cold  storms,  with 
fleeces  wet  for  a  week  at 
a  time  ;  nor  in  the  winter 
when  the  weather  is  in- 
clement. This  absorbs 
the  heat  from  their  bodies,  and  uses  up  what 
little  nutriment  they  get  in  the  frost-bitten  herb- 
age. In  such  cases,  the  wool  Is  left  almost 
without  support,  a  weak  place  remains  In  it  so 
that  the  weight  of  the  summer  growth  bi-eaks 
it  in  two.  Then  the  farmer  ivonders  lohat  can 
make  his  sheep  shed  their  wool  so  much  ! 

This  may  be  fairly  imputed  to  neglect  in  the 
fall.  Feeding  upon  sour,  frozen  grass  is  apt 
to  produce  a  relaxed  state  of  the  bowels,  while 
a  sudden  change  from  such  food  to  dry  hay,  is 
likely  to  induce  constipation. 

Sheds  to  protect  the  sheep  from  the  storms 
of  autumn,  a  few  roots,  and  a  little  good  hay 
once  each  day,  would  ensure  healthier  sheep, 
better  lambs,  better  wool  and  heavier  fleeces. 
Sheds  are  also  necessary  to  protect  sheep  from 
the  burning  suns  of  summer.  Rain,  dews,  and 
hot  sun  have  an  injurious  effect  upon  wool. 
Wool  contains  a  large  amount  of  fixed  oil, 
which  the  hot  sun  extracts  and  renders  the 
wool  harsh.  To  understand  what  this  influ- 
ence is,  examine  its  effect  upon  a  black  fleece. 
When  it  first  begins  to  grow,  the  top  of  the 
wool  is  as  black  as  the  bottom,  but  after  being 
exposed  to  the  sun  a  change  in  color  takes 
place.  It  has  parted  with  some  valuable  con- 
stituents. A  similar  effect  takes  place,  too, 
when  wool  Is  exposed  to  a  high  temperature 
after  being  wet,  whether  on  the  sheep's  back 
or  being  dried  previous  to  manufacturing,  or 
when  made  into  garments.  If  an  overcoat, 
after  being  wet,  is  submitted  to  a  high  temper- 
ature for  the  pui-pose  of  drying,  it  will  be 
found  to  have  changed  its  character — that  the 
wool  has  become  harsh  and  brittle,  and  that  it 
will  more  easily  tear  than  before. 

After  sheep  are  brought  to  their  winter 
quarters,  the  treatment  should  be  uniform  and 
judicious.      They  should  always  be    treated 


186 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


kindly,  so  as  to  create  a  sympathy  and  confi- 
dence between  flock  and  flock  master.  They 
should  have  a  variety  of  nutritious  food,  be  fed 
sparingly  not  wastefuUy,  and  what  they  do  not 
eat,  regularly  taken  away.  Meadow  hay,  or 
poor  hay  of  any  kind,  is  the  most  expensive 
fodder  the  master  can  use,  excepting  occasion- 
ally as  a  change,  and  never  any  longer  than 
while  they  eat  it  greedily.  Fleeces  of  young 
ewes  that  have  been  badly  kept  will — after  a 
winter  of  good  treatment — gain  a  pound  and 
a  half,  and  the  wool  will  be  worth  five  or  six 
cents  more  per  pound  than  their  former  fleeces. 
Poor  feed  will  not  supply  a  suflicient  amount 
of  heat  in  cold  weather  to  keep  the  body  warm, 
so  that  nature  comes  to  the  assistance  of  the 
poor  animal  and  starts  fine  fibres  around  the 
bottom  of  the  wool,  sometimes  "cotting"  it,  as 
it  is  called,  and  at  others  producing  what  is 
termed  "mess-bottomed"  wool.  In  either  case 
it  is  a  serious  injury  to  the  wool,  for  the  short 
fibres  arc  of  no  use,  while  the  true  staple  is 
short  and  weak. 

Many  experiments  have  been  made  with  re- 
gard to  the  elTects  of  temperature  ujjon  sheep. 
One  by  Lord  Ducie  says, — 100  sheep  were 
placed  in  a  shed  and  ate  20  lbs.  of  Swedish 
turnips  each,  per  day,  whilst  another  100  in  the 
open  air  ate  25  lbs.  each,  and  at  that  rate  for 
a  certain  period.  The  former  weighed  30  lbs. 
more  than  the  latter,  plainly  showing  that,  to  a 
certain  extent,  warmth  is  an  equivalent  for 
food.  The  wool  on  those  that  gained  would 
be  heaviest  and  superior  in  quality  to  that  of 
the  others.  He  also  tried  the  following  exper- 
iments : 

Five  sheep  were  fed  in  the  open  air  between 
the  21st  of  November  and  1st  of  December. 
They  consumed  90  lbs.  of  food  per  day,  the 
temperature  being  46  degrees.  At  the  end  of 
this  time  they  weighed  2  lbs.  less  than  when 
first  exposed.  Another  5  sheep  were  placed 
imder  shelter  and  allowed  to  run — the  temper- 
ature being  49  degrees.  They  consumed  at 
first  82  lbs.,  then  70  lbs.  per  day,  and  increased 
in  weight  32  lbs.  Another  5  were  placed  in 
the  same  shed  but  not  allowed  any  exercise. 
They  ate  at  first  64  lbs.  and  increased  30  lbs. 
Another  b  were  kept  in  the  dark,  quiet  and 
covered,  and  ate  35  lbs.  and  increased  8  lbs 

The  deprivation  of  exercise  is  unnatural,  and 
C  )uld  not  result  favorably  in  the  long  run. 
As  with  other  animals,  it  may  be  well  for  a 


short  period,  during  the  process  of  fattening, 
but  always,  probably,  at  the  risk  of  the  health 
of  the  animal.  Sheep  not  only  need  exercise, 
hut  perfect  ventilation  in  their  apartments  and 
never  should  be  in  crowded  numbers.  These 
experiments  teach  us  that  a  moderate  temper- 
ature, moderate  feeding  and  exercise,  pure  air, 
plenty  of  light  and  water,  with  salt  always  at 
their  command,  are  what  is  required  to  pro- 
duce good  wool,  good  lambs,  and  good  mutton 
at  small  cost.  \Vlien  these  essentials  are  faith- 
fully observed,  there  will  be  little  danger  of 
disease  affecting  the  flocks. 


LETTER  FROM   THE    FARM. 
Short  Horn  Durham  Cows,  Aldekneys,  &c. 

Gents. — The  beautiful  fields  of  last  summer 
and  autumn  having  put  on  their  garment  of 
white,  to  shelter  themselves  from  rude  winds 
and  pinching  frosts, — and  to  gather  fresh 
sources  of  supply  for  the  work  they  will  be 
called  on  to  commence  in  a  few  weeks  more, — 
I  have  been  compelled  to  seek  instruction  in- 
doors. Sometimes  this  has  been  among  books, 
then  in  social  intercourse  with  thinking  and 
observing  minds,  and  again  in  looking  upon 
the  condition  of  those  faithful  animals  who  la- 
bor for  us,  and  without  whose  aid  our  agricul- 
tural j^rosperity  would  be  at  an  end. 

So,  weary  of  the  pen  and  the  books,  and 
caring  little  for  young  floods  and  huge  but 
wasting  drifts,  I  have  been  about  to  see  how 
my  brother  farmers  are  spending  their  time, 
and  how  their  cattle  look  in  their  stalls. 

My  first  call  was  upon  Mr.  Charles  D. 
TuTTLE,  a  young  man  "just  returned  from  the 
war,"  to  enter  upon  the  more  peaceful  pur- 
suits of  a  war  against  weeds  and  ancient  pre- 
judices. He  was  one  of  the  first  to  spi-hig 
into  action  when  his  country  called,  and  was 
in  that  memoralile  march  through  15altimorc, 
which  showed  the  enemies  of  our  flag  that  It 
was  still  to  be  triumphant  on  every  rood  of  our 
soil.  He  "fought  the  good  fight,"  but,  fortu- 
nately, returned  to  domestic  life  unharmed. 
There  was  still  another  battle,  however,  in 
which  his  skill  was  to  be  tested, — and  one 
dreaded  by  many  a  brave  fellow  with  more 
emotion  than  when  shot  and  shell  are  flying, — 
in  which,  by  judicious  flanking  and  counter- 
marching, he  proved  himself  equally  victori- 
ous !  And  now,  on  the  old  homestead,  instead 
of  one,  there  are  two  young  hearts  ready  to 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


187 


fight  the  battle  of  life  on  the  field  of  Mars,  or 
in  the  more  peaceful  and  inviting  fields  of 
Ceres  and  Pomona. 

I  found  that  in  his  bays,  Mr.  Tuttle  had 
deposited  in  the  fall  some  75  tons  of  fodder, 
60  of  which  were  English  hay ;  and  in  his 
stalls  were  about  25  head  of  cattle,  all  of  which 
were  clean  and  in  excellent  flesh.  Most  of 
them  were  cows  giving  milk,  and  producing 
from  five  to  thirteen  or  fourteen  quarts  per  day, 
according  to  the  time  of  having  dropped  their 
calves. 

I  was  especially  pleased  to  find  among  his 
stock,  several  Short  Horn  Durham  grades, 
which  promise  to  become  very  fine  animals. 
There  are  no  cows  among  us  which  possess,  to 
my  eye,  so  much  beauty  as  a  grade  of  the 
Short  Horn  and  Ayrshire.  In  this  mixture, 
the  former  loses  something  of  its  bulk,  which 
is  rather  large  for  New  England  pastures,  and 
gains  in  that  delicate  symmetry  which  distin- 
guishes the  Ayrshire  ;  while  the  Ayrshire  gains 
size,  and,  perhaps,  milking  qualities.  The 
finest  herds  I  have  ever  seen  in  dairy  districts 
were  made  up  from  this  mixture,  and  in  some 
cases  with  what  is  called  "native"  cattle,  in 
which  Ayrshire  blood  was  probably  present. 
All  about  the  barn  indicated  thi-ift  and  con- 
tentment. 

The  farm  contains  about  100  acres  of  excel- 
lent land.  When  Mr.  T.'s  father  entered  upon 
it,  some  30  or  more  years  ago,  it  produced  but 
five  or  six  tons  of  English  hay.  It  now  yields 
60,  and  the  proprietor  thinks  100  tons  may  be 
cut  annually  by  a  higher  course  of  cultivation. 

My  next  visit  was  to  the  farm  of  Joseph  L. 
HuRD,  Esq.,  a  native  of  this  town,  but  now 
residing  in  Detroit.  The  farm  is  managed  by 
his  brother,  Llr.  William  Kurd,  and  consists 
of  400  acres  of  every  variety  of  land,  from  the 
deep  bog  to  light,  sandy  loams.  Some  por- 
tions of  it  are  covered  heavily  with  wood  and 
valuable  timber. 

In  the  revolutionary  war,  when  the  British 
were  hovering  on  our  coast  or  in  actual  pos- 
session of  Boston,  and  vicinity,  the  buildings 
of  Harvard  College,  at  Cambridge,  were  va- 
cated, and  officers  and  students  occupied  the 
large  house  that  then  stood  on  this  farm, — but 
which  was  destroyed  by  fire  some  ten  years 
since. 

For  two  or  three  years  past  a  large  flock  of 
sheep  has  been  kept  on  the  farm,  but  having 


strong  jumping  and  roving  propensities,  they 
were  gradually  sold  off.  There  Is  now  In  the 
barns  a  stock  of  fifty-two  head  of  cattle,  in- 
cluding some  five  or  six  horses.  Among  the 
stock  there  are  thirty-one  head  of  pure  Jersey 
or  Alderney  cattle,  including  two  bulls,  one 
four  years  old,  and  the  other  about  one  year 
old.  A  more  beautiful  sight  has  rarely  been 
presented  to  the  eye  of  those  partial  to  this 
breed,  than  this  stoek  in  INIr.  Hurd's  stalls. 
He  states  that  the  cows  are  hardy  and  healthy  ; 
good  feeders  and  milkers,  docile  indisposition, 
and  probably  the  best  butter  makers  in  the 
world.  They  are  nearly  all  of  the  fawn  color, 
and  almost  as  sleek  and  beautiful  as  fawns 
themselves. 

Everything  about  the  barn,  cattle,  fodder  and 
Implements,  was  neat  and  orderly.  The  whole 
stock  has  been  fed — and  will  continue  to  be 
fed  through  the  winter — upon  meadow  hay  and 
shorts,  as  a  large  amount  of  that  hay  had  ac- 
cumulated in  the  barn.  It  was  sweet,  and  the 
cows  were  eating  It  freely. 

Upon  this  farm  there  is  a  vineyard  of  about 
four  acres,  mostly  set  with  Concord  grapes.  I 
did  not  go  to  it,  but  understood  that  it  is  doing 
well.  At  another  time  I  will  speak  of  other 
farms.     Truly  yours,  Simon  Brown. 

P.  S. — Since  visiting  Mr.  Hurd''s  farm,  I 
understand  that  it  is  his  intention  to  sell  all 
his  neat  stock  at  auction  in  the  course  of  a 
few  weeks.  There  will  then  be  a  rare  chance 
to  obtain  some  of  the  finest  Alderney  stock 
that  has  been  presented  for  a  long  time. 


AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGES. 
A  paragraph  copied  from  the  Nation,  of 
which  the  Ibllowing  are  the  opening  and  clos- 
ing sentences,  has  been  copied  by  nearly  all 
the  agricultural  press  as  well  as  by  most  news- 
papers of  the  country  : — 

"The  work  of  organizing  and  starting  so 
novel  an  Institution  is  not  to  be  done  piece- 
meal and  at  odd  hours.  It  must  be  the  event 
of  the  life  of  him  who  accomplishes  It,  not  an 
Incident  In  his  career.  It  must  be  his  study, 
not  his  diversion.  *  *  *  The  unity  of  pur- 
pose, the  clearly  defined  plan  of  a  single  head, 
are  far  more  likely  to  be  successful  than  the 
conflicting  plans  and  shifting  methods  of  a 
dozen  heads." 

Col.  S.  D.Harris,  editor  of  the  Ohio  Farm- 
er, who  in  years  past  was  connected  with  the 
Board  of  Education  in  Ohio,  favors  quite  a  dif- 


188 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


ferent  policy.  From  a  statement  of  his  views, 
in  a  late  number  of  his  paper,  we  copy  the  fol- 
lowing : — 

"The  principles  and  practices  of  our  normal 
schools  and  teachers'  institutes,  form  the  most 
rational  and  feasible  basis  for  the  commence- 
ment of  the  proposed  agricultural  college. 
This  will  include  the  two  essentials  of  economic 
possibility  and  popular  regard.  In  such  an  in- 
stitution the  machinery  is  not  expensive  nor 
the  idea  forbidding  to  common  minds.  It 
would  also  accommodate  the  exigencies  of 
farm  life,  by  allowing  such  boys  to  attend  dur- 
ing the  leisure  season  of  winter,  as  could  not 
well  be  spared  during  the  summer;  and  in 
this  way  they  Avould  be  like  the  bees  which  fly 
to  and  fro  between  the  hive  and  pasture, 
bringing  in  the  honey  they  gather  and  inciting 
others  to  a  like  adventure.  Neither  would 
this  temporary  attendance  conflict  with  the 
higher  privilege  of  such  boys  as  could  spend 
the  entire  year  at  the  institution,  for  whom  a 
more  thorough  course  could  be  provided. 

Let  the  boys  feel  that  they  are  to  enjoy  facili- 
ties for  learning  how  to  become  successful 
farmers,  and  do  not  frighten  them  by  a  grim 
ghow  of  Latin,  Greek  and  mathematics.  Or- 
ganize your  agricultural  college  upon  this  basis 
according  to  the  means  in  hand,  and  Id  it 
groio  according  to  its  desert,  instead  of  wait- 
mg  for  the  splendid  university  to  appear  in  all 
its  unapproachable  glory." 

In  connection  with  this  the  Country  Gentle- 
man alludes  to  the  suggestions  of  the  late 
Henry  Colman,  in  reference  to  agricultural 
education.  To  secure  1st,  "the  thorough  in- 
doctrination of  the  pupil  in  natural  science, 
and  in  mechanical  philosophy,  so  far  as  it  can 
be  made  to  bear  upon  agriculture," — and,  2d, 
a  farm  which  should  aflTord  him  "an  example 
of  the  best  management,  and  the  best  practices 
in  husbandry,"  Mr.  Colman  recommends 
that  the  students  should  lodge  and  board  with 
the  farmer  or  others  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
that, 

"One  or  two  instructors  should  be  em- 
ployed constantly  ibr  teaching  the  main 
branches  of  education,  and  a  competent  I'armer 
should  be  employed  to  manage  the  agi-icultural 
department,  and  to  give  the  necessary  practi- 
cal instruction.  Beyond  this,  no  resident  in- 
struciors  would  be  reciuired, — but  regular  and 
full  courses  of  lectures  and  experiments  in 
geology,  mineralogy,  botany,  comparative  anat- 
omy, the  veterinary  art,  and  chemistry,  by 
competent  professors  in  these  sciences,  who 
might  1k!  employed  for  those  objects  annually, 
without  the  necessity  and  expense  of  constant 
residence, — as  is  now  frequ(!ntly  done  at  oin- 
medical  schools.     In  this  way,  the  best  talents 


in  the  community  might  be  commanded,  and 
at  a  reasonable  expense." 

With  regard  to  instruction,  he  also  throws 
out,  as  worthy  of  consideration,  the  idea  of  lo- 
cation near  some  established  college  which 
might  afford  additional  facilities  for  scientific 
lectures  or  collections. 


DELEGATES   TO    SOCIETIES. 

At   the  late  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts 

Board  of  Agriculture,  delegates  to  visit  the 

Fairs  of  the  various  societies  of  the  State  wei'e 

assigned  as  follows  : — 

Essex  Society — Mr.  Ward  of  Munson. 
Middlesex — Mr.  Thompson  of  Nantucket. 
Middlesex  South — Dr.  Luring  of  Salem. 
Middlesex  North — Mr.  Birnie  of  Springfield. 
Worcester — Mr.  Saltonstall  of  Newton. 
Worcester  West — Mr.  Smith  of  Sunderland. 
Worcester  South — Mr.  Davis  of  Plymouth. 
Worcester  Soidheast — Mr.  Porter  of  Hatfield. 
Worcester  North — Mr.  Hyde  of  Lee. 
Ha7npshire,  Hamden  and  Franklin — Mr.  Billings  of 

Lunenljurg. 
Hampshire — Mr.  Sanderson  of  Pliillipston. 
Highland — Mr.  Slndc  of  Somerset. 
Hampden — Mr.  Clcmc-nt  of  Dracut. 
Hampden  East — Mr.  Johnson  of  Framingham. 
Franklin — Mr.  Sto.kbridge  of  Hadley. 
Berkshire — Mr.  Bull  of  Concord. 
Hoiisatonic- — Mr.  King  of  Barnstable. 
Hoosac  Valley — Mr.  Cleavcland  of  Tisbury. 
Norfolk — Mr.  Knowlton  of  Upton. 
Bristol — Mr.  Cole  of  Williamstown. 
Bristol  Central — Mr.  Watkins  of  Hinsdale. 
Plynwuth — Mr.  Hubbard  of  Brimfield. 
Barnstable — Mr.  Thatcher  of  Lee. 
yantuckct—Mx:.  Ward  of  Shrewsbury. 
Martha's  Vineyard — Mr.  Sewall  of  Medfield. 


Rhode  Island. — At  a  meeting  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of  Do- 
mestic Industry,  at  Providence,  Feb.  Gth,  W. 
Sprague  was  elected  President;  Joseph  II. 
Bourn,  Cyrus  B.  Manchester,  and  Obadiah 
Brown,  Vice  Presidents  ;  ^V'.  R.  Staples,  Provi- 
dence, Secretary  and  Tri'asurer.  A  general 
exhibition,  cattle  show  and  fair  during  the  year 
was  decided  upon. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   WOOL   TARIFF. 

The  intimations  which  for  the  last  few  weeks 
have  been  coming  from  Washington,  in  rela- 
tion to  new  propositions  for  changes  in  the  tar- 
ilf  upon  wool  and  woolens,  iiave  been  received 
l)y  the  farmers  of  the  countiy  with  well  ground- 
ed apprehension  and  alarm.  The  i)ith  ol' these 
new  r(!conuucndations  is  embodied  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentimce.  "No  protection  upon  the 
raw  materials  of  wool,  coal  and  iron,  init  to 
award  tlie  protection  of  the  government  to 
those  industries  which  require  much  skilled 
labor  and  large  capital."     In  concise  English, 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


189 


this  means  precisely,  protection  for  the  manu- 
facturers, but  none  for  farmers.  Ohl  King 
Solomon  was  perhaps  not  fiir  from  right  when 
he  saitl  there  was  nothing  new  nnder  the  sun  ; 
for  these  apparently  new  doctrines  are  simply 
a  revised  edition  of  the  tarilf  of  1812,  which 
was  founded  upon  the  principle  of  proti'ction 
to  maniillicturers,  so  they  might  allbrd  to  i)ay 
a  goo'.l  price  for  wool.  How  high  a  price  they 
did  pay,  wool  growers  very  well  remember,  as 
under  its  Ijenelicent  operations  wool  depreci- 
ated in  value  from  forty-seven  to  twenty-seven 
cents  per  pound,  and  to  how  low  a  figure  it 
would  have  fliUen,  had  not  the  taiiff  of  1816 
taken  its  place,  we  can  only  conjecture.  The 
fact  is  self-evident,  that  people,  of  whatever 
trade  or  profession,  will  buy  where  they  can 
buy  the  cheapest,  and  sell  in  the  best  attain- 
able market.  Hence,  if  manufacturers  can 
obtain  their  wool  cheaper  in  South  America 
than  in  New  England,  they  will  most  assuredly 
do  so  ;  and  our  wool  may  lie  in  our  wool  rooms 
till  the  day  of  jubilee,  wdiich  for  farmers  will 
probably  very  soon  come. 

With  proper  encouragement  the  farmers  of 
the  United  States  can  raise  all  the  wool  which 
is  needed  for  home  consumption,  instead  of 
from  one-half  to  three-fifths  of  a  supply,  as  is 
now  the  case,  and  that  interest  which  in  the 
courtly  language  of  our  Was-hington  dispatches, 
"requires  much  skilled  labor  and  large  capi- 
tal" may  be  equally  prosperous  with  us. 

Another  argument  used  is  that  if  Texas  or 
Missouri  can  raise  wool  at  a  profit  at  a  very 
low  figure.  New  England  has  no  right  to  com- 
plain, and  may  quit  the  business.  Grant  this, 
ye  most  worthy  high  priests  of  free  v.ool ;  but 
will  you  have  the  goodness  to  tell  us  whether,  if 
by  proper  protective  duties  wool-growing  is 
made  moderately  profitable  in  New  England, 
the  profits  of  Texas  wool-growers  would  not 
be  proportionally  increased  and  the  whole 
country  thereby  prosper  together.  In  the 
years  which  are  gone,  I  used  sometimes  to 
hear  it  threatened  that  New  England,  being 
extremely  pestiferous,  must  be  left  out  in  the 
cold,  but  this  is  the  first  practical  recommend- 
ation looking  to  that  result,  which  has  claimed 
the  attention  of  Congress  and  the  American 
people.  Although  the  whole  thing  is  too  su- 
premely ridiculous  to  be  thought  of  without 
coleric  ebullitions  from  one's  inner  man,  yet, 
for  the  moment,  let  us  examine  these  brave 
words  aliont  "skilled  labor  and  large  capital." 

I  confess  that  my  perceptions  are  so  obtuse 
that  I  am  not  al)le  to  see  that  it  requires  much 
more  skill  to  tend  a  loom  or  spindle,  than  it 
docs  to  carry  along  in  order  all  the  multifari- 
ous interests  v,hich  center  about  the  farm. 
"Large  capital,"  too,  forsooth !  Didn't  any- 
body ever  stop  to  think,  suppose,  of  the  mil- 
lions of  farmers  scattered  over  this  country, 
owning  from  forty,  to,  perhaps,  four  thousand 
acres  each,  varying  in  price  from  fifteen  to  one 
hundred  dollars  per  acre  ;  its  vast  amount  of 
teams  and  tools  required  to  carry  on  all  this 


business — little  perhaps  to  each  indi\idual, 
but  enormous  in  the  aggregate.  Tlicn,  too, 
our  flocks  of  American  JNlerinos  and  English 
nuitton  l>reeds,  our  herds  of  Durhams,  of  De- 
vons,  and  of  vVlderneys,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
va^t  value  of  otlicr  kinds  of  stock  ;  and  after 
looking  tliis  all  o\er,  will  not  ])Cople  1  egln  to 
think  this  interest  al.'-o  requires  "much  ? killed 
lal)or  and  large  capital,"  as  well  as  o'hers? 
We  all  know  that  the  amount  of  capital  cm- 
ployed  in  farming  is  immeasurably  supeiior  to 
that  employed  in  any  other  avocation. 

All  we  ask  is  equal  protection  with  other  in- 
dustries, or  falling  in  that,  if  we  mui-t  liave 
free  trade  in  wool,  let  us  alvo  have  fi cc  trade 
in  cloths,  so  that  in  homely  but  emphatic  lan- 
guage, all  pariies  may  understand  that  "sauce 
for  the  goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander." 

Cornish,  N.  H.,Jan.l,  1867.        e.  r.  s. 


For  the  New  Enr/land  Farmer. 

NOXIOUS    AIvTIMALS,    INCLUDING    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.  II. 
THE  RAT. 

The  whole  rat  family,  including  mice,  can 
be  excluded  from  cellars  and  granaries,  if  the 
same  are  properly  constructed ;  and  no  new 
ones  should  be  built  without  being  double 
proof  against  these  vermin.  Whether  barns 
have  been,  or  can  be  made  secure  in  this  re- 
spect, without  too  much  inconvenience  and  ex- 
pense, I  do  not  know.  If  there  is  a  happy 
man  who  has  all  his  stores  secure  from  depre- 
dations and  defilement,  let  him  tell  us  how  the 
thing  is  done.  In  the  meantime,  before  we 
can  get  our  cellars  and  buildings  in  a  safe  con- 
dition, we  will  shoot,  trap,  poison  and  scare 
the  rascals,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power  and  in- 
genuity. Most  families  eiuploy  one  or  more 
cats  to  aid  in  the  extermination  of  rats  and 
mice ;  but  often,  from  want  of  neatness,  cats 
are  nearly  as  ol)jectionable  as  the  little  animals 
they  are  expected  to  destroy,  but  do  not.  Rat 
flesh  is  not  a  favorite  repast  with  Pussy,  and 
she  is  not  generally  inclined  to  hunt  the  Nor- 
way very  vigorously.  We  have  discarded  cats, 
partly  on  account  of  their  offensive  habits, 
partly  because  they  have  killed  for  us  more 
chickens  and  birds  than  rats,  and  finally  be- 
cause a  few  good  traps,  well  attended,  will 
catch  more  mice  than  the  best  of  cat-mousers. 
The  best  mouse  trap  is  that  very  common  one 
made  of  a  disk  of  wood,  with  half  a  dozen 
holes  in  the  periphery,  in  each  of  which  is  a 
wire-spring  garrote. 

Rats  are  exceedingly  wary  of  traps  :  but  by 
baiting  them  with  meal  in  some  partially  dark 
nook,  contiguous  to  a  safe  retreat,  they  will 
come  out  to  feed  in  the  day  time,  and  by  tak- 
ing a  concealed  position  with  a  shot  gun,  they 
can  be  laid  out  one  or  more  at  a  time.  And 
notwithstanding  the  reputed  caution  of  Mr. 
Norway,  the  terrific  explosion  of  the  gun,  the 
smell  of  burning  gunpowder,  and  the  sprinkled 
blood  of  the  dead,  the  survivors  will  continue 


190 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


April 


to  return  to  feed  in  the  same  place,  till  the 
last  one  is  slain. 

Once  or  twice  a  year  our  cellar  is  invaded 
bv  a  posse  comitahis  of  these  rebels  in  grey. 
As  soon  as  their  entrance  is  known,  I  am  after 
them  with  all  imaginable  devices  of  traps,  one 
after  another,  seldom  catching  more  than  one 
in  the  same  trap,  until  after  the  lapse  of  some 
weeks.  A  tilting  cover,  on  which  is  sprinkled 
a  little  meal,  over  a  barrel  partly  tilled  with 
water,  has  been  my  most  successful  trap,  and 
many  a  rampant  blade  entering  in  anticipation 
of  high  feast  and  revelry,  has  found  like  Shake- 
speare's Ophelia,  "too  much  water."  Some- 
times all  the  traps  are  insufficient,  and  poison 
must  be  employed.  Parson  &  Co.'s  prep.ara- 
tion  of  phosphorus,  or  "vermin  exterminator" 
will  generally  silence  them ;  though  I  have  re- 
cently had  some  visitors  who  refused  this  medi- 
camentimi,  and  would  not  leave  till  I  fed  them 
with  arsenical  liread  and  liutter,  not  in  the  cel- 
lar, but  in  their  retired  walks  about  the  out- 
buildings, wlusre  there  was  ^^raall  danger  of  its 
beinir  mingled  with  food  of  man  or  domestic 
annnal. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  oil  of  rhodium  has, 
to  rats,  such  a  fascination  and  irresistible  at- 
traction, that  by  its  use  they  may  be  induced 
to  enter  any  sort  of  a  trap  or  eat  any  medicat- 
ed preparation.  My  experience  does  not  veri- 
fy the  dictum.  As  to  the  various  devices  for 
frightening  the  rascally  rodents  away,  few  are 
reliable — none  infallible  ;  and  when  successful, 
only  relieve  us  at  the  expense  of  our  neighbors. 
I.  B.  Hartwell. 

Willcinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


For  the  Neio  England  Farmer. 
ROTATION    OF    CROPS   IN   ENGLAND. 

Having  been  requested  by  some  of  my  neigh- 
bors to  write  to  them  again  through  the  New 
England  Far:\ier,  I  have  thought  that,  as 
the  smallest  ilower  does  not  live  to  itself,  but 
sends  forth  its  fragrance  and  smiles  upon  every 
passer  by,  so  it  is  the  duty  of  every  man  to  do 
all  he  can  to  benefit,  cheer  and  encourage  his 
fellow  man,  and  to  exercise  feelings  of  gratitude 
that  we  are  endowed  with  reasoning  iaculties, 
and  possess  the  power  to  communicate  one 
with  anotln'r.  If  I  can  benefit  any  one  with 
my  limited  ideas,  I  shall  feel  amply  paid  for 
my  trouble  in  writing. 

I  have  a  numl)er  of  "extracts"  on  file  in  my 
memor}'  about  the  English  farms  and  modes  of 
farming,  that  may  benefit  some  one  in  this 
country ;  but  to  be  benefited  we  nuist  lean 
one  towards  another,  and  give  up  our  stiff- 
necked  notions  and  prejudices.  I  have  one 
thing  to  say,  Mr.  Editor,  that  since  I  came  to 
this  country,  I  have  been  greatly  benefited  by 
the  ideas  advanced  by  your  numerous  corres- 
pondents, and  as  long  as  T  am  able  to  pay  for 
your  paper,  I  shall  not  throw  it  up  because 
you  print  "every  body's  ideas."  I  will  say  to 
my  brother  farmers,  let  our  ideas  be  stated,  no 


matter  though  rather  vague.  Some  one  may 
be  benefited.  But  enough  of  this  for  the 
present. 

I  herewith  send  you  a  rotation  of  crops  suit- 
able for  the  different  soils  in  England.  Per- 
haps they  may  suit  the  soils  in  this  country. 
If  any  one  wishes  to  experiment  upon  them  I 
should  be  glad  to  hear  the  result. 

A  variety  of  circumstances  conspire  to  ren- 
der the  alternation  of  different  crops  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  successful  husbandry.  Some 
crops  appear  to  draw  from  the  soil  such  liberal 
supplies  of  certain  principles  which  can  only 
be  slowly  restored  to  it  again,  that  the  soil 
is,  Avith  respect  to  such  produce,  exhausted ; 
and  the  unintermitted  succession  of  it  would 
be  unprofitable.  Manure  might  renew  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil,  but  it  is  interdicted  by  the 
expense  of  supplying  the  quantity  required. 
A  summer-fallow  would  prepare  it  for  another 
crop,  but  this  involves  the  expense  of  plowing 
while  the  land  is  unproductive.  The  most  ef- 
fectual means,  therefore,  of  relieving  a  soil, 
and  of  obtaining  from  It  the  maximum  pro- 
duce, consists  In  a  rotation  of  crops,  which 
draw  from  the  soil  different  principles,  or 
difTerent  proportions  of  the  same  principles. 
Thus,  white  crops,  viz :  wheat,  oats,  &c.,  are 
extremely  exhausting,  but  afterwards  the  soil 
will  bear  a  good  crop  of  beans,  turnips,  or 
tares.  Probably  the  difference  in  the  nourish- 
ment required  by  these  fallow  crops  is  far  from 
being  the  whole  advantage  that  results.  The 
hoeing  and  harrowing  they  receive  may  enable 
the  soil  to  replenish  Itself  from  the  atmosphere, 
while  their  shade  and  the  extirpation  of  weeds 
attending  their  culture  prevents  waste. 

The  following  rotation  of  crops  has  been 
adopted  by  experienced  agriculturists  ;  but  as 
time  rolls  on,  change  takes  place,  new  experi- 
ments are  tried,  and  new  things  take  the  place 
of  the  old. 

Clay.  Clatet  Loams. 

1st  yr.,  turnips  or  cabbages.  Turnips  or  cabbages. 

2d    "    oats.  Oats. 

3d    "    beans  aud  clover.  Clover. 

4th  "    wheat.  Wheat. 

5th*'    turnips  or  cabbages.  Turnips  or  cabbages. 

6th  "    o.-vts.  Barley. 

7th  "    beans  or  vetches.  Beans. 

Stb  "    wheat.  Wheat. 

Rich 

Istyr 
'2d  " 
3d  " 
4th  " 

nth  " 

6tli  " 
7lh" 
8th  " 


and  Sandy  Loams.  Rich  and  Sandy  Loams, 

turnips  and  potatoes.  Turnips, 

barley.  Barley, 

clover.  Clover. 

wheat.  Wheat, 

beans.  Potatoes, 

barley.  Barley, 

peas.  Peas, 

wheat.  Wheat. 


Peat  Earth. 

1st  year,  turnips. 


1 

3(1 
4th 
5lh 
flth 
7th 
8th 


barley. 

clover. 

wheat. 

potatoes. 

l)arley. 

peas. 

wheat. 


Light  Land. 
Turnips. 
Barley. 

Clover  and  rye  grass. 
Clover  and  rye  grass. 
Clover  and  rye  grass. 
Peas. 

Wheat  or  rye. 
Wheat. 


For  soils  that  have  a  chalky  substratum,  and 
for  gravels,  the  same  course  as  above  given  for 
peat  earth,  is  recommended. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


191 


If  any  one  thinks  of  frrowing  cabbages  to 
any  extent,  I  would  say  that  he  must  be  care- 
ful how  he  feeds  them  out ;  as  if  fed  too  lib- 
erally they  give  a  very  unpleasant  flavor  to 
beef,  milk  and  butter.  They  are  not  cultivated 
so  much  as  formerly, — turnips  having  suc- 
ceeded them. 

Such  are  some  of  the  systems  of  rotation 
adopted  in  England.     How  far  are  they  adapt- 
ed to  the  soil  and  climate  of  this  country  ? 
Edw'd  Hebb. 

Jeffersonville,  Vt.,  Dec.  17,  18CG. 


Remarks. — Instead  of  one  year,  New  Eng- 
land farmers  generally  allow  something  like 
five  years  out  of  eight,  to  grass  crops.  First, 
potatoes,  then  corn,  seeding  down  with  oats, 
rj'e  or  wheat,  and  five  years  to  grass.  Often, 
however,  corn  is  planted  first  year,  and  the 
land  seeded  to  grass  the  second.  And  of  late 
the  practice  of  inverting  the  sod  in  August, 
applying  a  little  manure  and  seeding  with  grass, 
without  any  grain,  appears  to  be  gaining  favor 
on  many  "grass  farms."  AVe  thank  Mr.  Hebb 
for  introducing  the  subject,  and  believe  its 
discussion  will  prove  instructive  and  of  practi- 
cal value. 


WAGES  OF  FARM  LABORERS. 
.  In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Agri- 
culture, for  the  month  of  January,  we  find  this 
subject  treated  at  considerable  length,  and 
some  interesting  statistics  embodied  in  the  ar- 
ticle, which  is  headed  "The  rate  of  wages  of 
farm  laborers  in  the  United  States,"  and  is 
based  on  returns  from  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory and  nearly  every  county  in  the  United 
States.  The  returns  from  the  Northern  States 
are  the  most  full  and  complete,  but  very  gen- 
eral returns  were  received  from  the  Southern 
States. 

The  method  adopted  to  obtain  this  informa- 
tion was  by  sending  circulars  to  officers  of  ag- 
ricultural societies  and  others  who  could  be 
relied  on  to  collect  the  facts  with  accuracy  and 
judgment,  and  the  final  statement,  as  made  by 
the  Commissioner,  represents  a  summaiy  of 
1510  formal  statements  forwarded  to  him,  and 
each  one  of  these  statements  had  been  com- 
piled from  several  others  comprising  portions 
of  counties  and  districts. 

The  result  of  the  inquiry  shows  a  general 
and  marked  increase  in  the  rate  of  wages  paid 
farm  laborers  during  the  last  thirty  years.  As 
compared  with  the  rates  of  1835,  the  increase 
has  been  70  per  cent.,  while  the  present  rates 


show  an  increase  of  50  per  cent,  over  those  of 
five  years  ago.  The  higher  wages  paid  in  this 
country,  and  the  greater  comfort  and  higher 
social  position  of  the  farin  laborer,  naturally 
attracted  foreigners,  and  the  greatly  increased 
immigration,  it  has  been  feared  would,  through 
the  competition  introduced,  lower  the  rate  of 
wages.  That  this  fear  was  unfounded  is  best  ' 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  demands  for  labor 
have  more  than  kept  pace  with  the  supply. 
The  present  generation  need  not  fear  any  over- 
plus of  laborers. 

The  present  average  rate  of  farm  wages  in 
this  country  is  $28  per  month  for  white  labor- 
ers in  the  Northern  and  Western  States,  and 
$16  per  month  for  freedmen  at  the  South.  In 
England  the  present  rate  of  farm  wages  is 
$14  per  month,  and  upon  the  Continent  of  Eu- 
rope the  rates  are  still  less.  The  rates  of  wa- 
ges in  the  several  States  differ  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  multiplication  of  separate  industries, 
modified  in  new  States  in  process  of  settle- 
ment by  the  increased  demand  for  consump- 
tion occasioned  temporarily  by  incoming  set- 
tlers who  are  as  yet  non-producers,  or  in  the 
mining  States  and  territories  by  the  employ- 
ment of  the  majority  in  mining.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  table  of  average  wages  per  mouth  of 
farm  laborers  employed  for  the  year  in  the  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  country  : — 


Eastern  States  .  . 
Middle  States  .  . 
Western    States  , 


$33  30 
30  07 
28  91 


Southern  States  .   .  $16  00 

Oregon 35  75 

California     ....      45  71 


The  following  table  shows  the  average  rate 
of  wages  paid  per  month  for  farm  laborers  in 
the  several  States  and  Territories.  The  first 
column  shows  the  rate  per  month  by  the  year, 
without  board,  and  the  second  the  rate  with 
board : — 


Maine    .   .   . 

#27  CO  $17  44 

Tennessee  . 

$19  00  $12  58 

N.Hampshire  32  74 

22  48 

West  Virginia  25  35 

16  47 

Vermont .   . 

32  84 

21  00 

Kentucky    . 

.20  23 

13  65 

Massachusetts  38  94 

22  36 

Missouri  .   . 

.  26  75 

18  08 

Rhode  Island 

31  40 

20  50 

Illinois  .   .   . 

.  28  04 

18  72 

Connecticut 

.34  25 

21  54 

Indiana    .   . 

.  27  77 

18  72 

New  Yorli  . 

.29  57 

19  32 

Ohio  .... 

.  23  46 

18  96 

New    Jersey 

.  32  27 

18  98 

Michigan     . 

31  26 

20  48 

Pennsylvania 

29  91 

18  84 

Wisconsin  . 

.30  84 

19  87 

Delaware    . 

24  93 

13  25 

Minnesota   . 

.31  65 

21  10 

Maryland    . 

20  38 

12  76 

Iowa  .... 

.  28  34 

18  87 

Virginia  .   . 

14  82 

9  36 

Kansas     .   . 

.  31  03 

19  81 

North  Carolinaia  46 

8  15 

Nebraska  Tei 

.38  37 

24  64 

South  Carolinal2  00 

7  66 

Utah  Tcrritor 

y44  71 

26  32 

Georgia   .   . 

15  51 

9  67 

Colorado  Ter 

67  50 

42  12 

Florida     .   . 

18  00 

12  12 

New  Mexico 

25  00 

16  50 

Alabama  .   . 

13  40 

9  80 

California    . 

.45  71 

30  35 

Mississippi  . 

16  72 

11  58 

Nevada    .   , 

.  75  00 

60  00 

Louisiana    . 

20  50 

12  42 

Wash'n  Ter. 

.52  25 

36  25 

Texas    .   .   . 

,19  00 

12  72 

Dakota     .  . 

.30  20 

20  00 

Arkansas     . 

24  21 

15  80 

Oregon     .  . 

.35  75 

22  53 

In  the  East  the  cost  of  living,  and  in  the 
West  the  scarcity  of  labor,  has  a  tendency  to 


192 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


April 


increase  wages,  yet  in  populous,  central  sec- 
tions oi'the  country,  with  easy  communication 
by  rail  and  water,  the  rates  are  nearly  uniform, 
especially  with  board.  The  Territories,  such 
as  Nevada  and  Colorado,  are  of  course  excep- 
tional, andfchow  very  high  prices.  And  in  the 
South  ihe  disturbed  state  of  affairs,  following 
the  emancipation  of  the  slaves,  renders  the  rate 
of  wages  comparatively  low. 

In  those  States  where  regular  labor  is  most 
general  among  the  inhabitants,  and  where  it  is 
prosecuted  in  the  greatest  variety,  laborers,  as 
a  rule,  receive  the  highest  wages.  ]\Jassachu- 
setts  is  given  as  an  illustration.  With  a  poor 
soil,  and  not  pi-operly  an  agricultural  State, 
and  wiih  only  G9,G.j6  laborers  in  agricultural 
pursuits  to  27 1 ,241  employed  in  mechanic  arts, 
as  the  State  census  of  1865  shows,  she  pays 
higher  monthly  wages  for  farm  labor  than  any 
other  State  except  California,  viz.,  $38.94 
wi'hout  board.  This,  it  is  argued,  is  the  result 
of  the  great  variety  of  labor  in  the  State,  bring- 
ing consumers  and  producers  nearer  together. 
Another  cause  of  high  rates  of  labor  in  this 
country  is  the  superior  Intelligence  and  activity 
of  the  laboring  classes. 

The  difference  between  wages  without  and 
with  board  varies  quite  regularly  with  the  cost 
of  staple  articles  of  food  ;  being  higher  East 
than  West,  and  higher  in  the  Territories  than 
in  the  States.  In  the  South,  the  food  of  the 
laborer  consisting  mostly  of  one  or  two  articles, 
such  as  corn  and  bacon,  the  price  of  board  is 
quite  low.  Thus  in  the  Northern  States  the 
difference  between  the  average  of  wages  with 
board  and  without  is  $12.51  per  month.  In 
the  Southern  States,  where  the  laborers  are 
mostly  frcedmcn,  the  difference  is  only  $G.26 
per  month. 

Tables  are  al.-o  given  showing  the  rate  of 
wages  per  day,  and  the  average  price  paid  in 
the  different  States  for  specific  items  of  labor, 
such  as  harvesting  and  stacking  wheat,  hay, 
corn,  etc.  The  saine  general  result  is  attained 
as  in  the  rate  per  month. 

The  rate  of  labor  in  Europe,  as  above  re- 
marked, is  much  less  than  in  this  country.  In 
England  the  average  Income  of  a  Avorklngman 
is  $5.()2  per  week,  but  farm  laborers  receive  a 
little  less  than  two-thirds  as  much,  or  on  an  av- 
erage $0.50  per  week.  Allowing  for  holidays, 
ptc.,  $168  is  estimated  as  a  year's  earnings. 
In  this  country  the  farm  laborer  gets,  on  an 
average,  $28  per  month,  or  for  eleven  months 


$308,  which,  even  in  currency,  will,  dollar  for 
dollar,  buy  more  food  than  the  English  labor- 
er's cold. 


CHEMISTRY  OF  THE  SEA. 
Every  number  of  the  Boston  Journal  of 
Chemistry  and  Pharmacy  contains  notices  of 
new  discoveries  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  but  es- 
pecially in  chemistry.  The  last  number  con- 
tained some  wonderful  statements  made  in  re- 
gard to  the  color  of  the  stars,  their  variable 
brightness,  and  their  sudden  appearance  and 
disappearance  in  the  heavens.  Dr.  James  R. 
Nichols,  Editor  of  the  Journal,  says  that 
chemists  are  now  studying  the  heavenly  bodies 
with  as  much  Industry  and  zeal  as  astronomers, 
and  that  through  the  wonderful  results  o{^  spec- 
trum analysis,  the  chemical  nature  of  the  ma- 
terials of  which  the  stellar  worlds  are  construct- 
ed, is  beginning  to  be  understood.  From  an 
editorial  on  the  Chemistry  of  the  Sea,  we  take 
the  two  interesting  articles  given  below. 

"Everything  in  nature  certainly  has  some 
palpable  use.  It  is  no  accident  or  casual  cir- 
cumstance that  the  sea  contains  large  quanti- 
ties of  the  lime  and  magnesia  salts.  What 
stupendous  results  How  Irom  this  soluble  car- 
bonate of  lime  !  Without  it  where  could  shell- 
fish procure  their  coverings,  or  the  coral  pol^'ps 
the  material  for  their  curious  structures  .''  The 
shell  of  the  clam,  the  oyster,  the  snail,  the 
lobster,  etc.,  is  composed  almost  wholly  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  ;  from  what  source  do  the  fish 
obtain  their  calcareous  coverings  ?  Young 
oysters  in  two  or  three  years  accjuire  a  size 
suited  to  be  used  as  an  article  of  human  food. 
The  little  gelatinous  speck  floating  in  the  water 
at  birth  has  through  some  channel  obtained 
two  or  three  ounces  of  solid  stone  armor  in 
the  short  space  of  tlilrt}'  or  forty  months.  It 
had  no  power  to  chisel  It  from  limestone  cliffs, 
and  they  are  not  always  found  in  the  vicinity 
of  calcareous  deposits.  It  has  absorbed  or 
drawn  it  from  the  water  in  which  it  moves ;  no 
other  source  supplies  it.  How  immense  are 
the  beds  of  shell-fish  upon  the  shores  of  the 
ocean  !  what  a  vast  concentration  of  the  lime, 
once  held  in  solution,  is  effected  by  these  fee- 
ble creatures,  ranked  among  the  lowest  In  the 
order  of  animate  creation  !" 

Iodine. — All  deep  sea  plants  are  more  or 
less  rich  In  iodine  ; — [Iodine  is  used  In  medicine 
as  an  irritant. — Ed.]  but  the  Falmata  digi- 
iata,  that  leaiher-like  and  greasy  weed,  with 
long  roimd  stalk  and  wide  branches,  has  It  in 
great(!st  abundance.  The  Irish  call  it  tangle 
or  llcach,  and  it  is  found  strewn  along  our 
shores  In  large  quantities  after  storms.  But 
even  this  holds  but  a  very  small  (|uantity. 
Every  ounce  of  Iodine  upon  the  shelves  of  the 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


193 


apothecary  has  required  at  least  four  hundred 
pounds  of  weeds  in  its  production.  About 
thirty  Ions  of"  the  wet  plants  give  one  ton  ol 
kdp,  as  the  incinerated  mass  is  called,  and 
from  this  nine  or  ten  pounds  of  iodine  is  ob- 
tained. This  would  seem  to  involve  a  prodi- 
gious amount  of  labor  and  expense,  bringing  a 
high  price  upon  the  products.  But  the  price 
is  exceedingly  moderate,  seldom  ranging  in 
the  English  market  above  three  dollars  per 
pound.  It  would  never  pay  at  such  prices  to 
manufacture  if  the  weeds  did  not  yield  other 
valuable  products,  as  potash  and  soda.  With- 
out stopping  to  consider  in  detail  the  produc- 
tion of  these  salts,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
know  that  probably  more  than  four  thousand 
tons  of  potash  and"  hco  thousand  of  soda  were 
introduced  into  the  English  market  the  past 
year,  through  the  burning  of  sea-plants  upon 
the  coa.sts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  en- 
tire products  of  iodine  from  all  sources  must 
reach  nearly  or  quite  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds  How  great  is  the  industrial  value  of 
that  which  seems  the  most  repulsive  and  worth- 
less of  all  the  products  of  nature !  To  ^hat 
science  are  we  indebted  for  opening  up  this 
great  source  of  wealth  ?  The  reader's  reply 
may  be  anticipated, — Chemistry. 


LETTER   FROM  THE    FARM. 

"Truth  is  stranger  than  Fiction." 

Those  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  usu- 
ally come  back  pretty  deeply  freighted  with 
what  are  called  "long  yarns,"  and  "fish 
stories,"  and  astonish  us  with  a  rehearsal  of  the 
wonders  of  the  great  deep.  But  there  are  some 
things  that  take  place  on  the  dry  land,  ec^ually 
as  marvelous  as  that  of  "Jonah's  swallowing  the 
whale,"  or  the  "mermaid  quietly  combing  her 
hair  on  the  crest  of  a  wave,"  one  of  which  I 
will  relate  before  I  close. 

Last  week  I  gave  you  a  few  incidents  of  my 
winter  travel  at  home,  and  now  wish  to  say, 
that,  extending  my  visits,  I  called  at  the  farm 
of  ]\Ir.  Elijah  Wood,  of  this  town.  He  is  well 
known  as  a  persevering,  money-making  farmer, 
and  an  intelligent,  liberal,  and  estimable  man. 
His  articles  have  added  interest  and  value  to 
your  columns.  Mr.  Wood  is  a  practical  and 
close  manager.  Wherever  he  labors  upon  the 
soil,  he  generally  succeeds  in  making  it  yield 
him  a  fair  remuneration.  He  has  tested  farm- 
ing in  nearly  all  of  its  varieties  ;  in  raising 
stock,  as  a  principal  interest ;  milk,  in  the  same 
way ;  corn,  as  a  leading  crop,  then  potatoes  or 
other  root  crops  for  market,  and  hay. 

Last  summer  he  sold  $600  worth  of  hay, 
taking  it  from  the  field  to  his  customers.     He 


has  had  five  horses  and  from  twenty  to  thirty - 
two  large  oxen  in  his  barn  all  winter,  with  fod- 
der sufficient,  at  present,  to  carry  them  through. 
The  fodder  is  good  meadow-hay  and  corn- 
stalks, butts  and  husks — the  oxen  feeding  main- 
ly upon  the  latter.  Nearly  all  the  cattle  were 
in  excellent  flesh,  some  of  them  fair  beef.  He 
is  testing  this  kind  of  farming  for  several  rea- 
sons, which  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention  here. 
He  purchases  manure,  special  or  common,  to 
an  amount  that  he  thinks  would  be  nearly 
ec|uivalent  to  what  would  come  from  the  hay 
sold,  if  it  were  fed  upon  the  farm.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  he  has  what  comes  from  the  fod- 
der fed  to  the  oxen,  and  one  dollar  a  week  per 
head,  for  keeping  each  of  them.  These  oxen 
are  intended  for  the  spring  market  as  working 
cattle.  He  intends  to  use  six  tons  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime  the  coming  season. 

Mr.  Wood's  barn  is  old  and  inconvenient. 
He  is  making  preparations  to  build,  or  remove 
this  one,  and  set  it  in  the  side-hill  so  as  to 
drive  into  the  gable,  as  his  ground  is  admira- 
bly adapted  to  such  a  position. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  circumstances 
that  ever  came  to  my  knowledge  was  related 
to  me  by  Mr.  Wood,  with  regard  to  one  of 
the  oxen.  He  had  frequently  noticed  this  ani- 
mal rubbing  his  nose  against  a  post  near  which 
he  was  tied,  and  occasionally  an  odor  greeted 
his  olfactories,  not  half  so  grateful  as  that 
which  proceeds  from  a  mow  of  good  English 
hay.  On  giving  careful  attention  he  saw  what 
appeared  to  be  a  small  stick  in  one  of  the  nos- 
trils of  the  ox,  and,  after  considerable  effort, 
got  hold  of  it  with  his  thumb  and  finger,  and 
drew  out  a  stickj(?/ifeen  (15)  inches  in  length !  It 
was  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and 
when  laid  even  with  the  end  of  the  nose,  and 
alongside  the  cheek  of  the  ox,  reached  above 
the  eye  !  The  ox  continuing  the  rubbing,  and 
some  matter  oozing  from  the  nostril,  Mr. 
Wood  procured  assistance,  and  throwing  a 
blanket  over  the  head  of  the  ox,  as  he  stood  in 
the  stancheon,  they  proceeded  to  a  minute  ex- 
amination, and  extracted  twelve  (12)  other 
sticks,  not  one  of  which  was  less  than  six  (6) 
inches  in  length !  One  of  these  was  a  corn- 
stalk 10  inclies  long  and  half  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter !  Mr,  Wood's  statements  were  deliber- 
ately made  in  the  presence  of  two  or  three  per- 
sons, and,  strange  as  the  whole  seems  to  be, 
we  cannot    doubt    their    entire    correctness. 


194 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Apkil 


How  they  came  there,  or  how  long  they  had 
been  there,  is  unknown.  Some  of  the  sticks 
have  been  preserved.  The  ox  is  in  good  flesh 
and  is  doing  well. 


WOOL-GRO"WING   PROSPECTS. 

At  the  late  meeting  of  the  Maine  Board  of 
Agriculture,  Mr.  Jefferds  expressed  the  opin- 
ion that  the  time  is  not  distant  when  a  pound 
of  wool  will  be  produced  cheaper  than  a  pound 
of  cotton  ever  was  or  ever  can  be,  with  paid 
labor ;  and  consequently,  that  the  keeping  of 
sheep  for  the  production  of  wool,  primarily, 
cannot  be  profitably  pursued  for  any  length  of 
time  in  Maine  or  New  England ;  as  the  ad- 
vantages of  other  sections  of  the  country  for 
•wool-growing  are  far  greater  than  our  own, 
and  wool  is  one  of  the  most  portable  of  all  ag- 
ricultural products.  He  believes,  however, 
that  our  circumstances  are  favorable  to  the 
raising  of  mutton  sheep  and  the  wools  that 
some  of  them  produce.  Our  farms  are  small, 
and  sheep  are  usually  kept  in  small  flocks  ;  our 
pastures  are  rich  (when  not  over  stocked)  and 
forage  good.  Though  he  would  have  flirmers 
watch  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  though  he 
believes  an  increased  tariff  on  wool  will  be 
only  a  temporary  relief  to  the  New  England 
■wool-grower,  still  he  thinks  we  should  not  be 
discouraged  in  sheep  husbandry,  as  mutton  is 
the  cheapest  meat  that  can  be  raised,  and  the  ex- 
pense of  transportation  will  always  secure  to  us 
the  mutton  market  without  serious  competition. 


■WENS  ON"  CATTLE. 
A  correspondent  inquires  for  a  cure,  without 
any  particular  description  of  their  location  or 
appearance.  A  few  years  ago  Mr.  Milton 
Smith,  of  Middlefield,  Mass.,  cured  a  "Wen" 
as  large  as  a  hen's  egg  on  the  jaw  of  a  three- 
year  old  steer  by  extracting  an  ulcerated  tooth. 
A  salve  of  soot,  spirits  of  camphor,  turpen- 
tine, and  soft  soap,  in  no  very  exact  propor- 
tions, was  recommended  by  J.  W.  Clark,  of 
Wisconsin,  in  the  Country  Gentleman  some 
time  ago.  Wens  have  also  disappeared  after 
the  application  of  nitric  acid  and  other  caustics. 
Some  years  ago  a  correspondent  of  the  Far- 
mer said  he  cured  wens  by  taking  a  tin  cup, 
large  enough  to  cover  the  wen,  filling  it  al)0ut 
half  full  of  unslaked  lime,  then  nearly  fill  it  up 
with  soft  soap,  bind  it  on  the  wen  tight,  and 
tie  up  the  animal  so  that  it  cannot  lie  down  or 


rub  off  the  cup,  and  in  four  or  five  hours  the 

work  is  done.     Some  rub  on  a  mixture  of  salt 

and  tar,  or  soap  and   salt,  while  others  have 

great  faith  in  the  efiicacy  of  rubbing  alone. 

On  this  subject  an  intelligent  writer  for  the 

Albany  Cultivator  remarks  : 

In  chronic  swelling  there  is  a  deficiency  of  pure 
hlood,  ordinary  natural  circulation  is  distructedor 
impeded,  and  ibul  matter,  either  from  injured  parts 
or  active  infection  of  disease/accumulates  in  larger 
or  smaller  masses.  Now,  if  a  wen  or  slow  swell- 
ing be  rubbed,  the  heat  of  it  is  increased  by  exter- 
nal friction  and  intenial  excitation,  action.  This 
increase  of  heat  softens  the  intluration,  by  causing 
a  movement,  and  more  or  less  interfusion  of  its 
fluid  particles.  By  this  means  circulation  is  ex- 
cited, and  as  whatever  leads  to  arterial  circulation 
leads  equally  to  venous  depuration,  it  follows, 
that  as  the  arteries  bring  in  new  blood,  and  thus 
give  new  life  and  feeling  to  the  part,  tho  veins  take 
away  diseased  and  refuse  matter,  whether  the  re- 
sult of  collision  or  infection.  Thus  the  cure  pro- 
ceeds as  the  circulation  is  increased,  and  restored ; 
the  veins  taking  away  an  excess  of  black  foul 
l)lood,  and  thus  reducing  the  swelling  in  the  degree 
that  the  circuhxtion  is  accelerated  by  I'ubbing ;  and 
when  the  circulation  is  completely  restored,  there 
is  a  cure.  Thus  does  rubbing  cure  curonic  swell- 
ings. J.  w.  c. 

Some   years  ago,  Mr.  M.   C.  Peck,  West 

Cornwall,  Vt.,  sent  us  the  following  statement : 

"One  year  ago  last  fall,  I  had  a  cow  which,  from 
all  appearances  had  a  wen  growing  on  her  neck ;  I 
at  first  administered  a  plaster  of  salt  and  tar,  and 
drew  it  to  a  head,  and  in  the  spring  I  procured 
fresh  green  cicuta  (cow-bane)  leaves,  and  boiled 
them  up  and  bathed  the  wen  in  the  solution,  leav- 
ing the  leaves  in ;  it  wholly  dried  up  in  four  weeks, 
so  that  she  fatted  sufficiently  for  beef.  I  have 
known  others  in  this  vicinity  to  cure  them  with  the 
same  remedy  and  keep  them  for  years.  Should 
you  consider  this  of  sufficient  worth,  you  are  at 
liberty  to  insert  it  in  your  valuable  paper." 


BREEDERS'   ASSOCIA.TION. 

We  learn  by  the  Country  Gentleman  that 
the  Association  of  Breeders  of  Thorough-bred 
Neat  Stock,  had  a  meeting  at  Albany,  N.  Y., 
Feb.  14th,  for  the  election  of  officers,  and  the 
result  was  as  follows : 

President— E.  II.  Hyde  of  Stafford,  Ct. 

Vice  Presidents — J.  F.  Anderson,  South  Wind- 
ham, Me. ;  J.  O.  Sheldon,  Geneva,  N.  Y. ;  Burdett 
Loomis,  Suffield,  Ct. ;  J.  W.  Freeman,  Troy,  N.  Y. ; 
E.  D.  Pierce,  East  Providence,  R.  I. 

Secretary — J.  N.  Bagg,  West  S|)ringfield,  Mass. 

Treasia-er — II.  M.  Sessions,  So.  Wilbraliam,  Mass. 

Shurt  Horn  Pedigree  Committee — S.  W.  Buft'um, 
Winchester,  N.  11. ;  S.  W.  Bartlett,  East  Windsor, 
Ct. ;  P.  Stcdman,  Chicopee,  Mass. 

Ayrshire  and  Hereford  Committee — Geo.  B.  Lor- 
ing,  Salem,  Mass.;  ll.  S.  Collins,  Collinsville,  Ct. ; 
Wm.  Birnic,  S])iing!ieid,  Mass. 

Devon  Committee — II.  M.  Sessions,  South  Wil- 
braliam, Mass.;B.  II.  Andrew,  Waterbury,  Ct. ; 
E.  II.  Hyde,  Stattbrd,  Ct. 

Alderney  Committee— iiohn  Brooks,  Princeton, 
Mass.;  O.  B.  Iladwin,  Worcester,  Mass.;  James 
Thompson,  Nantucket,  Mass. 

Adjourned  to  meet   at  Springfield,   Mass., 

the  second  Wednesday  of  February  next. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


195 


fatrks'    Scpartmtttt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 


HOW   TO   MAICE   HOME  PLEASANT. 


BT     ANNE      G.      HALE. 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
1866,  by  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co.,  in  the  Clerk's  OflSce  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOUSE  PLANTS,  AND  THEIR  CULTURE. 

The  Begonia — called  sometimes  Beefsteak 
plant,  from  the  peculiar  appearance  of  the 
leaves  of  one  species — is  of  easy  culture,  and 
has  become  a  general  favorite.  The  family 
takes  Its  name  from  Michael  Begon,  a  French- 
man, a  promoter  of  botany,  born  in  1638. 
The  plant  was  first  brought  into  notice  in  1776. 
Since  then  about  fifty  different  species  have 
been  discovered,  all  of  which  are  remarkable 
for  their  elegant  leaves,  often  deeply  veined 
with  crimson,  sometimes  spotted — as  B.picta, 
painted-leaved.  The  flowers,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  species  bearing  scarlet  blossoms, 
are  white,  or  blush-tinted,  with  golden  sta- 
mens ;  and  their  delicate  wax-like  beauty  con- 
trasts well  with  the  foliage.  The  plant  is  easi- 
ly propagated  by  cuttings  in  moist  sand.  B. 
discolor  increases  itself  by  suckers,  each  hav- 
ing a  tuberous  root.  Begonias  should  be  grown 
in  a  soil  composed  of  well-rotted  leaves,  sand, 
and  peat ;  the  pot  filled  one  quarter  with  brok- 
en charcoal  and  pebbles,  for  drainage.  They 
need  a  good  deal  of  water  till  the  flower-buds 
are  formed ;  then  decrease  the  quantity,  and 
when  they  have  done  blooming  keep  them 
rather  dry  until  the  autumn. 

The  word  Cactus,  meaning  prickly  plant, 
comes  from  the  Greek.  This  genus  is  usually 
leafless.  The  fleshy,  succulent  plants  throw 
up  stems  which  widen  and  flatten  into  a  paddle- 
shape  with  coarsely  notched  edges ;  or  they 
assume  a  globular,  a  jointed  form,  or  that  of 
an  angular  column ; — sometimes  the  grotesque 
appearance  of  animals,  or  reptiles,  all  more  or 
less  studded  with  sharp  prickles,  and  bristling 
with  stinging  hairs.  The  flowers  are  showy, 
many  of  them  fragrant,  also, — as  the  night- 
blooming  cereus,  one  of  the  tribe.  The  cac- 
tus is  indigenous  to  this  continent ;  one  spe- 


cies, C.  opuntia,  the  prickly  pear,  is  hardy 
enough  to  venture  as  far  north  as  New  Eng- 
land. But  It  is  usually  confined  to  the  tropics, 
growing  abundantly  in  Mexico,  and  Brazil, 
and  affording  the  natives  both  food  and  drink 
in  the  dry  season.  The  wild  cattle,  also,  con- 
trive to  slake  their  thirst  with  its  juices  without 
wounding  themselves  with  the  thorns.  The 
great  melon  thistle,  or  Turk's  head  cactus,  re- 
sembles a  large,  fleshy,  green  melon  with  deep 
ribs,  set  all  over  with  sharp  thorns.  In  the 
centre  rises  a  short  pillar,  from  which  the  blos- 
soms are  produced.  Specimens  of  this  kind 
of  cactus,  more  than  two  yards  In  circumfer- 
ence, and  over  a  yard  in  height,  have  been 
seen  clinging  to  the  rocks  in  the  West  India 
islands.  Travellers  also  mention  one  species 
of  the  plant,  which,  if  torn,  pours  forth  a  fluid 
of  the  most  poisonous  character ;  but  when 
carefully  cut  yields  a  wholesome  refreshing 
beverage. 

The  cactus, — being  subjected  in  its  natural 
state  to  extreme  moisture  followed  by  extreme 
drought,  when  cultivated  should  be  kept  dry 
through  the  summer,  yet  not  in  the  sun.  Late 
in  September  begin  to  water  it,  giving  it  more 
sunshine,  and  more  water  gradually,  until  the 
flower-buds  appear ;  you  will  see  them  In  the 
notches  of  the  edge,  or  at  the  end  of  a  joint. 
If  very  closely  budded,  cut  some  out ;  those 
remaining  will  be  handsomer  than  if  all  are 
suffered  to  bloom.  Give  it  warm  water,  freely, 
till  It  is  done  blooming.  Wash  it  well  with  a 
syringe  every  week.  Apply  liquid  manure  to 
the  soil  two  or  three  times  during  the  winter. 
The  cactus  Is  propagated  by  cuttings.  Let  the 
piece  to  be  rooted  remain  in  a  dry  cool  place 
till  it  gets  shrivelled  a  little.  Then  set  It  in 
wet  sand  and  cover  with  a  glass.  When  it 
looks  full  and  thriving  transplant  to  soil.  The 
pot  should  be  a  quarter  full  with  cinders.  Upon 
this  lay  a  compost  of  peat,  sandy  loam,  and 
old  plastering  or  mortar  rubbish — If  you  can- 
not procure  this  last  Ingredient,  burnt  bones, 
coarsely  pulverized,  will  answer ; — there  should 
be  twice  as  much  loam  as  of  the  other  materi- 
als. This  soil  will  need  no  changing  for  sev- 
eral years  ;  and  the  pot  may  remain  the  same, 
as  the  cactus  requires  but  little  room  for  Its 
roots.  Among  the  handsomest,  and  also  of 
easiest  cultui-e,  may  be  mentioned  C.  specio- 
sissimus — beautiful  cactus — bearing  a  splendid 
orange  scarlet  flower,  from  which  the  stamens 
depend  like  an  elegant  white  tassel.     There 


196 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


April 


are  also  others  having  pink,  white,  and  yellow 
blossoms,  but,  in  general,  the  awkwardness  of 
the  plants  prevent  their  introduction  among 
parlor  flowers. 

Calceolaria,  or  Slipper-wort,  from  the  form 
of  its  corolla.  Chili  and  Peru  abound  in  many  fine 
species  of  this  plant.  It  was  first  cultivated  in 
1773,  and  now  the  varieties  and  hybrids  of  the 
genus  are  almost  innumerable.  At  first  its 
blossom  was  of  one  color  only — yellow  ;  now, 
we  have  specimens  of  almost  every  shade  and 
tint.  The  calceolaria  is  raised  easiest  from 
seed ;  but  cuttings,  first  rooted  in  water  and 
then  kept  from  the  sun  a  few  weeks,  do  well. 
They  should  be  started  in  May,  in  a  soil  of 
rich  light  loam  mixed  with  peat  and  sand ;  a 
layer  of  broken  crockery  occujsying  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pot.  Give  them  plenty  of  sun  and 
air  after  they  begin  to  grow,  and  water  freely. 
Tie  the  centre  stem  to  a  stout  wire,  and  prune 
the  side  branches  to  make  a  symmetrical  plant ; 
or  else  train  it  to  a  frame.  It  is  well  to  re- 
pot old  calceolarias,  every  spring,  and  cut  back 
the  branches  a  few  inches,  in  order  to  increase 
their  strength.  Keep  themi  in  an  airy,  cool 
place  till  September ;  then  bring  them  forward 
gradually. 

Calla  ExnioPiCA  :  Arum,  formerly,  Aron, 
is  supposed  to  be  an  Egyptian  name  by  which 
this  lily  was  known.  It  is  a  native  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  of  the  island  of  St. 
Helena;  where  it  grows  by  the  side  of  rivers. 
This  plant  requires  so  much  moisture  that  it  is 
sometimes  grown  in  aquariums,  the  root  being 
covered  by  stones  to  keep  it  in  place.  The 
leaves,  when  young,  are  eaten  raw  in  Egypt ; 
and  in  that  country,  as  also  in  the  Levant,  the 
root  is  boiled  for  food.  A  cosmetic  is  made 
by  the  French  from  the  dried  and  powdered 
root  of  one  species.  It  is  also  used  in  medi- 
cine, thougli  more  seldom  now  than  formerly. 
This  beautiful  lily,  Avith  its  shining  aiTow-shaped 
leaves,  and  pure  white  flower,  makes  a  majes- 
tic ornament  for  a  window-seat ;  or  looks  finely 
as  the  centre  of  a  group  of  more  gaily  colored 
and  smaller  plants.  It  is  increased  by  off-sets, 
that  form  on  its  thick,  fleshy  roots.  These 
should  be  first  placed  in  small  pots,  in  a  soil 
three  parts  sandy  loam  and  one  of  well-rotted 
leaves,  with  a  handful  of  pebbles  beneath.  As 
the  plant  increases  in  size,  give  it  a  larger  pot 
every  year,  with  soil  prepared  as  above.  Wa- 
ter frecjuently,  for  it  will  not  flower  if  it  once 
becomes  dry  while  in  a  season  of  growth.    Af- 


ter blooming,  the  leaves  will  begin  to  wither ; 
then,  le^sen  the  water,  giving  it  only  enough 
to  keep  it  alive.  When  the  leaves  are  all  dead 
keep  the  plant  dry,  and  in  the  dark,  about  a 
month,  for  entire  rest ;  then  re-pot  it.  As 
soon  as  the  new  leaves  have  started,  set  the 
pot  in  the  sunshine ;  and,  early  in  October, 
bring  it  within  doors  ;  let  it  have  a  warm,  sun- 
ny situation  till  the  flower-bud  appears.  Re- 
move, then,  to  the  shade,  but  keep  it  where  it 
is  light.  Supply  water  abundantly.  Let  the 
saucer  be  always  full ; — if  it  imbibes  too  much 
it  will  be  thrown  off  in  drops  from  the  points 
of  the  leaves. 

The  Camellia  Japoxica  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  house-plants.  It  takes  its  name 
from  Kamel — Latinized,  Camellus — a  INIoravi- 
aa  priest,  who  travelled  in  Asia,  and  was  first 
carried  to  Europe  from  Japan,  or  China,  1739. 
This  flower  and  the  chrysanthemum  are  favor- 
ites of  the  Chinese,  and  are  very  frequently 
introduced  into  their  paintings.  In  its  natural 
state  it  grows  to  a  large  tree ;  and  its  deep 
green  foliage  and  elegant  blossoms — red,  white, 
yellow,  or  purplish — sometimes  variegated 
and  blotched  in  color,  render  it  one  of  the 
finest  objects  in  an  Oriental  landscape.  The 
seeds  are  boiled  and  crushed  to  obtain  an  oil, 
one  kind  of  which  is  used  for  anointing  the 
hair ;  others  in  medicine ;  others  in  cookery. 
It  is  to  this  large  family  that  the  tea-plant  be- 
longs ;  and  many  beautiful  flowering  trees  and 
shrubs. 

The  camellia  is  usually  propagated  by  cut- 
tings, as  it  takes  a  long  time  for  some  varieties 
of  the  seed  to  come  up.  Yet,  sometimes, 
seeds  planted  in  boxes  of  earth  in  China 
will  become  seedling  plants  before  reaching 
this  country.  The  cutting  should  be  taken 
from  the  base  of  a  leaf,  or  at  a  joint,  as  soon 
as  the  wood  is  ripened,  and  placed  in  damp 
sand,  under  a  glass.  From  this,  when  well 
rooted,  transplant  to  a  pot  one-third  full  of 
broken  charcoal  covered  with  dry  moss.  Lay 
upon  this  moss  the  soil,  composed  of  well- 
washed  river-sand,  peat.  Light  loam,  and  rotten 
leaves,  in  equal  proportions,  well  mixed.  When 
the  plants  are  growing  they  need  a  great  deal 
of  water,  but  the  leaves  will  blister  and  be- 
come stained  if  wet  when  the  sun  is  shining 
upon  them.  If  kept  too  dry,  the  buds  will 
drop  off.  There  is  danger  that  the  roots  will 
get  matted,  so  (hey  must  be  re-potted  every 
year.     This  should  be  done  as  early  as  possi- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


197 


ble  after  flowering.  Then,  during  the  summer, 
keep  the  (■amcllia  cool  and  shaded  ;  setting  the 
pot  away  from  the  dripping  of  trees  or  bushes, 
upon  a  pavement  of  cinders,  and  watering  it 
regularly.  In  September  bring  it  to  the  sun- 
shine ;  and  be  sure  to  take  it  in-doors  before 
the  evenings  get  chilly.  As  soon  as  the  buds 
are  formed  set  the  plant  away  from  the  sun, 
yet  in  a  light,  airy  place,  and  the  flowers  will 
open  well  and  remain  long.  Keep  the  leaves 
free  from  dust,  but  do  not  sprinkle  the  plant 
while  in  bloom,  apply  the  water  directly  to  the 
soil.  If  you  wiiih  £br  lai-ge  flowers  allow  only 
one  bud  to  remain  on  each  terminal  shoot. 
After  blooming,  prune  immediately,  but  not 
too  close. 

Carnation.  This  flower  belongs  to  the 
Pink  family,  called  by  botanists,  Dianthus,  the 
flower  of  God  ;  because  of  the  esteem  in  which 
their  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers  wew,  held. 
Carnations  were  formerly  called  "coronations," 
and  "clove  July-flowers :"  pinks  were  called 
"soppes  in  wine,"  because  their  petals  were 
used  to  flavor  goblets  of  wine,  as  rosemary 
tankards  of  ale.  Carnations  were  first  intro- 
duced into  England  from  Germany.  Many 
are  bix)ught  from  Italy,  and  those  flowery 
lands,  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean ;  but 
they  seem  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  an- 
cients. There  a^e  three  kinds  of  carnation. 
Flakes — striped  with  broad  bands  of  two  col- 
ors ;  Bizarres — striped,  or  streaked,  Avith  three 
colors  ;  and  Picotees — white,  spotted  or  bor- 
dered with  some  dark  color.  These  last  are 
the  hardiest,  though  seldom  so  large  a  flower 
as  the  others.  They  are  sometimes  raised 
from  seed,  obtained  in  Vienna  and  some  of 
the  Swiss  towns,  which  if  coiked  in  phials  will 
keep  in  good  order  for  growth  many  years. 
But  the  better  way  Is  from  layers. 

Early  in  spring  set  a  mature  plant  in  the 
hot  sun  until  It  droops :  because  when  the 
branches  are  v/ilted  they  wIU  not  break  easily, 
and  the  shoois  to  be  operated  upon  ought  not 
to  lose  their  connection  with  the  parent  stalk. 
Select  three  or  four  of  the  strongest  lower 
shoots.  Cut  each  shoot  about  half  through,  in 
a  slanting  direction,  at  a  joint.  Make  a  fur- 
row in  the  soil  just  beneath  it,  rather  more 
than  an  Inch  deep,  and  lay  the  cut  stem  within 
it ;  fastening  It  down  with  a  bit  of  bent  wire, 
or  an.  old  hair-pin.  Then  cover  the  wounded 
pai't  with  the  soil,  but  let  the  end  of  the  stem 
vcmain  an  inch  or  two  out  of  the  earth.     After 


they  are  rooted  set  them  together  In  a  five,  or 
six-inch  pot.  Fill  the  pot  one-third  with 
broken  charcoal  and  cinders.  Lay  upon  this  a 
rai.xture  of  rotten  leaves,  fibrous  peat  and  sea- 
sand — or  common  sand — with  a  little  salt. 
Press  this  soil  very  firmly  about  the  roots. 
Keep  the  pot  In  the  shade,  water  it  regularly. 
Be  svu'C  that  no  worms  can  get  at  the  roots. 
By  Octolx^r  the  shoots  will  need  tying  to  a  rod, 
or  a  stout  wire.  Take  them  into  the  house, 
and  give  them  the  full  benefit  of  the  sun ;  and 
as  soon  as  the  buds  appear,  water  them  at 
evening,  as  well  as  in  the  morning.  As  the 
calyx  is  apt  to  burst,  when  the  buds  are  fully 
swollen,  open  Its  sepals  a  little,  with  a  pin,  or 
a  sharp  penknife  ;  and  make  a  ring  from  a 
round  piece  of  pasteboard,  or  of  fine  elastic 
cord,  and  slip  It  on  the  bud,  placing  It  so  that 
it  may  be  a  support  for  the  calyx,  and  may 
keep  the  petals  In  regular  fovm  afier  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  flower.  Cut  oflT  each  blossom 
close  to  the  next  joint  as  soon  as  it  withers  ; 
and  when  all  the  buds  have  opened,  if  the 
plant  looks  slender  and  weak,  cut  ^!very  branch 
back,  evenly,  three  or  four  Inches.  Some  per- 
sons make  little  umbrella-shaped  caps  of  pa- 
per, and  attach  them  to  the  rod  which  supports 
the  flower  so  as  to  shade  It  during  the  greatest 
heat  of  the  sun. 

Chrysanthemum.  This  name,  signifnng 
golden  flower,  comes  from  the  Greek  ;  and  the 
plant  Is  so  called  because  many  kinds  bear  yel- 
low flowers.  One  variety  was  carried  from  the 
Island  of  Sicily  to  England  as  early  as  1629  ; 
but  the  most  beautiful  are  of  morcmodern  ori- 
gin, and  have  been  brought  principally  from 
China.  The  gardens  of  the  Inner  and  Middle 
Temple,  London,  were  once  a  source  of  great 
attraction  on  account  of  this  flower,  which,  for 
over  thirty  years,  was  very  successfully  culti- 
vated there.  Chrysanthemums  can  be  made 
into  wi-eaths,  or  worn  singly  In  the  hair,  with- 
out losing  their  brightness,  or  drooping  at  all, 
during  a  long  evening ;  and  they  are  among 
the  best  of  ilowers  for  vases.  There  seems  to 
be  some  peculiar  property  in  their  juices  which 
not  only  prevents  their  own  decay,  when  kept 
In  water,  but  helps  to  hinder  the  decay  of  oth- 
er flowers  that  are  mingled  with  them.  The 
flowers  of  dlflferent  varieties  of  Chrysanthe- 
mum vary  as  much  in  form,  as  in  color ;  but 
anv  of  them  are  beautiful  enough,  if  proper 
care  is  taken  to  have  the  plant  grow  in  good 
shape,  for  a  parlor  ornament  from  October  to 


198 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAlllMER. 


April 


the  last  of  December.     This  is  their  season  of 
blossoming.     After  it  is  over  they  should  be 
kept  in  a  cool   dry   cellar  tiU   spring.     The 
chrysanthemum  is  easily  raised  from  suckers, 
from  division  of  the  roots,  or   from  cuttings. 
It  should  have  a  small  pot  at  first,  and  be  set 
in  light,   rich  soil— loam  peat  and  powdered 
charcoal.     Do  this  in  May,   and  set  the  pot 
among  garden  flowers.     Water  it  regularly, 
but  not  too  much.     In  July  the  plant  will  need 
a  larger  pot ;  and,  again,  in  September,  a  still 
larger  one.     This  changing  will  make  it  grow 
stout  and  bushy,  and  cause  it  to  bloom  abun- 
dantly ;    but  be  careful  not  to  loosen  the  soil 
from  the  roots  when  transplanting.     Old  plants 
should  be  taken  from  their  pots  early  in  the 
spring,  all  the  soil  shaken  from  their  roots, 
and  the   suckers  trimmed  off.     Set  them  in 
fresh  soil,  mixed  as  before ;  and  water  them 
with  liquid  manure  till  the  foliage  is  well  de- 
veloped.    Then  give  them  the  same  treatment 
as  young  plants,   and  they  will  continue  stout 
and  healthy  many  years.     Be  sure  that  the  pot 
is  not  exposed  to  the  scorching  heat  of  the 
sun.     If  it   cannot  be   shaded   by   setting  it 
among  bushes  in  the  garden  it  should  be  sunk- 
en in 'the  mould,  for,  although  the  leaves  and 
branches  require  a  good  degree  of  heat,  the 
roots  should  be  kept  cool  and  always  moist, 
though  not  too  wet.     Soap-suds  agrees  well 
with  the  chrysanthemum ;  but  if  that  is  used 
m  which  clothing  has  been  washed,  it  should 
be  strained,  as  the  lint  which  it  contains  is  apt 
to  form  a  crust  on  the  surface  of  the  soil. 


D.usv.     This  little  plant  well  deserves  its 
botanical  name,  i.'eZZ/s— pretty,— and  its  neat 
tufts  of  delicate  green  leaves,  surmounted  by 
bright  pink  blossoms,  ought  to  have  a  place  on 
evcn-y  flower-stand.     It  grows  wild  In  England 
and  Scotland,  but  of  less  handt^ome  form  and 
color.     Cultivation   has    given   it.  the   button 
shape  of  Its  flower,  and  also  its  glowing,   sun- 
set hue.     Burns  often  alludes  to  this  "wee, 
modest,  crimson-tipped  flower,"  as  he  calls  it, 
in  his  poem  to  the  daisy  that  he  turned  down 
with  his  plow  one  dreary  April  morning;  and 
it  has  long  been  a  favorite  with  English  poets. 
Wadsworth  dedicated  three  poems  to  the  daisy  ; 
Spenser  sang  of  the  "little  dasle  that  at  even- 
ing doses;"   Chaucer  called  it  the    "e^e   of 
dale,"  and  "la  douce  Marguerite;"  and  Ben 
Jonson  has  a  friendly  word  for    the   '^bright 
day's  eye."     Chaucer  was  very  fond  of  it.     In 


his  time  it  was  called,  as  now,  in  France,  Mar- 
o-uerite ;  and  considered  an  emblem  of  con- 
stancy in  love.  He  would  He  for  hours  upon 
the  grass  looking  at  it,  and,  dreaming  of  fair 
ladies  and  brave  knights,  frame  his  poems  of 
chivalry. 

]\Iany  compound  flowers— among  which  is 
classed  the  daisy— have  their  rays  in  an  erect 
position  during  the  night,— like  "the  marigold, 
which  goes  to  bed  with  the  sun,  and  with  him 
rises  weeping."  This  sleep  of  the  flowers  was 
discovered  by  Chaucer,  in  his  observation  of 
the  habits  of  the  daisy. 

The  daisy  is  generally  used  In   edgings   of 
beds  and  borders,   in  England  and  France; 
and  being  very  prolific,  and  blooming  early,  it 
is    always    desirable    lor   that    purpose;  the 
French,  because  it  is  in  flower  about  Easter- 
tlme,  sometimes  call  it   ''paquerette'    (not  so 
beautiful  an  appellatlonas  "mar^fj/eriVe"- the 
pearl.)     It  thrives  best  In  a  rich,  loamy  soil ; 
and  is  propagated  by  off'-sets,   or  division  of 
the  roots.     Fill  a  small  pot  with  a  mixture  of 
sandy  loam  and  peat,  and  in  this  set  the  young 
plant,  pressing  the  soil  finnly  about  the  neck, 
water  it  to  settle  the  earth  well,  and  shake  the 
pot  for  the  same  effect ;  and  if  the  soil  has  fall- 
en away   from  the  plant,   add  a  little  more. 
This  should  be  done  in  May,  and  the  pot  kept 
in  an  airy,   cool  place,  and  watered  occasion- 
ally—just" enough  to  keep  it  from  getting  dry- 
till  the  first  of  October.     Then,  set  it  among 
your  parlor  plants,  letting  It  have  a  front  place 
at  the  window  ;   as  it  will  need  the  sunshine  to 
bring  forward  the  flowers,    which  will  be  has- 
tened,  If  liquid  manure  be   given  it.     Every 
sprmg  the  daisy  needs  re-potting,   and  should 
have^Its   roots'  divided.     It  will  bear  trans- 
planting, even  when  In  bloom,  If  the  soil  is  not 
entirely  detached  from  the  root. 

Daphne.  This  is  the  Greek  name  for  the 
laurel-tree,  which  it  resembles  ;  and  which  was 
so  called  in  honor  of  n  beautiful  mmph,  the 
daughter  of  a  river-god.  According  to  an- 
cient mythology  she  was  beloved  by  Apollo, 
but  she  rejected  his  suit  and  delerminid  to  es- 
cape him.  Frajlng  for  aid,  she  was  mclamor- 
phoscd  into  a  laurel ;  which  became,  in  conse- 
(pience,  the  favorite  tree  of  ApoHo.  D.  odo- 
rata,  (erroneously  styled  D.  odora)  is  the 
species  generally  knownasafne  window-plant. 
It  has  dark,  glossy,  laurel-like  leaves;  and 
very  fragrant,  wax-like  flowers  of  peai  1,  or  rosy 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMEE. 


199 


•white.  It  will  flourish  and  bloom,  even  when 
neglected ;  but  it  well  r(>pays  all  care  spent 
upon  it.  It  was  introduced  from  China  in 
1770,  and  is  easily  propagated  by  cuttings. 
8et  it  in  a  pot  drained  with  broken  brick  or 
cinders  ;  in  a  soil,  four  parts  loam,  two  of  leaf 
moiJd,  and  one  of  sand.  Old  plants  should  be 
re-potted  in  September,  with  a  ball  of  earth 
about  the  roots.  If  kept  in  an  equal  temper- 
ature of  moderate  heat,  day  and  night,  it  will 
bloom  from  Dcceniljer  till  the  last  of  March. 
After  blooming,  prune  it  freely,  or  it  will  have 
an  awkward,  scrubby  appearance.  Keep  the 
leaves  free  from  dust.  To  effect  this  it  will  need 
frequent  syringing  through  the  winter,  if  in  a 
small  room. 

EUPATORIUM.  Pliny  says  that  this  plant 
derives  its  name  fromEupater,  king  of  Pontus, 
who  first  used  it  in  medicine.  Many  species 
have  been  discovered  on  this  continent ;  but 
few  are  found  in  Asia,  less  in  Africa,  and  not 
one  in  Europe.  Several  ars  medicinal,  as 
E.  2)erfoliaium — boneset — thoroughwort — or 
fevenvort,  and  E.  rotimdifolmm — hoarhound. 
Others  are  ornamental,  lifting  their  branches 
of  bright  green  foliage  crowned  with  clusters 
of  tassel-shaped  flowers,  white,  purple,  blue, 
or  pink,  by  the  side  of  woodland  streams,  or 
along  lonely  mountain  paths.  But  the  florist 
has  adopted  them  ;  and  under  his  loving  care 
their  beauty  has  been  greatly  enhanced.  E. 
ageratoides  and  E.  ccelestinum  are  among  the 
best  for  cultivation,  and  are  very  desirable  as 
funeral  flowers.  Grow  them  in  a  soil  of  peat, 
sand,  and  loam.  Water  them  freely.  Give 
but  little  sun  when  in  bloom.  Propagate  by 
cuttings,  started  in  the  spring;  and  water 
daily  through  the  summer.  In  the  autumn 
they  will  have  attained  a  good  height  and 
strength  for  blooming  through  the  whole  win- 
ter. Cut  the  flowers  when  in  full  bloom,  as  the 
seeds  are  quickly  ripened  and  set  free, — some- 
times wafted  to  the  soil  of  other  plants,  and 
germinate  where  they  are  unwelcome.  Old 
plants  should  be  cut  down  in  May,  the  soil 
shaken  from  their  roots,  and  re-potted  lest 
they  should  get  pot-bound. 

Fuchsia,  sometimes  called  Ladies'  Ear-drop. 
Named  in  honor  of  Leonard  Fuchs,  a  German 
botanist.  It  is  a  native  of  the  warmest  parts 
of  America — was  first  discovered  by  Father 
Plumier,  a  Jesuit,  on  one  of  the  French  Is- 
lands ;  and  introduced  for  cultivation  by  Mil- 


ler, in  1774.  Since  then  many  varieties  have 
appeared.  A  sailor  boy  carried  liis  mother  in 
England,  a  plant  from  "over  the  sea."  For 
his  sake  she  cherished  it  with  great  care.  It 
stood  at  her  window,  and  one  day  attracted  the 
attention  of  a  horticulturist,  who  was  passing. 
He  immediately  bargained  for  its  purchase,  and 
for  many  years  this  was  one  of  the  best  spe- 
cies known.  The  fuchsia  is  increased  by  cut- 
tings rooted  in  damp  sand  and  covered  by  a 
glass,  then  changed  to  a  pot  filled  one-quarter 
with  sherds.  Soil — loam,  peat,  and  leaf-motild, 
in  equal  proportions.  Break  up  the  peat,  and 
mix  the  parts  well,  but  loosely.  Do  not  injure 
the  rootlets  in  arranging  the  soil  about  them. 
Water  it  well.  Give  it  air,  and  shade.  In  a 
week  or  two  tie  the  centre  stalk  to  a  stake. 
Thin  out  the  side  shoots — let  only  enough  re- 
main to  give  the  plant  a  symmetrical  shape. 
When  the  branches  are  two  or  three  inches 
long,  pnich  out  their  tips,  to  make  them  grow 
bushy ;  and,  if  you  choose,  the  centre  stem, 
also,  when  it  is  three  feet  high.  Give  liquid 
manure  to  hasten  the  buds  ;  and  place  in  the 
sunshine.  If  the  branches  droop  too  much, 
arrange  rods  or  wires  at  the  edge  of  the  pot 
and  tie  them  up.  After  blooming  prune  closely, 
and  re-pot.  All  fuchsias  are  so  beautiful  it  is 
useless  to  particularize  any  species.  The 
flowers  when  cut  remain  fresh  a  long  time ; 
they  are  therefore  in  much  request  as  orna- 
ments for  the  hair  and  for  boquets. 

FoRGET-ME-xoT.  An  old  legend  of  the 
Troubadours  tells  us  that  a  knight  and  a  "ladie 
faire"  were  walking  beside  a  stream.  And  the 
lady  seeing  among  the  sedges  a  little  flower  of 
"heavenlie  blue"  expressed  a  desire  for  it. 
Her  companion  hastened  to  gratify  her  wish. 
With  much  difficulty  he  succeeded  in  gathering 
the  blossoms  ;  but  the  tide  was  rising  rapidly, 
and  his  strength  failed.  Throwing  the  flowers 
toward  her,  he  cried,  "Forget  me  not;"  and 
sank  beneath  the  wave.  This  is  the  origin  of 
the  name.  It  grows  wild  in  England,  in  damp 
places,  but  is  transplanted  to  gardens  ;  and  in 
Paris  pots  of  forget-me-not  are  regular  arti- 
cles for  sale  in  the  markets.  It  is  said  that  af- 
ter the  battle  of  Waterloo  an  immense  quanti- 
ty of  the  plant  sprang  up  on  the  field.  The 
Germans  decorate  their  tombs  so  frequently 
with  it  that  they  may  well  call  it  "the  flower  of 
death."  Among  Italians  it  is  the  periwinkle 
With  us  it  has  lately  been  brought  into  notice, 


200 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


April 


as  a  small  border-flower  for  the  garden.  But 
it  thrives  best  as  a  house-plant,  raised  either 
from  seed,  or  division  of  the  root.  It  needs 
a  rich  soil  of  peat  and  loam,  and  a  good  deal  of 
water. 

Geranium.     Name,  meaning  Crane's  bill, 
from  the  Greek,  alluding  to  the  form  of  the 
seed-vessel.     This  genus  bears  so  great  re- 
semblance to  Pelargonium — Stork's  bill — that 
both  generally  go   by  the   same   name ;    but 
plants  of  the  stork-bill  family  bear  the  lai'ger 
and  more  sho^vy  flowers.     Geraniums  proper, 
are  chiefly  natives  of  Europe, — there  are  a  few 
American   species — and,    in  many  cases,  are 
mere  weeds.     Pelargoniums   come   from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  ard  in  their  natural  state 
are  very  beautiful.     Th?re  are  also  hybrids  of 
the  two,    uniting   the  best  qualities  of  each. 
As  eai'ly  as  159G  geraniums  were  brought  from 
Italy  to  the  North  of  Europe ;  but  with  the 
exception  of  one  small  species  no  pelargoni- 
ums were  cultivated  till  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  century.     There  is  little  art  in  growing 
them,  so  geraniums  are  our  commonest  house- 
plants.     Leigh  Hunt  has  said  "if  one  have  a 
solitary  plant,  let  it  be  a  red  geranium ;"  and 
that  his  opinion  has  received  general  endorse- 
ment, we  have  full  proof  in  the  prevalence  of 
that   species.     These   plants   need  plenty  of 
light,  and  air,  and  cleanliness.     They  should 
be  often  syringed  ;  and  the  branches  tied  out 
so  that  light  and  air  can  be  admitted  to  the 
centre   of   the   plant.     Thus    they   will   gain 
strength  and  every  shoot  throw  up  its  flower- 
buds  without  interruption,     Arrange  rods  or 
wires  around  the  rim  of  the  pot  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  avoid  pushing  sticks  or  wires  among 
the  roots.     Do  not  water  too  much.     The  suc- 
culent kinds  need  scarcely  any  water,   except 


when  preparing  to  bloom.     A  little  weak  li- 
quid manure  is  necessary  for  fine  b'ooms,  and 
to  give   a  healthy,  green  appearance  to  the 
leaves.     Any  geranium  is  propagated  easily  by 
cuttings  kept  a  few  days  in  water  and  then 
placed  in  good  soil  under  a  glass.     In  May, 
old  plants  must  be  re-potted.     A  handful  of 
pebbles  and  charcoal  being  in  the  bottom  of 
the  pot,  throw  over  it  soil  of  loam  and  decayed 
leaves — for  the  dwarf  kinds  a  portion  of  sand 
added.     With  a  sharp  knife  cut  the  new  wood 
of  the  plant  back  to  a  few  joints.     Of  these 
pieces  you  can  form  new  plants,   and  the  old 
geranium  will  grow  stouter  and  more  bushy. 
Take  the  old  plant  from  its  pot ;  and  trim  off 
the  ball  of  earth,  so  that  it  may  have  an  inch 
or   two   of  fresh  soil  in  the  new  pot,  which 
should  be  a  size  larger,  year  by  year.     Fill  the 
soil  around  it  carefully,   shaking  the  pot,   or 
striking  it  to  settle  it  well ;  and  press  (he  soil 
gently  about  the  collar  of  the  plant.     Water 
it  and  keep  it  in  the  shade  a  month ;  then  give 
it  a  place  where  it  can  receive  the  sunshine 
upon  its  foliage  without  heating  the  pot ;  or, 
sink  the  pot  in   the   ground   till   September. 
Bring  it  then  to  the  parlor,  and  water  it  daily 
with  warm  water;    adding  liquid  manure  as 
soon  as  the  flower-buds  appear.     It  is  unnec- 
essary to  mention  any  es-pecial  variety,  tastes 
differ  so  much  ;  but  it  would  be  wise  to  have 
at  least  one  representative  of  the  sweet-scent- 
ed geraniums  on  every  flower-stand,   for  their 
foliage  is  beautiful,    and   their   blossoms    are 
neat  if  not  very  attractive.     They  are  always 
needed  to  accompany  the  white  and  the  purple 
flowers  which  friendship  gathers  as  its  last  gift 
to  the  loved  departed;    and,  indeed  no  bou- 
quet of  exotics  appears  complete  without  their 
presence. 


i0W^S^^ 


Wt:4^ 


't 


-■■■Al^ 


DEVOTED  TO  AGKICUIiTtmE,  HORTICULTUEE,  AND  KTWDRED  ABTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  May,  18G7. 


VOL.  I.— NO.  5. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  llow. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BRO^VN,  I  Editors 
8.  FLETCHER,      (  J^-ditors. 


MAY,   1867. 

Warm  -with  new  life,  the  glittering  throngs, 
On  quivering  fire  and  rustling  wing. 

Delighted  join  their  votive  songs. 
And  hail  thee  Goddess  of  the  Spring. 

Darwin. 

Contrast  be- 
tween the  cus- 
toms of  our  own 
time  and  some  of 
those  which  have 
existed  among 
people  who  had 
their  period  upon 
^s  earth  long  ago, 
and  then  passed 
away,  is  some- 
times exceeding- 
ly interesting. 

Some  of  the 
customs  which 
were  always  ob- 
served by  our  English  ancestry 
on  the  first  of  May,  and  -which 
seem  to  have  been  rooted  in  the 
very  hearts  of  the  people,  have  come  down  to 
us ;  but  transplanted  into  a  more  rigid  climate, 
they  have  become  chilled,  and  have  lost  much 
of  that  freshness  and  vitality  which  they  ex- 
hibited through  so  many  ages  in  their  own  sea- 
girt isle. 

There,  it  was  anciently  the  custom  for  all 
ranks  of  people  to  go  out  a  Maying  early  on 


the  first  of  May.  Bourne  tells  us  that,  in  his 
time,  "In  the  villages  in  the  North  of  Eng- 
land, the  juvenile  part  of  both  sexes  were 
wont  to  rise  a  little  after  midnight  on  the 
morning  of  that  day,  and  walk  to  some  neigh- 
boring wood,  accompanied  with  music  and  the 
blowing  of  horns,  where  they  broke  down 
branches  from  the  trees,  and  adorned  them 
with  nosegays  and  crowns  of  flowers.  This 
done,  they  returned  homeward  with  their 
booty,  about  the  time  of  sunrise,  and  made 
their  doors  and  windows  triumph  in  the  flow- 
ery spoil.'" 

This  is,  every  season,  attempted  here ;  but 
under  what  different  j^spectsand  circumstances  ! 
The  girls  with  blue  lips  instead  of  red,  with 
woolen  hoods  upon  their  heads,  and  hands  en- 
cased in  fur  gloves ;  and  the  boys  with  thick 
boots,  mittens  and  overcoats  !  The  ruts  are 
deep  and  somewhat  frozen ;  patches  of  snow 
lie  in  the  woods,  and,  although  the  sun  shines, 
its  warmest  beams  are  neutralized  by  the 
northwest  winds  which  come  sweeping  over 
the  hills.  Their  music  is  the  "blowing"  of 
certain  nasal  projections,  the  dim  notes  of  a 
shivering  blue-bird,  or  the  doleful  wail  of  an 
old  field  lark,  complaining  that  she  had  come 
north  altogether  too  soon  ! 

As  to  flowers,  they  are  "like  angels'  visits, 
few  and  far  between."  Miles  of  hill  and  dale 
are  searched  before  the  effort  is  rewarded  by 
anything  that  "blows,"  except  the  wind.  The 
sight  of  an  "Early  Crowfoof  and  a  bunch  of 


202 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


May 


Cowslips  in  the  wet  meadow,  puts  the  poets 
in  high  spirits,  but  a  patch  of  the  Trailing 
Arbutus,  exhaling  their  charming  fragrance 
into  the  air,  crowns  their  researches  and  the 
heads  of  the  girls,  and  off  all  scamper  for  a 
warm  room  and  a  hot  breakfast. 

It  is  no  use  to  try  to  sing  our  Mayday  into 
an  English  Mayday.  The  weather  and  the 
winds  are  against  us.  The  poets  must  give  it 
up,  and  the  girls  and  boys  must  give  it  up. 
Our  better  way  is,  to  get  up  an  institution  of 
our  own,  and  be  sure  and  fix  the  time  late 
enough  to  dispense  with  overcoats  and  fur 
mittens.  Say  the  first  of  June,  or,  if  earlier, 
the  20th  of  May ;  that  is  the  time  when  cows 
are  turned  to  pasture,  and  it  is  supposed  there 
is  some  green  thing,  then.  Besides,  the  twen- 
tieth of  May  has  been  said  to  be  particularly 
lucky  for  lovers  to  meet  in  couples  to  marry  ; 
at  least,  so  an  ancient  ballad  says,  in  a  "■Song 
to  Harriet ;'' 

"Of  the  three  summer  months  they  say, 
The  most  of  luck  is  the  twenty  o'  May, 
Our  hearts  and  hands  to  join ; 

This  bloom  which  fills  the  fragrant  air, 
Shall  rest  upon  thy  bosom  faire, 

And  thou  shalt  rest  on  mine." 

So,  if  you  are  all  agreed,  we  will  have  the 
"first  of  May  come  on  the  twentieth,"  or  at 
least  postpone  going  a-Maying  until  that  time. 
Customs,  like  virtues,  come  slowly ;  so  that  it 
is  time  we  stop  imitating  others,  where  it  is 
impossible  to  graft  their  graces  upon  our  more 
rigid  climate,  and  strike  out  something  of  o^ir 
own,  which  shall  become  a  custom  worthy  of 
remembrance  and  record.^ 

But  May  is  a  busy  month  ;  we  cannot  stop 
long  among  the  romping  boys  and  girls,  nor 
even  the  poets.  The  first  thing  which  we 
ought  to  do,  is  to  see  that  every  thing  is  pro- 
vided in  the  house  and  around  the  house,  for 
the  convenience  and  comfort  of  the  women. 
Their  lot  is  harder  than  ours.  They  have  less 
hours  of  relaxation,  are  confined  more  at  home, 
and  have  less  of  the  outside  world  to  excite 
and  interest  them  than  men.  And  then,  gen- 
erally, they  do  not  hold  the  purse,  and  do  not 
find  it  so  convenient  to  purchase  many  little 
matters  of  convenience  or  of  lal)or-saving,  as 
those  do  who  are  in  the  habit  of  making  the 
purchases.  This  should  be  the  item  o?  first 
consideration  in  our  spring  work.  In  tbe  sub- 
jects considered,  the  next  should  be  that  of 


Setting  an  Asparagus  Bed, — because  it 
will  be  a  comfort  to  the  women  to  adorn  the 
table  with  an  elegant  dish,  and  at  the  same 
tmie  provide  the  family  with  a  wholesome  and 
nutritious  vegetable.  Obtain  one  or  two  hun- 
dred good  roots,  two  or  three  years  old,  and 
set  them  in  a  trench  a  foot  wide  and  deep,  and 
a  foot  apart  in  the  trench.  Spread  the  roots 
out,  at  a  distance  of  one  foot  apart  on  each 
side  of  the  trench,  making  two  rows  in  one 
trench,  or  100  plants  in  60  feet.  Before  mark- 
ing out  the  trenches,  the  whole  plot  ought  to 
be  spaded  two  feet  deep  and  an  abundance  of 
manure  mingled  with  the  soil.  If  well  done 
and  tended,  the  bed  will  continue  from  ten  to 
one  hundred  years. 

Dry  Pastures. — Remember  the  short  feed 
in  pastures  in  July  and  August.  Do  not  turn 
stock  upon  them  too  early.  Sow  oats,  millet 
and  corn,  for  feeding  out  when  the  pinch  comes. 

The  Corn  Crop. — Get  it  in  early — by  the 
10th,  if  you  can.  Plant  well,  and  you  can  hoe 
well.  A  field  well  planted  Avill  be  cheaply 
tended,  compared  with  one  hastily  and  im- 
perfectly planted.  Steep  corn  in  saltpetre 
or  co})peras  water,  if  liable  to  be  pulled  up. 

Ornamental. — Do  not  forget  to  plant  the 
shade  trees  in  front  of  the  house,  that  you  re- 
gretted you  had  not  done  some  years  ago ! 
Nor  to  enclose  a  spot  for  a  garden,  near  the 
house,  and  begin  to  fill  it  with  plants  for  small 
and  large  fruits. 

Graft  the  Trees  that  need  it. 

Cultivate  Roots  for  the  stock.  Turnips, 
carrots,  beets,  mangolds,  parsnips,  &c. 

Early  Corn. — Plant  it  early,  and  continue 
to  plant  small  patches,  and  you  will  have  an 
abundance  of  it  until  heavy  frosts  come,  and 
the  fattening  hogs  will  fare  well,  too. 

Plow  and  Manure  Early. — Plow  the  fields 
twice,  if  convenient.  We  do  not  plow  the 
land  enough.  Twice  is  better  than  once — 
three  times  better  than  twice,  often. 

Be  Prompt,  but  moderate  ;  be  prudent,  but 
not  doubting ;  be  temperate,  but  live  gener- 
ously ;  and  this  will  be  the  most  useful  and 
satisl'actory  Month  of  May  you  have  ever 
lived. 


— The  Michigan  Senate  has  pas^scd  a  bill  appro- 
printing  ^"iO.OOO  for  a  building  to  be  used  by  tbo 
State  Agricultural  College. 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR]\TER. 


203 


NEW  PUBLICATIOTTS. 

The  American  Naturalist,  a  Popular  Illustrated 
Magazine  of  Natural  History.  Vol.  I. — March,  1S07, 
— No.  1.  SaU'in,  Mass.,  Essex  Institute.  Monthly. 
Pages  66.  Piacc  $3.00.  Alpheus  S.  Packard,  Edward 
8.  Morse,  Alpheus  Hyatt  and  Frederick  W.  Putnam, 
Editors. 

Farmers  lose  many  hard  days'  work  by  the 
depredations  of  insects.  We  ought  to  know 
more  about  them  than  we  do.  Those  of  us 
who  are  too  old  to  go  to  college  to  study  their 
habits,  and  learn  their  classical  names,  must 
employ  the  next  best  means,  and  read  books 
and  papers.  Instead  of  cloistering  up  their 
wisdom  as  of  old,  the  scientific  men  of  our 
day  are  disposed  to  let  their  light  shine  for  the 
benefit  of  all.  Indeed  they  are  yery  glad  to 
exchange  their  knowledge  of  the  "Lepidop- 
tera,"  "Diptera,"  «fec.,  &c.,  for  our  "Chenan- 
goes,"  "Ruta  bagas,"  and  the  like.  Will  not 
the  exchange  be  mutually  beneficial  ? 

The  first  number  of  this  new  work  has  arti- 
cles on  the  Land  Snails  of  New  England ;  The 
Volcano  of  Kilauea,  Hawaiian  Islands ;  The 
Fossil  Reptiles  of  New  Jersey ;  The  Ameri- 
can Silk  Worm ;  Winter  Notes  of  an  Ornithol- 
ogist ;  Reviews  ;  Natural  History  Miscellany  ; 
Correspondence  ;  Natural  History  Calendar ; 
Proceeding  of  Scientific  Societies ;  Glossary, 
&c.  Paper,  printing  and  cuts,  all  in  best 
style. 

BEET  SI7QAK. 
In  the  April  number,  we  published  some  ac- 
count of  the  factory  established  at  Chatsworth, 
111.,  for  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar,  in 
which  it  was  stated  that  the  company  had  roots 
enough  on  hand  to  produce  400,000  lbs.  of 
sugar.  The  Prairie  Farmer  says  that  ninety- 
one  barrels  of  sugar  were  sent  to  Springfield 
from  this  factory  on  the  26th  of  February. 
The  same  paper  contains  an  article  upon  the 
subject  from  a  correspondent  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  who  says  : 

A  company  is  about  to  be  organized  here 
with  a  very  large  capital  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  beet  sugar  works  near  La  Salle. 
The  leaders  in  the  movement  have  visited  beet 
growing  districts  in  France  and  Germany  and 
are  fiuniliar  with  best  methods  and  latest  im- 
provements. 

For  my  part,  I  see  no  reason  why  sugar  can- 
not be  made  in  this  country  from  beets,  as  cer- 
tainly as  bread  can  be  made  from  wheat. 
When  we  do  it,  as  I  believe  we  shall,  and  save 
the  80  millions  in  gold  which  we  annually  send 
abroad  for  sugar,  Ave  not  only  give  employ- 
ment to  multitudes  of  our  people,  but  we  solve 
the  question  whether  we  soon  pay  the  national 


debt.  After  supplying  our  own  wants,  the 
next  step  will  be  to  export  to  foreign  countries. 
Some  here  are  so  sanguine  as  to  predict  that 
within  15  years  we  will  send  sugar  abroad.  I 
have  seen  too  many  things  slip  up  in  my 
life  to  believe  everytlijng,  but  I  Avill  venture  to 
say  that  Illinois  corn  is  about  to  become  a  crop 
of  third  rate  importance,  and  that  a  day  of 
brilliant  prosperity  immediately  is  before  the 
grand  old  Prairie  State.  n.  c.  m. 


Wooden  Boxes  for  the  Canker  Worm. 
— It  appears,  by  the  recently  published  Trans- 
actions of  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  So- 
ciety, that,  next  to  Hovey  &  Co.,  the  largest 
amount  of  premiums  was  awarded  by  this  so- 
ciety to  F.  &  L.  Clapp,  of  Dorchester,  whose 
fine  orchard  is  surrounded  by  canker  worms. 
These  gentlemen,  it  is  stated  by  Mr.  Hyde, 
the  chairman  of  the  Fruit  Committee,  have 
effectually  protected  their  trees  by  the  use  of 
the  wooden  boxes  which  have  been  frequently 
recommended  by  correspondents  of  the  Farm- 
er, and  of  which  a  brief  description  will  be 
found  on  another  page.  Although  the  com- 
mittee say  that  the  "apple  crop  proved  the 
past  season,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  a  great- 
er failure  than  ever,"  they  speak  of  the  large 
quantities  of  fine  Gravenstein,  Williams,  Bald- 
win and  other  varieties  which  were  exhibited 
by  these  gentlemen,  during  the  past  year. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
REMEDY    FOB    THE    CANKEE   WOKM. 

While  on  my  way  to  Boston  last  summer,  I 
saw  several  orchards  that  had  the  appearance 
of  having  been  visited  by  that  pest  the  canker 
worm,  and  I  determined  then  to  communicate 
through  your  valuable  paper,  in  season  to  give 
those  that  wish  an  opportunity  to  thwart  their 
depredations  the  coming  year,  the  following 
cheap  and  efficient  protection  : — 

Put  one  or  more  bushels  of  clean  common 
mill  sawdust,  (according  to  the  size  of  the 
tree  and  shape  of  the  earth)  about  the  trunk 
in  a  symmetrical  mound,  piling  it  carefully  and 
lightly  as  high  as  it  will  stand,  and  no  creep- 
ing insect  can  mount  it.  It  should  be  looked 
to  every  evening  during  the  spring,  or  time  of 
their  running  up  the  trees,  and  carefully 
trimmed  up  or  replied.  I  tried  this  remedy 
several  years  ago  in  an  orchard  that  the  can- 
ker worms  had  most  shamefully  abused  the 
year  before,  and  It  proved  efliclent,  no  worms 
that  year,  nor  has  there  been  any  since.  But 
I  don't  attribute  their  long  absence  to  one  ap- 
plication of  sawdust.  I  expect  they  will  visit 
this  locality  some  time,  but  when  they  do  they 
will  be  likely  to  find  a  plenty  of  the  dust. 

Perhaps  1  ought  to  say  that  I  know  this  will 


204 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


stop  the  female  bug,  for  I  have  seen  a  dozen  of 
them  around  one  pile  in  the  morning,  strug- 
gling desperately  to  get  up,  but  to  little  pur- 
pose, as  1  never  saw  one  half  way  to  the  top  of 
a  well  made  pile.  Thomas  Elus. 

Rochester,  Mass.,  Feb.  25,  1867. 


Remarks. — The  canker  worm  is  extending 
its  ravages  not  only  in  New  England,  but  in 
the  Middle  and  Western  States.  We  gladly 
publish  every  fact  that  seems  to  cast  a  ray  of 
hope  upon  the  subject,  although  we  must  con- 
fess that  we  are  less  sanguine  than  our  corres- 
pondent of  the  efficacy  of  his  recommendation. 

Otmpowder  Waste. — We  are  informed  by 
another  correspondent  that  when  O.  M.  Whip- 
ple, Esq.,  the  well  known  gunpowder  manu- 
facturer of  Lowell,  commenced  business  in 
that  place,  his  purchase  of  real  estate  included 
about  two  acres  from  an  apple  orchard  of  some 
ten  acres.  With  the  idea  of  benefiting  the 
soil,  he  applied  some  of  the  "waste"  from  his 
mill  about  the  trees  on  his  land.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  years  canker  worms  commenced  their 
work  of  destruction  upon  the  trees  of  the  ori- 
ginal orchard,  but  left  unmolested  those  on  his 
two  acres,  although  separated  only  by  an  or- 
dinary fence.  After  they  had  worked  some 
six  or  seven  years,  Mr.  Whipple  purchased 
the  remainder  of  the  lot,  and  by  applying  this 
waste  he  banished  the  insect  entirely  from  the 
■whole  orchard,  and  has  not  been  troubled  by 
them  since.  ' 

Our  correspondent  understood  Mr.  Whipple 
to  express  the  opinion  that  the  efficacy  of  the 
waste  in  this  case,  might  be  owing,  in  part  at 
least,  to  the  salt  which  it  contained.  We 
were  not  aware  that  salt  was  used  in  making 
powder.  Saltpetre,  sulphur  and  charcoal  are 
generally  understood  to  be  the  main  ingre- 
dients of  this  wonderful  product,  but  we  do 
not  know  what  other  substances  may  be  em- 
employed  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  and 
thus  find  their  way  into  the  waste  of  the  mill, 
which  we  understand,  when  judiciously  applied, 
has  proved  to  be  a  most  lasting  fertilizer. 

On  behalf  of  many  despairing  fruit  raisers, 
we  would  solicit  a  fuller  statement  from  Mr. 
Whipple. 

Wooden  Boxes. — At  the  request  of  several 
of  our  readers  who  have  lost  their  copy  of  our 
paper  containing  the  statement  of  Mr.  G.  B. 
Moulton,  of  Kensington,  N.  IL,  who  success- 
fully protected  his  trees  from  the  canker  worm 


by  means  of  wooden  boxes,  we  re-produce  the 
following  directions : — 

"In  the  spring  of  1865  I  placed  wooden 
boxes,  ten  inches  high,  around  all  these  trees, 
allowing  a  space  of  two  inches  between  the 
tree  and  the  inside  of  the  box.  It  would  have 
been  better  to  have  left  a  space  of  three  inches. 
I  filled  the  inside  with  tan,  and  made  it  solid 
by  pressing  it  down  with  a  strip  of  board.  The 
gutter  around  the  boxes  was  placed  about 
three  inches  from  the  top ;  the  corners  being 
made  tight  with  roofing  cement ;  and  a  clap- 
board was  nailed  on  the  top  edge  of  the  boxes, 
so  as  to  form  a  roof  over  the  gutter.  I  filled 
the  troughs  with  'bug  oil,'  which  can  be  ob- 
tained in  Boston  at  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
cents  per  gallon.  This  I  prefer  to  coal  oil, 
because  it  will  not  skim  over  ;  while  the  coal 
oil  will  skim  over  in  forty-eight  hours  and 
afford  a  bridge  for  the  grubs.  There  arc  two 
kinds  of  this  bug  oil — the  thin  and  the  thick. 
I  prefer  the  thick  for  wooden  troughs,  as  the 
thin  is  liable  to  leak  out.  When  they  run  the 
thickest,  the  surface  of  the  oil  needs  to  be 
cleared  off  as  often  as  once  in  two  days.  I 
use  a  piece  of  lathe  for  this  purpose,  and  a  tin 
quart  measure  with  a  long  lip  to  turn  in  the 
oil. 

"The  cost  of  these  boxes  is  not  great.  I 
paid  seventeen  cents  a  piece  for  making  the  | 
boxes,  and  found  the  stuff.  Any  kind  of 
cheap  boards  wil\  answer.  For  the  gutter  two- 
inch  stuff  of  good  quality  should  be  used.  I 
purchased  second-hand  tubing  used  for  chain 
pumps  which  cost  two  cents  per  foot.  Divid- 
ing this,  my  troughs  cost  one  cent  per  foot. 
Some  that  I  had  made,  cost  two  cents  per  foot 
for  making.  The  clapboard  should  be  of  good 
quality,  so  that  it  will  not  crack  by  the  weath- 
er. My  trees  are  very  large,  and  some  of  my 
boxes  were  about  ten  feet  around  them.  I  es- 
timate the  boards  at  seven  cents  per  box — 
troughs  ten  cents,  and  clapboards  at  three 
cents — making  the  whole  cost  of  boxes  at  thir- 
ty-seven cents  per  tree ;  and  the  whole  cost 
of  oil,  tan,  and  labor,  not  to  exceed  one  dol- 
lar. For  any  ordinary  orchard,  this  would  not 
exceed  fifty  cents  per  tree.  It  takes,  for 
troughs  of  this  size,  about  one  quart  of  oil  at 
a  time." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Moulton 
considered  his  experiment  a  perfect  success, 
and  that  his  care  and  labor  was  rewarded  by 
a  fair  amount  of  fruit  last  year.  The  objec- 
tion that  the  young  worms,  hatched  from  eggs 
laid  below  most  protectors,  are  able  to  sur- 
mount the  obstacles  which  impeded  the  ascent 
of  the  full  grown  female,  is  obviated  by  the  use 
of  the  troujrh  of  oil. 


— The  Gardener's  Monthlij  s.iys  that  most  of  tho 
fiiihu-cs  in  phvntiug  raspberries  and  blackljerrics, 
arise  from  plautiug  too  deep. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


205 


USES    OF    SAWDUST. 

The  inquiry  has  often  been  made,  whether 
sawdust  is  in  any  way  valuable  to  be  used  on 
the  farm  ?  The  reply  has  usually  been,  that, 
as  it  is  made  up  of  portions  of  various  plants 
and  is  therefore  vegetable  matter,  it  must  be 
useful.  But  how  it  ought  to  be  treated,  and 
under  what  conditions  it  acts  the  most  favora- 
bly, are  points  not  yet  fully  settled. 

In  its  use  for  one  purpose,  we  can  scarcely 
err.  It  forms  a  soft  and  excellent  bedding  for 
stock.  It  is  easy  for  cattle  to  rest  upon,  ab- 
sorbs a  large  portion  of  the  liquids,  and  serves 
to  keep  the  cattle  clean,  and,  therefore,  in  a 
healthy  and  thrifty  condition ;  and  this  is  of 
no  small  consideration.  All  animals  thrive  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  health  and  comfort 
which  they  enjoy,  as  well  as  according  to  the 
amount  and  quality  of  the  food  given  them. 
An  ox  well  fed,  but  exposed  to  severe  cold 
and  storms,  would  be  likely  to  gain  only  half 
as  much  as  he  would  if  properly  sheltered.  So 
if  he  were  so  situated  as  to  be  obliged  to  stand 
all  the  time,  he  would  soon  become  so  uncom- 
fortable as  not  to  gain  more  than  half  as  fast 
as  he  would  if  he  could  lie  down,  when  inclined 
to  do  so,  upon  a  bed  of  dry  sawdust  or  litter, 

Mr.  Asa  G.  Sheldon,  of  Wilmington,  who 
probably  has  done  as  much  teaming  on  the 
road  icitli  oxen  as  any  man  in  New  England, 
once  told  us  that  oxen  would  do  better  to 
travel  twenty  miles  a  day  and  rest  upon  a  good 
bed  of  straw  or  other  litter,  through  the  night, 
than  they  would  to  go  only  sixteen  miles,  and 
lay  upon  bare  planks  at  night !  This  is  cer- 
tainly awarding  great  efficacy  to  the  bed,  but 
it  comes  fi'om  good  authority,  and  is  probably 
correct. 

Sawdust  is  not  easily  decomposed,  but  it  is 
an  excellent  absorbent  for  liquid  manure,  and 
when  well  soaked  with  urine,  ferments  readily. 
It  is  also  excellent,  as  a  divider,  to  mix  with 
night  soil,  wool  waste,  or  other  highly  concen- 
trated fertilizers,  and  when  well  incorporated 
with  them,  forms  a  manure  heap  that  may  be 
easily  and  pleasantly  handled.  It  is  stated  by 
chemists  that  "sawdust,  during  decomposi- 
tion, forms  certain  acids,  which  act  as  excel- 
lent fixers  of  ammonia,  and  that  when  well 
mixed  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  it  is  one  of 
the  best  materials  which  can  be  employed  for 
fixing  the  ammonia  given  off  in  stables." 

In  speaking  of  sawdust  used  as  a  fertilizer, 
one   of  our  valuable    correspondents,    *'Oak 


Hill,''''  wrote  us  in  1859,  that  he  thought  its 
virtue  equalled,  if  it  did  not  surpass,  any  enrich- 
er  of  the  soil  he  ever  saw.  He  wet  it  and  mixed 
it  freely  and  thoroughly  with  the  soil,  but  did 
not  state  from  what  wood  it  came. 

Another  of  our  correspondents,  Mr.  F.  J. 
Kinney,  who  had  used  large  quantities  of 
sawdust,  and  made  numerous  and  careful  ex- 
periments with  it,  wrote  us,  some  seven  or 
eight  years  ago,  quite  a  long  and  minute  ac- 
count of  his  practice,  which  we  condense,  and 
give  as  follows  : — 

"I  used  100  cords  in  nine  months  in  this 
way.  I  put  the  sawdust  on  the  floors  about 
six  inches  thick,  and  as  fast  as  it  was  saturated 
with  urine,  shoved  the  cattle  and  hogs'  bedding 
into  the  manure  vault,  together  with  the  ma- 
nure, tramping  it  as  hard  as  possible,  and  the 
horse  bedding  and  manure  under  a  shed.  I 
soon  found  it  must  be  turned  or  something  else 
done  with  it  to  keep  from  fire-fanging. 

"After  trying  various  plans,  I  found  the  best 
was  to  turn  water  on  it — enough  to  keep  it 
moist  and  cool — and  let  it  remain  in  as  solid  a 
body  as  possible  until  I  drew  it  out,  and  then 
put  it  in  flat  heaps,  two  or  three  cords  in  a 
heap,  and  a  foot  thick  after  it  was  well  trod- 
den down. 

"1  put  a  pair  of  steers  into  a  small  yard  dur- 
ing the  night  for  two  months  in  the  fall,  throw- 
ing sawdust  under  them  three  times  a  week, 
one-third  of  a  cord  at  a  time.  This  lay  until 
the  spring,  when  four  cords  of  number  one 
manure  were  taken  out. 

"Solid  manure  must  all  become  liquid  before 
vegetables  can  be  benefited  by  it  in  any  way, 
and  sawdust  has  a  marvellous  faculty  of  hold- 
ing on  to  liquids  and  gases. 

"I  never  smelt  a  disagreeable  odor  around 
our  stables  while  using  the  sawdust,  except 
when  it  burned,  and  never  saw  any  liquid 
leaching  out  from  under  the  heaps  on  a  clayed 
bottom,  though  we  used  water  plentifully,  of- 
ten running  on  two  barrels  to  a  cord,  at  a  time. 

"Used  it  with  manure,  side  by  side,  on  va- 
rious crops  and  soils.  Plowed  it  in  ;  used  it 
as  a  top  dressing  on  plowed  land  and  grass 
land,  and  for  that  year  there  was  no  perceiva- 
ble difference  except  on  dry  land,  where  the 
sawdust  manure  was  best.  I  ought  to  say  saw- 
dust and  manure,  for  the  sawdust  had  not 
changed  much,  and  was  not  worth  one-half  as 
much  as  it  was  after  it  had  laid  over  the  sum- 
mer and  become  decomposed. 

"I  put  four  cords  on  half  an  acre  that  was 
too  stony  to  plow,  and  at  the  same  time  ten 
bushels  of  oyster-shell  lime  under  it.  The  hay 
crop  was  doubled  the  first  year  and  quadrupled 
the  second.  The  sawdust  manure  operates 
equally  as  well  on  any  other  crop. 

"Wherever  I  have  examined  the  roots  of  a 
vegetable  grown  where  sawdust,  chip  or  leaves 
and  stable  manure  had  been  used,  1  found 


206 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


them  embracing  with  their  delicate  fibres  every 
atom  of  the  vegetable  matter  within  their 
reach,  and  undoubtedly  drawing  their  natural 
sustenance  from  them.  There  is  nothing  that 
I  have  tried  as  an  assistant  fertilizer  that  holds 
so  much  liquid  or  retains  it  so  long,  where 
only  the  sun  and  air  operate  on  it,  as  hard- 
wood sawdust. 

"There  is  much  difference  in  sawdust.  It 
would  be : — 

1st  quality,  hard  wood,  hickory,  maple,  «S:c. 
2d  quality,  poplar,  basswood,  chestnut,  &c. 
3d  quality,  spruce,  hemlock,  pine,  &c." 

Mr.  J.  Cross  says, — "I  have  used  sawdust 
for  bedding  for  ten  years,  and  would  not  be 
without  it,  if  I  could  obtain  it  by  going  four 
miles  after  it.  My  cows  go  from  the  bam  as 
clean  as  they  came  from  the  pasture  in  the  fall. 
"A.  L.  W."  of  Hope,  Me.,  says  it  is  the  very 
best  thing  to  use  for  bedding  under  horses  and 
cattle. 

We  have  thought  it  well  to  refer  to  this  mat- 
ter, as  there  are  mills  in  nearly  every  town 
where  quantities  of  sawdust  are  allowed  to  run 
to  waste.  In  some  places,  where  a  large 
amount  of  lumber  is  cut  out  and  manufactured, 
almost  any  quantity  may  be  obtained. 


•WOOL-QROWEKS'    ASSOCIATION. 

The  New  York  State  Sheep-Breeders'  and 
Wool-Growers'  Association, — Hon.  Henry  8. 
Randall,  President,  and  E.  B.  Bottle,  of  Na- 
ples, N.  Y.,  Corresponding  Secretary, — will 
hold  an  annual  Fair  at  Auburn,  May  8,  9  and 
10,  1867. 

This  Association  of  the  Wool-Growers  of 
the  Empire  State  is  doing  a  good  work.  Two 
annual  Fairs  have  been  held,  at  which  facts  of 
the  highest  importance  to  every  sheep  farmer 
were  developed.  At  the  ensuing  Fair  in  May, 
prizes  of  $30,  $20,  and  $10,  respectively,  are 
offered  on  the  following  six  classes  of  sheep  ; 
with  a  sweepstake  of  the  society's  diploma  on 
each  class  except  the  4th.  On  the  4th  class  $15, 
$10  and  $5  for  the  first,  second  and  third  best 
five  lambs,  without  respect  to  sex. 

First  Class — Amehican  Merinos. 

Second  Class — Fine  Meuinos — yielding  a  wool 
adaitted  to  the  manufaeturcoflinc  broiulelotlisand 
other  fahrios  rcqiiiriiifiC  a  staple  of  equal  quality. 

Third  Class — Deeaine  Mekinds  —  yielding  a 
wool  adapted  to  the  nianufactiirc  of  delaines  and 
Bimilar  fabrics — length  of  staple  l)eing  a  leading 
consideration,  but  in  which  neither  extreme  line- 
ness  of  libre,  as  rc(pnrcd  in  the  second  class,  nor 
great  weight  of  fleece,  as  required  in  the  lirst,  arc 
to  be  regarded  as  absolute  essentials. 

Fourth  Class — Lamus — of  preceding  classes. 

Fifth  Class — Long  Wooled  Sueei' — including 


tne  Leicesters,  Cotswolds,  Lincolns  and  other  breeds 
and  varieties  usually  comprised  under  that  designa- 
tion. 

Sixth  Class — Middle  Wooled  Sheep — includ- 
ing Southdowns  and  other  sheep  usually  so  classed. 

Special  prizes  are  also  offered  as  follows  : — 

D.  D.  T.  Moore,  $25  for  the  Merino  Ram's  fleece, 
of  one  year's  growth  or  thereabouts,  sheared  at  the 
Fair,  which,  on  being  cleansed,  shall  be  found  to  give 
the  greatest  weight  of  wool,  in  proportion  to  its 
time  of  growth  and  to  the  live  weight  of  the  animal. 
A.  F.  Wilcox,  $25  for  Merino  Ewe's  fleece,  same 
conditions. 

William  R.  Pitts  offers  a  prize  of  $25  for  the, Me- 
rino Ram's  fleece,  of  one  year's  gi-owth  or  therea- 
bouts, sheared  at  the  Fair,  which,  on  being  cleansed, 
shall  be  found  to  give  the  gi-eatcst  weight  and  value 
of  wool,  in  proportion  to  its  time  of  growth,  without 
refercucc  to  weight  of  the  animal.  David  Cossit 
$25  for  Merino  Ewe's  fleece,  same  conditions. 

Henry  S.  Randall,  $25  for  English  Long  Wooled 
fleece,  conditions  same  as  for  the  Pitts  and  Cossit 
prizes. 

Prizes  of  $10,  $8  and  $6  will  be  awarded 

to  the  three  best  shearers. 


NEW   ENGLAND    AG'L   SOCIETY. 
The  annual  meeting  of  this  association  was 
held  in  Boston,  March  7.     The  following  offi- 
cers were  elected : — 

President — Hon.  Geo.  B.  Loring,  of  Salem,  Mass. 
Secrete/-)/— Daniel  Necdham,  of  Groton. 
Treasurer— Isaac  K.  Gage,  Fisherville,  N.  H. 

vice  presidents. 
S.  L.  Goodale,  of  Saco,  Me. ;  Hon.  Frederick 
Smyth  of  Manchester,  N.  H. ;  Daniel  Kimball,  of 
Rutland,  Vt. ;  William  Birnie,  of  Springfield, 
Mass.;  Amasa  Sprague,  of  Cranston,  R.  I.;  E.  H. 
Hyde,  of  Statfoid,  Conn. 

TRUSTEES. 

Maine — Seth  Scammon,  of  Scarborough;  Colum- 
bus Stewart  of  North  Anson  ;  Waldo  T.  Pierce  of 
Bangor;  Geo.  W.  Ricker  of  I3ath;  and  J.  F.  An- 
derson of  South  Windham. 

Xew  Hampshire — Moses  Humphrey  of  Concord ; 
S.  W.  Biifluni  of  Winchester;  W.  F.  Estcs  of  Do- 
ver ;  Geo.  W.  Riddle  of  Bedford ;  Virgil  C.  Oilman 
of  Nashua. 

Ver?nont — Geo.  Campbell  of  Westminster;  D. 
R.  Potter  of  St  Albans  ;  Henry  Clark  of  Poultney  ; 
Ebenezer  Bridge  of  Pomfrct ;  and  Thomas  Saun- 
ders of  Brooktield. 

Massachusetts — S.  H.  Howe  of  Bolton ;  G.  T. 
Plunkett  of  Hinsdale ;  Levi  Stockl)ridge  of  Am- 
herst ;  Charles  P.  Preston  of  Danvers ;"  and  S.  B. 
Phinney  of  Barnstable. 

Ilhode  Island — Edward  P.  Pcarce  of  Cranston ; 
David  Pike  of  River  Point;  A.  B.  Chadsov  of 
Wickford ;  J.  D.  W.  Perry  of  Bristol ;  and  thos. 

B.  Buflum  of  Newport. 

Connecticut — J.  J.  Webb  of  New  Haven ;  Benj, 
Sunnier  of  Woodstock;  H.  S.  Collins  of  Collins- 
villc  ;  Bnrdett  Loomis  of  Windsor  Locks;  and  G 

C.  Hitchcock  of  New  Britain. 

Governor  Dyer,  of  Rhode  Island,  moved  that 
the  sulijeet  of  the  next  exhibition  be  referred  to 
one  trustee  from  each  State,  wiih  instructions  to 
rei)ort  to  the  full  board.  The  motion  was  carried, 
and  the  chair  appointed  as  the  connnittcc  Messrs. 
Anderson  of  Maine,  Estcs  of  New  Hani)ishire, 
Bridge  of  Vermont,  llowc  of  Massachusetts,  Pearco 
of  Rhode  Island,  and  Webl)  of  Connecticut. 

At  a  subset^ucnt  meeting  of  the  trustees,  the  ex- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


207 


ecutive  committee,  consisting  of  tlio  prcsiilent  and  : 
secretary  of  the  society,  nud  Messrs.  Anderson  of 
Me.,  Smith  of  N.  H.,"Birnie  of  Mass.,  Fcarcc  of 
R.  I.,  Clark  of  Vt.,  and  Sumner  of  Ct.,  were  order-  i 
cd  to  negotiate  with  the  Rhode  Island  society,  or 
any  other  simihir  association,  for  holding  an  cxlii- 
bition  next  autumn. 


KAISINQ  LAMBS. 
Wishing  to  compare  Lis  own  practice  with 
that  of  other  breeders  of  merino  sheep,  Dr. 
Randall  addressed  a  series  of  questions  to 
quite  a  number  of  the  leading  farmers  in  New 
York  and  Vermont.  We  select  from  the  Rural 
Neio  Yorker  the  following  summary  of  answers 
to  these  questions  upon  the  following  timely 
topics : — 

Attention  to  Lambing  Ewes. — It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  specify  separately  the  practices  of 
each  of  our  correspondents  in  this  particular. 
Those  having  the  most  valuable  sheep  visit 
lambing  ewes  constantly  during  the  day,  late 
in  the  evening  and  early  in  the  morning.  Some 
visit  them  once  in  two  hours  during  the  night, 
and  if  a  ewe  is  found  about  to  yean,  watch  her 
until  she  has  done  so  and  the  lamb  is  taken 
care  of.  The  amount  of  attention  required 
depends  much  on  the  state  of  the  weather. 
Unless  sheep  are  very  tame  and  accustomed  to 
see  the  shepherd  and  his  light,  it  is  much  bet- 
ter for  him  to  keep  away  from  them  in  the 
night.  Otherwise  the  lambs  will  be  run  over 
or  separated  from  their  dams  in  the  resulting 
ponfusion,  and  young  ewes'will  sometimes  take 
no  pains  to  look  them  up  again  ;  and  young 
ewes  frightened  away  or  disturbed,  soon  after 
yeaning,  are  much  more  likely  to  disown  their 
lambs. 

Condition  of  the  Udder. —  All  our  corres- 
pondents but  two  express  themselves  in  favor 
of  cxaminuig  the  ewe's  udder,  at  the  time  of 
lambing,  to  see  what  is  its  condition,  and  tliat 
the  milk  flows  freely.  The  teat  is  often 
stopped  at  the  lower  end  and  requires  consid- 
erable pressure  by  the  fingers,  wetted  with 
milk  or  spittle,  to  force  out  what  some  of  our 
farmers  term  the  "plug."  Mr.  Pitts  does  not 
examine  the  udder  if  the  lamb  is  strong  enough 
to  suck.  Wilcox  omits  the  examination  for  a 
few  hours  to  avoid  unnecessarily  disturbing  or 
exciting  the  ewe.  These  differences  are  proba- 
bly rather  apparent  than  real.  If  the  lamb 
helps  itself  at  the  outset,  sucking  and  obvious- 
ly obtaining  milk  from  both  sides  of  the  udder, 
and  obtaining  enough  of  it,  no  one  would  feel 
called  on  to  interfere  ;  if  not,  and  especially  if 
the  weather  is  cold  and  the  lamb  betrays  weak- 
ness, the  examination  %vould  not  be  long  de- 
ferred by  any  one.  Our  own  views  on  the 
subject  are  fully  given  at  p.  146  of  the  Practi- 
cal Shepherd,  and  it  is  not  worth  while  to  take 
lip  room  to  repeat  them  here.  We  consider 
the  ol)jection  to  disturbing  ewes  unncccssarilji, 
especially  young  ones,  worthy  of  attention ;  for 


we  have  repeatedly  seen  a  ewe  with  her  first 
lamb,  run  away  from  and  betray  great  indiffer- 
ence to  it  for  some  time  afterwards,  if  disturbed 
while  licking  it  dry.  We  would  meddle  with 
no  ewe  while  licking  her  lamb  dry,  and  while 
the  latter  was  vigorously  making  Its  first  efforts 
to  sack,  if  in  anything  like  a  comfortable  tem- 
perature. 

First  Milk. — One  question  to  our  corres- 
pondents was  : — "If  the  milk  is  thick  and  gum- 
my do  you  milk  it  out  on  the  ground,  or  let 
the  lamb  take  it  .s^'  Baker,  A.  H.  Clapp,  Greg- 
ory, Ileyne,  Pitts  and  Pol  tie  have  the  lamb 
take  it.  Brown  and  Wright  milk  a  little  on 
the  ground  and  then  have  the  lamb  take  it. 
E.  O.  Clapp  milks  it  on  the  ground  if  In  abun- 
dance, if  not,  lets  the  lamb  take  it  if  it  can. 
Elithorp  milks  it  on  tlie  ground  if  very  thick 
and  gummy,  so  as  to  be  difficult  to  draw,  but 
if  it  comes  easy  lets  the  lambs  take  it.  Ham- 
mond milks  it  on  the  ground  and  suckles  the 
lamb  on  another  ewe  "until  the  milk  becomes 
good."  The  Marslialls  let  the  lamb  draw  it 
If  he  can.  Rich  milks  it  out  once.  Sanford, 
If  it  is  quite  thick,  milks  it  out,  but  likes  to 
have  the  lamb  take  it  as  soon  as  he  can.  Sax- 
ton  first  lets  the  lamb  draw  a  little,  and  then 
milks  out  the  bag  clean  on  the  ground.  Wil- 
cox lets  the  lamb  take  it  if  he  will,  but  if  not, 
after  a  few  hours  milks  it  out.  Our  practice 
has  conformed  to  that  of  the  Marshalls,  which 
Is  substantially  the  same  with  that  of  Elithorp, 
Sanford  and  ail  those  who  say  they  let  the 
lamb  take  it ;  for  we  suppose  none  of  them 
mean  to  be  understood  that  they  draw  it  by 
hand  from  the  udder  and  feed  it  from  a  spoon, 
or  the  like,  to  the  lamb.  If,  as  sometimes  occurs, 
the  milk  has  that  thick,  gluey  consistency 
which  renders  it  impossible  to  be  drawn  by 
the  lamb.  We  do  not  think  it  well,  however, 
for  a  weak  lamb  at  least,  to  have  a  continued 
surfeit  of  this  thick,  first  milk,  if  it  physics  it 
too  freely.  It  is,  as  Mr.  Pottle  remarks,  "Na- 
ture's cathartic."  Few  ewes  continue  to  give 
It  too  long,  but  we  have  />een  instances  of  the 
kind. 


The  Coxsumption  of  Wool. — We  learn 
from  Washington  that  a  statement  made  to  the 
Senate  Committee  on  Agriculture  declares  that 
the  annual  consumption  of  unscoured  wool  In 
the  United  States  is  little  more  than  one-third 
of  the  estimate  in  the  special  report.  It  makes 
the  total  wool  supply  for  the  four  years  ending 
June,  1865,  amount  to  800,000,000  pounds, 
300,000,000  of  which  were  produced  here, 
279,000,000  imported,  and  220,000,000  intro- 
uced  as  manufactured  woolens. 


^^  A  company  has  been  formed  in  Meriden, 
Conn.,  for  the  manufacture  of  hats  by  a  ma- 
chine which  weaves  them  whole.  Their  capital 
stock  is  $400,000,  and  it  took  $75,000  to  buy 
up  the  different  patents  used  in  the  machine. 


208 


NEW   ENGLAin)    FARIMER. 


May 


S^, 


SCOTCH  PLNE — Pinus   Sylvestris. 

Most  men,  and  all  women,  love 
trees, — and  they  love  those  trees,  or 
shrubs,  or  plants  best,  that  they  have 
cultivated,  or  assisted  in  cultivating 
with  their  own  hands.  The  person  of 
taste  who  erects  his  house  in  a  charm- 
ing natural  grove,  though  it  may  be 
made  up  of  a  variety  of  the  most  showy 
and  graceful  of  our  forest  trees,  is  not 
content  to  stop  there.  He  wants  some- 
thing before  him  that  he  has  been  in- 
strumental in  calling  into  being  himself 
— something  to  which  he  has  given 
thought,  and  labor,  and  affection,  and 
which  wiU  still  require  his  care,  and 
will  bud,  and  bloom,  and  exhale  its  ^ 
fragrance  or  bear  its  fruit,  especially 
for  him. 

It  is  this  taste  that  has  introduced 
into  our  garden  and  grounds  so  many 
beautiful  trees  and  shrubs  from  our  na- 
tive forests,  and  so  many  of  the  exotics 
that  grace  and  bless  other  lands.  It 
was  this  taste  that  introduced  the  Scotch 
Pine  into  our  collections  of  ornamental 
trees,  a  portrait  of  which  embellishes 
the  page  before  you. 

This  pine  is  one  of  the  favorite  Eu- 
ropean species,  and  as  it  succeeds  re- 
markably well  in  this  country,  will  be  likely  to 
become  a  favorite  tree.  It  has  many  varieties, 
and  they  are  very  dissimilar.  In  favorable 
situations,  the  Scotch  Pine  will  grow  eighty  or 
one  hundred  feet  high.  The  leaves  are  glau- 
cous, and  in  pairs  ;  in  young  trees  they  are  from 
two  to  three  inches  long,  and  do  not  drop  from 
the  tree  until  the  fifth  year.  The  cones  open  of 
themselves  shortly  after  being  gathered  from 
the  tree,  and  spread  out  in  the  sun.  The 
seed  should  be  sown  on  a  finely  prepared  sandy 
soil,  in  March. or  April,  and  on  land  not  en- 
tirely open  to  the  sun. 

We  are  permitted  to  copy  our  engraving 
from  Warder's  excellent  work  on  "Hedges 
and  Evergreens." 


AYKSHIRE   HERD    BOOK. 

The  committee  on  Ayrshire  Cattle  appointed 
by  the  Association  of  Breeders  of  Thorough- 
bred Neat  Stock,  have  made  arrangements  for 
publishing  the  second  volume  of  the  Ayrshire 
Herd  Book.  J.  N.  Bagg,  of  West  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  has  undertaken  its  editorship,  to 


whom  all  pedigrees,  with  a  fee  of  fifty  cents 
each,  should  be  addressed  till  July  next.  Pos- 
terity rather  than  ancestry  gets  the  benefit  of 
a  clean  record.  Every  valuable  calf  should 
be  registered  at  once,  4est  its  origin  be  for- 
gotten by  the  time  its  superior  excellence  shall 
give  importance  to  the  inquiry. 


Best  Kikd  of  Food  for  PoRK.^Mr.  Wil- 
lard  says  that  while  in  England,  the  past  sea- 
son, he  found  it  to  be  the  universal  opinion 
among  those  great  meat  producers  where  quali- 
ty and  excellence  in  meat  production  is  carried 
almost  to  perfection,  that  no  bacon  was  consid- 
ered equal  to  that  from  dairy  districts,  where 
the  feed  was  barley  meal  mingled  with  whey. 
By  feeding  barley  meal  with  whey,  the  dairy 
farmers  of  England  make  their  whey  pay  them 
in  pork  from  $7  to  $10  per  cow — an  important 
item,  it  will  be  seen,  in  any  diary. 


— The  Canada  Farmer  mentions  an  exportation 
of  apples  from  Oxford  County,  Can.,  to  the  Eng- 
lish market  at  an  encouraging  prolit. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


209 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

THOUGHTS   ON   FEEDING   CATTLE. 

Mr.  Editor  : — T  am  embargoed  at  home  by 
the  great  January  thaw,  which  came  a  day  too 
late,  having  began  February  1st,  and  having 
nothing  important  to  do  except  taking  care  of 
my  stock,  I  thought  I  could  not  more  pleas- 
antly employ  myself  than  by  having  a  little 
epistolary  intercourse  with  your  many  rea- 
ders. 

The  thermometer  shows  us  that  since  the 
12th  day  of  December  we  have  had  an  un- 
commonly cold  spell  of  weather;  the  mercury, 
often  falling  as  low  as  10°  to  10°  below  zero, 
and  hardly  ever  ranging  higher  than  20°  above. 
AVe  have  had,  in  the  fifty  days  ending  Febru- 
ary 1st,  but  one  day  that  it  thawed.  Dec.  2Gth 
gave  us  a  warm  rain,  that  carried  off  the  first 
snow,  of  about  six  inches,  and  from  that  time 
until  the  commencement  of  the  snowy  week, 
January  17th,  farmers  could  not  ask  for  a  bet- 
ter time  to  cut  and  haul  their  year's  supply  o( 
wood.  Those  who  improved  that  time  were 
wise,  and  cold  as  was  the  weather  by  the  ther- 
mometer, the  laboring  man  did  not  suffer,  as  he 
would,  had  it  been  more  changeable. 

The  trouble  with  our  climate  is,  the  sudden 
changes  in  temperature.  This  is  not  only  deci- 
dedly uncomfortable,  when  the  mercury  falls 
or  rises  20°  to  40°  in  twelve  hours,  but  is  pio- 
ductive  of  nearl>'  all  our  lung  diseases  and 
complaints  of  a  similar  nature. 

Until  the  10th  of  December,  the  ground 
was  not  only  bare,  but  open.  I  ploughed  grass 
ground  till  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  which 
was  a  thing  1  never  remember  to  have  done 
before,  in  the  thirty-five  years  that  I  have  car- 
ried on  a  farm.  I  have  kaown  occasionally 
two  or  three  days  in  January  that  I  could  use 
a  plough,  but  never  a  season  that  the  ground 
was  not  closed  earlier  than  this  last. 

But  I  am  gossiping  on  matters  of  no  great 
practical  importance,  whereas,  when  1  set 
down,  I  had  one  in  my  inin<l  that,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  aH'ects  tlie  pockets  of  every  farmer 
owning  and  feeding  stock,  and  in  relation  to  it  I 
write,  as  much  or  more  to  induce  inquiry  and 
thought  on  the  matter,  as  from  any  informa- 
tion 1  can  give  from  my  own  experience,  for  I 
take  shame  to  myself  in  saying  that  1  have  not 
made  accurate  experiments  to  deciile  the  ques- 
tion for  myself.     The  (piestion  is  this: 

How  much  hay,  or  its  equivnlent  in  grain,  is 
necessary  to  keep  cattle  in  good  thrift? 

For  answer,  one  farmer  will  tell  me  that  he 
feeds  his  cattle  three  times  a  day ;  another, 
five;  another,  seven  ;  and  yet  another,  as  often 
as  he  goes  to  the  barn,  which  is  at  uncertain 
intervals,  perhaps  to-day  three  times,  and  to- 
morrow six. 

Now,  there  must  be  a  "golden  mean''  some- 
■wheres,  and  while  we  want  milch  cows  to  give 
a  liberal  mess  and  keep  in  good  condition,  and 
oxen  to  freely  do  their  part  of  the  winter's  work, 
and  the  young  stock  to  be  continually  gaining. 


we  cannot  afford  to  feed  more  than  is  necessary, 
while  hay  is  selling  at  $35  per  ton  at  the  barn, 
thirty  miles  from  Boston. 

I  believe  that  most  farmers  feed  too  much 
and  too  often.  I  have  noticed  that  the  lean 
man  is  the  great  eater.  Set  ten  starved-look- 
ing  men  at  one  table,  and  ten  sleek,  fat  ones 
at  another  table,  and  the  first  will  eat  one-third 
more  than  the  last ;  not  only  once,  but  every 
day  for  a  year.  Why  is  this  ?  I  can't  say  for 
certain,  but  my  theory  is  this  :  the  lean,  spare 
man  eats,  from  habit,  more  than  he  needs, 
more  than  his  digestive  powers  can  properly 
dispose  of,  and  this  so  injuriously  affects  the 
whole  system  as  to  keep  him  poor  in  flesh ; 
while  the  digestive  powers  of  the  fat  man,  who 
eats  sparingly,  are  kept  healthy,  and  the  iiu- 
triment  is  properly  absorbed  by  the  system. 
Reasoning  by  analogy,  if  this  is  true  in  man, 
would  it  not  be  so  in  beasts  ?  I  believe  it 
would.  That,  when  cattle  are  fed  too  often 
and  too  much,  some  of  the  food  is  wasted,  and 
the  digestive  powers  so  overworked  as  to  take 
from  the  thrift  of  the  stock.  Allow  me  to  cite 
an  instance  or  two  in  point. 

A  neighbor  of  mine,  last  winter,  asked  me 
what  made  his  horse  so  poor,  while,  said  he, 
I  am  sure  I  give  liim  enough  to  cat. 

How  do  you  feed  him?  said  I. 

Well,  I  always  fill  his  rack,  when  I  feed  my 
cattle. 

How  often  do  you  feed  your  cattle? 

About  five  or  six  times  day  ;  sometimes  sev- 
en or  eight,  ^vhen  1  happen  at  the  barn. 

Do  you  feed  all  dry  hay  ? 

Yes,  said  he,  I  believe  enough  good  hay 
ought  to  satisfy  any  horse. 

Well,  I  answered,  perhaps  it  had,  but  if  ybu 
will  ft  ed  your  horse  with  cut  feed,  twice  a  day, 
mixing  two  or  three  quarts  of  meal  with  it, 
when  you  wet  it,  and  not  give  him  more  than 
one-third  of  the  hay  in  all,  that  you  now  do, 
you  will  be  the  gainer,  by  saving  two-thirds  of 
your  hay.  for  the  four  or  six  quarts  of  meal, 
ami  your  lioise  will  be  a  greater  gainer  by  the 
change  than  yourself.  * 

But,  said  he,  I  don't  have  much  for  my  horse 
to  do  at  this  time  of  year,  and  I  haven't  much 
corn  to  spare. 

Corn,  said  I,  at  present  prices,  is  cheaper 
feed  than  hay.  Sell  a  ton  of  hay,  and  bring 
home  the  amount  in  meal.  Use  it,  and  you 
will  thank  me  in  the  spring  for  my  advice. 
I  see,  also,  that  you  feed  your  cattle  on 
meadow  hav.  This  will  keep  life  in  them,  but 
you  want  them  to  gain.  Sell  a  ton  or  two  of 
"that,  cut  your  hay  and  sprinkle  on  a  little  meal, 
and  your  cattle  will  thank  you.  At  present 
prices  of  stock,  you  cannot  afford  to  let  your 
cattle  stand  still.  Make  them  gain,  for  your 
own  sake,  as  well  as  theirs. 

My  advice  was  followed  in  regard  to  the 
horse,  evidently  to  his  advantage  ;  but  it  was 
too  much  work  to  do  it  for  his  cattle. 

Another  man,  in  an  adjoining  town,  who  has 
as   good,   if  not  a  better  team,  than  the  next 


210 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJIER. 


May 


one,  feeds  so  little  hay  as  to  be  hardly  credi- 
ble. Having  three  horses  and  four  oxen,  he 
told  me  the  other  day  how  little  he  had  fed  to 
them  in  three  weeks.  I  think  it  was  not  more 
than  fifty  pounds  each,  per  week,  when  they 
were  constantly  at  work,  hauling  ship  timber, 
though  both  horses  and  cattle  were  large.  At 
the  same  time  he  fed  liberally  with  meal,  and 
kept  his  cattle  gaining. 

I  was  very  much  interested,  Mr.  Editor,  in 
the  account  you  gave,  some  two  months  ago, 
of  your  mode  of  cutting  and  mixing  your  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  feed,  but  you  omitted  to  state 
how  often  you  fed,  or  how  much  your  cows 
consumed  per  week.  I  believe  if  experiments 
could  be  made  and  published,  of  how  much 
hay  it  required  to  keep  the  diUerent  kinds  of 
stock,  when  fed  uncut  and  dry,  and  how  much 
when  cut  and  fed  with  meal  sprinkled  on,  it 
•would  be  found  that  the  last  mode  was  far 
more  economical  than  the  first.  In  the  mean 
time,  till  farmers  have  line  upon  line,  many  of 
them  will  cling  to  the  old  mode,  saying  that 
the  olden  times  and  the  old  ways  were  better 
than  the  present.     Yours,  for  improvement, 

L.    II.    HiLDRETU. 

So.  Groton,  2Iass.,  Feb.  6,  1867. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
CULTimE   OP  THE   ISABELLA   GKAPE. 

Can  anything  new  be  said  about  grapes  ?  Sure- 
ly one  would  think  not,  if  he  read  all  or  even  half 
that  is  said  of  them,  by  those  who  are  interest- 
ed in  selling  vines.  For  when  *we  see  the 
wonderful  variety  advertised  and  highly  ex- 
tolled by  one  and  condemned  by  another,  the 
wcMider  i.->  that  any  one  knows  how  or  what  to 
buy.  But  in  order,  I  suppose,  to  make  a  sure 
thing  of  it,  very  many  purchase  all  the  differ- 
ent varieties  that  are  advertised.  Then  they 
think  themselves  in  a  fair  way  of  supplying 
the  nearest  market  with  the  luscious  fruit,  and 
in  time  intend  to  drown  their  customers  with 
wine  at  a  cost,  as  advertised  by  California  and 
Ohic^producers,  of  four  to  six  dollars  per  gal- 
lon !  When  I  am  informed,  imported  wines 
can  be  bought  for  one- third,  or  half  of  that, 
surely  the  day  is  far  distant  when  those  who 
drink  rum  or  whiskey  will  be  induced  to  quit  it 
for  the  more  genteel  wine,  if  such  fabulous 
prices  are  to  rule. 

Why  should  there  be  a  law  forbidding  over 
6  or  8  per  cent,  on  money-borrowing,  while 
wine  makers,  and  in  fact  many  other  kind  of 
makers,  demand  from  50  to  600  per  cent, 
profit,  including  butchers,  bakers,  grocers,  &c. 
Think  of  the  groans  which  escape  the  mouth  of 
the  sick,  who  are  poor  in  purse,  when  the  doc- 
tor says,  "if  you  only  have  a  little  wine,  whiskey 
or  brandy,  I  think  you  may  get  about  again," 
and  their  minds  embrace  the  impossibility,  all 
owing  to  their  purse  being  so  much  weaker 
than  the  strength  of  the  article  demanded, 
a  very  little  of  which  may  save  life  and  restore 
to  health,  if  it  were  not  owing  to  the  exorbitant 


price  asked  for  it,  and  made  so  by  the  accursed 
Yankee  desire  to  die  rich,  even  if  it  stopped 
the  breath  of  hundreds  of  our  fellow-beings  to 
obtain  it. 

Every  one  cannot  raise  grapes,  if  they  try; 
yet  a  great  many  more  can  raise  grapes  than 
what  do.  I  wish  it  to  be  understood  I  am  not 
referring  to  vineyard  modes.  I  simply  refer 
to  raising  two  or  three  good  varieties  by  those 
who  have  but  a  few  rods  of  ground,  on  which 
a  few  hundred  pounds  of  grapes  may  be  raised 
as  well  as  not  for  themselves  and  friends. 

Now  I  propose  simply  to  give  you  my  experi- 
ence of  IG  years  with  the  Isabella,  said  to  be 
the  most  difficult  grape  to  ripen,  excepting 
one,  in  this  latitude.  j\ly  statement  can  be 
substantiated  by  any  of  my  townsmen  who 
have  been  on  my  premises  in  September.  I 
think  if  my  practice  were  followed  by  others, 
we  should  not  hear  so  much  of  Jack  Frost's  de- 
stroying grapes,  neither  of  the  mildew,  rot  or 
blight,  and  "hopes  long  deferred,'' or  destroy- 
ed, just  as  we  thought  in  two  weeks  more  we 
should  have  the  pleasure,  for  once,  of  eating 
as  many  grapes  as  we  desired,  without  costing 
25  to  50  cents  a  pound  ! 

My  buildings  face  to  the  east,  on  which  are 
trained  two  Isabella  vines.  From  one  I  have 
taken,  by  weight,  500  pounds  ;  from  the  other 
300  pounds  of  merchantable  grapes.  On  the 
south  side  of  the  barn  I  have  two  Isabella 
vines,  which  average  100  pounds  each,  and 
usually  ripen  about  the  middle  of  September. 
In  my  garden,  trellised  to  the  fence,  and  up- 
wards 8  or  10  feet,  I  have  4  vines,  all  Isabella, 
which  yield  in  proportion  to  the  others ;  the 
whole  of  which  take  up  little  or  no  ground 
that  could  be  put  to  any  other  agricultural  use. 

These  vines  are  never  pruned  simply  to  please 
the  eye  of  the  passer  by.  In  November,  or 
first  of  December,  I  take  them  <lown,  and 
prune  thoroughly  even  to  half  of  the  wood  if  it 
is  required ;  then  they  are  coiled  up  and  laid 
on  the  ground  until  spring  is  well  opened,  then 
with  strips  of  leather  and  tacks  they  are  firmly 
nailed  to  the  house  and  roof,  clean  to  the  ridge- 
pole. Every  branch  is  separated  from  2  to  4 
feet,  if  possible,  and  that,  of  course,  is  easily 
done  if  it  is  properly  pruned  out.  I  never 
prune  a  leaf  or  check  a  shoot  in  sunmier  or  fall, 
as  my  experience  is,  the  bunches  are  the  largest, 
and  ripen  the  quickest  where  the  foliage  is  the 
most  dense,  provided  the  branches  or  runners 
are  separated  frpm  2  to  4  feet.  I  am  satisfied 
that  these  vines  would  often  f;iil  to  ripen  their 
fruit  by  the  frost  striking  them,  if  they  had 
been  out  in  my  fields.  But  when  placed 
against  a  house  or  barn,  the  frost  does  not 
have  a  chance  to  injure  them  so  early  l)y  3  or 
4  Aveeks.  A  wheelbarrow  load  of  old  barn 
manure  once  in  two  years,  with  a  half  bushel 
of  ashes,  about  as  often,  spreatl  around  them, 
and  a  weekly  washing  of  suds  in  hot  weather, 
will,  I  am  confident,  force  the  vines  to  new 
wood,  and  large  and  luscious  grapes,  well  and 
early  ripened,  will  be  the  reward  for  our  in- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARJiIER. 


211 


dustrv.  I  have  not  said  as  much  as  I  should 
have  liked  to  on  this  sul)jcc-t,  but  I  fear  I  have 
si)un  it  out  too  long  already  for  your  columns 
and  3oar  readers. 

If  it  would  be  acceptable  to  you,  I  should 
like  one  of  these  days  to  say  a  few  words  about 
grape  wine.      Sylvksteii  S.  Chamberlin. 

Chester,  N.  IL,  Feb.  12,  1867. 


RemahivS. — On  the  third  day  of  November 
last  we  gathered  and  ate  grapes  from  the  vines 
of  which  our  correspondent  speaks.  Much  of 
the  foliage  on  one  or  two  of  the  vines  was  then 
upon  them,  and  in  quite  a  green  condition. 
The  grapes  were  thoroughly  ripened,  large 
and  of  delicious  flavor.  Frost  had  not  touched 
the  fruit,  and  only  very  slightly  the  foliage,  if 
at  all.  Their  location  is  on  a  high  swell  of 
land,  where  frost,  we  believe,  never  injures 
late  planted  crops  of  corn.  We  have  had 
statements  much  like  these  of  IMr.  Chamberlin, 
from  another  correspondent,  in  regard  to  the 
culture  of  the  Isabella  grape,  and  hope  this 
will  influence  a  great  many  persons,  having  a 
suitable  locality,  to  engage  in  the  culture  of 
this  variety  of  the  grape.  One  principal  reason 
for  this  hope  is,  because  the  Isabella  is  one  of 
the  best  grapes  to  keep — perhaps  the  very  best 
-T-for  winter  use.  A  friend  from  Western  New 
York  informs  us  that  he  raises  them  abundant- 
ly, and  that  when  ripe  they  are  gathered,  and 
packed  in  clean  flour  barrels,  in  layers  of  cot- 
ton, and  that  they  are  used  by  the  family — 
children  and  all — with  as  much  freedom  as 
apples  are  used.  These  are  kept  in  closets 
where  the  temperature  is  cool  and  as  even  as 
possible,  and  usually  last  until  about  mid- 
winter. 


For  the  Xew  England  Farmer. 
"A  PLEA   rOR    THE    BIDDIES"   AN- 
S'Wi.BED. 

In  the  weekly  FAiniER  of  Feb.  16,  "Idex''' 
desires  to  know,  if  a  certain  profit  is  obtained 
from  ten  fowls,  why  ten  tiuies  that  profit  can- 
not be  realized  from  one  hiuidred,  and  twenty 
times  from  two  hundred  and  so  on  indefinitely. 

This  is  not  a  new  question,  and  it  often  puz- 
zles the  novice  and  those  who  farm  extensively 
upon  thi^  blackboard  or  paper;  but  the  expe- 
rienced readily  see  many  reasons  why,  practi- 
cal!}-,  in  the  poultry  yard,  the  rule  of  three  is 
of  little  account.  I'^pon  every  farm  and  about 
every  bouse  with  a  small  piece  of  land,  a  cer- 
tain numljer  of  fowls  may  l)e  kept  at  a  trifling 
expense:  for  in  warm  weatlier  they  pickup 
most  of'tlieir  living  from  what  would  otherwise 
be  wasted  or  lost.     In  roving  about  the  fields, 


pastures,  and  gardens,  and  in  scratching  every 
nook  and  corner  of  the  yards,  stables,  and 
buildings,  they  lead  the  life  their  instincts 
teach  them,  and  tlicy  can  be  kept  in  the  most 
healthy,  productive  and  profitable  condition. 
True,  Biddy,  in  followingout  her  ideas  of  right 
and  prosperity,  is  at  times  provokingly  mischiev- 
ous ;  yet  she  more  than  compensates  in  the 
good  she  does  in  making  havoc  on  insect  life, 
and  gathering  up  scatteied  food  that  would  be 
lost,  if  not  breed  vermin. 

In  this  free  and  inexpensive  way,  the  largest 
portions  of  poultry  and  eggs  are  produced,  and 
of  course  in  markets  supplied  chiefly  by  those 
who  raise  at  the  lowest  cost  possible,  must  he 
compete,  who  keeps  fowls  upon  so  large  a  scale 
that  all  their  food  must  be  bought  or  provided 
for  them.  Were  there  no  other  diihculties, 
who  could  produce  a  dozen  eggs  or  a  pair  of 
chickens  at  the  least  cost? 

But  suppose  any  farmer  who  now  keeps 
twenty  or  thirty  fowls,  should  increase  the 
number  by  ten  or  five  fold,  will  the  profits  fol- 
low in  like  ratio  ?  The  present  small  number 
is  kept  without  much  trouble  or  expense  upon 
the  gleanings  and  wastes  of  the  flirm,  and  is 
about  all  that  can  be  thus  supported  ;  there- 
fore any  considerable  addition  of  numbers  must 
draw  constantly  upon  the  granary  and  must  in- 
crease the  cost  of  keeping  per  head  and,  of 
course,  cause  a  like  decrease  of  profit. 

While  a  small  number  of  fowls  about  a  farm 
if  not  a  pleasure,  are  not  much  trouble,  a  large 
flock  roaming  at  will  could  not  be  tolerated  ; 
and  with  close  confinement  come  other  diffi- 
culties. Biddy's  life  now  partakes  of  the  ar- 
tificial ;  she  chafes  under  restraint,  and  mani- 
fests her  ill  feelings  by  being  fretty  and  (juar- 
relsome.  Through  her  extreme  modesty  and 
seeretiveness  she  dislikes  to  lay  in  the  presence 
of  others,  or  in  another's  nest,  and  when  com- 
pelled to  do  so,  she  is  inclined  to  be  a  little 
obstinate  or  indid'erent  about  lajing  at  all. 
From  the  busy,  bustling  body,  that  had  an  Q^g 
for  nearly  every  day  when  running  about  the 
yards  and  buildings,  under  only  partial  re- 
straint and  indulged  in  her  set  notions,  she  be- 
comes, afrer  lo?ig  and  close  confinement,  lazy, 
walks  idly  about,  willing  to  be  fed  by  her  mis- 
tress or  master,  but  without  a  tliought  of  re- 
paying their  kindness.  It  is  true,  some  of 
biddy's  whims  can  be  overcome  by  care  and 
ingenuity  in  the  construction  of  her  apartment ; 
l)ut  it  is  doubtful  if  the  bad  influence  of  having 
larcre  numliers  together  can  be  obviated. 

The  chief  objection,  however,  to  confining 
fowls  is  the  great  difficulty  of  maintaining 
their  health.  Did  the  same  mortality  prevail 
amonjr  sheep,  horses,  cows  or  hogs  that  always 
exi.-t  in  larire  collections  of  poultry,  keeping 
domestic  animals  would  be  discouraging  in- 
deed. Fowls  arc  not  fastidious  in  their  taste, 
nor  of  cleanlv  habits;  but  they  are  subject  to 
that  universal  law  of  nature,  olfensiveness  and 
deleterious  effects  of  their  own  excrements. 
After    awhile    the    soil    of   the    yards    and 


212 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


the  coops  themselves,  send  forth  an  effluvia 
which  exerts  its  baneful,  blighting  influence 
and  in  some  form  causes  diseases  and  deaths. 
These  distempers  and  epidemics  have  always 
been  the  gi-eat  drawback  to  every  attempt  to 
keep  fowls  upon  an  extensive  scale. 

I  would  not  say,  that  by  constant  sweeping, 
cleansing  and  white-washing  of  small  coops  ; 
by  removing  the  old  dirt  and  adding  fresh  to 
yards  or  changing  their  location,  together  with 
due  attention  to  ventilation  and  proper  food, 
tolerable  health  might  not  be  maintained  ;  but 
all  this,  with  a  large  number  of  fowls,  would 
require  an  amount  of  labor  and  care  hardly 
warranted  by  the  proflts.  One  might  almost 
as  well  attempt  to  make  the  atmosphere  of  a 
densely  populated  city  as  salubrious  and  invig- 
orating as  that  of  the  country. 

These,  then,  are  some  of  the  reasons  why 
farmers  who  have  increased  their  stock  of 
poultry  have  not  found  the  profits  to  increase 
in  the  same  ratio.  Where,  then,  are  the  antici- 
pated profits  of  those  who  would  make  a  large 
business  of  keeping  fowls  ? 

The  same  general  conclusion  may  perhaps 
be  deduced  from  all  attempts  to  keep  any  oth- 
er domestic  animal  upon  an  extensive  scale. 
Nor  can  we  fail  to  see  in  all  this  the  wisdom  of 
the  Creator ;  for  if  the  profit  of  breeding  in- 
creased invariably  with  the  increase  of  numbers, 
the  business  would  be  monopolized  by  wealthy 
individuals  or  rich  and  powerful  corporations, 
and  the  pleasure,  comfort  and  income  the  far- 
mer now  derives  from  his  small  flocks  and  herds 
would  be  swept  away,  and  he  would  find  him- 
self totally  unable  to  withstand  such  formida- 
ble competition.  N.  8.  T. 


OLD   SO"WS   FOR  BREEDJJfO. 

Some  very  successful  hog-raisers  use  only 
young  sows  to  breed  from,  thinking  this  course 
better  than  to  keep  them  through  the  winter. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Boston  Advertiser 
gives  the  following  reasons  for  thinking  the 
contrary  course  the  better  way : — 

"In  reai'ing  swine  and  making  pork  there  is 
a  universal  mistake  among  American  farmers 
in  breeding  Irom  young  sows,  before  their 
physical  system  is  developed.  Until  this  time 
arrives,  most  of  the  food  goes  to  the  support  of 
the  aniuiars  gi-owth,  therefore  she  cannot  be  as 
good  a  milker,  or  impart  the  same  vigor  of 
constitution  to  her  oH'sprlng.  We  know  by 
accurate  experiment  tiuit  an  old  sow's  pigs  are 
wortli  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  tlian  a  young 
sow's.  They  have  more  vigor  of  constitution, 
and  make  the  larg(fst  and  most  profitable  hogs. 
The  reason  why  our  breeds  of  hogs  so  soon 
run  out  and  disap})car,  arises  mainly  from  the 
erroneous  i)ractice  of  breeding  I'rom  young 
sows.  Therefore,  instead  of  killing  their  best 
sows  this  fall,  farmers  should  keep  them  over 
lor  breeders,  and  make  pork  of  their  young 
ones.     In  Europe,  no  farmer  of  any  reputation 


thinks  of  raising  pigs  from  young  mothers,  any 
more  than  of  keeping  a  dry  cow  for  milk  ;  but 
old  sows  are  kept  for  breeders  until  they  are 
too  old  to  be  profitable  in  this  respect." 


AQRICULTUBAL   ITEMS. 

—The  statement  is  made  that  200,000  Vermont 
sheep  were  killed  for  mutton  last  year. 

— There  are  now  in  the  State  of  New  York  more 
than  five  hundred  cheese  factories,  using  the  milk 
of  over  200,000  cows.  From  Herkimer  Co.,  alone, 
18,172,913  lbs.  of  cheese,  were  shipped  last  year. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Mirror  aiid  Farmer 
says,  cattle  are  very  little  over  half  wintered  on 
the  first  day  of  March,  take  the  seasons  as  they 
average. 

— The  Agricultural  College  of  Illinois,  has  been 
located  in  Champaign  County.  Other  counties 
which  bid  liberally  for  the  prize  feel  aggrieved  by 
the  decision. 

— A  State  Fair  of  fine  stock,  mechanical,  scien- 
tific and  agricultural  machinery  and  inventions,  is 
to  be  opened  on  the  first  Monday  of  May,  next,  at 
Baton  Rouge,  Louisiana. 

— Dr.  Fitch,  the  State  entomologist  of  New  York, 
repoi-ts  that  the  canker  worm  has  been  discovered 
in  large  numbers  at  Geneva  and  neighborhood. 
He  recommends  tarring  the  trees  ! 

—Mr.  v.  M.  Hubbard,  of  Rochester,  North  Hol- 
low, Vt.,  Avhose  stock,  particularly  his  Spanish 
sheep,  were  mentioned  recently  by  a  correspon- 
dent, informs  us  that  one  of  his  ewes  has  dropped 
a  lamb  which  weighed  13  1-4  ll)s. 

— A  corrcspondetit  of  the  Coimtry  Gentleman 
says  that  the  yield  of  potatoes  in  Salem  County, 
N.  J.,  has  decreased  in  that  section  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  from  200  or  300  bushels  per  acre,  to 
50  or  75. 

— Gardner  B.  Weeks,  of  Vernon,  N.  Y.,  Secre- 
tary of  the  American  Dairymen's  Association,  so- 
licits the  communication  of  the  names  of  all  the 
cheese  factories  in  the  United  States. 

— A  bill  has  passed  the  Lower  House  of  the  Le- 
gislature of  Illinois,  appointing  a  State  Entomolo- 
gist, with  a  salary  of  two  thousand  dollars  per  an- 
num, and  there  is  another  before  it  providing  for 
an  Ornithologist. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Western  Rural  ui  Law- 
rence, Mich.,  says,  "Most  of  the  farmers  here  have 
hop-yards,  or  are  intending  to  put  out  yards  in  the 
spring.  They  are  busy  getting  out  hop  poles,  which 
are  in  good  demand ;  worth  $4  to  $5  per  ton  de- 
livered." 

—Mr.  R.  Dart,  of  Ripon,  "Wisconsin,  says, 
through  the  Coimtry  Ge7xtle7nan,  that  a  dry  cellar 
is  the  only  place  he  considers  perfectly  safe  for 
wintering  bees  in  his  climate.  His  cellar  is  dry, 
and  32  liy  26  feet,  will  hold  110  swarms,  with  room 
for  passage  ways.  He  is  wintering 81  swarms,  and 
docs  not  think  the  loss  of  bees  would  be  over  a 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAllMER. 


218 


quart  from  the  whole  stocks  up  to  this  time.  His 
liecs  cousiiiiie  more  honey  from  20fh  of  March  to 
20th  of  ^Iciy  tlian  they  ilo  from  Novcnilier  1st  to 
20th  of  March,  in  his  cellar.  He  docs  not  carry 
his  bees  out  of  cellar,  before  middle  of  March. 
He  docs  not  feed  his  l)ees  while  in  the  cellar,  nor 
disturb  them  in  any  way.  Does  his  feeding  in  the 
fall. 

— A  firmer  on  the  prairies  of  Southern  Wisconsin 
informs  the  American  Fanner  that  rabbits  are  in- 
creasingly numerous  on  those  prairie  tarms,  and 
very  destructive ;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  wild 
geese  in  large  Mocks  are  great  depredators  in  the 
corn  liclds  iu  the  fall,  and  on  the  wheat  fields  in 
the  spring. 

— The  Tribune  say B  that  W.  S.  Carpenter,  of  New 
York,  has  transmitted  to  the  Paris  Exposition,  one 
hundred  and  lifccen  varieties  of  Indian  corn,  each 
of  whiih  has  a  name.  The  most  remai'kal^ie  ear 
in  this  collection  contains  1,290  grains,  arranged 
in  twenty-two  rows,  and  is  known  as  the  "Western 
Gourd  seed." 

— According  to  a  statement  in  the  Wisconsin 
Farmer  the  Colorado  potato  bug  is  moving  East- 
ward at  the  rate  of  25  or  30  miles  a  year.  The 
line  of  march,  somewhat  crescent  shaped,  had 
reached  Madison,  Wis.,  last  summer.  Dr,  Fitch 
estimates  the  Eastern  progi-ess  at  fifteen  miles  per 
year. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Countnj  Gentleman 
saj's  that  a  chilled  lamb  requires  a  greater  degree 
of  heat  than  is  usually  sujiposed.  He  places  them 
near  or  under  a  stove  that  heats  the  zinc  so  that 
you  cannot  hold  j-our  hand  on  it,  with  a  good  fire 
on,  so  that  the  heat  from  stove  is  uncomfortable  to 
your  hands  as  you  turn  and  handle  the  lamb. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Rural  New  Yorker, 
who  tried  the  horizontal  method  of  training  hops 
with  short  jjoles,  on  ten  acres  last  year,  is  now  sub- 
stituting long  iiolcs.  He  says  the  labor  of  training 
the  vines  is  very  great,  as  they  will  not  run  an  inch 
around  a  twine  horizontally,  and  when  grown  in 
that  way  the  vines  are  so  thick  and  shaded  as  to 
lessen  the  crop  and  increase  the  labor  of  picking. 

— The  Maine  Farmer  says  that  H.  G.  Abbott,  of 
North  Vai-salljoro',  has  for  several  years  been  mak- 
ing experiments  in  sheep-rearing,  in  the  eflbrt  to 
obtain  a  medium  breed  between  the  Spanish  and 
natives,  so  as  to  comljine  a  good  quality  of  wool 
with  good  mutton,  each  point  being  about  equal  in 
value.  He  has  succeeded  in  producing  a  flock  of 
very  line  appearance  and  quality. 

— Mrs.  Tuppcr,  of  Brighton,  Iowa,  says  that  she 
has  wintered  her  bees  successfully  for  six  winters 
in  a  dry  and  moderately  warm  cellar,  where  the 
thermometer  usually  is  about  20°  above  the  freez- 
ing point.  Here  they  are  pei-fectly  quiet,  not  a 
sound  comes  from  them ;  they  seem  to  remain  tor- 
pid. A  hive  weighing 60  pounds  iu  the  fall  of  1863, 
wintered  out  of  doors,  weighed  only  lo- pounds 
the  1st  of  April,  while  twenty  kept  in  the  cellar  the 


same  three  months  lost  on  an  average  only  five 
pf)unds  each.  Again,  six  hives  wintered  out  of 
doors  lost  an  average  of  29 'i  potmds  each  in  three 
months,  while  twenty  in  the  cellarthc  same  length 
of  time  lost  an  average  of  only  o  ?i  pounds. 

— The  California  Agricultural  Society  requires 
that  a  first-premium  work-horse  shall  be  between 
fifteen  and  sixteen  hands;  quick,  lively  ears; 
broad  between  the  eyes  ;  round  barrel ;  short  loins ; 
well  up  in  the  shoulder;  deep  chested;  square 
quarters ;  fiat  legs ;  short  between  the  knee  and 
pastern,  and  hock  and  pastern;  hind  legs  well 
under  him  ;  speed  equal  to  eight  miles  an  hour  on 
the  road,  and  at  least  three  miles  at  the  plough; 
with  sufficient  blood  to  insure  spirit  and  endurance. 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES, 

LICE    ON    PEAU    TREES. 

I  have  at  last  discovered  what  I  have  long  been 
lookingforin  the  Faemeu,  viz  :  a  remedy  to  destroy 
lice  on  young  pear  trees.  To  a  pail  full  of  warm 
water,  put  a  hantlful  of  whale-oil  soap,  stir  it  until 
it  is  dissolved,  and  when  cold,  take  a  lirush, — an 
old  shoe  brush  is  just  the  thing,  as  the  bristles 
must  be  stitt', — and  brush  the  trunk  and  branches 
and  you  will  i)e  rid  of  the  lice.  The  trees  will 
thrive  and  look  healthy.  Even  as  a  fertilizer,  the 
soap  and  water  will  pay.  The  best  time  to  use  it 
is  on  a  spring  morning  when  the  bark  is  covered 
with  nloi^ture.  F.  Weis. 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 

Remarks. — From  frequent  personal  notice  of 
Mr.  Weis'  fruit  trees  and  currant  bushes,  we  know 
that  he  has  good  success  in  their  culture,  and  our 
readers  will  appreciate  the  information  he  imparts 
regarding  the  bark-lice.  Mr.  W.  will  understand 
that  we  arc  always  glad  to  receive  practical  hints 
on  any  subject  pertaining  to  agriculture  or  horticul- 
ture, and  if  he  does  not  find  so  many  such  as  he 
would  like  in  the  Farmer,  it  is  simply  because  our 
practical  readers  neglect  to  impart  the  secret  of 
their  success. 


THE   CORN   CROP. 

The  large  amount  of  land  in  Massachusetts,  ly- 
ing almost  useless,  and  the  high  price  of  corn, 
tempt  me  to  write.  A  few  make  money  on  vege- 
tal ile  farms.  The  same  men  might  grow  corn  to  a 
profit,  had  they  the  trade  as  well  Icanied  as  they 
have  that  of  raising  garden  vegetaljles.  A  man  in 
the  prime  of  life,  with  one  hired  man  for  the  eight 
summer  months,  will  be  al)le  to  do  the  work  on  a 
farm,  large  enough  to  raise  from  six  to  eight  acres 
of  corn,  with  a  )no)icr  jiioportion  of  liarlcy,  oats, 
potatoes,  and  roots  siifiioicnt  for  the  neces.sities  of 
the  stock ;  allowing  a  proper  rotation  of  crops,  his 
hay  crop  may  be  abundant;  his  loam  and  muck 
deposits,  with  proper  and  careful  management, 
will  supply  the  needed  balance  of  manure. 

One  yoke  of  oxen,  and  one  horse,  will  do  all  tlie 
work  on  such  a  farm,  if  properly  used,  and  the 
tools  used  are  of  a  iiro)ier  make. 

One  advantage  of  this  system  of  operations  is, 
the  men  have  all  the  time  for  work,  through  the 
day,  and  the  night  for  rest;  whereas, on  the  mar- 
ket farm,  several  hands  are  necessary,  and  a  num- 
ber of  horses  required  to  transport  the  crop  to  a 
market.  Much  of  this  is  done  in  the  night  time, 
which  adds  to  the  wear  of  both  man  and  beast. 
Farmers  and  gardeners !  please  discuss  this  sub- 


214: 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR:MER. 


May 


ject  in  .ill  its  bearings,  and  let  us  come  to  a  just 
conclusion  upon  a  matter  that  has  a  direct  bearing 
upon  all  classes  of  citizens  in  a  New  England  com- 
munity. 

An  item  of  much  importance  in  growing  corn,  is 
to  have  seed  that  can  be  depended  on.  Some  years, 
(and  the  last  was  such  an  one)  corn  does  not  ripen 
■well  in  the  lield,  and  much  of  it  will  not  germin- 
ate. We  should,  therefore,  be  on  our  guard  and 
note  carefully  what  we  plant.  Exannne  the  corn 
before  and  after  it  is  shelled,  and  you  can  judge 
very  atx'urately  as  to  its  quality.  In  selecting 
corii  for  seed,  do  it  on  the  cob,  then  you  may  get 
that  which  is  i>erfect.  An  car  of  corn  witli  ten 
rows  half  the  length,  and  eight  the  other  half,  is 
not  perfect;  neither  is  it  quite  right  if  the  butt  end 
is  scattered,  and  none  should  be  planted  except 
the  tip  is  covered  with  kernels.  When  such  cars 
arc  found,  then  plant  the  whole  corn  found  on  the 
car. 

The  manner  of  planting  corn,  and  going  through 
the  whole  process  has  much  to  do  with  the  profit 
ofthccroi)s.  The  writer  might  particularize  his 
method,  but  it  would  Vie  but  one  among  many 
modes  pra.'ticcd.  Now  it  is  a  fact  that  many  fields 
of  corn  ilo  fail  to  pay,  on  account  of  mistakes  made 
in  the  lal)or  expended. 

Would  the  fanners  in  every  town  meet  together, 
la>/  asida  prejudice,  and  discuss  matters  relating  to 
their  business,  much  might  be  learned  that  would 
be  benelicial.  Robeut  Mansfield. 

Wcllcslei/,  Mass.,  Jan.,  1867. 


MELONS   AND    SQUASHES — COMPOST. 

Messrs.  Enixons: — In  answer  to  the  request  of 
"F.  W.  C."  of  North  Oxford,  Mass.,  through  the 
N.  E.  Faumer  of  Feb.  23,  I  will,  with  pleasure, 
reply,  briefly,  as  follows: — 

As  to  seed,  I  have  planted  the  long,  dark  green 
melon  with  lilack  seeds,  from  the  south.  They 
have  grown  larger  than  any  other  kind  I  ever 
raised;  weighing  between  twenty-five  and  tliirty 
pounds.  They  have  been  called  "very  nice,"  Ijy 
my  friends,  and  I  could  not  dispute  their  judgment. 
I  prefer  seeds  two  or  three  years  old,  for  early  ma- 
turity of  melons ;  although  seeds  but  one  year  old 
will  come  up  quicker. 

The  very  best  that  I  have  i-aised,  and  weighing 
from  ten  to  fifteen  pounds,  were  a  long,  light  green, 
with  red  seeds  ;  brought  from  the  south  two  years 
l)efore.  These  had  less  waste,  and  were  more  de- 
licious than  any  other  kind  raised  in  my  ground. 

I  never  save  the  seeds  of  any  unless  they  arc 
first  rale  of  their  kind. 

Water  melons  want  a  rich,  light  soil,  porous  and 
hot— uf)  matter  i.ow  hot — to  be  very  good.  A 
strong,  heavy  soil  may  produce  large  ones,  but  not 
oficu  very  good  ones. 

AtVer  the  ground  is  right  in  other  respects,  I  dig 
holes  f  )r  hills  nearly  the  size  of  a  bushel  basket, 
and  i)ut  in  the  bottom  from  a  peck  to  half  a  bushel 
of  comjiost,  hiving  not  more  than  six  hills  to  the 
square  rod,  and  leave  not  more  than  4  or  o  vines 
to  marure  in  a  hill. 

For  Mu-row  or  Hubbard  squashes  I  woidd  like 
a  stronger,  but  alwavs  a  warm  soil,  and,  like  that 
for  mcl  )ns,  the  whole  surfai^e  supjilied  with  food 
for  the  joint  roots;  then  holes  for  hills  the  same  in 
size,  b;ic  nt)t  more  than  four  to  the  square  rod,  and 
not  more  th  in  three  vines  to  mature  in  a  hill.  The 
seeds  I  would  wish  to  l)e  more  than  one  year  old. 
I  always  select  seeds  from  the  very  best ;  not  from 
any  merely  because  they  arc  large;  having  a  great- 
er preference  for  the  good  than  for  the  great.  Yet 
I  do  not  despise  greatness,  except  when  it  is  mean. 

Every  kind  of  garden  product,  I  think,  is  better 
when  it  makes  a  quick  growth. 

I  fix  my  compost  in  the  Autumn,  when  possible, 
for  such  things,  and  find  water  melons  for  August 


and  September  and  Marrow  squashes  for  winter, 
cheap  and  excellent  food  for  cows,  as  well  for  the 
laughing  ilnd  singing  accompaniments  of  fanners 
and  gardeners. 

For  a  compost,  take  night  soil,  with  from  a 
quarter  to  half  the  quantity  of  plaster,  from  four 
to  eight  times  as  much  of  charcoal  dust,  or  dry 
and  pulverized  muck,  or  a  mixture  of  them,  and  if 
they  cannot  l)e  had  put  the  amount  of  rich  loam  to 
which  some  caustic  iimc  or  hard  wood  ashes  has 
l)een  added  to  destroy  acids.  Work  it  well  to- 
gether after  it  has  lain  mixed  in  layers  through  the 
winter. 

If  the  compost  is  not  mixed  xmtil  near  the  time 
of  application,  I  like  to  put  some  strong  ashes  or 
caustic  lime,  or  both,  on  the  compost  in  every  hill, 
before  filling  up  the  hole.  I  wish  to  have  the  com- 
post at  least  four  inches  below  the  seed,  and  that 
to  be  filled  with  rich,  active,  surface  soil. 

If  these  ideas  may  serve  squashes,  and  those 
who  love  them,  and  make  melons  more  desiralile 
and  more  abundant,  I  shall  be  satisfied,  and  wish 
all  prosperity  to  the  printer  as  well  as  the  garden- 
er. A.  G.  c. 

Lee,  iV.  II.,  March,  1867. 


EFFECTS   OF   imEEDING   IN-AND-IN. 

I  have  a  high  grade  SufTolk  sow,  which  recently 
l)rought  forth  a  litter  of  thirteen  pigs.  Only  nine 
survived  the  trials  of  pigliood.  Of  these,  two 
were  found  to  Ijc  of  doubtful  gender, — hermaphro- 
dites. Some  of  my  neighltors  advised  me  to  kill 
them,  thinking  they  would  be  valueless.  Curiosi- 
ty led  me  to"  spare  them.  Thus  far  they  have 
done  as  well  as  others  of  the  same  litter.  What 
the  flesh  will  be,  I  shall  not  know  till  they  arc 
butchered. 

But  the  cause  of  this  freak  of  nature  is  what  in- 
terests me;  and  thinking  that  it  may  interest 
other  stock  breeders,  is  the  reason  of  my  writing. 

I  have  no  doul)t  that  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
animal  lilc,  was  the  iirocnring  cause. 

If  I  mistake  not,  we  had  it  from  quarters  which 
we  are  all  accustomed  to  respect,  that  there  is  no 
harm  in  lirecding  in-and-in. 

To  me,  it  seems  so  obviously  opposed  to  reason 
and  Scripture,  that  I  wonder  any  believer  in  both, 
or  even  one,  should  doubt. 

The  present  condition  and  past  history  of  royal- 
ty, in  all  monarchical  countries,  settles  this  ques- 
tion b.yond  all  doubt. 

To  what  else  is  attributable  the  notorious  fact, 
that  the  palace  is  more  often  filled  with  dwarfs  and 
idiots  than  the  peasant's  cottage  ?  that  the  off- 
spring of  blood  relatives  arc  iirovcrbially  sickly 
dunces  ?  that  fiirmers  who  disregard  this  law,  arc 
never  successfid  in  stock  raising  ? 

I  have  learned  since  this  development  named 
above,  what  I  knew  not  before,  that  the  mother  and 
the  pigs  are  indebted,  for  their  origin,  to  the  same 
paternal  head. 

This  is  the  fourth  litter  I  reared  by  the  same 
mother.  All  of  the  first  three  families  were  strong, 
healthy  and  proper  grunters ;  so  much  S(),  as  to 
couuuand  any  extra  price.  From  this  I  infer,  that 
the  laws  of  generation,  like  every  oilier  law  of  na- 
ture, must  be  observed  or  the  penalty  will  bo 
exacted.  n.  u.  u. 


MY   EXPERIENCE   WITH    HEES. 

Two  years  ago  this  spring,  I  purchased  a  swarm 
of  bees.  The  first  year  they  swarmed  twice  dur- 
ing the  month  of  June,  and  niade  about  two  pounds 
of  honey  for  my  use.  The  hives  were  wintered  in 
the  chamticr  of  an  unoccupied  house,  and  came  out 
strong  and  healthy  in  the  spring;  but  the  season 
was  very  unfavorable  lor  bees,  in  this  section,  and 
I  had  only  one  swarm,  (the  only  one  I  have  heard 
of  in  our' vicinity.)    On  weighing  the  hives  in  the 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


215 


fall  I  felt  sure  that  it  would  ))c  licst  to  try  to  win- 
ter only  two  swarms,  and  so  two  were  taken  up. 
The  rot't  were,  put  in  a  dark  closet  ahovc  the  kitch- 
en. Al)0',it  llie  20lh  of  January  I  examined  them 
and  foaud  tlieni  all  dead.  In  one  hive  the  honey 
was  all  consumed,  and  in  the  other  there  were 
al)Oiit  four  pounds.  The  hives  had  been  turned 
bottom  u;)w.irds  to  allow  the  moisture  to  pass  off, 
as  reeouimended  in  Langstroth's  work  on  the  hon- 
ey bee,  and  perhaps  the  occasional  jarring  in  the 
room  below  caused  the  bees  to  go  up,  and  then 
they  didn't  think  of  going  down  for  the  honey.  I 
hope  no  one  will  lie  discouraged  by  my  experience, 
for  I  think  two  of  the  hives,  at  least,  might  have 
been  saved  by  liberal  feeding  in  the  fall,  and  as  it 
was,  I  lost  n;>.hing  but  mytimc,  for  I  got  honey 
and  wax  enough  to  cover  tirst  cost.  I  think  by  my 
own  observation  and  what  I  can  Icai-n  from  others 
in  this  section,  that  the  past  season  has  been  the 
most  disastrous  to  bees  of  .any  on  record,  for  a 
longtime.  I  mean  to  try  bee-keeping  again,  and 
expect  better  success.  Seliiahc. 

Worcester  Co.,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 

Remauks. — Wc  admire  the  pluck  of  our  corres- 
pondent. Instead  of  being  disheartened  by  his 
partial  failure,  he  has  the  courage  to  make  it  the 
suliject  of  his  "lirst  attempt  at  writing  for  a  news- 
paper."' As  a  general  thing,  agricultural  writers 
are  too  much  indisposed  to  report  unsuccessful  ex- 
periments. 

FLOUR    OF    BONE. 

If  any  one  who  used  the  Flour  of  Bone,  the  past 
season,  has  derived  any  bcnelitfrom  its  use,  I  wish 
they  would  just  say  so  in  the  Farmer.  I  think 
this  would  increase  its  sale  more  tluiu  any  other 
kind  of  advertising.  I  have  tried  it  on  corn  with 
little  benclit.  It  did  not  pay.  I  put  about  a  gill  of 
this  djur  of  bone,  manufactured  by  the  Boston 
Milling  and  Manufacturing  Co.npany,  on  a  hill, 
previous  to  (irst  hoeing.  Either  I  did  not  apply  it 
riglit,  or  the  soil  or  climate,  in  this  latitude,  is  not 
agreeable  t )  it ;  or  the  season  was  unpropidous ;  or 
some  unknown  cause  counteracted  its  good  ctl'ects ; 
or  it  was  worthless.  What  I  received  was  not  so 
fine  as  I  expected  from  the  name.  Much  of  it  was 
in  pieces  as  lavire  as  beans.  I  have  purchased 
ground  bone  before  much  liner;  albeit  the  name 
M'as  not  so  (inc.  I  once  u.-ed  Coc's  Superphosphate, 
and  ir.  nearly  doubled  my  crop  of  corn.  But  it  is 
said  tint  tills  sometimes  ])roves  worthless. 

Derri/,  N.  II.,  Jan.  4,  1837.  E.  B. 

TRANSPLANTING   TREES. 

Is  February  a  good  month  to  transplant  ever- 
greens, elms,  maples,  &c.,  on  a  sandy  soil,  l)y  tak- 
ing up  wiih  tliem  a  large  ball  of  frozen  earth  ? 

Cadleton,  VL,  1857.  D.  W.  P.  Finel. 

Remarks. — Yes,  Sir,  and  every  one  of  them  Mill 
be  likely  to  live,  if  the  work  is  well  done.  Secure 
the  large  ball,  and  when  it  is  placed  in  the  hole 
where  it  is  to  remain,  pack  under  it  and  all  around 
it  with  rich  soil,  leaving  no  air-holes  and  spaces 
for  it  to  rock  about.  An  elm  now  stands  before 
us,  two  feet  in  diameter  and  about  40  feet  high, 
which  wc  set  in  a  winter  day  when  the  mercury 
stood  at  nine  degrees  beloto  zero!  Do  the  work 
well,  and  you  have  no  trouble. 


A  new   HAMPSHIRE  FLOCK   OF  SHEEP. 

In  the  winter  of  1833,  I  kept  a  young  buck  with 
10  ewe  sheep.  He  was  put  with  the  lioek  October 
1,  and  continued  with  them.    In  January,  I  was  of- 


fered for  the  ten  ewes  ^"0,  but  I  did  not  sell,  and 
in  the  mouth  of  Mai\-h  they  dropjied  lifreen  healthy 
lambs,  one  of  whi.h,  l)y  an  accident  in  the  barn, 
was  injured  and  died.  I  fed  my  slice])  with  mead- 
ow hay  till  the  lirstof  Fel)niary,thcn  on  clover  till 
pasturing  lime.  My  sheep  had  no  grain  or  vegeta- 
bles of  any  kind.  The  lambs  Icomincneed  feeding 
as  soon  as  they  would  eat  meal,  giving  them  two 
quarts  per  day,  upon  an  average,  till  turned  out  to 
pasture.  On  the  '20.h  day  of  June  I  sold  10  out  of 
the  14  lambs  for  $30,  anil  the  last  of  July  I  sold  3 
more  for  $12,  whi.h  left  me  one  ewe  laml).  The 
sheep  were  all  natives  but  one,  and  that  a  Canada 
ewe.  The  exact  weight  of  wool  I  cannot  give,  but 
it  was  about  40  pounds,  worth  50  cents  : — 

10  lambs $60.00 

3    ilo       12.U0 

40  lbs  wool,  at  50c 20  00 

1  lamb  left 3.00 

$05.00 

My  buck  died  in  the  pasture  in  July,  and  in  Sep- 
tember I  purchased  another  young  one  which  is 
now  with  tlie  same  10  ewe  sheep.  My  little  Hock 
have  eat  nothing  but  meadow  hay  as  yet. 

A  SubscUiber. 
Kingston,  N.  II.,  Feb.  16,  18C7. 


HOW  TO  feed   calves  AND   HEIFERS. 

I  wish  to  inquire  the  best  way  to  feed  calves,  say 
from  tive  to  twenty  months  old.  I  am  feeding  such 
with  the  best  of  hay,  but  I  want  to  know  if  a  little 
meal  and  shorts  will  do  any  harm  ?  Some  farmers 
say  tl.ey  will,  and  some  tliat  they  will  be  an  im- 
provement. I  am  feeding  half  a  pint  of  meal  and 
three  lialf-pints  of  shorts  per  day,  to  a  heifer  teu 
months  old.  A.  B.  Card. 

Centrcdale,  R.  I.,  1867. 

Remarks. — You  arc  feeding  judiciously,  in  our 
opinion,  and  your  heifers  will  pay  you  liberally  for 
such  care.  The  truth  is,  that  many  of  our  calves 
and  colts  get  a  "stunt"  while  young,  which  they 
do  not  recover  from  for  years,  if  they  ever  do.  A 
perfect  animal  can  never  be  obtained  unless  its 
wants  are  liberally  supplied,  in  regard  to  food, 
shelter,  and  comfortable  accommodations.  Some 
animals  are  fed  well,  but  are  so  cramped  for  room 
that,  like  a  vigorous  tree  in  a  stone  wall,  they  can 
scarcely  grow  without  pusliing  the  barn  over. 
Others  arc  fed  well,  liut  arc  so  exposed  to  cold  and 
storms  that  they  grow  very  slowly,  or  yield  little 
milk. 

A  too  liberal  use  of  grain  for  young  animals  is 
undoubtedly  injurious.  No  farmer  of  good  judg- 
ment need  err  in  this  particular. 


SPECIAL    MANURES. 

There  is  so  great  uncertainty  regarding  the  fertil- 
izing value  of  most  of  tbe  sjiecial  manures,  now- 
a-days  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  the  farmer, 
that  it  would  seem  wise — thougli  I  don't  know  as 
it  could  bo  done — to  have  a  Board,  either  apijointed 
by  the  Legislature  of  the  several  States,  or  other- 
wise, to  examine  most  thoroughly,  and  report  after 
a  proper  test,  upon  their  actual  value  to  the  farmer. 

We  all  well  know  what  fortunes  are  made  by  the 
manufacturers  of  tlicse  articles  of  commerce ;  how 
extensively  tliey  arc  advertised,  and  how  almost 
every  means  is  exhausted  to  induce  us  to  give 
them  only  a  single  trial.  But  in  many  instances 
this  "single  trial"  makes  quite  an  inroad  into  the 
farmer's  pocket,  who  usually  has  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  he  posidvely  cams  his  money. 


21G 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


May 


My  attention  was  called  to  this  subject  by  perus- 
ing one  or  tv\'o  article!*,  in  a  late  number  of  tUe 
FaumeI!,  in  which  quite  unsatisfactory  results  arc 
recorded.  Now,  is  there  no  remedy  for  all  this? 
and  must  we  continue  to  be  thus  imposed  on  ? 
Salisbury,  Ct.,  Feb.  10,  1867.  W.  J.  r. 

Rkmakks. — We  very  much  doubt  whether  any 
Board  would  afford  us  much  protection.  Manu- 
facturers in  England  arc  accused  of  furnishing  a 
different  article  for  the  inspection  of  Assayists  and 
Boards  from  that  which  is  offered  in  the  market. 
"Where  there  is  a  will  there's  a  way"  in  cheating 
about  manures,  as  well  as  in  otlier  things. 


POLY  POD    BRAKES. 

I  have  a  meadow  which  bears  a  good  burden, 
but  a  great  iiortiou  of  it  is  a  kind  of  brake,  known 
here  as  Polyi>od  Brakes,  which  cattle  will  ncjt  eat. 
I  wish  to  inquire,  through  the  Faismek,  how  I  can 
kill  them,  and  get  the  meadow  into  good  meadow 
grass  ?  I  have  flowed  the  meailow  lor  several  win- 
ters, and  find  I  bat  it  improves  it  some,  but  docs 
not  kill'the  brakes.  A  Young  Faumeu. 

RivMAUKs. — Thorough  drainage  would  undoubt- 
edly cause  the  brakes  to  disappear.  Plowing,  man- 
uring and  cultivating,  would  render  the  drainage 
more  effectual. 


I.EACHED    ASHES. 

AVe  are  often  asked  what  is  the  value  of  leached 
ashes,  compared  with  that  which  is  uuleacheii. 
Leached  ar-hcs  is  sujujoscil  to  retain,  after  the  or- 
dinary process  of  leaching,  aliout  33  ])cr  cent,  of 
the  jtotash  wliicli  it  contained  l)cfbre  it  was  leaihed. 
But  its  whole  value  does  not:  consist  in  this.  There 
is  more  or  less  lime  and  silex  in  it,  cither  nucom- 
l)ined,  or  in  the  form  of  silicate  of  lime,  l)oth  of 
which  arc  valuable  fertilizers,  especially  for  the 
grasses.  Then,  a  careful  examination  discovers  a 
considcralilc  percentage  of  charcoal,  in  the  form 
of  small  particles  not  completely  reduced  to  ashes. 
This  IS  valiia!)le. 

Potash  has  a  strong  affinity  for  nitric  acid;  a 
small  I'crccutagc  of  this  exists  in  the  atmosphere. 
It  is  sap;(OM.'d  to  be  formed  l)y  the  action  of  elec- 
triciry  iii>on  the  atoms  of  nitrogen  in  the  atmos- 
phere, causing  them  to  unite  with  the  oxygen,  the 
Other  constituent  of  atmospheric  air,  or  with  the 
oxygen  of  water  which  is  ever  present  in  the  form 
of  watery  vai)or  in  the  air,  and  form  nitric  acid. 
This  is  i)roiiglit  down  by  rain,  and  esi>eciaily  \>y 
snow,  and  unites  with  the  pora>li  contained  in  the 
ashes,  fonniug  nitrate  of  potash,  or  saltpetre.  A 
portion  of  this  is  always  fouiul  in  leached  ashes 
that  has  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air,  and 
adds  niurh  to  its  value. 

A  similar  atiinity  exists  between  lime  and  nitric 
acid,  llcncc  the  plastering  on  old  walls  becomes 
imijrcgu.iU'd  with  nirrate  of  limc^  so  that  when 
ground  it  is  a  valualile  fertilizer.  It  is  said  that  in 
China  a  man  will  ])ut  a  new  idasteriug  on  an  old 
wall,  and  consider  himself  jiaid  by  having  the  old 
for  niiunrc.  We  think  that  the  charcoal,  lime  and 
!iitratc  iif  |iotash  added  to  the  133  ))cr  cent,  of  re- 
tained |iofa>h,  render  leached  ashes  wortli  about 
half  as  much  as  mdeached,  and  that  it  will  always 
liay  to  purchase  it,  at  about  half  the  price  of  uu- 
Icached  allies.  it. 

Concord,  Mass.,  March,  1867. 

WUEAT-GUOWINO    IN   VERMONT. 

In  reply  to  inquiries  by  Caleb  E.  Parmcntcr,  of 
Attleboro',  Mass.,  I  would  say  that  wheat-growing 
in  Vermont  is  gelling  to  be  good  Ijusiness.    Farm- 


ers are  waking  up  to  the  importance  of  raising 
their  own  breadstuff's.  When  they  call  to  mind 
the  ])rice  of  flour  they  begin  to  exert  themselves 
to  raise  wheat.  Whether  winter  or  spring  wheat 
is  sown,  depends  on  the  soil  and  location.  Winter 
wheat  does  best  on  dry  soil,  so  located  that  the 
snow  will  not  drift  so  as  to  lay  on  it  late  in  the 
spring,  causing  it  to  winter  or  spring-kill.  The 
land  should  be  in  a  condition  to  produce  corn.  The 
best  kind  of  winter  wheat  is  the  White  Flint,  as  it 
makes  the  best  flour  ami  yields  well.  The  best 
kind  of  spring  wheat  raised'  in  this  vicinity  is  the 
Canada  Club,  which  grows  in  all  locutions — in  the 
valleys  and  on  the  hills.  A  few  years  ago  farmers 
thought  the}'  could  not  raise  wheat  on  the  Connec- 
ticut Hi  vcr;  and  in  fact  they  could  not,  until  they 
ol>taincd  the  Club  wheat.  This  variety  can  be  ol»- 
tained  almost  any  where  in  Vermont.  I:  will  be 
useless  forme  to  give  directions  in  regard  to  raising 
winter  wheat,  although  I  will  say  it  should  be 
sowed  in  August,  so  that  it  can  get  a  good  growth 
before  winter  sets  in.  Wili.ia.m  Allen. 

North  Hartland,  I't.,  March  11,  1867. 


A    BARN    CELLAR. 

I  am  planning  to  put  a  cellar  under  my  bam.  I 
want  a  recc|)taclc  for  the  manure  under  the  stable, 
and  the  same  size,  12  by  30  feet,  that  .<hall  be  tight, 
so  as  to  hold  the  liquid  as  well  as  solid  droppings. 
Can  it  be  done,  and  in  what  wav  ?  D.  L.  T. 

Marlboro',  N.  H.,  Feb.  27,  1867. 

Remarks. — Yes,  sir,  in  several  ways.  You  can 
cement  it,  as  is  frequently  done  for  both  barn  and 
house  cellars. 

You  can  pave  it  with  flat  or  small  stones,  laying 
them  in  clay,  instead  of  sand. 

Or,  you  can  pave  it  with  clay  alone,  so  that  it  will 
not  leak  or  be  cut  up  readily  by  cart  wheels,  when 
backing  iVi. 

First,  make  the  bottom  smooth.  Spread  the  clay 
on  one  side,  one  inch  deep;  then  pound  it  down 
with  a  stake  sufficiently  long  and  large  to  work 
easily  with.  The  bottom  of  the  stake  should  not 
be  more  than  two  inches  square.  When  this  is 
rammed  so  as  to  appear  almost  like  stone,  add 
another  inch,  and  so  go  on  until  you  get  the  bot- 
tom covered  with  clay  to  the  depth  of  three  or  four 
inches.  If  the  clay  is  too  dry  to  set  and  stick  when 
struck,  sprinkle  spari/ie/li/  with  a  fine  waterix)t.  If 
you  do  it  well,  in  this  way,  you  will  have  a  cellar 
bottom  as  tight  as  a  bottle,  and  one  easy  to  shovel 
on.  It  would  not  answer,  however,  to  keep  a  lot 
of  hungry  hogs  on.  We  made  one  nearly  twenty 
years  ago,  which  is  in  good  order  now. 

WHEAT  CULTURE. 

I  would  say  in  reply  to  the  inquiries  of  Mr.  Par- 
mcntcr, in  the  Fai!Mer  of  Marcii  9th,  who  wishes 
t(j  learn  more  in  regard  to  wheat  raising  in  Ver- 
mont, that  in  this  immediate  vicinity  we  raise 
s|iriug  wheat,  almost  exclusively  ;  and  the  variety 
that  has  been  nu)st  popular  for  a  few  years,  is  a 
kind  of  "black  sea  wheat,"  recently  imjKtrtcd  by 
an  officer  in  the  Crimean  war.  It  is  bearded,  and 
has  a  very  heavy  growth  of  straw.  The  millers 
say  the  skin  of  the  berry  is  very  tough,  so  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  grind  any  of  it  into  tJie  Hour, 
and  hence  the  (lour  is  very  pure  and  of  a  superior 
(piality.  We  think  it  has  proved  more  "sure"  of 
producing  a  good  crop  than  any  otiier  variety. 
It  is  hard  to  thresh,  and  seldom  gets  threshed  so 
clean  that  the  stock  fail  to  find  kernels  enough, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


217 


while  eating  the  straw,  to  keep  their  courage  up; 
yet  what  is  threshed  mea.sures  up  satisfactorily, 
averaging  from  20  to  40  bushels  per  acre. 

The  berry  is  not  quite  so  plump  and  fat  as  some 
other  varieties,  and  some  thiuk  the  straw  is  not  so 
stiff  as  it  ought  to  be ;  but  I  rather  think  it  would 
be  as  stiff  as  other  kinds,  if  it  did  not  grow  any 
longer,  or  produce  more  tons  per  acre.  It  is  now 
selling  here  for  $3  per  bushel,  for  flouring,  and 
pure,  selected  largest  kernels  only,  and  cleansed, 
could  i)rol)ably  be  obtained  for  $3.50  per  bushel, 
for  seed,  by  the  barrel. 

Our  mode  of  culture  is  almost  precisely  as  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Hutchins,  in  the  same  paper.  I  sow 
it  the  second  year  from  the  sward. 

RuFus  Nutting. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  March  9,  1867. 


CATTLE    CHEWING    BONES,  &C. 

I  should  like  to  know  if  you  or  any  of  your  sub- 
scribers can  tell  what  will  cure  cattle  of  chew- 
ing bones  and  bits  of  boards  ?  I  have  tried  salt, 
ashes,  lime,  plaster,  flour  of  bone,  and  pieces  of  old 
mortar,  l)ut  they  do  not  stop  the  habit.  If  you  can 
infomi  me,  you  will  oblige  a  subscriber. 

HoUistoii,  Mass.,  Jan.  24,  1867.  R.  P. 

Remarks. — This  bone  question  is  somewhat  of 
a  vexed  one.  It  will  be  easier,  we  think,  to  say 
what  will  cure  it,  than  to  say  what  causes  it. 

Some  impute  it  to  a  want  of  salt;  that  cannot  be, 
for  cattle  chew  bones  that  have  constant  access  to 
salt,  are  fed  on  salt  hay  partly,  and  even  live  di- 
rect!}' on  the  sea  shore.  We  have  seen  a  case  re- 
corded, where  alx)ut  40  head  of  cattle  were  nearly 
rabid  all  winter  with  this  morbid  appetite  for  old 
bones,  pine  boards,  &c.,  although  the  farm  was 
washed  by  salt  water,  and  the  cattle  were  fed  half 
the  time  with  salt  hay. 

The  cause  of  this  appetite  seems  to  us  to  lie  in 
the  great  change  from  an  abund.ant,  succulent  and 
nutritious  food,  open  air  and  exercise,  to  dry  food 
and  conflnement. 

The  remedy  must  be,  first,  in  cultivating  the  land 
with  a  proper  rotation  of  crops,  so  that  the  grasses 
and  grains  will  prove  sufficient  to  produce,  in  grow- 
ing aniuu^ls,  all  the  parts  belonging  to  them,  such 
as  hair,  horns,  hoofs,  wool  and  bones. 

Second,  give  animals  an  opiiortunity,  at  all  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  if  possible,  to  come  to  the  bare 
ground,  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time.  We  well 
remcml)er  how  eager  the  oxen  were  to  lick  the  fur- 
rows when  we  first  began  to  plow  in  the  spring, 
and  how  voraciously  a  horse  would  sometimes  eat 
half  a  pint  of  the  soil,  and  if  let  loose,  roll  and  rub 
himself  in  it,  with  more  delight  than  a  group  of 
boys  would  roll  themselves  in  a  lavender  bed!  If 
the  ground  is  covered  with  snow,  manage  to  pre- 
serve some  earth  from  freezing,  and  place  it  about 
the  yard,  a  quart  in  a  place,  several  times  during 
the  winter. 

Third,  where  evergreens  are  abundant  and  han- 
dy, it  will  be  economical  to  lay  them  before  the 
neat  stock  and  colts,  as  well  as  the  sheep. 

Cribbing  horses,  and  those  that  merely  gnaw 
their  mangers,  maybe  cured  by  allowing  them  the 
freedom  of  a  little  yard  in  the  open  air,  access  to 
the  ground,  and  a  variety  in  their  feed. 

All  our  stock  need  a  variety  of  food  in  the  winter. 


A  mess  of  roots  daily,  and  a  little  grain,  added  to 
hay  and  corn  fodder,  would  be  quite  likely  to  stop 
bone-chewing. 

At  the  same  time,  if  an  animal  will  eat  lx)ne 
meal,  give  it  to  him,  as  much  as  he  will  take;  if 
the  meal  is  not  at  hand,  break  the  bones  with  a 
sledge  or  hammer,  as  fine  as  you  can.  Give  salt 
frequently,  be  regular  in  the  time  of  feeding,  keep 
the  barn  clean  and  sweet,  and  there  will  not  be  a 
general  habit  of  chewing  bones,  though  occasional- 
ly a  single  case  may  occur  with  cows  in  calf,  or 
those  who  have  just  dropped  them. 


HOW    TO   DKY   BEEF. 

I  wish  to  inquire  through  the  New  England 
Farmer,  the  best  way  of  preparing  and  drying 
beef?  A  Subscuiber. 

East  Abington,  Mass.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  best  dried  beef  we  ever  ate  was 
at  the  table  of  E.  D.  Rust,  Esq.,  now  of  Brandon, 
Vt.,  and  was  prepared  as  follows :  For  100  pounds 
of  beef  make  a  brine  of  nine  pounds  of  salt,  two 
pounds  of  brown  sugar,  one  quart  of  molasses,  two 
ounces  of  saltpetre,  two  ounces  of  saleratus.  Mix 
them  well  together  in  water,  then  boil  and  skim. 
When  this  is  cool,  pour  it  over  the  meat,  being 
careful  to  have  every  particle  of  it  covered  with 
the  brine.  Let  the  beef  remain  in  the  brino  until 
the  seasoning  has  struck  through  it,  then  take  it 
out,  wipe  it  dry  and  h.ang  it  up.  Some  persons 
hang  it  overhead  in  the  kitchen,  for  a  week  or  two, 
and  then  in  some  place  more  out  of  the  way. 
When  sufficiently  dried  it  may  be  inclosed  in  bags 
so  tight  that  no  insect  can  enter,  and  kept  in  a 
cool,  dry  place.  If  desired,  it  can  be  smoked  for 
a  day  or  two,  or  longer,  as  hams  are  smoked. 


STEAMING   FOOD    FOR  CATTLE. 

Wilt  you  give  me  your  opinion  about  steaming 
food  for  cattle  ?  I  have  more  coarse  fodder  than 
good  hay,  and  should  like  to  know  the  best  way 
to  feed  it.  Wm.  Rowland. 

North  Dartmouth,  2d  mo.,  20th,  1867. 

Remarks. — Steaming  food  for  cattle  is  profita- 
ble, no  douljt,  if  a  large  stock  is  kept  where  fuel  is 
moderate  in  price,  and  where  one  can  have  a  sys- 
tematic and  somewhat  skilful  person  to  attend  the 
operation  of  steaming. 

The  next  Itest  course  is  described  in  the  weekly 
Farmer  of  Nov.  10, 1866,  a  copy  of  which  we  send 
you. 

WEATHER — SUGAR-MAKING — SCARCITY    OF   CATTLE 
PRICE   OF   HAY — SNOW    DUII'TS. 

Another  winter  has  gone,  and  another  spring 
comes  Marching  on.  Now  and  then  a  solitary  blue 
bird  is  heard  sounding  its  notes  on  tlie  adjacent 
hills,  but  the  prospect  is  that  we  are  not  yet  done 
with  Jack  Frost.  For  a  week  past  the  weather  has 
been  warm  and  spring-like,  but  now  it  has  changed, 
and  winter  seems  to  be  struggling  once  more  for 
the  mastery. 

The  farmers  up  here  on  the  hills  are  making  ac- 
tive preparations  for  the  sugaring  season,  and  they 
expect  a  generous  flow  of  saccharine  fluid. 

There  is  a  great  scarcity  of  cattle,  most  of  them 
having  been  sold  the  fore  part  of  winter ;  many  far- 


218 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


May 


mers  bcins  unable  to  keep  them  on  account  of  hav- 
ing a  sniail  crop  of  hay.  Hay  brings  thirty  dollars 
a  ton,  and  still  has  an  upward  tendency. 

The  snow  has  not  entirely  taken  its  departure ;  in 
some  places  there  are  yet  drifts  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  feet  deep.  Chiel. 

Hhelburne,  Vt.,  March  4,  1867. 


BEES   LOST  IN   SPRING. 

In  reply  to  a  correspondent  Avho  inquires  for 
some  means  to  prevent  the  loss  of  bees  in  the 
spring,  which  sometimes  almost  blacken  the  snow 
in  front  of  the  hives,  we  copy  the  following  direc- 
tions from  Mr.  Quinby's  Work  on  Bees : 

"To  prevent  their  leaving  the  hive  at  such  times, 
a  wide  board  should  be  set  up  before  it,  at  least  as 
higli  as  the  entrance  in  the  side,  to  protect  it  from 
the  sun.  But  if  it  grows  so  warm  that  the  bees 
leave  the  hi >e  when  thus  shaded, it  is  fair  evidence 
that  it  will  do  to  let  them  sally  out  freely,  except 
in  case  of  a  new  snow,  when  they  should  be  con- 
fined to  the  hive. 

The  hive  may  be  let  down  on  the  floor-board,  the 
passage  in  the  side  covered  with  wire  cloth,  and 
made  dark ;  raising  at  night  again,  a  little  for 
ventilation. 

It  has  been  recommended  to  enclose  the  whole 
hive  by  a  large  l^ox  set  over  it,  and  made  perfectly 
dark ;  with  means  for  ventilation,  &c.  For  large 
families  this  would  ao  well  enough,  as  would  also 
some  other  methods.  But  I  would  rather  take  the 
chances  of  letting  them  all  stand  in  the  sun,  and 
issue  at  pleasure,  than  to  ha^'C  the  warmth  of  the 
sun  entirely  excluded  from  the  medium  sized  fam- 
ilies." 


INCOME   FROM   A   HEIFER. 

I  have  a  four-year-old  heifer  that  calved  the  first 
of  last  May,  and  comes  in  again  the  first  of  April 
next.  In  ten  months  she  has  given  sixteen  barrels 
(2048  quarts)  of  uulk.  The  calf  was  sold  for 
eleven  dollars.  Now,  suppose  I  had  sold  her  milk 
for  six  cents  per  quart,  it  would  amount  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two  dollars  and  eighty-eight 
cents,  making,  with  the  calf,  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three  dollars  and  eighty-eight 
cents,  for  the  use  of  one  cow  for  ten  months.  I  do 
not  nuikc  the  above  statement  Ijccause  I  think  my 
heifer  is  better  than  many  owned  by  my  neigh- 
bors, but  because  I  think  we  are  not  aware  what  a 
noble  lot  of  milk,  butter  and  cheese  we  get  from 
one  good  cow  in  a  season,  besides  all  the  sour 
milk  for  the  hogs.  j.  l.  r. 

Epplng,  N.  H.,  March,  1867. 


GOOD   ADVICE. 

I  was  much  interested  in  an  article,  page  22  of 
the  January  nuinlier  of  the  Monthly  Faumek,  en- 
titled, "Shall  I  sell  my  little  Farnrr"  A  reply  to 
it  contained  much  that  liad  both  wit  and  wisdom 
in  it. 

The  choice  of  occnpation  for  the  young  has  al- 
ways hill  a  kindly  consideration  in  your  journal, 
and  it  was  never  so  much  nccilcd  as  now.  I  trust 
you  \x'ill  yet  urge  that  we  do  not  ail  join  in  the 
rush  fir  South  or  West.  Indeed,  those  of  us  who 
are  not  under  the  influence  of  some  numia,  are  for- 
tunate. I  would  use  all  my  influence  with  our 
present  "wcll-ofi's,"  to  adhere  to  the  farm. 

J.  II.   c. 


A   GIRL  S    niDDIES. 

A  kind  noighlmr  lends  me  the  New  England 
Fahmi'.u  to  read,  in  which  I  take  a  great  interest, 
especially  in  the  I,:ulios'l)('i)artnient.  Some  of  the 
receipts  I  have  tried,  and  like  them  very  much. 


As  I  have  been  much  interested  in  what  one  and 
another  have  said  about  their  hens,  others  may  be 
interested  in  a  brief  notice  of  my  five  biddies  dur- 
ing the  past  season,  one  of  which  brought  up  a 
brood  of  chickens.  They  were  kept  shut  up  most 
of  the  time.  I  gave  them  all  the  crumbs  and  sci'aps 
of  meat  from  the  table,,  and  kept  bones  and  shells 
pounded,  by  them.  They  commenced  to  lay  in 
February,  and  laid  sixty  dozen  eggs.  Two  pullets 
have  been  added  to  the  nnml)cr  this  year,  and  they 
commenced  to  lay  in  January,  and  laid  8  dozen 
eggs  up  to  March  12.  p.  a.  p. 

East  Brookjield,  Mass.,  March  12,  1867. 

KEROSENE   OIL. 

We  bought  a  pair  of  oxen  a  short  time  since,  on 
which  we  found  lice.  Were  advised  to  apply  ker- 
osene oil,  which  killed  all  the  vermin  as  far  as  it 
went,  for  it  has  taken  the  hair  all  otf  and  enough 
of  the  skin,  we  should  think,  to  take  the  roots,  too, 
leaving  the  flesh  sore.  s. 

Guilford,  Ct.,  March,  1867. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer, 

BOMMER    MANURE. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — Will  you  give  us  Bommer's 
method  of  pi'eparing  manures  as  it  is  now  open  to 
the  public,  and  also  tell  us  which  is  the  best  book 
that  treats  on  the  cultivation  of  small  fruits. 

A  New  Farmer. 


Remarks. — About  thirty  years  ago  a  gen- 
tleman in  France  by  the  name  of  JaufTret  in- 
vented and  patented  a  process  for  composting, 
or  making  manure  of  old  straw,  hay,  weeds, 
or  any  coarse  vegetable  matter,  by  inducing  a 
rapid  decomposition,  &c.  The  following  sy- 
nopsis of  the  French  patent  was  prepared  and 
published  by  us  several  years  ago. 

Jauffrefs  plan  was  to  form  a  tank  or  reser- 
voir for  water,  saturated  with  decomposing 
animal  or  vegetable  substances,  which  may  be 
Ibund  on  almost  every  farm.  This  may  be 
composed  in  part  of  drainlngs  from  the  barn- 
yard, soap-suds,  sink  water,  urine,  &c. 

A  ley  is  then  prepared  in  a  vessel,  or  small 
tank  or  pit.  In  prcparin'g  this  ley,  it  is  better 
to  take  the  dralnings  from  a  (bnncr  heap,  or 
for  the  first  time  take  li(juor  from  the  reservoir, 
or  soap-suds,  sink  water,  and  other  litjuids 
rich  with  vegetable  or  animal  matter. 

To  decompose  one  thousand  poimds  of  dry, 
vegetable  substances,  or  twice  that  weight  of 
green  materials,  add  to  the  licjuor  in  the  vessel, 
or  small   tank, 

200  pounds  of  night  soil,  or  twice   that  quantity  of 
hoiire,  cattle,  shc-cp  or  swiuu  mauure, 

f)0  "             "  wood  Koot, 

00  "            "  uiilcached  asbcs, 

200  "            "  plaster, 

30  "            "  quick  lime, 

1  "            "  coniinoti  salt, 

1  "             "  Baltpclre. 

Tliese  ingredients  may  be  varied ;  and  it 
woiihl  be  an  improvenu'nt  to  increase  the 
(|iiantity  of  (juick  lime  and  asln^s,  ami  reduce 
that  of  piaster.  If  these  materials  cannot  be 
conveniently  obtained,  others  may  be  substi- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


219 


tuted.  For  the  soot,  use  a  larger  quantity  of 
the  burnt  earth  of  coal-pits.  For  plaster,  use 
a  larger  quantity  of  street  manure,  slime  from 
ditches,  or  other  similar  manure.  For  ashes, 
use  five  or  six  pounds  of  potash  or  soda.  Stir 
the  liquor,  on  adding  the  plaster,  and  throw  in 
a  little  at  a  time,  lest  it  cake. 

The  materials  for  manure  are  thrown  into 
the  reservoir  and  soaked  in  the  liquor,  to  pre- 
pare them  for  decomposition.  Then  they  are 
thrown  into  a  heap,  by  the  side  of  the  reser- 
voir ;  a  place  for  which  should  be  prepared  by 
laying  at  the  bottom  clay,  or  compact  earth,  so 
that  the  drainings  from  the  heap,  and  the  ley 
poured  on  the  pile,  may  run  off  into  the  vat, 
and  not  be  absorbed  by  the  earth,  as  it  would 
be  on  a  porous  soil. 

The  heap  may  be  made  six  or  seven  feet 
high,  six,  eight,  or  ten  feet  wide,  in  order  to 
hold  the  heat,  and  of  any  convenient  length. 
In  forming  the  heap,  after  making  layers  of 
about  a  foot,  turn  on  some  of  the  ley,  that  it 
may  be  applied  to  every  part  of  the  materials. 
When  the  heap  is  completed,  turn  the  muddy 
sediment  of  the  ley  on  to  the  heap.  Then 
cover  the  top  of  the  heap  with  straw,  old 
planks,  or  branches  of  herbage.  In  forming 
the  heap,  it  should  be  trodden  down  to  make 
it  close,  and  it  should  be  beaten  all  round  for 
the  same  purpose. 

The  fermentation  usually  commences  in  two 
days,  and  on  the  third  day,  the  top  of  the  heap 
is  to  be  opened  about  six  inches  deep,  the  sedi- 
ment turned  over,  and  another  good  drenching 
of  the  ley  applied,  and  the  heap  covered  up. 
About  the  seventh  day,  make  many  holes  in 
the  heap,  about  three  feet  deep,  and  give 
another  good  drenching  with  the  ley.  About 
the  ninth  day,  another  good  drenching,  in  new 
and  deeper  holes. 

After  fourteen  or  fifteen  days  from  the  mak- 
ing of  the  heap,  the  manure  will  be  fit  to 
spread.  The  fermentation  is  checked  by  an 
excessive  drenching,  or  by  opening  the  heap. 
The  drainings  should  be  caught  and  used  over 
again,  and  what  remains  is  used  for  future 
heaps.  Warm  weather  is  most  suitable  for 
making  this  manure. 

In  1843,  a  man  in  this  country  by  the  name 
of  Bommer  applied  to  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  then 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  for  a  patent  for  mak- 
ing manure  which  was  for  want  of  novelty  re- 
jected, as  it  was  virtually  the  same  as  Jauffret's 
plan.  Subsequently  an  application  for  a  pa- 
tent for  an  improvement  on  the  French  process 
was  obtained  by  Mr.  Bommer,  whose  name  has 
thus  become  associated  with  this  subject.  With 
how  much  justice  will  be  seen  by  the  following 
specification  of  his  claim. 

"What  we  claim  as  our  improvement  on 
Jauffret\s  method  of  forming  manure  by  tlie 
rapid  fermentation  of  vegetable  fibres,  is,  first, 
the  Ibrming  of  the  said  vegetable  matter  into 


piles  or  heaps,  without  its  first  being  immersed 
m  the  prepared  ley,  and  the  subsequently  sat- 
urating the  same  by  pouring  on  the  ley  in  the 
manner  set  forth." 

In  relation  to  the  second  request  of  our  cor- 
respondent, we  may  say  that  all  the  books  pub- 
lished on  this  subject  contain  much  valuable 
matter,  but  for  a  cheap  work  we  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  recommending  Cole's  Fruit  Book. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS    ANIMALS,    INCLUDINa    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.  III. 

BY     I.     B.     HART  WELL. 

A  common  objection  to  what  has  been  writ- 
ten in  reference  to  noxious  insects  is,  that 
while  we  get  therefrom  perhaps  a  long  Latin 
or  Greek  name,  and  an  elaborate  scientific  de- 
scription and  history  of  some  species,  we  ob- 
tain few  infallible  preventives  of  their  injuries. 

It  is  indeed  true  that  neither  the  scientific 
nor  practical  entomologist  can  often  give  us  the 
infallible  remedies  we  want ;  but  that  which 
they  do  give  us  is  not  only  highly  interesting 
to  every  lover  of  nature,  but  affords  us  the 
only  means  of  seeking  intelligently  for  pre- 
ventives of  insect  injuries. 

And,  perhaps,  still  stronger  objections  will 
be  urged  against  any  attempt  to  prove  the 
utility  of  that  which  is  noxious,  or  the  neces- 
sity of  that  which  is  unnecessary.  Neverthe- 
less there  are  some  questions  about  the  mission 
of  animals,  including  insects,  commonly  called 
noxious,  that  are  not  yet  fully  exhausted  or 
satisfactorily  answered. 

Every  form  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  in 
its  different  stages  of  growth,  maturity,  and 
decomposition,  becomes  the  aliment  of  other 
forms;  or  in  other  borrowed  words,  "to  eat 
and  be  eaten,"  is  a  great  law  of  nature. 

It  would,  perhaps,  be  presumptuous  to  at- 
tempt to  assign  the  motive  lor  the  construction 
of  nature  on  this  plan  ;  yet  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  of  any  other  that  would  give  the  max- 
imum amount  of  animal  life  and  enjoyment. 
But  "to  eat  and  be  eaten,"  or  to  have  the 
same  specific  vegetable,  as  has  been  said  of 
wheat,  assigned  in  its  different  stages  of 
growth  to  sixty  different  animals,  must  ne- 
cessarily cause  some  flashings  of  interest; 
some  antagonism,  strife  and  war.  And  the 
wonder  is,  not  that  on  such  a  plan  tliere  should 
be  war,  but  that  neither  of  the  combatants,  as 
a  species,  should  be  able  wholly  to  subdue  and 
annihilate  the  other. 

But  this  war  is  not  animated  by  malice,  re- 
venge, or  retaliation,  but  is  simply  a  struggle 
for  existence  ;  and  contradictory  as  the  asser- 
tion may  seem,  the  harmony,  peace,  and  pros- 
perity of  the  kingdoms  of  nature  are  sustained 
by  strife,  war,  and  devastation.  One  portion 
of  the  animal  kingdom  is  supported  by  vegeta- 
tion exclusively  ;  another  by  animal  food  ex- 


220 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAR:MER. 


May 


clusively  ;  wbile  the  aliment  of  a  third  portion 
is  partly  animal  and  partly  vegetable.  And 
these  several  portions  embrace  all  magnitudes 
from  the  animalculai  to  the  larger  vertebrates. 

The  too  important  and  engrossing  pursuits 
of  the  animal  world  are  the  procuring  of  food, 
and  the  providing  for  a  succeeding  generation. 
And  it  is  chiefly  in  prosecution  of  these  ob- 
jects, that  they  make  war  upon  each  other  and 
upon  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

Many  predatory  animals,  while  hunting  and 
watching  for  prey,  are  themselves  hunted  and 
watched,  and  are  distracted  between  advancing 
and  attacking  on  the  one  hand,  and  defending 
themselves,  or  fleeing,  on  the  other.  And  the 
powers  and  abilities  of  the  preyer  and  prey 
are  so  adjusted  and  balanced,  that  the  one  shall 
not  always  succeed  in  the  capturing,  nor  the 
other  in  escaping,  lest  the  first,  as  a  species, 
should  perish  with  hunger,  or  the  last  by 
slaughter. 

And  if  the  price  of  life  and  liberty  with  man 
is  eternal  labor  and  vigilance,  so  is  it  with  ani- 
mals. If  the  stores  of  man  are  often  plun- 
dered and  defiled,  so  are  those  of  animals. 
If  many  animals  are  noxious  to  man,  so  is  man 
to  many  animals ;  and  so  are  animals  to  each 
other.  Nevertheless,  innumerable  species  of 
animals,  under  all  the  danger  and  disadvan- 
tages that  surround  them,  continue  to  live  from 
generation  to  generation, — and  so  does  man. 
And  when  we  examine  the  vegetable  world  we 
find  that  each  species  is  liable  to  attacks  from 
animals  in  its  infancy,  growth,  and  maturity ; 
at  its  root,  stem,  branches,  leaves,  flowers  and 
fruit;  and  although  it  has  not  locomotion,  and 
cannot  avoid  its  Iocs  by  flight,  yet  it  has  such 
means  of  defence  and  protection,  and  such 
powers  of  repairing  the  breaches  made  by  its 
assailants,  and  is  withal  so  prolific,  that  it  still 
lives  and  flourishes  in  all  its  beauty  and  gran- 
deur. 

And  now,  in  answer  to  the  question  of  the 
necessity  of  animals  noxious  to  man,  we  can 
say  this  much,  that  they  are  necessary  incidents 
to  the  plan  and  structure  of  natui-e  as  we  find 
it. 

I  propose  in  the  following  articles  to  notice 
some  of  the  little  noxious  animals  called  in- 
sects, and  their  relation  to  vegetation  and  to 
other  animals,  as  illustrations  of  the  general 
views  herein  before  presented,  ho|)ing  that  if 
we  find  it  a  part  of  the  original  plan  that  we 
shall  not  have  the  ability  to  exterminate  any 
species,  we  may  discover  the  means  of  keeping 
them  in  such  a  normal  condilion  as  to  numbers, 
that  we  can  jjatiently,  and  consistently  with 
our  own  well  being,  endure  their  normal  dep- 
redations. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BONE    DUST. 

As  experiments  are  the  chief  source  of 
knowledge,  1  often  wonder  that  those  who 
are  willing  to  make  them  receive  so  little  en- 


couragement, and  so  much  discouragement 
and  ridicule  from  their  acquaintance ;  also 
that  they  are  so  reluctant  to  publish  results, 
especially  if  they  are  not  successful. 

The  very  few  who  have  lately  related  their 
experiments  with  commercial  fertilizers  de- 
serve the  thanks  of  the  public;  while  the  mul- 
titudes who  have  not,  ought  to  see  the  printer's 
devil  after  them,  every  time  they  sleep  long 
enough  to  dream,  till  they  do  it. 

The  agent  of  the  Boston  Milling  and  Manu- 
facturing Company  assumes  that  I  do  not 
question  the  value  of  hone  as  a  fertilizer  !  I 
do  not,  but  I  do  question  the  value  of  the  "bone 
dust,"  or  "flour  of  bone,"  that  was  tried  in 
this  vicinity  last  year,  in  the  condition,  and  in 
the  various  Avays  in  which  it  was  tried.  I  may, 
and  I  can  but  hojie  it  will  do  good  hereafter; 
but  we  bought  it  for  a  manurial  stimulant, 
something  that  would  produce  an  immediate 
and  perceptible  effect ;  that  would  operate 
quicker  than  unfermented  or  raw  manure,  and 
more  powerfully  than  ordinary  animal  excre- 
ment. We  were  sadly  disappointed.  Its 
operation  was  so  slow  that  now,  after  ten 
months,  its  effects  are  not  discernable,  and  as 
to  power,  future  time  must  disclose. 

Like  some  of  your  other  correspondents,  we 
are  all  here  very  much  "interested  to  have  it 
prove  very  valuable,"  as  most  of  us  have  old, 
worn  out  pastures  that  are  either  stony  or  too 
hilly  to  cultivate,  and  we  are  anxiously  looking 
for  a  portable  and  efficient  fertilizer  to  apply 
to  them. 

I  do  not  question  that  the  Boston  Company 
furnish  the  pure  article,  and  just  as  they  pro- 
fess ;  but  it  is  a  query  whether  the  small  amount 
of  salt  they  put  in  with  it  for  its  preservation, 
is  just  the  thing  that  ought  to  be  put  in.  Does 
it  not,  to  some  extent,  neutralize  or  render 
inoperative,  the  bone?  or  "fix"  the  manurial 
properties,  somewhat  as  mordants  do  rolors  ? 
Or  rather,  does  not  the  bone  need  some- 
thing to  be  added  to  hasten  decomposition,  or 
to  so  affect  it  that,  as  soon  as  applied  to  the 
soil,  it  will  at  once  decompose  and  become 
plant  food  ? 

With  my  best  wishes  for  all  who  are  increas- 
ing the  manure  heap,  for  all  who  make  and  re- 
port experiments,  and  all  who  encourage  them 
in  so  doing,  I  am,  j^i'o  bono  jntbliro, 

IluFUs  Nutting. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  March  15,  1SG7. 


For  ike  Kew  England  Farmer. 
CHANGE   OF   SEED. 

The  question  "What  advantage  do  we  de- 
rive from  change  of  seed  ?"  does  not  seem  to  be 
very  well  understood  by  most  cultivators.  I 
believe  it  is  by  no  means  of  universal  benefit 
to  jMocui'c  seed  from  other  places,  either  near 
or  distant. 

With  plants  like  the  oat,  which  evidently  do 
better  in  colder  climates,  we  doubtless  gain 
something  by  sending  to  Caiiada  or  even  to 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


221 


the  northern  portion  of  New  England  for  our 
seed.  With  such  phints  as  Indian  corn,  which 
require  a  climate  comparatively  warm,  we 
sometimes  secure  the  earlier  ripening  of  the 
crop  by  going  to  colder  climates  for  seed ;  but 
unless  it  has  been  carefully  selected  and  brought 
to  a  point  as  near  perfection  as  the  climate  will 
admit,  we  are  very  likely  to  reduce  the  amount 
of  the  crop  by  such  change.  With  the  potato, 
however,  I  think  the  case  is  somewhat  dilfer- 
ent,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  not  usually  propa- 
gated from  seed,  but  from  the  tubers,  corres- 
ponding very  nearly  to  roots,  and  consequent- 
ly merely  increasing  the  individual  plant  with 
the  same  character  and  peculiarities  as  the  ori- 
ginal. 

To  my  mind  the  whole  advantage  of  change 
of  seed  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: — 1. 
Seeds  of  some  plants  obtained  from  localities 
better  adapted  to  their  growth,  sometimes  do 
better  for  a  few  years,  'i.  Seeds  from  a  colder 
climate  frequently  retain  their  earlier  ripening 
for  a  few  seasons.  3.  Seeds  obtained  from 
careful  cultivators  who  guard  against  mixture 
and  save  the  best  seeds  for  planting  ai-e  inva- 
riably better  than  those  grown  by  the  careless. 
4.   Llost  seeds  may  be  placed  in  the  third  class. 

There  is  one  other  point  in  planting  potatoes, 
which  does  not  appear  to  be  well  understood  ; 
that  is,  cutting  for  seed  ;  which,  according  to 
my  experience,  depends  much  upon  varieties 
and  circumstances.  For  instance,  a  variety 
like  the  long  red,  or  black  Carter,  with  abun- 
dant eyes,  will  bear  cutting  much  better  than 
one  with  very  few  eyes.  But  here  comes  in 
another  consideration, — the  vigor  of  growth  in 
the  early  part  of  the  season.  This  is,  to  a 
great  extent,  dependent  upon  the  amount  ol 
support  the  sprout  can  obtain  from  the  tuber, 
and  if  the  pieces  are  small  the  soil  must  be 
rich  and  the  growth  will  be  later  in  the  season. 
But  when  these  conditions  are  favorabla,  1 
have  obtained  much  better  crops  from  cut 
than  from  whole  potatoes  of  such  varieties. 
Wm.  F.  Bassett. 

Eammonton,  N.  J.,  March  5,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FLOUE.   OF    BOJNTE, 

Mr.  Editor  : — In  answer  to  the  inquiry  of 
your  correspondent,  E.  B.,  Derry,  N.  H.,  Jan. 
4,  18G7,  I  would  say  I  have  used  the  Flour, 
of  Bone  made  by  the  Boston  Milling  and  Man- 
ufacturing Co.,  the  past  season,  on  my  farm  at 
Bedford,  Alass.  On  a  held  of  two  acres  of 
corn,  I  put  a  half  a  shovelful  of  barn  yard 
manure  in  each  hill  and  a  gill  of  the  Flour  of 
Bone  with  the  seed.  It  came  up  early,  grew 
rapidly,  and  ripened  early,  and  the  crop  was 
more  than  a  third  larger  and  better  than  that 
grown  on  two  fields  of  the  same  size  nearly  ad- 
joining that  were  manured  with  a  large  shovel- 
ful of  manure  in  the  hill. 

On  a  field  of  potatoes  containing  about  three 
acres   and  a  half,  I  put  a  large  shovelful  of 


barn  yard  manure  in  the  hill,  and  on  about 
one-tenth  of  the  field,  I  used  a  small  (juantity 
ol  the  Flour  of  Bone  with  the  seed  at  planting. 
The  part  where  the  bone  was  used  came  up 
earlier,  progressed  more  rapidly,  and  was  ripe 
a  fortnight  earlier,  with  a  much  larger  yield 
than  the  other  part  of  the  field. 

John  Clifton. 
Med/ord,  March  16th,  1867. 


The  Robin. — In  reply  to  some  doubts  of 
the ,  generally  supposed  utility  of  the  Robin 
which  have  been  recently  expressed  by  certain 
learned  writers,  Mr.  E.  Chase  of  Blackstone, 
Mass.,  writes  as  follows  to  the  Farm  and  Fire- 
side : — 

"The  robins  have  been,  for  years,  my  alarm 
clock  in  the  morning ;  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
to  hear  their  matin  songs,  on  the  elms  beside 
the  house,  as  I  walk  with  pail  in  hand  to  the 
barn.  At  this  time  of  day  their  notes  are 
sweet  to  me  ;  yes,  sweeter  than  the  tones  of 
any  musical  instrument  I  ever  heard  played  by 
human  hands.  If  I  had  a  thousand  cherry 
trees,  I  should  be  Avilling  the  robins  should 
have  half  of  them,  as  they  are  a, poor,  un- 
healthy fruit,  and  fit  for  nothing  but  birds  to 
eat  ?  I  have  often  been  hoeing  in  the  corn- 
field, Avhen  one  or  more  robins  would  follow 
me  all  day  and  pick  up  worms  from  almost 
every  hill  of  corn.  Who  could  kill  a  bird  that 
does  this.'"' 


How  TO  Subdue  a  Vicious  Horse. — A 
correspondent  of  the  N.  Y.  Commercial  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  method  adopted 
by  an  officer  of  the  United  States  service,  lately 
returned  from  Mexico,  to  subdue  a  horse  who 
would  not  allow  his  feet  to  be  handled  for  the 
purpose  of  shoeing  : — 

lie  took  a  cord  about  the  size  of  a  common 
bed  cord,  put  it  in  the  mouth  of  the  horse,  like 
a  bit,  and  tied  it  tightly  on  the  top  of  the  ani- 
mal's head,  passing  his  left  ear  under  the  string, 
not  painfully  tight,  but  tight  enough  to  keep 
the  ear  down,  and  the  cord  in  its  place.  This 
done,  he  patted  the  horse  gently  on  the  side 
of  the  head,  and  commanded  him  to  follow, 
and  instantly  the  horse  obeyed,  perfectly  sub- 
dued and  as  gentle  as  a  well-trained  dog ;  suf- 
fering his  feet  to  be  lifted  with  entire  impunity, 
and  acting  in  all  respects  like  an  old  stager. 
The  simple,  string  thus  tied  made  him  at  once 
as  docile  and  obedient  as  anv  one  could  desire. 


How  TO  Boil  Meat. — In  Brcioer's  Guide  to 
Things  Familiar,  we  find  the  following  in  re- 
gard to  boiling  meat : — 

"Why  is  meat  always  tough,  if  it  be  put  in 
the  boiler  before  the  water  boils  ? 

"Because  the  water  is  not  hot  enough  to  co- 


222 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARIVIER. 


May 


ajTulate  tlie  albumen  between  the  muscular  fibres 
of  the  meat,  which  therefore  runs  into  the 
water,  and  rises  to  the  surface  as  a  scum. 

"The  best  way  to  boil  meat  to  make  it  ten- 
der is  this  : — Put  your  joint  in  very  brisk  boil- 
in<i^  water;  after  a  few  minutes,  add  a  little 
cold  water.  The  boiling  water  will  fix  the  al- 
bumen, which  will  prevent  the  water  from  soak- 
ing into  the  meat.  Keep  all  the  juices  in,  and 
prevent  all  the  muscular  fibre  from  contracting. 
The  addition  of  cold  Avater  will  secure  the 
cooking  of  the  inside  of  the  joint,  as  well  as  of 
the  surface. 

"ir//?/  is  MEAT  TOUGH  that  has  been  boiled 
too  long ? 

"Because  the  albumen  becomes  hard,  like  the 
white  of  a  hard-boiled  egg." 


From  Chamber's  Journal. 
OUR  LANE. 


WTiere  the  grass  springs  and  soft  winds  blow, 
And  hawthorns  wear  the  only  snow; 
•    When  lads  and  Lasses  stop  once  more 
To  play  about  the  school-house  door; 
And  lambs  are  white  upon  the  leas, 
And  stars  on  the  horse-chestnut  trees, 
And  birds  begin  to  build  again — 
'Tis  sweet  to  watch  them  iu  Our  Lane. 

Wlion  swallows  have  their  summer  made; 

And  lazy  sheep  move  with  the  Shade; 

And  the  dew  loiters  on  the  grass, 

Where  sweet-breaihed  cows  graze  as  yoa  pass  : 

When  greedy  trout  leap  by  the  mill; 

And  youth  goes  gaily  down  the  hill — 

Wlio  would  not  be  a  lad  again, 

To  meet  his  lassie  in  Our  Lane  ? 

When  gossamer  floats  everywhere; 
And  golden  apples  scent  the  air; 
And  rou:id  about  their  ancient  roots. 
Vast  pear  trees  shower  their  tiny  fruits; 
And  red  plums  binsb  'midst  yellow  leaves; 
And  summer  friends  have  left  our  eaves ; 
When  0!iks  their  leaves  no  longer  hold, 
And  cliostnut  trees  chanare green  for  gold; 
And  wheat  is  stacked  and  sown  .again — 
Then  wondrous  tints  light  up  Our  Lajic. 

When  cheeks  look  brighter  'gainst  the  snow; 
And  crimson  holly  berries  glow, 
And  ivy  reigns,  and  yew  trees  sneer 
At  oak  and  elm,  now  sad  and  drear. 
When  apples  all  are  pressed  or  stored; 
And  ants  sit  proudly  by  their  hoard ; 
AVIien  pleasant  piths  look  dull  and  gray, 
And  old  men  rest  upon  their  way; 
And  blackliirds  know  not  where  to  feast. 
And  all  their  pleasant  songs  have  ceased— 
Let  tliem  \h\  tb:i!ikfnl  in  Our  Lane, 
If  hips  and  haws  ra.ay  yet  remain. 

Hearken  to  what  wise  black  birds  say; 
"Our  spring  savv  many  a  merry  day; 
In  summer  there  were  strawberries; 
In  autumn,  we'd  the  tilbert  trees; 
We  tasted  all  the  year  could  bring, 
To  mellow  autumn  from  briglit  spring. 
If  nuts  and  cherries  all  are  gone. 
There's  something  lo  look  back  upon; 
We  deem  not  life  unjust  because 
It  comes  at  last  to  hips  and  haws." 

—For  six  years  Mr.  R.  W.  Bucl,  of  Fr.ariklin, 
N.  Y.,  A^as  succcs.sful  in  raising  onions  with  no 
other  manure  tliun  Icachctl  ashes,  of  wliich  he  has 
applied  about  a  l)iislicl  to  the  square  rod.  Last 
year  liis  crop  failed,  as  he  was  troubled  by  the 
maggot. 


ON   FERMENTING   MANURES. 

NE  of  the  important,  and 
yet  unsettled  questions  in 
farming,  is  as  to  the  best 
condition  in  lohich  to  use 
manure ;  that  is,  whether 
^-F"  in  its  fresh,  crude  state  ; 
in  a  state  of  partial  fer- 
_  mentation :  or  when  the 
;ft\  process  is  carried  so  far 
as  to  reduce  the  manure 
to  a  fine  and  soft  mass. 
This  question  is  some- 
times a  vexatious  one, 
and  is  likely  to  remain  so 
till  an  extensive  series  of 
judicious  experiments  shall  have  been  made  on 
the  subject  by  competent  persons,  equally 
qualified  by  theoretical  and  practical  knowl- 
edge to  arrive  at  precise  results,  and  to  be 
able  to  communicate  them. 

Good  farmers  vary  considerably  in  their 
practice ;  some  apjily  manure  fresh  from  the 
cellar  or  heaps  under  the  bam  windows  ;  some 
haul  it  to  the  field,  deposit  in  large  heaps, 
comport  with  peat  or  other  crude  materials, 
and  allow  a  sliglit  degree  of  fermentation  to 
take  place  before  applpng  it  to  the  soil,  while 
others  throw  every  thing  together  and  let  na- 
ture take  her  own  course  with  it, — and  nature, 
in  such  cases  provides  a  pretty  swift  process  of 
decay. 

AYe  have  experimented  sufficiently  in  this 
matter  to  bring  clear  convictions,  that  the  best 
mode  is  to  apply  manure  to  the  land  in  an  en- 
tirely crude,  unferraented  condition,  in  the  au- 
tumn, and  plow  it  under  the  surface  to  the 
depth  of  three  inches.  But  this  course  can 
only  be  pursued  with  the  summer  manure. 

If  fields  intended  for  hoed  crops  are  plowed 
in  the  fall,  they  may  receive  green  manure  in 
the  spring,  just  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  sufficiently 
pliable  to  fall  to  pieces  when  stirred,  and  then 
if  the  manure  is  immediately  plowed  under, 
decomposition  will  take  place  sufficiently  fast 
to  furnish  the  growing  crop  with  the  aliment  it 
needs. 

In  this  way  there  is  no  loss  of  manure.  Not 
only  are  all  its  valuable  qualities  saved,  but 
they  are  fed  out,  as  it  were,  at  such  times  and 
in  such  quantities  as  best  suit  the  plants  that 
require  them — much  as  Ave  feed  our  i.'omestic 
animals  at  such  times  and  Avith  such  portions 
as  arc  best  suited  for  them. 


1867. 


NEW   EJS'GLA^D    i'AKMER. 


223 


But  there  is  still  another  and  very  valuable 
operation  going  on  in  the  soil  through  the 
agency  of  unfermented  manure.  As  it  heats, 
it  expands ;  gases,  rich  in  nutriment,  fly  off 
from  it  in  every  direction.  These  permeate 
the  soil  in  all  its  minutest  recesses,  warming 
and  separating  its  particles,  and  filling  them 
with  nutritious  food,  which  the  roots  of  plants 
are  incessantly  in  search  of.  And  these  roots 
exercise  a  choice !  They  will  make  a  short 
turn  from  a  course  which  they  had  been  pur- 
suing to  get  at  a  spots  enriched  by  decompos- 
ing manures,  and  their  warm  and  fertilizing 
gases !  Wonderful  instinct !  What  else  can 
we  call  it  ? 

Roots  only  take  their  food  in  a  soluble  form, 
and  if  we  apply  manure  in  a  green  state  to  the 
soil  all  the  operations  necessary  to  reduce 
them  to  a  soluble  form  take  place  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  and  in  the  very  home 
of  the  roots  themselves.  These  substances 
that  would  become  offensive  if  left  upon  the 
surface,  are  soon  converted  into  forms  of  beau- 
ty and  usefulness. 

In  one  of  his  lectures  upon  the  chemistry  of 
agriculture.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  says  :  "If  the 
pure  dung  of  cattle  is  to  be  used  as  manure, 
there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  it  should  be 
made  to  ferment  except  in  the  soil ;  or  if  suf- 
fered to  ferment,  it  should  be  only  in  a  very 
slight  degree.  The  excess  of  fermentation 
tends  to  the  destruction  and  dissipation  of  the 
most  useful  part  of  the  manure." 

A  distinguished  farmer  in  England  states 
that  he  has  entirely  given  up  the  system  for- 
merly adopted  on  his  farm  of  applying  fer- 
mented dung ;  and  states  that  his  crops  have 
been  as  good  as  they  ever  were,  and  that  his 
manure  goes  nearly  twice  as  far  ! 

We  call  attention  to  this  matter  now,  as 
the  season  is  near  when  the  preparation  of 
manure  for  spi-ing  planting  and  sowing,  will 
be  taken  in  hand. 


FAKMEKS'  GABDENS—XyTo.  II. 
Location. 
Every  man  should  do  his  best  to  own  a 
home.  The  first  money  he  can  spare  ought 
to  be  invested  in  a  dwelling,  where  his  family 
can  live  permanently.  There  is  something 
agreeable  to  our  better  nature  in  having  a 
home  that  we  call  our  own.  It  is  a  form  of 
property   that  is  more   than  property.     The 


associations  that  spring  up  around  it,  as  the 
birth-place  of  children,  tend  to  improve  the 
moral  sensibilities.  Our  happiness  of  to-day 
is  increased  by  a  view  of  the  ])lace  where  Ave 
were  happy  yesterday.  The  scenes  and  cir- 
cumstances by  which  we  are  surrounded  have 
much  to  do,  not  only  with  our  character,  but 
with  our  happiness. 

On  this  account,  we  should  do  all  in  our 
power  to  make  our  homes  attractive.  It  costs 
little  to  surround  our  dwellings  with  these 
simple  beauties  which  delight  the  eye  far 
more  than  expensive  objects. 

Perhaps  there  are  few  things  that  mark  the 
progress  of  civilization  and  the  arts  more 
than  correct  taste  in  architecture  and  garden- 
ing. So  long  as  men  are  indifferent  to  the 
appearance  of  the  house  they  live  in,  and  the 
grounds  that  surround  it,  they  will  rarely  ex- 
hibit a  true  taste  in  anything  else. 

We  are  happy  in  the  belief  that  our  farmers 
are  gradually  improving  in  this  respect.  As 
intelligence  and  wealth  increase,  so  do  refine- 
ment and  good  taste.  In  a  ramble  which  we 
recently  took  in  the  western  part  of  Massachu- 
setts, we  found  much  to  strengthen  this  belief, 
— houses  of  a  better  class,  well  finished  and 
painted, — belter  fences,  smooth  and  velvety 
lawns  instead  of  door  yards  filled  with  rubbish, 
— shade  trees  around  the  houses  and  along 
the  highways,  and  a  piece  of  land  set  apart  for 
garden  purposes,  into  which  a  few  hardy 
shrubs  are  introduced,,  with  small  fruits,  as- 
paragus, and  other  esculents,  and  a  variety  of 
apples  coming  into  use  from  July  to  July. 
The  garden  on  the  farm  is  one  of  the  happy 
changes  that  has  taken  place,  and  was  obser- 
vable all  along  the  route. 

The  cheerful  influences  of  better  buildings 
and  productive  gardens  have  developed  a  taste 
for  the  cultivation  of  flowers, 

"Whose  voiceless  lips  are  living  preachers, 
Each  cup  a  pulpit,  and  each  leaf  a  book." 

The  garden  should  conform  in  its  style  and 
character  to  those  of  the  homestead  and  its 
surroundings.  It  should  be  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  house,  so  that  it  may  be  readily 
accessible  and  under  the  constant  supervision 
of  the  household — and  if  a  portion  of  it  is  de- 
voted to  the  culture  of  flowers,  it  should  be  so 
located  that  the  passing  neighbor  and  stranger 
may  enjoy  its  beauty  and  fragrance,  if  possible. 

A  good  garden  needs  a  variety  of  soil,  and 


224 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Mat 


if  it  can  be  so  arranged  that  it  will  embrace  a 
high  and  dry  soil,  and  that  •which  is  lower  and 
more  moist,  it  will  be  an  advantage.  Early 
vegetables,  as  lettuce,  peas,  beans,  and  early 
potatoes,  need  a  warm,  dry  location.  Those 
which  come  later  in  the  season,  strawberries, 
pears  and  some  other  plants,  thrive  better  in 
a  more  moist  soil.  A  situation  on  a  southerly 
slope — if  the  slope  is  very  slight — near  the 
foot  of  a  knoll  or  moderate  elevation,  is  de- 
sirable. Such  a  location  affords  a  shelter 
which  most  garden  vegetables  require  in  their 
early  and  tender  stage.  When  situated  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  house,  it  Avill  be 
more  frequently  visited  by  the  children  and 
females  of  the  family,  and  they  will  become 
more  interested  in  its  products  and  cultivation. 

There  should  always  be  a  dry  and  well  kept 
walk  from  the  house  to  the  garden — and  if 
practicable,  this  walk  should  be  bordered  by 
shrubs  or  flowers,  so  as  to  tempt  the  feet  of 
visitors  as  well  as  the  inmates  of  the  house. 

As  farm  buildings  are  usually  erected  with- 
out reference  to  a  garden,  it  cannot  always  be 
located  in  the  most  desirable  situation.  It  is 
not  uncommon,  even  now,  to  find  the  garden 
ten,  fifteen,  and  sometimes  twenty-five  rods 
from  the  house  !  This  is  done  to  get  it  out  of 
the  reach  of  the  hens.  But  think  of  the  in- 
convenience, and  amount  of  travel  through  a 
lifetime,  with  such  an  arrangement.  In  the 
fii'st  place,  no  garden  will  be  well  tended  in 
such  a  location, — and  in  the  second,  it  is  much 
more  expensive  than  it  would  be  to  pi'cjyare  a 
good  soil  near  the  house  and  enclose  it  with 
neat  palings  or  a  tight  fence  that  will  keep  the 
fowls  out.  Being  near,  even  a  few  leisure  mo- 
ments may  be  spent  in  weeding,  hoeing,  or 
something  else,  and  the  table  will  be  often 
supplied  with  delicious  vegetables,  which 
would  not  be  there,  if  the  women  were  obliged 
to  £^0  some  distance  for  them. 


Worcester,  Mass. — Ofliccrs  for  the  year 
have  been  elected  as  follows  by  the  AVorcester 
West  Agricultural  Society  : — 

President — Edward  Denny  of  Barrc. 

Vice  Presidents — Gcovjre  W.  IJuttrick  of  Barre, 
and  lion.  CIuulcs  Adams,  Jr.,  of  North  Brooklicld. 

Treasurer — Diiviil  Cinniiiiti,i,'s  of  Barre. 

Seeretanj — Charles  Biiiiil)Iecoiu  of  Barrc. 

It  was  also  voted,  "That  we  appropriate  the  sum 
of  ■^)()  annually  for  a  scholarship  in  the  Massachu- 
petts  Aiiiieulrwral  Colle.^c,  the  perscjn  to  receive 
the  hrnelit  thereof  to  be  determined  by  the  olticcrs 
and  trustees  of  the  society." 


WABNEK'S  SULKY  KEVOLVINQ  BAKE. 

Other  things  being  equal,  almost  every  body 
prefers  riding  to  going  afoot.  Hence  the  chief 
objection  to  the  revolving  horse  rake  has  been 
the  necessity  of  walking  while  using  it.  This 
the  proprietors  of  the  Sulky  Revolving  Rake 
believe  they  have  successfully  obviated,  and 
at  the  same  time  preserved  its  simplicity  of 
construction,  and  its  ease  of  operation.  The 
proprietors,  H.  J.  Fay  &  Co.,  furnish  the  fol- 
lowing description : — 


Working  Position. 

This  rake  is  substantially  the  common  revolv- 
ing rake  attached  to  a  sulky  and  opui-ated  by  one 
single  lever,  attached  at  the  center  of  the  rake- 
head,  provided  with  spring,  stops  and  catches 
for  the  perfect  controlling  of  tlie  rake.  To 
revolve  the  rake  the  operator,  with  the  thumb, 
springs  the  latch,  and  depresses  the  end  of 
the  lever  a  little,  suddenly,  which  throws  the 
points  of  the  front  teeth  to  the  ground,  causing 
the  rake  to  revolve.  The  rake  is  elevated  to 
pass  over  stones  or  any  obstacle  that  may  be 
in  the  way  of  elevating  the  lever,  which  raises 
the  front  teeth  high  enough  to  pass  over  ob- 
stacles twelve  to  fifteen  inches  hiirh. 


Transporting  Position. 

This  second  cut  represents  the  position  of 
the  rake  when  folded  for  transportation,  which 
is  a  convenience  of  no  small  importance.  It 
is  so  arranged  at  tlu>  joints  connecting  tlie  rake 
with  the  sulky  that  the  rake  is  readily  detached 
from  the  sulky,  leaving  the  sulky  free  to  be 
used  for  other  purposes,  if  desired,  wlilcli  often 
proves  a  convenience,  as  it  is  furnished  with 
an  easy  spring  seat,  making  it  a  convenient 
sulky.  Alter  thoroughly  testing  the  merits  of 
this  rake  during  the  last  three  haying  seasons, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAKI^IER. 


225 


the  proprietors  have  no  hesitation  in  offering 
it  to  the  ianniug  public  as  the  best  rake  in  the 
market  for  all  reasonably  smooth  meadows,  or 
for  meadows  suitable  to  be  mown  with  a  ma- 
chine, and  hold  themselves  ready  to  test  its 
merits  in  the  field  with  any  other  horse  rake, 
at  any  suitable  time  and  place.  Further  par- 
ticulars will  be  found  in  an  advertisement  in 
another  column. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
PKOPITABLE   FAEMDNTG  IN"   MASSA- 
CHUSETTS. 
Illustrated  by  a  sketch  of  the  success  of  Mr.  Peter 
Davis,  of  Framingham,  Middlesex  County,  from  his 
first  engagement  at  seven  dollars  per  month,  and  a  six 
years'  tenancy,  to  the  ownership  of  one  of  the  best 
farms  in  the  State. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  nearly  all 
the  increase  in  the  population  of  New  England 
has  been  in  its  cities  and  villages.  In  many 
of  the  older  portions  of  the  farming  districts 
there  has  been  a  positive  and  an  alarming 
decline.  The  young  men  and  young  women 
appear  to  think  that  comfort,  respectability 
and  wealth  are  to  be  sought  in  any  or  every 
pursuit  except  that  of  farming.  It  would  al- 
most seem  that  the  instinct  for  city  life  in  the 
boys  and  girls  of  our  rural  districts  was  as 
strong  as  is  the  instinct  for  water  in  the  brood 
of  the  mother  hen  that  unfortunately  incubates 
a  nest  of  duck's  eggs.  The  effect  of  this  rush 
of  population  from  the  country  to  the  city, 
from  the  farm  to  the  factory,  the  shop  and  the 
store,  has  long  been  a  suljject  of  regret  to  the 
thoughtful  among  our  agricultural  writers  and 
thinkers.  But  all  considerations  and  argu- 
ments against  this  current  of  the  times  is  met 
by  the  ever-present  objection  of  the  unprofita- 
bleness of  practical  farming. 

For  the  benefit  of  young  men  who  are  bal- 
ancing the  question  of  leaving  or  abiding  upon 
the  farm,  I  have  obtained  a  few  facts  which 
show  what  has  been  done,  and  what  may  yet 
be  done,  on  the  soil  of  old  Massachusetts.  It 
was  with  considerable  reluctance, — a  reluc- 
tance that  was  overcome  only  by  the  consider- 
ation that  his  success  might  encourage  other 
young  men  to  imitate  his  example, — that  the 
gentleman  of  whom  I  am  about  to  speak  con- 
sented to  the  use  of  his  name. 

In  the  town  of  Framingham,  Mass.,  twenty- 
three  miles  from  Boston,  on  the  Worcester 
railroad,  there  is  a  well  cultivated  farm  of  150 
acres  of  land,  with  about  one  thousand  bearing 
fruit  trees,  a  fine  residence,  a  barn  100  feet 
in  length,  with  a  nice  cellar  under  the  whole, 
and  other  buildings  to  correspond,  and  every 
thing  about  them  in  fine  order.  The  owner 
pays  the  highest  income  tax  of  any  farmer  in  the 
town,  which,  by  the  way,  is  in  one  of  the  best 
agricultural  districts  in  the  State.  He  is  fifty- 
three  years  old,  active  and  vigorous,  with  an 
interesting  family  growing  up  and  around  him, 
and  is  withal  highly  respected  by  his  fellow 


townsmen.  This  estate  was  not  inherited  ;  it 
was  not  acfjuired  by  speculation ;  it  Avas  not 
paid  for  from  the  profits  of  commerce,  high 
salaries,  or  any  lucky  turn  of  the  wheel  of  for- 
tune.    How,  then,  was  it  obtained? 

Engages  by  the  Month. 
The  owner,  Mr.  Peter  Davis,  began  life 
without  capital,  and  has  never  engaged  in  any 
other  business  than  farming.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  commenced  for  hunself  by  an  en- 
gagement for  eight  months,  at  seven  dollars 
per  month,  and  continued  his  work  at  various 
wages — but  never  exceeding  ten  dollars  per 
month — till  twenty  years  of  age. 

Xieases  a  Farm. 

At  twenty  years  of  age  he  leased  125  acres 
of  his  present  homestead  for  the  term  of  six 
years.  Previous  to  his  occupancy,  the  farm 
had  been  leased  for  twenty  years,  and  had  suf- 
fered the  skinning  process  to  which  leased 
land  in  New  England  is  almost  invariably  sub- 
jected. Some  portions  of  it  were  badly  "run 
out,"  others  badly  "run  up"  to  bushes  and 
other  foul  growth.  Although  he  managed 
somewhat  after  the  manner  of  leased  farming, 
he  believes  it  was  in  better  condition  at  the 
end  of  the  six  years  than  at  the  beginning  of 
the  term. 

Original  Purchase. 

At  the  expiration  of  this  lease  he  bargained 
for  the  farm,  and  has  now  OAvned  it  twenty- 
seven  years.  The  conditions  of  the  purchase 
were  $5000 ;  one  thousand  paid  down,  and 
the  balance  in  eight  annual  instalments  of  .$500 
each,  with  interest.  In  making  this  purchase 
he  acted  against  the  advice  of  several  of  his 
neighbors,  who  predicted  that  he  would  be 
unable  to  meet  his  payments  with  accruing  in- 
terest money,  and  thus  lose  his  entire  invest- 
ment. He  believed,  however,  that,  with 
health,  he  could  pay  for  it,  and  the  result  has 
justified  his  faith  in  the  profit  of  farming,  even 
in  New  England.  For  some  years  he  was 
obliged  to  borrow  some  money  to  meet  his 
payments,  but  his  industry  and  perseverance 
gave  him  a  credit  by  which  he  was  enabled  to 
raise  the  necessary  amount  without  trouble. 

Amount  of  Hay  raised,  and  Stock  kept. 

During  the  first  year  of  his  ownership,  the 
production  of  the  farm  was  so  small,  that  in 
order  to  keep  his  stock  of  eight  cows,  two  yoke 
of  oxen  and  a  horse,  he  was  obliged  to  buy 
one  hundred  dollars  worth  of  hay.  The  next 
year  he  bought  ninety  dollars  worth.  The 
third  year  he  turned  the  tables,  and  sold  hay  to 
the  amount  of  two  hundred  dollars,  and  has 
sold  some  every  year  since,  although  his  stock 
has  gradually  increased  from  year  to  year, 
until  he  now  keeps  about  twenty  head  of  cat- 
tle, two  horses,  and  ten  hogs. 

Mr.  Davis  now  mows  about  forty  acres,  and 
harvests  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  tons  of  hay, 
some  ten  of  which  are  "meadow."     He  gener- 


226 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR:MER. 


:may 


ally  sells  about  twenty  tons  of  good  English 
hay;— last  vear  at  $1.8.5  per  100  lbs.,  when 
the  sales  amoinited  to  over  8800 ;  and  three 
years  ago  to  $1050. 

At  tlie  time  I  visited  this  farm,  last  fall,  the 
large  barn  was  well  tilled,  and  his  stock  all 
looked  remarkably  well.  His  cows  were  most- 
ly Jersey  and  Ayrshire  grades,  with  our  native 

stock. 

Improving  a  Meadow. 

The  reclamation  of  a  meadow  of  some  eight 
acres,  was  one  of  the  fu-st  improvements  which 
Mr.  Davis  attempted  after  making  his  pur- 
chase. At  that  time  it  produced  about  five 
loads,  of  some  twelve  hundred  pounds  each  of 
hay  per  year.  Being  short  of  manure,  he 
drained  and  plowed  only  two  acres  the  first 
season.  Eventually  the  whole  was  treated  in 
the  same  manner.  From  an  acre  of  this 
meadow,  to  which  twenty  ox-cart  loads  of 
compost  had  been  applied  the  fall  previous, 
4-100  lbs.  of  hay  was  harvested. 

Composting  Manure. 

With  Mr.  Davis  the  sliovel  is  an  important 
farming  tool,  and  he  uses  it  a  good  deal.  Ev- 
ery fall  he  covers  his  yards  deeply  with  yellow 
loam  or  muck.  This  is  plowed  in  August, 
and  again  in  October,  and  carted  out  and 
spread.  He  intends  to  average  twenty  ox- 
cart loads  for  each  cow  or  hog  for  top-dress- 
ing, and  believes  it  pays.  His  materials  are 
so°situated  that  a  good  workman  will  put  in 
about  twenty  loads  per  day,  and  get  out  about 
fifteen  and 'spread  it.  Last  year  he  carted 
two  hundred  loads  of  loam  into  his  cow  yard. 
On  his  land,  most  of  which  is  of  a  clayey  soil, 
loam,  of  itself,  as  a  top-dressing,  increases  the 
growth  of  grass,  but  he  believes  that  the  in- 
creased value  from  composting  pays  for  the 
extra  labor. 

Fattening  Pork. 

A  part  of  the  ample  cellar  under  the  barn  is 
occupied  by  swine.  Last  year  he  fattened 
eleven  hogs.  Eight  of  these  when  dressed  in 
the  fall,  weighed  2960  lbs.,  and  were  sold  at 
14d  cts.  per  lb.,  amounting  to  §429.20.  They 
were  but  a  little  more  than  a  year  old.  For 
the  two  previous  years,  he  sold  his  pork  at  20 
cts.  per  lb.  He  fats  and  kills  early  in  the  fall. 
He  does  not  prefer  the  largest  breed  of  hogs, 
but  thinks  he  gets  more  pounds  of  pork  for  the 
same  food,  and  a  better  price  ibr  those  of 
medium  size,  well  f:ittened  and  sent  to  market 
early.  He  has  found  the  raising  of  pork  very 
prolitable,  be^des  allbrding  a  large  amount  of 
dressing  lor  the  i'arm.  He  tliinks  that  at  pres- 
ent prices  of  grain,  it  would  pay  to  raise  pork 
at  ten  cents. 

Indian  Corn. 

Large  fields  of  corn  are  also  raised  upon 
this  farm.  Last  year  there  were  ten  acres 
planted,  which  yielded  nine  hundred  bushels, 
or  an  average  of  fifty  bushels  of  shelled  corn 
per  acre,  besides  quite  a  number  of  bushels 


of  potatoes,-  Avhich  grew  upon  the  same  land. 
The  stover  from  this  corn  Mr.  Davis  estimates 
will  save  one  ton  of  hay  per  acre,  or  ten  tons 
in  all.     The  corn  is  all  spent  upon  the  farm. 

Peach  and  Apple  Orchards. 
In  place  of  the  noble  orchard  of  about  one 
thousand  fruit  trees  which  now  occupies  a  por- 
tion of  the  farm,  there  were  a  few  "seedhngs" 
and  one  grafted  tree,  at  the  date  of  his  pur- 
chase. For  several  years  a  peach  orchard 
which  he  planted  yielded  from  three  to  four 
hundred  bushels  per  year  of  this  luscious  fruit. 
In  common  with  other  peach  orchards  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  this  failed  after  bearing 
well  for  about  five  years. 

Addition  to  the  Farm. 

About  eight  years  ago  he  made  an  addition 
of  twenty-five  acres  to  his  homestead,  at  a  cost 
of  $1300.  Ten  acres  of  this  was  mowing  land 
and  the  remainder  a  bush  hill,  which  he  has 
converted  into  a  good  pasture.  When  Mr. 
Davis  bought  this  farm,  the  buildings  were 
worth  but  little.  But  as  already  intimated,  he 
has  rebuilt,  and  they  are  now  quite  valuable 
and  very  convenient. 

The  Secret  of  Success. 

In  answer  to  a  question  as  to  the  secret  of 
his  success,  Mr.  Davis  said  that  he  did  not  know 
as  he  had  any  secret,  unless  it  was  the  lesson 
which  he  learned  soon  after  commencing  busi- 
ness for  himself,  from  the  loss  of  a  valuable 
cow  by  neglect  to  fill  up  a  hole  left  on  his 
pi-emises.  This  impressed  him  with  the  im- 
portance of  finishing  at  once  every  job  that  is 
undertaken,  and  of  careful  attention  to  every 
part  of  the  work  or  business  on  hand. 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  there  are 
thousands  of  farms  in  New  England  which  oiler 
inducements  and  opportunities  equal  or  supe- 
rior to  those  which  induced  JNlr.  Davis  to  settle 
upon  this  place  which  he  has  so  greatly  im- 
proved and  beautified.  Manufacturing  and 
trade,  as  they  absorb  capital  and  employ 
labor,  furnish  a  ready  mai-ket  for  the  pioikic- 
tions  of  our  New  England  larms.  And  when 
the  disastrous  lluctuations  which  render  trade 
and  manufacturing  so  unreliable,  are  duly  con- 
sidered and  better  understood,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  many  examples  of  successful  larming 
which  are  witnessed  in  New  England  will  final- 
ly settle  the  cjuestion  of  the  profitableness  of 
farming  in  the  affirmative,  and  tliat  many 
young  men  will  be  led  to  imitate  the  example 
"of  Mr.  Davis,  which  I  have  thus  imperfectly 
sketched.  w. 

January,  18G7. 


—The  Trustees  of  the  Tennsylvania  Agricultu- 
ral College,  have  decided  on  the  establishment  of 
two  experimental  and  model  farms,  of  100  acres 
each,  one  in  the  Eastern  and  one  in  the  Western 
part  of  the  State. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


227 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
DESTRTJCTION   OF    TREES   AND 
SHRUBS. 

Many  years  ago,  at  a  time  when  I  was  con- 
fined, thi-ough  the  best  part  of  every  year,  to 
an  absorbing  and  laborious  employment  in  the 
city,  1,  one  day,  weary  of  brick  walls  and 
liinty  pavements,  escaped  from  town,  and,  has- 
tening to  enjoy  the  wildness  and  beauty  of  the 
woods  and  fields,  rode  towards  a  lane,  the 
very  thought  of  which  had  always  been  refresh- 
ing to  me.  There  I  expected  to  be  at  once 
surrounded  by  the  trees  and  shrubs  which  be- 
longed there,  such  as  gradually  border  a  road 
in  the  country,  when  left  to  itself.  What  was 
my  disappointment  to  find  them  all  gone,  and 
my  delicious  green  lane  reduced  to  a  bare, 
vulgar,  dusty,  country  road.  The  owner  of 
the  land  on  the  two  sides  had  been  seized  with 
a  disease  to  which  men  of  little  taste  are  liable, 
the  mania  for  improvement,  and  in  a  paroxysm 
of  the  malady,  had  ordered  all  the  beautiful 
shrubbery  and  thriving  young  trees  to  be  cut 
down,  and  the  land  between  the  road  and  the 
walls  to  be  burnt  over.  Never,  by  a  single 
operation,  was  so  much  beauty  destroyed  and 
so  much  ugliness  and  deformity  left  to'take  its 
place. 

The  pretty  winding  lane  had  been  shaded  from 
the  sun  in  summer  and  sheltered  from  the  cold 
winds  at  all  seasons,  and  its  thickets  had  thus 
become  a  resort  of  the  birds,  whose  earliest 
notes  might  be  heard  there  in  the  end  of  win- 
ter, and  whose  evening  songs  were  sure  to 
greet  me  there  in  the  summer  evening  twilight. 
As  I  passed  along  that  road,  I  loved  to  let  my 
horse  walk  -while  I  dwelt  upon  the  thought, 
what  a  charming  residence  for  summer,  or  for 
the  whole  year  might  be,  perhaps  may  be,  built 
on  that  lane.  Since  its  desecration,  I  have 
never  for  a  moment  had  a  feeling  which  would 
suggest  such  a  thouglit ;  I  have  avoided  with 
a  shudder  what  had  long  been  a  favorite  path. 

A  A  ery  few  years  ago,  a  siiiiilar  violation  of 
the  principles  of  good  taste  was  committed,  I 
hope  thouglitlessly,  on  a  road  Avhich  was  for- 
merly the  Boston  and  Worcester  turnpike,  in 
that  portion  of  it  which  is  in  Brookline,  near- 
est the  edge  of  Newton.  Tlie  natural,  beau- 
tiful growth  on  both  sides  of  the  road  has  been 
destroyed,  and  a  row  of  unprotected  trees  sub- 
stituted. The  trees  are  not  bad  in  themselves, 
but  how  far  less  beautiful  than  the  original 
denizens  of  the  forest  with  their  natural  grace, 
w!;ose  ',)Iace  they  have  taken.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  supply  the  loss  of  the  exquisite 
shrubbery.  The  person  who  suffered  this  out- 
rage to  be  perpetrated  was  evidently  one  who 
ought  to  have  known  better.  He  has  built  a 
noble  wall  and  planted  these  few  trees  between 
it  and  the  road.  He  probably  gave  only  gen- 
eral directions,  and  entrusted  the  execution  of 
his  improvement  to  some  stupid  barbarian,  and 
he  may  be,  at  this  moment,  suiTering  as  much 
as  I  suffer  whenever  I  pass  that  way,  from  the 
loss  and  ruin  he  has  occasioned. 


A  young  friend  of  delicate  taste  and  refined 
perception  of  natural  beauty,  tells  me  that  such 
things  are  even  now  done,  not  many  miles  from 
Boston  ;  and  she  gives  me  a  case  where  the  of- 
f(>nder  was, — not  an  individual  misled  by  a  false 
theory  of  improvement  of  his  own  property,  but 
— a  town  officer,  who  ought  to  have  been  not 
the  violator,  but  the  guardian  of  public  and  of 
private  rights,  and  one  on  whom  an  aggrieved 
lady  might  confidently  rely  for  protection. 

Outside  my  friend's  fields,  and  between  her 
fence  and  the  public  highway  which  ran  along 
one  side  of  her  farm,  was  a  space  of  one  o'r 
two  rods,  planted  by  the  hand  of  nature, 
with  the  usual  shrubs  and  trees  which  grow 
wild  in  Middlesex.  She  valued  this  border  as 
at  once_  a  screen  from  passers  on  the  road,  a 
protection  from  wind  and  sun,  in  her  own 
walks  and  drives,  and  a  graceful  border  to  her 
land,  a  delicate  fringe,  of  varying  colors,  to  the 
homely  green  and  browns  of  "her  meadows  and 
cultivated  lands.  During  a  temporary  absence, 
a  surveyor  of  roads  suffered,  perhaps  ordered, 
this  precious  hem  to  be  torn  and  ripped  away. 
The  trees  were  cut  down  and  the  bushes  grub- 
bed up. 

She  knows  not,  and  I  know  not,  whether  she 
has  or  has  not  a  remedy  by  law  for  the  injury 
she  has  suffered.  In  the'  nature  of  things, 
there  is  no  remedy.  Her  beautiful  border  is 
gone;  and  it  would  take  thirty  years,  with  the 
best  intentions  and  the  most  skilful  manage- 
ment, to  bring  it  back  and  make  it  what  it  was ; 
and,  in  that  time,  youth  and  much  of  woman- 
hood will  have  past,  and  the  enjoyment  she 
M-ould  have  had  from  it,  for  all  these  years, 
will  be  absolutely  lost. 

A  sense  of  my  own  loss  from  the  vandalism 
I  have  described,  my  sympathy  with  a  dear 
friend  in  what  she  has  suffered,  and  my  fear 
that  others  may  be  sulTering  or  likely  to  suffer, 
in  the  same  way,  who  have  none  to  speak  for 
them,  have  led  me  to  trouble  you,  Messrs.  Edi- 
tors, with  this  communication.  If  you  agree 
with  me  so  far  as  to  allow  it  to  be  published, 
I  shall  ask  to  be  permitted  to  give  some  rea- 
sons, in  a  future  paper,  why  the  evils  of  which 
I  have  spoken  should  henceforth  be  guarded 
against.  G.  B.  e. 

Boston,  Marcli.  1867. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 

BEST    TIME    TO    APPLY   MANURES. 

The  Svcretiiry  <A  th-j  Ir;;sburg,  \i..  Far- 
mers' Club,  fiu-nishes  the  following  sketch  of 
the  discussion  of  this  important  subject  at  a 
late  meeting  of  the  Club. 

Z.  E.  Jameson  thought  that  the  plan  of  ap- 
plying manure  as  soon  as  convenient  after  it 
is  made,  was  growing  in  favor  with  farmers, 
and  that  manure  heaps  are  not  desirable  or 
profitable  about  the  barns.  Those  who  are 
partial  to  old  manure  will  then  have  it,  of  all 
ages,  in  the  soil.     No  great  loss  will  be  sus- 


228 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


May 


tained  if  manure  is  drawn  out  upon  frozen 
ground,  as  we  see  some  doing,  or  spread  upon 
a  thin  body  of  snow,  if  the  ground  is  level , 
enough  to  prevent  the  dissolved  juices  from  [ 
running  away  when  the  snow  thaws.  Water  | 
is  very  necessary  to  prepare  manure  for  plant  i 
food,  and  when  frost  is  coming  out,  the  ground 
will  absorb  the  dissolved  manure  very  readily. 
W.  L.  Jameson  said,  that  what  sounded 
well  in  theory,  would  not  always  prove  best  in 
practice.  His  farm,  though  quite  level,  was 
not  level  enough  to  prevent  the  juices  of  ma- 
nure from  running  away  with  the  melting  snow 
while  the  ground  is  frozen.  He  had  found 
that  immediately  after  haying,  is  the  best  time 
to  apply  manure  to  grass  ground  as  top  dress- 
ing, lie  had  practiced  it  several  years.  When 
he  bought  his  firm  it  was  bearing  a  fine  wild 
grass  of  inferior  quality ;  but  scarcely  enough 
coarse  grass  to  winter  one  horse.  Now  all  his 
upland  produces  good  coarse  hay,  some  of  it 
growing  nearly  as  high  as  his  shoulders.  He 
had  never  bought  much  manure,  as  he  had 
plenty  of  muck,  which  composted  in  various 
ways  proved  to  be  of  great  benefit.  One  year 
he  bought  a  barrel  of  lime,  slacked  it  with  salt 
water  and  mixed  it  with  muck.  This  spread 
upon  the  grass  increased  it  three  fold,  and  its 
beneficial  effects  were  obvious  for  six  years. 
His  soil  is  somewhat  clayey  and  bakes  quite 
hard  in  summer,  but  where  the  top  dressing 
was  applied  it  did  not  become  so  hard.  Ma- 
nure applied  immediately  after  haying  pro- 
duced a  much  better  result  than  that  applied 
later  in  the  season.  It  seemed  to  protect  the 
gi-ass  roots  from  the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun. 
He  had  tried  top  dressing  on  sandy  soil  with 
good  results. 

Mr.  Colton  had  top  dressed  new  land  among 
the  stumps,  and  believes  it  better  to  keep  up 
grass  ground  in  that  way,  as  it  is  somewhat 
costly  to  plow  and  re-seed,  as  he  sows  four 
pounds  clover  and  from  eight  to  twelve  quarts  of 
timothy  per  acre.  In  applying  manure  to  cul- 
tivated ground,  would  harrow  or  plow  it  in 
shallow.  He  does  not  fiivor  very  deep  plow- 
ing, and  does  not  believe  manure  is  lost  by 
leaching.  Had  often  noticed  the  increase  of 
grass  on  Mr.  Jameson's  farm  where  it  was  top 
dressed. 

Mr.  Church  had  experience  with  diy  and 
sandy  soil,  and  found  it  best  to  plow  in  ma- 
nure. It  lasted  longer,  and  the  neighbors  re- 
marked tlie  improvement.  If  he  was  intend- 
ing to  top  dress  he  would  spread  the  manure 
about  the  time  of  the  fall  rains,  and  not  in  the 
dryest  and  hottest,  nor  in  the  winter  season. 

W.  L.  Locke,  Jr.,  had  plowed  in  manure 
on  sod  ground  for  corn,  and  at  tlie  next  plow- 
ing lu!  went  al)0ut  thre(!  inches  deeper,  thus 
bringing  the  manure  again  near  the  surface 
and  making  a  rich  seed  bed  upon  which  to 
sow  grass  seed  and  grain.  He  had  top  dressed 
when  seeding  to  grass  with  good  result. 

Mr.  Brewster  would  not  spread  manure  in 
winter,   but  would  draw  it  at  that  season,  if 


more  convenient,  leaving  a  load  in  a  place, 
but  on  no  account  should  the  manure  lay  in 
the  yard  through  the  summer.  Upon  plowed 
ground,  that  he  intended  to  sow  to  grain  and 
grass,  he  would  spread  the  manure  as  soon  as 
the  frost  was  out  so  it  Avould  harrow  well,  as 
early  sowing  caused  a  better  "catch"  and 
growth ;  but  for  hoed  crops  would  plow  in  a 
large  quantity  of  green,  coarse  manure. 

The  Club  voted  to  endorse  the  method  of 
W.  L.  Jameson  for  keeping  up  the  fertility  of 
fields  in  grass  ;  and  Mr.  Brewster's  plan  with 
grain  and  hoed  crops. 


DISOWNING  LAMBS. 
Dr.  Randall,  of  the  Itxiral  Neto  YorJcer, 
gives  the  following  summary  of  the  means 
which  are  adopted  by  the'leading  sheep-breed- 
ers of  New  York  and  Vermont  to  make  the 
ewe  own  her  lamb  : — 

When  a  ewe  disowns  her  lamb,  ]Mr.  Baker 
places  them  in  a  pen,  two  and  a  half  feet  by 
three  ;  or  if  the  ewe  is  very  refractory,  fastens 
her  by  a  ring  and  staple  to  an  upright  stake — 
the  strap  being  so  short  that  she  cannot  turn 
round  to  butt  her  lamb.  She  is  held  for  it  to 
suck  frequently,  and  if  she  continues  refrac- 
tory after  it  is  able  and  tries  to  help  itself,  she 
is  switched  over  the  face  and  ears  till  she  sub- 
mits. Brown,  Elithorp,  Pitts  and  Sanford  use 
the  pen,  and  the  switch  "persuasive"  if  ne- 
cessary,— Elithorp  turning  the  ewe's  head  so 
she  can  see  the  lamb  as  it  sucks.  E.  O.  Clapp 
uses  the  pen,  the  stanchions,  the  switch,  and 
sometimes  frightens  her  by  tying  a  dog  in  her 
sight,  to  arouse  her  maternal  instincts.  A.  H. 
Clapp  confines  her  head  in  stanchions,  and 
prevents  her  stepping  about  with  her  hind  feet, 
to  get  away  from  the  lamb,  by  narrow  bars — 
placed  close  on  each  side — but  releases  her 
and  puts  her  alone  with  her  lamb  a  short  time 
each  day  ;  and  he  sometimes  frightens  her  with 
a  dog  or  some  unusual  object.  Gregory  uses 
a  pen  so  narrow  that  the  ewe  cannot  turn 
round,  and  places  the  lamb  under  her.  Ham- 
mond uses  a  pen,  separating  the  lamb  from  the 
ewe  about  half  the  time,  and  placing  it  where 
she  can  hear  it  bleat ;  Heyne,  a  pen  about  five 
feet  square  ;  Pottle,  a  small  box  or  pen,  pre- 
ferring a  dark  one  ;  Rich,  Saxton  and  Wilcox, 
a  small  pen ;  Wright,  a  small  Ijox-stall,  tying 
the  ewe  so  she  cannot  turn  round.  It  will  be 
understood,  of  course,  that  all  assist  the  lamb 
to  suck  freqrtently.  Pitts  thinks  that  early 
success  depends  upon  this  frequency. 

AVe  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  found  the 
switch  necessary ;  and  not  being  very  strong 
advocates  of  "corporal  punishment"  have 
never  recommended  its  applic-ation  to  the  recu- 
sant dam ;  but  the  above  testimony  in  its  fa- 
vor is  certainly  very  strong.  The  small  pen, 
made  dark  if  it  can  conveniently  be  done,  and 
placed  out  of  hearing  of  the  Hock,  with  kind 
treatment,  has  always  sufficed  in  our  experi- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAM)    FARMER. 


229 


ence.  The  sheep  must  be  well  fed  to  prevent 
a  drving  up  of  the  milk — her  uneasiness,  &c., 
producing  a  strong  tendency  in  that  direction. 


CONSOLATION"  FROM  SCIENCE. 
Who  that  has  battled  with  the  weeds  of  his 
cultivated  fields,  or  seen  his  choicest  grasses 
giving  place  to  the  Canada  thistle,  ox-eye  dai- 
sy, &c.,  or  reflected  upon  the  probable  annual 
cost  of  weeds  to  the  farmers  of  the  whole 
country,  has  not  sometimes  indulged  in  hard 
thoughts,  if  not  in  hard  words,  as  he  has  seen 
how  defiantly  they  withstand  all  his  efforts  for 
their  extermination  ?  By  all  such  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  an  article  in  the  Country 
Gentleman,  on  "Weeds,"  may  be  read  with 
profit. 

To  have  a  correct  view  of  the  economy  of 
weeds  it  is  necessary  to  look  back  a  little  into 
the  past.  It  is  the  commonly  received  opin- 
ion of  the  learned  that  all  our  soils  have  been 
formed  by  the  continuous  growth  and  decom- 
position of  vegetable  substances.  These,  in 
their  countless  variety,  have  been  adapted  to 
all  situations,  where  their  growth  can  be  main- 
tained. The  rugged  mountain,  the  oozy  marsh, 
the  barren  road  bank,  and  fertile  plain,  have 
each  a  vegetation  adapted  to  clothe  them  with 
verdure,  and  prepare  them  for  the  sustenance. 
of  man.  The  fattening  grasses  that  now  clothe 
our  unbroken  prairies,  were  preceded  by  rank 
weeds. 

Should  anj'  of  our  now  fertile  fields  be  left 
to  the  hand  of  nature,  it  might  first  produce 
daisies,  rag  weeds,  or  whatever  the  soil  or 
neighborhood  afforded.  The  growth  of  these 
would  be  a  slielter  for  the  seedling  grasses, 
which,  eventually  becoming  strong,  would 
choke  out  the  friends  of  their  infancy  and  as- 
sume complete  possession.  The  very  cleanest 
fields  of  Maryland  are  those  which  have  been 
for  half  a  century  abandoned  from  the  plow. 
No  doubt,  after  their  last  crop  of  corn  or  to- 
bacco, they  made  a  formidable  display  of 
weeds ;  but  we  find  them  covered  with  the 
prevailing  "sedge  grass,"  interspersed  with 
Naphthalium,  and  here  and  there  on  the  rich- 
est !-pots  a  feeble  growth  of  "green  grass." 

Tluis,  when  we  consider  the  great  mass  of 
plants  known  as  weeds,  chiefly  annuals  or 
biennials,  in  their  true  character,  instead  of 
charging  them  with  an  annual  cost  of  millions 
to  the  farmer,  we  shall  find  them  to  have  been 
the  humble  agents  in  adding  fertility  to  our 
soil — perhaps  in  making  it  all  that  it  is. 


I 


— Dr.  Randall  advises  against  breeding  from  a 
black  ewe,  for  the  reason  that  though  she  might 
never  have  a  black  lamb,  the  color  would  be  more 
likely  to  crop  out  in  some  of  her  descendants,  than 
in  those  of  a  white  ewe. 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

HUNGARIAN    GRASS — CULTURE   OF    POTATOES. 

A  subscriber  dcsii-es  your  opinion  on  the  merits 
of  Hungarian  grass  for  soiling  purposes.  If  favora- 
ble, please  state  in  what  soil  it  thrives  best,  how 
the  ground  should  be  prepared,  when  sown,  &c. 

Please  also  give  in  the  Farmer  what,  in  your 
view,  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  method  of  prepar- 
ing the  seed  and  planting  potatoes,  i.  e.  what  size, 
large  or  small,  or  medium,  cut  or  uncut;  if  cut, 
how  many  eyes  to  a  piece,  and  how  many  pieces  or 
whole  potatoes  in  a  hill  ?  If  planted  in  hills,  how 
far  apart  ?  &c.,  &c. 

I  wish  the  readers  also  would  give  their  experi- 
ence. G.  B. 

Essex,  Vt.,  March  9,  1867. 

Remarks. — Hungarian  grass,  when  not  grown 
too  rank,  makes  an  excellent  fodder.  Any  com 
land  that  will  produce  45  or  more  bushels  of  com 
per  acre,  will  bring  a  good  crop  of  Hungarian 
grass.  Prepare  it  as  land  is  usually  prepared  for 
barley  or  oats.  The  soil  should  be  fine.  Sow  from 
the  25th  of  May  to  the  10th  of  June,  about  12  to  13 
quarts  of  seed  per  acre.  "We  have  no  doubt  but  it 
is  a  very  profitable  crop.  It  is  an  "annual,"  how- 
ever, and  must  be  sowed  every  year. 

Our  practice  in  raising  potatoes  is  to  put  them 
on  new  land  if  we  can.  Plow  deep,  ten  or  twelve 
inches,  if  the  gi-ound  will  permit ;  put  the  rows  3^ 
feet  apart,  and  in  squares,  so  as  to  cultivate  both 
ways ;  manure  in  the  hill,  with  the  coarsest  ma- 
nure, on  moist  lands,  and  finer  manure,  on  high 
and  dry  lands.  If  a  portion  of  fine  manure  is 
spread  and  worked  under  before  the  furrows  are 
marked  out,  so  much  the  better.  On  the  manure 
in  the  hill,  throw  a  small  handful  of  plaster  of 
Paris. 

Our  seed  potatoes  are  selected  in  the  fall,  when 
the  crop  is  harvested,  and  are  those  which  are  con- 
sidered too  small  for  the  table.  Two  of  these  are 
put  in  the  hill,  and  if  approaching  the  size  of  a 
hen's  egg,  it  is  cut  and  the  two  pieces  used.  "We 
have  planted  the  same  variety,  namely,  the  Riley, 
Dover,  or  "Irish  Cup,"  which  latter  is  its  tme 
name,  and  from  the  same  sized  seed,  for  seventeen 
years  in  succession,  and  cannot  discover  any  dimi- 
nution in  size  or  flavor  yet. 


SCRATCHES    ON   HORSES. 

A  few  weeks  since  we  replied  at  some  length  to 
the  inquiry  of  "R.  P.  T.,"  of  Pittsburtr,  N.  H.,  for 
a  cure  of  this  disease.  Since  then  we  have  re- 
ceived communications  from  five  gentlemen  upon 
the  subject,  to  each  of  whom  we  tender  our  thanks 
for  their  attention. 

Mr.  Hiram  French,  of  Eaton,  C.  E.,  writes  that 
after  having  tried  our  prescription  without  effect- 
ing a  cure,  he  obtained  from  an  experienced  deal- 
er in  horses  the  following  remedy :  A  decoction 
of  tamarack  bark  is  made  by  boiling  a  bushel  of 
the  bark  in  a  kettle  of  water  thoroughly — strain  oflT 
the  liquid — add  more  water — boil  again — then 
strain  as  before — remove  the  bark,  and  boil  the 
whole  down  to  one  pailful.  Give  the  horse  one 
pint  of  this  twice  a  day  by  soaking  his  oats  in  it. 


230 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


May 


This  purifies  tlie  blood  and  creates  an  appetite. 
After  tlioroughly  washing  with  strong  soap  suds, 
and  rubbing  dry,  apply,  night  and  morning,  an 
ointment  composed  of  half  a  pint  of  linseed  oil, 
two  tal)le  spoonfuls  of  fine  salt,  same  of  sulphur, 
same  of  saltpetre,  and  one  ounce  of  turpentine, 
well  mixed.  Having  cured  a  valuable  horse  of  his 
own,  in  this  way,  he  confidently  recommends  it  to 
others. 

"W.  H.  J.,"  of  Winchester,  N.  II.,  suggests,  as 
the  disease  is  caused  by  impurity  of  blood,  that,  in 
addition  to  good  feed  and  careful  usage,  a  spoon- 
ful of  sulphur  should  be  administered  once  a  week, 
and  then  if,  on  trial,  our  remedy  docs  not  cure,  ap- 
ply every  morning,  after  washing  clean,  an  oint- 
ment composed  of  a  tea-cupful  of  lard,  with  as 
much  camphor  gum  as  can  be  dissolved  therein, 
simmered  together  with  a  little  rosin. 

"J.  C.  M.,"  of  Lancaster,  N.  H.,  is  now  using  a 
good  horse,  that  some  six  years  ago  had  the 
scratches  badly,  which  he  cured  by  giving  him  sul- 
phur, cleaning  the  issues  on  his  legs,  and  roweling 
in  a  bit  of  onion.  On  his  recommendation  others 
have  effected  cures  by  the  same  means. 

"B.  F.  B.,"of  Fletcher,  Vt.,  gives  the  following, 
which  he  knows  to  be  a  sure  cure :  Wash  perfect- 
ly clean  with  castile  soap  and  warm  water,  then 
apply,  while  warm,  an  ointment  of  gunpowder 
mixed  with  sweet  cream  or  fresh  butter,  to  the 
consistency  of  thin  paste. 

«'C.,"  of  Groton,  N.  H.,  also  recommends  the 
gunpowder,  gi-ound  fine,  and  mixed  with  lard.  Rub 
thoroughly  into  the  cracks. 


IS   IT  ADVISABLE   FOB,  A  YOUNG    FARMER   TO   SEEK 
FORTUNE   AT   THE    MINES  ? 


When  a  boy  I  thought  that  an  Editor  knew 
everything,  and  I  still  think  that  they  are  better 
nual'ified  to  answer  questions  than  most  people,  so 
I  venture  to  ask  the  following:  Do  you  thmk  it 
advisalile  for  a  young  man  to  seek  his  fortune  at 
the  mines,  and  is  there  any  prospect  of  success  ? 
If  so,  would  vou  advise  one  to  try  his  fortune  in 
California,  Colorado  or  Georgia  ?  I  am  a  young 
farmer,  and  do  not  like  farming  unless  I  can  possess 
one  of  my  own,  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  that 
very  soon  if  I  stay  at  home.  If  you  thmk  it  ad- 
visable to  try  mv  "luck  in  any  of  the  abovcnamcd 
places,  please  state  what  it  would  cost  to  go  there, 
and  oblige  a  reader  of  the  Farmer.       Albert. 


should,  you  would  probably  ruin  your  health  in 
the  effort.  The  employment,  as  it  is  generally 
conducted,  is  debasing  to  both  body  and  soul.  Do 
not  make  haste  to  he  rich.  Stick  to  tue  farm,  and 
health  and  honors  will  stick  by  you. 

"A   POOR   MAN,   ON   A   POOR   FARM." 

What  kind  of  farming  w  ill  profitably  succeed  on 
a  pine  plain  farm,  in  western  Massachusetts,  where 
the  soil  is  sandv,  and  don't  yield  a  good  crop  ? 
Can  any  one  advise  a  poor  man,  on  a  poor  farm, 
what  to  do  ?  ^^'-  c.  R. 

i  Remarks.— This  is  just  what  Ave  all  wish  to 
>  know.  Who  will  tell  us  how  to  get  good  crops 
from  sandy  lands  without  the  aid  of  much  capital  ? 
If  some  one  could  find  out  this  secret,  and  get  a 
patent  for  it,  wouldn't  he  make  a  pile.  Plenty  of 
our  correspondents  have  been  through  the  process 
and  know  how  to  handle  the  pen  as  well  as  the 
plow ;  we  hope  they  will  inform  their  brother,  "W. 
C.  B.,"  how  they  did  it.  We  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  "W.  C.  B."  could  give  us  some  valuable 
hints  on  the  subject,  himself.  It  is  just  the  ques- 
tion that  a  thousand  New  England  farmers  want 
answered. 

HENS   EATING   THEIR  EGGS. 

Mv  hens  have  got  in  the  habit  of  eating  their 
eggs' as  fast  as  thev  lay  them.  Will  you  or  some 
ofVoiir  correspondents  inform  me  through  the 
columns  of  the  Farmer,  of  a  remedy  and  speedy 
qhyq}  a  Subscriber. 

Uadley,  Mass.,  March,  1867. 

Remarks.— Give  the  hens  two  or  three  kinds  of 
grain  during  the  week,  and  a  dish  of  warm  mashed 
potates  and  cob-meal,  each  day,  and  mix  this  with 
some  fatty  substances,  such  as  scraps,  or  grease 
from  the  kitchen.  Furnish  them  a  place  where 
they  can  be  in  the  sun  when  it  shines,  and  where 
they  can  come  to  the  ground  and  get  plenty  of  dry 
ashes  to  wallow  in.  Let  them  run  at  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  day,  and  when  shut  up  have  scrupu- 
lously clean  quarters.  They  ought  to  have  a  little 
fresh  meat  or  fish  occasionally,  and  always  gravel, 
oyster  and  clam  shells,  pounded,  where  they  can 
be  obtained  readily.  Dry  bones  in  the  stove  oven 
and  break  them  into  small  pieces  for  them.  They 
will  act  as  though  they  were  hungry  when  you  put 
them  before  them. 


Remarks.— Stick  to  the  farm. '  Read  the  letter 
dated  at  Georgetown,  Va.,  and  also  the  statements 
of  a  correspondent,  which  shows  how  one  poor 
boy  in  Massachusetts  obtained  a  good  farm. 

Why  not  work  on  a  farm  for  wages  several 
years,'  learning  all  the  time  how  to  manage  one, 
while  your  money  is  accumulating  to  purchase 
with  ?  This  is  better  than  young  men  do  in  stores 
where  they  frequently  get  no  wages,  and  are 
obliged  to  pay  their  board!  A  relative  of  ours  laid 
up  $;:3000  from  wages  as  a  journeyman  farmer,  be- 
fore he  purchased  the  Connecticut  River  farm  on 
which  he  now  lives. 

There  is  not  one  chance  in  one  hundred  that  you 
will  succeed  if  you  go  to  mining;    and  if  you 


LETTER  FROM   VIRGINIA. 

Mb.  Editor:— It  seems  strange  to  me  that 
Northern  people  do  not  turn  their  attention  more 
this  way.  Tlicre  is  much  land  in  Gloucester  ami 
Matthews  Countv,  probably  as  good  as  the  Con- 
necticut River  bottoms,  and  as  healthy.  The  lands  ^ 
are  low,  but  not  sufiicicnt  to  ovcrllow.  Oysters, 
fish,  cral)s,  &c.,  are  plenty  in  season.  Tins  land  i8 
excellent  for  apples,  pears,  peaches,  figs,  ike,  witQ 
navigation  to  the  door. 

I  wouUl  be  glad  to  join  .in  association  of  farmers 
and  mechanics  to  form  a  settlement  lor  a  town  or 
fruit  farms,  at  an  excellent  location,  high  and  dry, 
where  a  ship  of  the  line  could  aiielior  within  a  few 
varils  of  the  shore,  in  a  good  harbor.  Facilities 
■f.n-  taking  fruit  or  i)rodnee  to  market  are  ii'i^"!"- 
p:i<'<ed  as  steamers  run  daily  to  Baltimore,  1  hila- 
dclphia,  New  York  or  Boston.    The  asking  price. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


231 


say  for  six  or  eight  hundred  acres,  is  $30  per  acre, 
and  this  is  in  the  heart  of  the  oyster  region,  where 
$300,000  is  expended  annually,  I  judge,  in  that 
business  dlone. 

I  was  in  North  Carolina,  a  few  days  since,  in 
Carrituck  County,  and  saw  very  large  vines  of  the 
Scuppernong  grape,  which  were  said  to  produce  30 
bushels  to  a  vine,  some  even  more.  That  variety 
of  grape  would  undoubtedly  flourish  splendidly  on 
this  land.  I  drank  wine  (white,)  made  from  this 
grape,  which  would  be  hard  to  Iteat.  It  was  very 
delicious,  although  new.  It^hallbe  in  Charlestown, 
Jefferson  Co.,  West  Virginia,  in  a  few  days.  If 
any  wish  to  communicate  with  me  on  the  matter 
above  mentioned,  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  from 
them.  Samuel  Clakke. 

Yoikiotc7i,  Va.,  March,  1867. 

Remakks. — The  existence  of  slavery  has  un- 
doubtedly kept  Northern  people  from  examining 
and  settling  upon  the  land  of  which  our  corres- 
pondent speaks.  Having  visited  the  localities 
which  he  describes,  several  times,  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  are  few  if  any  places  which 
offer  so  many  advantages  to  young  and  enterpris- 
ing farmers,  as  in  the  region  of  Yorktown.  The 
climate  is  healthful,  the  land  excellent,  and  the 
whole  world  is  open  for  a  market.  It  is  near  the 
mouth  of  two  splendid  rivers,  the  Potomac  and 
James,  both  pouring  their  vast  volume  of  water 
into  the  maguiliccnt  Chesapeake  Bay.  It  is  little 
more  than  24  hours'  distance  from  New  York  and 
Boston,  and  on  the  very  threshold  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  Go  and  see  it,  young  men,  before  starting 
for  the  mines  of  Idaho  or  any  other  place. 


EAISING   PLANTS   IN   PASTEBOARD    BOXES — FERTIL- 
IZER FOR   TOP-DRESSIXO — STANCHIONS. 

I  think  of  having  a  few  early  vines  this  spring. 
My  plan  is  to  plant  my  seeds  in  pasteboard  boxes 
large  enough  to  contain  one  hill  each.  When  the 
ground  is  warm  enough,  I  shall  set  these  boxes  in 
the  ground,  and  I  think  they  will  decompose  and 
offer  little  or  no  resistance  to  the  roots.  I  have 
tried  to  transplant  vines,  but  with  no  success.  Do 
you  think  I  shall  have  good  success  witli  the  paste- 
lioard  l)oxes  ?  What  is  the  best  kind  of  fertilizer 
to  spread  broadcast  upon  grass  land,  excepting 
stable  manure  ? 

I  saw,  a  short  time  since,  in  your  paper,  a  plan 
for  cattle  stanchions.  Who  can  be  so  barbarous  as 
to  oljlige  a  cow  to  lie  with  her  head  in  the  manger, 
when  she  would,  if  left  to  do  as  she  chose,  lie 
down  with  her  head  against  her  side  ?  I  have  seen 
a  good  many  plans  i'or  securing  cattle,  but  for 
their  comfort  I  prefer  the  chain,  well  known  as  the 
"cow-tie."  c.  H.  w. 

Wiscasset,  March  11,  1867. 

Remarks. — You  will  probably  succeed  well  with 
the  boxes.  To  malce  plants  grow  well,  and  get 
them  early  and  strong,  a  little  bottom  heat  is  neces- 
sary. This  may  be  supplied  by  a  good  bed  of 
coarse  horse  manure  under  them. 

Superphosphate  of  lime  has  done  admirably  as  a 
top-dressing  on  grass  lands. 


wheat,  that  may  be  of  some  use  to  farmers  at 
large. 

Much  depends  on  the  right  soil,  and  much  on  the 
manner  of  cultivation.  I  would  not,  therefore,  ad- 
vise an  indiscriminate  sowing;  for  if  that  is  done 
there  will  be  a  good  many  failures.  With  me,  the 
best  soil  for  wheat  is  a  loamy  ridge,  where  there  is 
a  free  current  of  air,  or  even  whei'e  the  winds  have 
full  play.  The  land  should  be  in  good  condition, 
but  not  from  fresh  manure ;  if  any  is  used  it  should 
be  well  rotted,  old  manure,  as  new  will  induce  a 
large  growth  of  straw  at  the  expense  of  the  berry, 
and  probably  result  in  mildew. 

I  prepare  my  wheat  lands  mostly  in  the  fall  by 
plowing  once  after  corn  or  potatoes.  Wheat  does 
best  where  the  surface,  for  two  or  three  inches  deep, 
is  made  line  and  loose  with  the  harrow.  As  early 
in  the  spring  as  the  land  is  dry  enough,  I  plow 
well  and  sow  the  grain,  harrow,  and  smooth  off 
with  a  brush.  The  seed  should  be  well  washed 
and  soaked  in  brine  for  two  hours,  then  drained  off 
and  dried  with  lime  to  destroy  the  snmt.  About 
one  and  a  half  bushels  should  be  sowed  to  the  acre. 
As  soon  as  it  comes  up,  sow  one  bushel  of  plaster 
to  the  acre.  The  essentials  of  success  in  raising 
wheat  are,  the  proper  preparation  of  the  ground  in 
the  fall ;  early  sowing ;  an  early  variety,  if  possi- 
ble ;  soil  rich,  but  not  with  new  and  unfermented 
manure,  so  that  the  crop  may  be  liastened  to  ma- 
turitj',  and  avoid  all  the  hot  weather  possible.  I 
have  made  sixteen  crops  of  wheat  on  the  farm  on 
wiiich  I  now  live,  without  a  failure,  though  at  some 
times  it  has  been  Ijetter  than  others.  h. 

Ejjpinff,  N.  H,  March,  1867. 

Remarks. — Such  valuable  communications  as 
the  above  we  dislike  to  print  with  a  mere  initial. 
The  writer  of  an  article  which  informs  us  how  six- 
teen successive  crops  of  wheat  have  been  raised  in 
one  of  the  older  States  of  New  England,  may  shield 
himself  from  the  respect  and  gratitude  of  the  pub- 
lic, but  has  he  a  right  to  withhold  from  his  wife 
and  children  the  honor  of  his  good  name  ?  In 
making  this  remark  we  have  in  mind  the  fact  that 
other  wheat  growers  wlio  have  responded  to  Mr. 
Parmenter,  have  regarded  his  request  to  do  so 
with  their  full  names,  and  residences. 


sixteen  crops  of  wheat  witiiovt  a  failere. 

The  high  price  of  flour  will  induce  many  farm- 
ers to  sow  wheat  this  spring.  Having  cultivated 
this  crop  for  the  last  16  years,  I  nniy  be  in  posses- 
sion of  some  information  in  relation  to  growing 


APPLE  TREES  ON  THE  ROADSIDE. 

Last  fall  I  prepared  my  ground  for  planting 
some  apple  trees  this  spring ;  the  lot  is  bounded 
on  one  side  by  the  highway,  and  one  of  the  rows 
runs  parallel  with  it. 

Now,  up  here  in  New  Hampshire,  the  consumer 
appears  to  have  an  idea  that  the  producer  has  few 
rights  which  he  is  bound  to  respect,  and  so  it  fol- 
lows that  those  trees  which  are  situated  within  cosy 
clubbing  distance  of  the  road  are  of  the  least  profit 
to  the  owner.  Every  urchin,  or  boy  of  larger 
growth,  who  passes  by,  seems  intuitively  to  select 
the  tree  which  bears  the  choicest  fruit,  and  missiles 
of  every  description  are  hurled  at  its  devoted  head. 
I  have  an  old  apple  tree  in  my  orchard  which 
stands  near  the  road,  the  fruit  is  early  and  tooth- 
some, and  I  verily  believe  that  if  the  stones  which 
have  been  cast  at  that  tree  by  passers  by,  for  the 
last  ten  years,  should  be  piled  up  in  a  solid  pile, 
they  would  make  a  very  respectable  Egyptian 
pyramid;  when  mowing  in  the  vicinity  of  that 
tree  I  try  to  think  of  the  last  Sunday's  sermon,  of 
"Good  will  toward  men  and  boys,"  but  it's  of  no 
use,  scythes  were  not  made  to  cut  col)blcs. 

If  I  can  raise  good  fruit,  I  take  pride  in  my  prov- 
ing it  by  giving  specimens  to  those  who  nuiy  ask, 
but  it  does  go  against  the  grain  to  be  called  a  stin- 
gy old  curmudgeon  because  you  tell  one  of  this 


232 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


May 


class  of  highwaymen  that  you  object  to  his  club- 
bing your  trees. 

Now,  as  I  do  not  want  to  pander  to  the  taste  of 
thieves,  I  wi.sb  to  find  out  if  there  is  a  variety  of 
apple  which  is  not  inviting  to  the  taste,  but  not  un- 
profitable, a  cider  apple  for  instance,  which  I  can 
with  safety  set  out  in  the  row  next  to  the  road  ? 

We  have  stringent  laws  for  the  protection  of  the 
Kheep  raiser,  laws  to  protect  the  small,  and  game 
birds,  and  fish;  why  not  have  one  to  protect  the 
fruit-raiser  ?  He  needs  it  if  any  one.  It  is  not  too 
late  to  agitate,  so  will  you  and  your  contributors 
show  this  matter  up,  and  perhaps  we  may  get  a  law 
some  time  that  will  be  stringent  enough  to  protect 
the  fruit-raiser.  Winter  Hill. 

Nashua,  N.  H.,  March,  1867. 

Remarks. — Set  young  trees,  and  gi-aft  them  with 
the  best  cider  apple  in  your  neighborhood.  The 
Winter  Green  Sweet  is  one  of  the  finest  apples  for 
baking,  is  scacely  fit  to  use  until  February  or 
March,  and  will  keep  until  June.  When  growing, 
and  until  the  time  of  gathering,  it  is  about  as 
"hard  as  a  brick,"  and  looks  like  a  ball  of  green 
paint.  A  boy  would  eat  the  tree  about  as  soon  as 
the  apple.  In  February,  it  begins  to  turn  yellow, 
assumes  a  very  rich  golden  color,  and  is  sweet  and 
delicious  when  cooked.  It  is  a  roundish-flat  apple 
of  medium  size,  and  may  be  obtained  of  Deacon 
Tenncy,  of  Chester.  N.  H. 


A  NEW  APPLE  ORCHARD. 

I  wish  to  set  out  an  orchard  of  two  hundred  ap- 
ple trees,  this  spring.  Will  3'ou  please  inform  me, 
through  your  paper,  what  kinds  bear  best  in  this 
State.  Would  you  prefer  to  set  small  trees  grown 
here,  rather  than  large  New  York  State  trees  ? 

Greenjield,  Mass.,  March  11,  1867. 

A  Subscriber. 

Remarks. — ^You  had  better  ascertain  what  vari- 
eties are  hardy  and  produce  best  in  your  particu- 
lar locality ;  these  will  be  more  likely  to  prove  prof- 
itable than  trees  would  brought  from  other  distant 
places.  The  Baldwin  is  still  a  favorite ;  so  are  the 
Roxbury  Russet,  the  Hunt  Russet,  Rhode  Island 
Greening,  the  River,  Williams'  Early  Red,  Morri- 
son's Red,  Red  Russet,  Tolman's  Sweeting,  &c. 
Avoid  the  common  mistake  of  setting  too  many 
varieties. 

THE    WAY   TO    RAISE    THE   CALVES. 

Do  not  let  the  calf  go  the  cow  more  than  twice 
to  suck  ;  keep  it  entirely  away  from  her  until  it  is 
two  weeks  old,  and  then  you  may  turn  it  out  with 
her  and  he  sure  it  will  nut  trouble  her.  Feed  the 
calf  with  the  cow's  milk  as  it  is  milked,  until  you 
wish  to  use  the  milk  for  butter,  then  skim  the  milk 
when  it  is  sweet,  warm  it  and  give  it  to  the  calf. 
After  the  calf  is  four  weeks  old  give  it  your  sour 
milk  or  whey,  and  a  little  scalded  meal,  not  more 
than  a  gill  at  a  time  to  commence  with.  The  calf 
will  follow  you  to  the  pasture  and  back  again  at 
night  as  readily  as  your  <l()g.  A  Farmer. 

lloyalston,  Mass.,  March  19,  1867. 


— Judge  Robertson,  of  Louisiana,  has  recently 
made  an  elaborate  report  on  the  resources  of  that 
State,  in  which  he  expresses  the  conviction  that 
her  soil  and  climate  are  well  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  wheat. 


A   CONVENIENT   AND    CHEAP   MICRO- 
SCOPE. 


The  engraving  shows  a  complete  microscope, 
full  size  and  exact  form,  constructed  and  pa- 
tented by  O.  N.  Chase,  No.  9  Lagrange  St., 
Boston,  Mass.  It  is  a  handy  instrument,  use- 
ful in  aiding  the  detection  of  counterfeits,  in 
discovering  the  texture  and  character  of  fab- 
rics, and  in  exploring  the  wonders  of  nature. 
The  microscrope  is  one  of  the  most  useful  in- 
struments. It  has  been  extensively  employed 
of  late  years  in  detecting  adulterations  in  food 
and  other  substances  which  could  not  be  easily 
discovered  by  chemical  analysis.  To  the  farm- 
er it  is  useful  in  ascertaining  the  quality  of 
seed  bought,  and  in  studying  the  structure  and 
habits  of  insects  injurious  to  vegetation.  To 
the  merchant  and  business  man  it  is  an  aid  in 
testing  the  genuineness  of  bank  notes,  the 
quality  of  cloths,  etc.,  and  to  all  it  is  a  source 
of  elevating  and  instructive  amusement. 

This  little  instrument,  although  perfect  in 
every  part,  is  retailed  at  the  low  pi-ice  of  one 
dollar.     See  advertisement  on  another  page. 


The  Western  Wheat  Crop. — A  writer 
in  the  St.  Louis  Democrat  makes  some  obser- 
vations on  the  coining  wheat  crop  of  St.  Louis 
county  which,  as  the  weather  has  been  similar, 
will  probably  apply  throughout  the  ^Vest.  He 
says : — 

"Wheat  was  sown  throughout  the  county  to 
a  larger  extent  tlian  in  any  previous  year.  In 
the  moist  and  warm  ground  it  germinated  and 
sprouted  within  four  or  five  days,  and  contin- 
ued growing  until  the  frosts  of  the  latter  part 
of  November,  when  it  sliowed  a  robust  stand, 
such  as  has  not  been  seen  for  many  a  (all.  The 
thick  coat  of  snow  (also  grumbled  at  as  a  mat- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJklER. 


233 


ter  of  course)  now  covering  the  ground  is 
another  blessing.  That  snow  shelters  our 
wheat  as  under  a  uni^■ersal  hot-house,  and  a 
good  one,  too,  keeping  the  plant  alive,  but 
not  allowing  its  growth,  which  is  its  best  possi- 
ble condition." 


BLACK  KNOT. 
We  have  one  cherry  tree  in  our  garden, 
which  was  a  very  small,  unthrifty  looking  one 
when  we  come  hither  four  years  ago.  It 
then  had  a  few  black  knots  on  it,  which  I 
cut  oil",  but  I  did  no  more,  thinking  it  would 
die.  Last  winter  I  concluded  to  experiment, 
and  in  February  I  had  the  house  slops  poured 
around  the  roots,  and  continued  till  the  buds 
started.  When  it  blossomed  it  was  a  perfect 
mass  of  petals,  and  most  beautiful  to  behjld. 
It  was  the  (irst  time  it  had  blossomed  full  since 
we  owned  it.  It  grew  very  fast,  looked  thrif- 
ty, and  I  thought  I  should  have  a  good  crop, 
till  one  day  I  thought  I  saw  a  large  green 
worm  on  one  of  the  lower  limbs,  but  on  closer 
examination,  found  the  outside  bark  had  burst, 
and  what  I  supposed  the  worm  was  the  bright 
green  in.vide  bark.  I  called  for  my  husband 
to  look  at  it,  and  we  found  several  of  the  limbs 
burst  in  the  same  way,  with  no  sign  of  bu"  or 
worm,  or  insect  of  any  kind  about  the  tree. 
The  leaves  and  Iruit  were  beginning  to  fall 
oif,  and  we  concluded  it  had  been  over-stimu- 
lated. ]\ly  husband  took  his  knife  and  scarred 
the  bark  of  the  body  of  the  tree  from  the  lower 
limbs  to  the  root^:,  and  before  we  left,  it  had 
split  open  an  eighth  of  an  inch,  and  the  gash 
is  lully  half  an  inch  wide,  well  barked  over. 
The  Ijur.^ts  which  1  have  just  cut  off,  in  the 
form  of  black  knot,  have  injured  the  tree 
some,  but  I  hope  by  watching  it  closely  and 
taking  good  care  of  it  to  have  a  nice  tree  of  it 
yet.— Mis.  E.  C.  McCloiighny,  Deposit,  N. 
Y.,  in  Tribune. 


IIoiiSKs'  Feet  Requiue  jNIoisture. — Nine- 
tentlis  of  the  diseases  which  happen  to  the 
hools  and  ankles  of  the  hor.^e  are  occasioned 
by  slanding  on  the  dry,  plank  floors  of  the 
stable.  JNiany  persons  t-ecni  to  think,  from  the 
way  they  keep  their  horses,  that  the  loot  of  the 
horse  was  ne\er  made  fur  moisture,  and  that, 
if  pos.-iLle,  it  would  be  beneliciul  if  they  had 
cow-liide  boots  to  put  on  every  time  they  went 
out.  Kature  designed  the  loot  for  moist 
ground — the  earth  of  the  woods  and  valleys  ; 
at  the  same  time  that  a  covering  was  given  to 
protect  it  from  stones  and  stumps. —  Oliio 
Farmer. 


— Dr.  Smith  said  at  a  kite  meeting  of  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club,  that  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile 
there  are  nudtitudcs  of  towers  some  ten  feet  high, 
on  which  are  placed  doves'  houses,  solely  for  the 
manure  which  is  gathered  and  used  for  melon 
growing— the  finest  in  the  'world  being  raised  by 
this  means. 


FAEMEKS'   GARDENS — No.  HE. 
Proper  Soil. 

hen    the   best  location 
that  circumstances  will 
^  permit,  has  been  secur- 

'stHa^  ed,  the  great  step  will 
'  ^  n^  be  to  get  such  a  soil  as 
^^  will  best  suit  a  majority 
of  the  plants  we  wish  to 
cultivate.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  suppose  that 
some  special  soil  is  in- 
dispensable to  success. 
There  is  probably  no 
farm  in  the  country,  that 
does  not  afford  a  spot 
near  its  buildings,  which, 
by  skilful  management, 
may  be  made  to  pro- 
duce all  the  varieties  of  fruits  and  vegetables 
that  are  adapted  to  the  climate.  But  there  is 
a  diversity  in  them,  and  if  we  do  not  find  such 
as  we  desire,  prepared  by  nature  for  our  use,  we 
must  do  it  by  art.  Soils  perform  at  least  three 
grand  functions  in  reference  to  vegetation. 
Prof.  Johnston  says  they  "serve  as  a  basis  in 
which  plants  may  fix  their  roots  and  sustain 
themselves  in  their  erect  position — they  supply 
food  to  vegetables  at  every  period  of  their 
growth — and  they  are  the  medium  in  which  many 
chemical  changes  take  place,  that  are  essential 
lo  a  right  preparation  of  the  various  kinds  of 
food  which  the  soil  is  destined  to  yield  to  the 
growing  plant." 

The  character  of  the  soil,  by  which  we  mean 
its  capacity  to  afford  a  habitation  to  the  plant 
appropriate  to  it,  and  at  the  same  time  to  fur- 
nish the  required  aliment,  is  a  matter,  as  all 
gardeners  must  see,  of  the  first  importance. 
It  should  be  such  as  to  afford  sufficient  mois- 
ture to  the  roots  and  to  admit  the  air  to  pene- 
trate it  freely.  The  soil  consists  of  decayed 
vegetable  matter,  sometimes  mixed  with  par- 
ticles of  rock  reduced  to  fine  pieces  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  atmosphere  and  of  water,  and 
sometimes  by  the  roots  of  plants.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  describe  the  different  kinds  of 
soils  in  regard  to  adaptation  to  supplying 
moisture. 

Second.  It  should  afford  a  supply  of  car- 
bonic acid.  This  is  furnished  by  the  decay  of 
vegetable  matter,  or  by  absorption  from  the 
atmosphere.  This  faculty  of  absorption  is  as- 
sisted by  mixing  with  charcoal,  muck,  or  other 


234 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


matters  having  great  absorbing  power.  Char- 
coal consists  chiefly  of  carbon,  and  it  has  been 
found  that  plants  will  prove  more  luxuriant  in 
soils  containing  a  large  proportion  of  carbona- 
ceous matter,  if  well  supplied  with  water,  than 
in  any  other  soil.  Charcoal  is  not  only  a  me- 
dium of  absorption,  but  when  water  is  present, 
it  is  decomposed,  and  its  oxygen,  combining 
•with  the  carbon  of  charcoal,  carbonic  acid  is 
furnished  to  the  vessels  of  the  plant. 

Third.  The  soil  should  be  capable  of  fur- 
nishing a  supply  of  ammonia  to  the  roots.  This 
is  also  much  assisted  by  the  presence  of  gyp- 
sum or  charcoal,  which  absorb  it  from  the  at- 
mosphere. The  usual  mode  of  supplying  it  is 
by  the  addition  of  animal  matter  from  the  sta- 
ble. Ammonia  imparts  its  nitrogen  to  the 
plant,  and  it  is  to  this  that  much  of  the  nutri- 
tive value  of  the  cereal  grains  and  many  escu- 
lent vegetables  is  due. 

Fourth.  It  should  contain  those  mineral  in- 
gredients which  are  necessary  to  the  growth  of 
plants.  These,  if  wanting,  must  be  supplied. 
The  usual  mode  of  doing  this  is  by  the  mixture 
of  other  soils,  as  will  be  presently  stated. 
This  is  also  advantageously  resorted  to  when  the 
soil  is  too  little  or  too  much  retentive  of  mois- 
ture, in  consequence  of  being  too  loose  or 
sandy,  or  calcareous,  or  too  compact  and  stiff. 
This  is  called  tejnjyering  the  soil.  When  a 
soil  is  too  loose  and  porous,  or  too  stiff,  the 
mixture  of  the  opposite  kind  in  just  propor- 
tions will  bring  it  to  a  more  suitable  condition. 
In  this  way  a  body  is  given  to  those  lands  that 
are  too  porous,  and  those  which  are  too  heavy 
and  tenacious  are  made  more  light  and  loose. 
This  process  brings  no  nutriment  to  the  plant 
directly,  but  only  mediately,  by  attaining  a  re- 
tentive power  in  the  right  degree,  and  thus 
furnishing  nutriment  by  a  proper  supply  of 
water ;  and  it  also  acts  favorably  on  the  health 
and  quality  of  the  plants. 

A  decidedly  gravelly  or  sandy  soil  is  un- 
suitable for  garden  purposes.  So  is  a  heavy, 
clay  soil ;  such  a  soil  would  be  wet  in  its  nat- 
ural state,  and  a  wet  soil  is  a  cold  one.  But 
all  these  may  be  so  altered  and  attempered,  by 
drainage  and  combinations  of  materials,  as  to 
make  such  a  sandy  loam  as  will  meet  all  the 
wants  of  common  plants.  ^loist,  heavy  soils, 
that  rest  upon  clayey  subsoils,  are  better 
adapted  to  pasturage,  moAving  fields  and  the 
production  of  trees,  and  can  only  be  made 
suitable  for  a  vegetable  garden  by  thorough 


draining,  and  then  by  trenching  or  deep  plow- 
ing, and  the  intermixture  of  sand  and  muck. 
Without  these  helps,  such  land  is  too  wet  in 
rainy  seasons,  and  is  liable  to  become  hard 
upon  the  surface  during  dry  seasons,  and 
in  either  case  is  unfavorable  for  the  free  growth 
of  plants.  But  "by  the  removal  of  the  water, 
the  physical  properties  of  the  soil  are  in  a  re- 
markable degree  improved.  Dry  clay  can  be 
easily  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  but  it  natur- 
ally, and  of  its  own  accord,  runs  together 
when  water  is  poured  upon  it.  So  it  is  with 
clays  in  the  field.  When  wet,  they  are  close, 
compact,  and  adhesive,  and  exclude  the  air 
from  the  roots  of  the  growing  plant.  But  re- 
move the  water  and  they  gradually  contract, 
crack  in  every  direction,  become  open,  friable, 
and  mellow,  more  easily  and  cheaply  worked, 
and  pervious  to  the  air  in  every  direction." 
Thorough  drainage,  then,  and  the  intermixture 
of  sand  and  coarse  and  warming  dressings 
from  the  horse  stalls  will  bring  a  heavy  soil 
into  one  upon  which  any  plants  will  grow. 

There  are  many  flirms  made  up  entirely  of 
sandy  plain  lands,  upon  which  there  is  no  soil 
of  a  different  character.  When  such  a  soil  is 
highly  cultivated  it  will  bring  certjin  early 
vegetables  to  perfection,  but  fails  to  mature 
crops  that  require  a  longer  growth.  It  may 
be  amended,  however,  by  the  application  and 
complete  mixture  of  clay  and  muck.  These 
should  be  hauled  upon  it  in  the  autumn  or 
winter,  so  that  frosts  and  i-ains  may  pulverize 
and  sweeten  them,  and  then  be  thoroughly 
plowed  and  otherwise  mingled  with  the  sandy 
soil.  Under  such  a  practice,  and  with  suitable 
manuring,  this  forms  a  sandy  loam,  which  is 
the  best  soil  for  all  garden  purposes.  But  it 
may  become  necessary  to  drain  even  a  sandy 
soil.  If  springs  rise  to  the  surface,  as  they 
frequently  do,  it  must  be  drained.  On  many 
soils  water  is  obtained  in  the  wells  by  digging 
only  eight  or  ten  feet,  because  the  sand  rests 
upon  a  hard  or  clayey  bottom.  In  such  cases, 
draining  is  indispensable  to  success.  The  ac- 
tion of  manure  on  a  light,  sandy  soil,  is  to  in-  * 
crease  its  cohesibility,  its  capacity  for  absorb- 
ing and  retaining  moisture,  and  to  render  it 
more  compressible.  Applied  in  sufficient 
quantity,  it  communicates  an  unctuous  or 
pasty  condition,  and  renders  it  less  likely  to 
be  injui-iously  affected  by  the  sudden  atmos- 
pheric alternations  of  wet  and  dry.  It  also 
constitutes  a  better  medium  for  the  roots  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


235 


vegetables,  which,  in  a  light  and  excessively 
porous  soil,  do  not  take  hold'  with  sufficient 
firmness. 


KULES    FOR   BUYING    WOOL. 
At  a  union  convention  of  the  INIichigan  Wool 
Growers'  Association,  Wool  Buyers  and  farm- 
ers   generally,  the   following    rules   for  pre- 
paring wool  for  market  were  adopted : — 

1st.  Sheep  should  not  be  allowed  access  to  the 
straw-stack,  especiallyof  barley  or  Ijearded  wheat. 

2d.  All  sheep,  except  perhaps  l)ucks,  should  be 
well  washed,  if  practical)le,  in  a  running  stream, 
and  as  early  in  the  season  as  the  weather  will  per- 
mit. 

3d.  Sheep  should  be  shorn,  weather  and  other 
circumstances  permitting,  within  six  to  ten  days 
after  washing. 

4th.  At  the  time  of  shearing,  the  fleeces  should  be 
carefully  rolled  up  as  snugly  as  practicable,  with- 
out ))ting  too  tightly  pressed,  wound  with  light 
colored  strong  twine,  put  twice  each  way  around 
the  fleece,  carefully  excluding  all  dead  wool  and 
unwashed  tags. 

In  place  of  propositions  to  discount  one-half 

on  unwashed  rams'  fleeces,  and  one-third  on 

other  unwashed  wool,  which  were  rejected,  the 

following  was  agreed  to  : — 

Reasonable  deduction  should  be  made  on  un- 
washed or  otherwise  unnicnhantable  condition — 
this  deduction  to  be  determined,  however,  ac- 
cording to  the  quality  and  condition  in  each 
case,  and  not  by  any  arbitrary  rule  of  deduction 
to  be  applied  indiscriminately  to  all  cases. 

In  the  course  of  the  discussion  upon  the 
adoption  of  the  above,  Mr.  Stuart  of  Kalama- 
zoo said  he  thought  the  rule  deducting  one- 
third  on  bucks'  fleeces,  simply  because  they 
are  bucks'  fleeces,  was  arbitrary  and  unjust. 
He  had  a  mixture  of  buck's  and  ewe's  fleeces, 
and  if  any  Avool-growcr  or  buyer  could  distin- 
guish one  from  the  other,  he  would  give  him 
the  whole  crop. 

This    \\'ool   Growers'    Association    elected 

the  following  officers  for  the  year : — 

President,  Hon.  C.  E.  Stuart,  Kalamazoo;  Vice 
Prctidcnr,  Sanford  Howard,  Lansing;  Treasurer, 
W.  G.  iJcckuitli,  Cassdpolis ;  Secretary,  W.  J. 
Baxter,  Hillsdale;  Ex.  Com.,  C.  W.  Green,  J.  R. 
Hcndryx,  L.  S.  Wood,  Charles  Rich,  N.  Pugsley. 


IinuG.vTiON. — A  correspondent  in  West 
Townshend,  Vt.,  gives  us  some  particulars  of 
the  success  of  Mr.  J.  H.  Kimball,  in  the  irri- 
gation of  about  three  acres  of  a  gravelly  and 
sandy  soil,  which  was  previously  almost  too 
poor  to  grow  weeds.  A  tannery  which  stood 
on  the  stream  from  which  the  water  was  taken 
may  have  added  something  to  its  manurial 
value.  Last  season,  which  was  the  second  or 
third  of  the  irrigation,  five  tons  of  hay,  fifty 


bushels  of  corn  and  seventeen  of  beans  were 
harvested  as  field  crops,  besides  seventeen 
bushels  of  turnips  and  a  liberal  supply  of  vege- 
tables, which  were  grown  on  a  portion  of  the 
land  occupied  as  a  garden. 


EXTRACTS   AND    REPLIES. 

CHEMISTRY  ANB    FARMING. 

I  have  heard  that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  chem- 
istry is  important  to  successful  farming.  Please 
to  state  through  the  New  England  Farmer  the 
reasons  why  it  is  so.  Most  of  the  farmers  I  ever 
saw  knew  little  or  nothing  about  chemistry.  How 
much  will  Ijooks  suflicient  to  obtain  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  it,  cost  ?  ROBEKT. 

Easton,  March,  1867. 

Remarks. — There  can  be  no  doubt,  we  think, 
that  a  thorough  knowledge  of  chemistry  is  import- 
ant to  successful  farming.  But  that  it  is  absolute- 
ly necessary,  we  do  not  believe.  There  are  thou- 
sands of  excellent  farmers  who  have  no  exact 
knowledge  of  chemistry — but  still  would  find  a 
"thorough"  knowledge  of  that  science  important 
to  them  in  their  farming  operations.  Indeed,  a 
very  large  majority  of  all  farmers  have  very  little 
knowledge  of  chemistry,  and  yet  they  succeed 
well  and  honor  the  calling.  Some  knowledge  of 
chemistry  would  not  only  prove  profitable  to  the 
farmer  in  a  money  point  of  view,  but  it  would  be- 
come a  source  of  pleasure  to  him,  and  kindle  in 
his  mind  a  still  greater  desire  to  understand  better 
the  wonderful  things  that  surround  him  in  all  his 
labors. 

The  best  book  for  you  is  "Elements  of  Agricul- 
tural Chemistry  and  Geology,"  by  Prof.  J.  F.  "W. 
Johnston.    Costs  1^1.50. 


CHANGING    SEED — SALT  FOR  WHEAT. 

Having  promised  to  write  about  the  cultivation 
of  wheat,  and  the  importance  of  changing  seed,  I 
must  say.  in  the  first  place,  that  wheat  is  of  all 
grain  the  most  valuable.  It  is  a  very  hardy  plant, 
sustaining  alike  without  injury  the  frosts  of  winter 
and  the  heats  of  sununcr.  It  delights  most  in  a 
stiff,  mellow,  well  pulverized  soil,  and  very  suc- 
cessfully follows  beans,  clover,  peas,  vetches  or 
corn.  On  very  light  soils  it  is  not  profitable.  Nor 
does  it  suecceil  well  after  potatoes,  because  this 
root  is  exhausting  to  the  soil  and  renders  it  light 
and  porous.  When  this  succession  is  adopted,  a 
large  quantity  of  manure  should  be  used  to  the 
potatoes. 

The  smut,  which  often  proves  fatal  to  wheat  and 
other  grain  crops,  appears  to  be  occasioned  liy  the 
peculiar  state  of  the  seed,  and  in  England  various 
saline,  alkaline  and  other  steeps  are  used  to  re- 
move this  infection.  When,  however,  it  becomes 
very  much  sulijectto  this  disease,  it  is  attributed  to 
sowing  one  kind  of  seed  u])on  the  same  quality  of 
land  tuo  long.  Therefore  English  farmers  have  so 
mueh  faith  in  the  beneficial  ctteets  of  a  change  of 
seed,  that  they  sometimes  will  go  a  great  distance 
for  that  which  is  fresh.  They  are  also  very  particu- 
lar to  have  seed  wheat  clean  of  all  foul  seed,  &c. 
They  generally  make  it  wet  with  old  chamber-lye, 
and  then  dry  with  quick  lime. 

I  adopted  the  same  mode  here,  but  sowed  one 
kind  of  wheat  for  seven  or  eight  years.  I  thus  got 
considerable  smut  among  it,  and  it  also  deteriora- 
ted considerably.    My  straw  was  good,  ears  long, 


236 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


but  the  berry  had  become  rather  smaller  than  it 
was  when  Ilir.st  boiif,'ht  the  seed.  I  did  not  like 
to  part  witli  the  wheat,  as  it  made  excellent  Hour, 
and  I  did  not  know  where  to  get  any  of  the  same 
sort.  I  therefore  tried  another  mode  of  preparing 
my  seed.  Procuring  a  sieve  coarse  enough  to  let 
the  small  seeds  and  other  refuse  matter  through,  1 
get  it  thoroughly  clean.  Then  wet  it  with  water, 
and  add  to  four  bushels  of  wheat  one  bushel  of 
salt,  and  nux  them  well  together.  Let  it  stand  lor 
two  days  before  sowing.  When  ready  to  sow,  I 
mix  in  ashes  until  the  wheat  will  seiiaratc  freely. 
This  course  I  have  pursued  for  the  last  two  years, 
and  have  not  seen  any  sign  of  smut,  weevil  or  worm 
Tliis  leads  mc  to  thiidi  that  salt  is  l)enelicial  to  the 
wheat  as  well  as  to  the  land.  Last  year  I  had  some 
as  haiulsouie  wheat  as  any  one  could  wish  for.  I 
think  if  we  would  sow  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
bushels  of  salt  to  the  acre,  as  we  might  easily  do 
when  sowing  the  seed,  it  would  greatly  benefit  the 
soil.  AVlieat  should  be  at  once  cut  on  the  appear- 
ance of  blight ;  as  fields  thus  harvested  will  often 
prodiue  a  iair  crop,  which,  if  left  to  stand,  would 
amount  of  little.  E.  IIebb. 

JeffcrsoHville,  Vt.,  March  22,  18G7. 


PRICE  OF   MILK. 

As  the  time  is  now  near  at  hand  when  farmers 
who  produce  milk  for  the  Boston  market,  will  en- 
gage their  milk  for  the  counng  six  months,  it  l)c- 
coujcs  a  matter  of  interest  to  ascertain  what  price 
we  are  likely  to  receive  for  it.  AVc  all  very  well 
know  that  during  the  past  few  years  the  value  of 
labor,  hay,  grain,  ])asturage,  stock,  tools,  rate  of 
taxation,"and  every  thing  connected  with  the  pro- 
duction of  milk,  have  greatly  increased.  This  ren- 
ders it  necessary  that  we  should  obtain  a  fair  liv- 
ing price  lor  what  we  have  to  sell. 

Heretofore,  the  i)roducer  has  had  very  little 
voice  in  fixing  tlie  ])rice  at  which  lie  has  sold  his 
milk.  The  milkmen  combine  together,and  say  what 
they  will  pay,  thus  kindly  saving  us  any  trouble 
whatever  in  the  matter,  although  we  feel  that  thus 
far  they  have  obtained  our  milk  at  far  less  than  the 
actual  cost  of  i)roducing  it.  8o  long  as  we  contin- 
ue to  go  on  in  this  way,  so  long  will  milk-raising 
continue  to  be  a  losing  business.  Why  should  we 
not  have  annually  a  Milk-raisers'  Convention,  with 
delegates  from  each  town,  upon  the  various  nnlk 
routes  leading  into  Boston,  and  establish  a  fair 
scale  of  prices,  varying  according  to  the  distaiu'e 
from  the  city  t  Certainly  it  does  seem  as  if  some 
measures  should  be  taken  to  bring  about  a  diller- 
ent  state  of  atlairs,  w. 

Lancaster,  Mass.,  March  22,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  pul)lisli  the  al)ovc  contrary  to 
our  rule  which  reqtures  correspondents  to  give  us 
their  names,  not  to  be  published  against  their  will, 
but  as  a  guarantee  of  the  good  faith  of  the  writer. 
The  remarks  of  "W."  upon  another  subject,  we 
must  decline  to  publish  until  the  above  rule  is 
complied  with. 

FANEUIL   HALL   MARKET. 

Is  it  proper  to  call  the  long  stone  Market  "Fan- 
cuil  Hall  Market,"  or  "Quincy  Market,"  and  by 
which  nanu!  it  is  called  in  the  city  Records  ?  As 
there  is  a  dillerence  of  opinion  upon  the  subject  in 
our  village,  1  thought  I  would  like  to  know  tho 
facts  in  the  case.  i'.  n.  a. 

North  Bridyewater,  Mass.,  March  23,  1867. 

Remaiikh. — In  1740,  Peter  Fancuil,  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  Boston,  offered  to  erect  a  suitable  build- 
ing for  a  market,  and  give  it  to  the  city.  The 
building,  when  erected,  contained  a  town  hall  in 


addition  to  the  original  proposition  of  a  market.  In 
1824,  more  room  being  required  for  market  purpos- 
es, leave  was  granted  to  extend  Fancuil  Hall 
Market.  In  this  movement  Josiah  Quincy,  then 
Mayor  of  the  city,  took  an  active  part.  Hence  the 
"long  market,"  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  This 
building,  also,  in  addition  to  the  stalls  on  the 
ground  floor,  contained  a  spacious  upper  floor.  The 
occupants  of  this  story  of  the  new  building,  from 
respect  to  the  public  spirited  mayor,  hung  out 
their  "shingles"  with  the  inscription  "Quincy 
Hall,"  in  large  letters.  Hence,  the  confusion  of 
names.  The  official  and  proper  designation  of  the 
market,  however,  is  Faneuil  Hall  and  not  Quincy. 
When  the  new  building  was  first  erected,  there 
were  not  occupants  enough  for  the  whole,  and  the 
stalls  under  Faneuil  Hall  were  vacated,  and  leased 
for  other  puiposes.  A  few  years  ago,  when  the 
lo7ig  market  came  to  be  too  short  for  the  increasing 
business,  the  original  Faneuil  was  refitted,  and  is 
now  occupied  as  a  nuirket  according  to  the  inten- 
tion of  its  founder.  Mr.  Charles  B.  Rice,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  nuirket,  informs  us  that  the  stalls  in 
the  original  building  are  distinguished  in  his  offi- 
cial reports  as  the  "New"  Faneuil  Hall  Market. 


WATER   CRESS. 

Enclosed  I  send  you  a  root  that  I  call  water 
cress.  Can  j^ou  inform  me  through  the  Faumek  if 
I  am  right,  and  is  it  sold  in  Boston  Market  ? 

A    .SLUSCltlllER. 

New  Bedford,  Mass.,  March  .5,  18G7. 

Remarks.— The  i)lant  sent  is  much  smaller  and 
more  delicate  than  the  water  cress.  In  his  excel- 
lent work,  "Vegetables  of  America,"  Mr.  Burr 
gives  the  following  descriiuiou  of  the  water  cress — 
Sisi/mbrium  nasturtium.    Nasturtium  officinale. 

"When  in  blossom,  the  plant  is  about  two  feet 
in  height,  or  length;  the  leaves  are  winged,  with 
five  or  six  pairs  of  rounded  leallets,  and,  in  deep 
water,  are  often  immcrscti,  or  float  upon  the  sur- 
face; the  flowers  are  small,  white,  luur-petaled, 
and  ternunate  the  stalks  in  loose  spikes  ;  the  seeds 
are  very  small,  reil(li>li-l)n)wn,  and  retain  their 
powers  of  germination  live  years.  Nearly  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  arc  contained  in  an 
ounce." 

If  our  friend  will  give  us  his  full  address  we  will 
send  him  a  sample  of  the  water  cress  sold  in  the 
market,  and  quoted  in  our  report. 


■WHEAT   IN   NEW   ENGLAND. 

Several  encouraging  articles  iiimn  wheat-raising 
have  api)cared  in  the  Farmer  the  jiast  few  weeks. 
That  from  Isaac  W.  HutchiTison,  Es(i.,  of  Tem- 
pleton,  Mass.,  is  worthy  of  special  notice.  Truth- 
fully lie  says,  "wheat  ought  to  l)e  raised  by  every 
farmer;"  "that  most  of  us  can  iiroducc  our  own 
flour,"  &c.  He  says,  "1  seldom  tail  to  raise  lesa 
than  20  bushels  to  the  acre  and  have  raised  i'y." 

This  lias  been  my  urgent,  i)ersistcut  doctrine  to 
the  farmers,  for  the  ijast  twenty  }  ears— 1  yet  hoiio 
and  expect  to  see  the  wheat  fever  pass  through 
New  England,  as  the  fire  sweejis  the  Western  prai- 
ries. 

It  is  an  idle,  sluggish  timidity,  (excuse  the  re- 
mark,) that  keci)S  the  farmer  from  doing  this  first 
special  duty  to  himself  and  his  family.  Why  not 
depend  upon  the  West  for  all  his  corn  and  small 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEI^IER. 


237 


grains  ?  Wheat  is  a  linndrcd  times  more  valuable 
than  all  other  small  gi-ains  in  the  ai^tcrcsiate.  It  is 
a  crop  that  olFors  a  cloul)le  advantaijiTovcr  anv  other 
gi-ain,  as  it  may  be  sown  either  in  the  spVinij  or 
tall.  One  or  the  other  is  almost  «;/;•<?— pcrliaps 
both.  "\\  ith  early  sowing,  to  the  depth  of  three 
inches,  there  is  more  certainty  of  its  being  well 
rooted  and  not  affected  l)y  frost,  as  a  winter  grain 
The  best  (lour  comes  from  the  winter  wheat.  Four 
bushels  IS  cipial  to  a  barrel  of  Hour  to  the  farmer 
netting  the  comforial)lc  little  sum  of  ^4.,5()  toS5  00 
a  bushel  when  Hour  is  ^16  to  !$iS  per  barrel ;  that 
being  the  price  I  pay  for  best  quality. 

It  is  sincerely  to  Ije  liopcd  that  your  correspond- 
ent, Mr.  Hutchinson,  being  fairly  in  the  licld,  will 
be  unceasing  in  his  labors  upon  this  vital  subject 
It  is  the  right  source  for  information.  His  com- 
munication is  practical,  sound,  and  of  the  high- 
est value  to  every  man  who  owns  a  farm. 

The  States  of  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Pennsylvania 
have  Iicen  large  buyers  of  wheat,  this  season,  ow- 
ii^ig  to  short  crops.  So  it  may  occasionally  be  wiih 
Eastern  farmers.  We  do  not  always  succeed  with 
any  crop. 

Whytlonot  the  wheat  raisers  tell  their  experi- 
ence, as  Mr.  H.  has  done }  It  would  cncoura<'e 
many  a  l)rothcr  fanner  to  go  aud  do  likewise       "^ 

Brookli/n,  L.  I.,  March,  iS67.  H.  Po'oR 


C.VXKER   ^yonM   rUEVEXTlVE. 

Last  year  a  person  came  along  wishing  to  sell  a 
preventive  for  canker  worms.  It  was  in" the  form 
of  a  lirpiid,  which  was  to  I)c  put  into  a  hole  bored 
into  the  sap  wood, and  plugged  up.  Ic  would  in- 
fuse irsclf  inio  the  foliage  and  the  worms  would 
not  cat  it.  As  no  one  would  buy,  he  nuulc  the  ap- 
plication to  two  trees  of  my  neighbor's.  Those  es- 
caijed  the  ravages,  while  tlu^  oJicr  trees  were 
stripped.    I  would  like  to  procure  some  of  it. 

Stratham,  X.  11.,  March  25,  1867.  s.  D. 

Re:marks.— The  idea  of  impregnating  the  sap  of 
trees  with  sulphur,  calomel,  or  other  oircnsivc  or 
deadly  matter,  to  protect  the  foliage  from  insects, 
is  a  very  old  one;  and  statements  of  the  success  of 
such  doctoring,  occasionally  go  tiic  rounds  of  the 
papers.  As  both  calomel  and  sulphur  arc  insolu- 
ble in  water,  wc  suppose  (hey  will  prove  so  in  the 
sap  of  the  fruit  trees  to  which  they  are  apiilicd. 
But  if  two  trees  have  been  protected  by  the  travel- 
ling peddler's  li(piid,  wc  advise  him  to  ride  (he 
circuit  again,  or  let  "S.  D."  know  where  he  can 
obtain  a  bottle  of  his  preventive. 


field  being  manured  and  otherwise  mana"-ed  the 
same  in  all  respects. 

Will  some  of  our  old  experienced  sheep  farmers 
five  US,  in  the  Fakmi:k,  the  best  method  of  treat- 
ing sheep  manure  from  the  first  move  in  the  Iiarn 
to  tlie  last  in  the  ground.  Sometimes  I  have  forked 
mine  over  \yhcn  it  began  to  heat  pretty  well,  then 

i'/^!ii,"   .  f"    •''•"''■  'V:-'^  °'^'^^'  f'""^^^  1  '''''^■^'  moved 
It  (  ncct  from  its  solid  state  in  the  pen  to  tlie  land 

iy  sa?i'v'fu-t'l"    ^         "^  '"•    ^''"^'""  ""^'•''  '^^  ^"^i""' 
Holdcn>l^s!y.  H.,  March  25,  1SG7.    ^'''^'■"'^«- 

AN   excellent  S0.\.P. 

I  have  n;;e(l  it  for  more  than  fifteen  rears  and 
kno>y  Its  good  qualities  lor  those  who  liave  hard 
rough,  and  dirty  hands.  ' 

I  take  4  iioun'ds  castile  soap,  4  pounds  best  vel- 
owsoap.  cut  in  thin  slices  and  put  it  into  a  ket- 
t  c  wiih  a  httle  soft  water,  over  a  moderate  fire 
\Mwn  It  IS  melted,  I  put  in  the  oil  of  three  beef's 
galls,  ami  one  pint  of  glycerine  oil;  stirwcllto-^cth- 
er,  then  pour  It  into  pans  about  an  inch  deep  I 
then  stir  in  pumice  stone,  pounded  fine,  until  it  is 
as  thick  as  dough.  When  nearly  cool  cut  it  into 
squares.  For  more  delicate  hands  the  puiuico 
stone  may  be  sifted.    Age  improves  it. 

r,  .   -.r         ,r      ,  F.  E.  Bigelow. 

Concord,  Mass.,  March  24,  1SG7. 


large  crop  of  oxioxs. 
I  obsciTcd  in  your  paper  of  January  .5th  a  state- 
ment that  Mr.  G.  O.  Gill,  of  West 'Medwav  had 
raised  seven  l)usliels  of  onions  upon  two  sipiaic 
rods  ot  ground.  I  have  myself  done  much  better 
than  this;  having  raiseil  from  a  piece  of  laud 
measuring  oS  In-  2;i  i\vt,  a  little  more  than  live  and 
one-halt  square  rods,  thirtv-two  bushels  of  onions 
or  at  the  rate  of  more  than  9J0  bushels  per  acre.    ' 

C.T  ,r         ,,      .  Ly.ma.\  IIe-wixs. 

Shaivn,  Mass.,  March  19,  18G7. 


TLOUR  OF  ROXE— SHEER  MAXfRE, 

Last  season  I  purchased  9a  pounds  of  the  bone 
flour.  Applied  it  in  the  hill  when  planting  corn, 
by  using  Hour  of  bone  in  one  row  and  superphos- 
phate in  the  next  row,  ami  so  on.  The  yield  from 
tlie  rows  with  (he  superiihosphatc  was  oi)  per  cent 
greater  than  from  those  ^vitll  the  flour  of  bouc— the 


IXVERTED   ^VOMB   IX   SHEEP, 

I  wish  to  inquire  through  the  Farmer,  what 
the  cause  is,  and  what  will  cure  sheci)  that  "cast 
licir  xycathcis  .-"  I  had  one  last  winter,  and  two 
this  winter ;  one  is  so  l)ad  I  iiave  to  keep  her  sewed 
iq).  I  have  washed  them  in  alum  water,  and  milk 
and  water.  Will  some  one  give  me  some  informa- 
tion what  to  do  tbr  them  ?  F.  n.  Hoit 

yetcark,  Vt.,  March,  ISGJ. 

Remarks.— Yon  h.avo  probably  looked  at  Ran- 
dall's book.  If  the  alum  w.iter  docs  not  succeed 
why  not  try  Youatt's— and  Randall  recommends  it' 
too— i)lan  of  "tying  a  strong  ligature  round  the 
protruded  parts,  as  near  to  the  month  of  the  vagina 
as  possible.  The  uterus  will  slough  otf  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  days.  There  will  be  no 
bleeding,  or  the  slightest  inconvenience,  and  the 
ewe  will  become  as  hcahhy  and  as  fat  as  any  of 
the  Hock."  Of  course,  she  will  not  breed  any 
more. 


ENCOURAGIXO, 

With  pleasure  have  I  perused  vonr  valuable  pa- 
per and  immphlct.  It  brings  me  back  to  years 
that  arc  pa>i,  when  I  used  io  find  so  mm  h  picas- 
urc  and  sa;i.--l'aeiion  in  looking  over  the  old  New 
Knoland  Fai;mi;i:,  ininrcd  iii  vour  ci.v  by  Joel 
Noinsc,  and  cdircil  iiy  Mr.  Blown,  both  of  whom  I 
see  arc  interested  in  the  present  pap.cr.  I  have  a 
large  pile  of  the  old  ones,  liiat  have  been  looked 
over  very  many  times  l)y  me  aud  mine,  wi;h  great 
pleasure,  wi.-hiiig  there  might  be  another  one  of 
the  same  kind  started,  ami  it  is  here  before  me  in 
the  same  old  Ibnii.  I  hope  it  may  give  as  good 
satisfaction  to  all  who  read  it  as  (iiir  the  former 

o"iV„  ■^^'•'»i-  n.  Black. 

Ellsrrorth,  Me.,  1867. 

Remarks.— Thanks,  Mr.  B.,  for  your  encourag- 
ing appreciation  of  our  laJiors.  Nothing  that  Is 
rcasonalile  shall  be  left  undone  by  us  to  make  the 
Farmer  a  valualilc  paper  to  the  cultivators  of  tho 
soil,  and  to  mechanics  also. 


238 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


May 


For  the  S'cid  England  Farmer. 
SOILING   MILCH   COWS. 

Mr.  a.  W.  Ciieever: — Sir,— I  saw  by  the  New 
England  Faiimeu,  a  few  months  since,  tliat  you 
arc  in  the  habit  of  soiling  your  stoclc  for  the  pur- 
poses of  l)uttcr-making.  V\'ill  you  jjlcasc  give  nic 
your  ])lan  of  soiling,  whctlier  you  keep  your  cows 
up  all  the  time,  or  let  tlicni  run  in  the  pasture  a 
part  of  the  time  in  summer  for  exercise  ;  also  how 
much  grain  you  feed,  and  what  kind  you  consider 
best  for  l)utter. 

I  am  on  a  place  that  has  poor  pastures,  and  I 
wish  to  bring  the  farm  up  in  the  Itest  manner.  I 
cannot  pasture  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  number 
of  cows  I  might  winter.  I  am  not  situated  so  as 
to  sell  milk,  iliercforeinust  make  itutter. 

Does  the  soiling  system  pay,  in  your  opinion  ? 

If  you  answer  the"  above  questions,  and  give  me 
6uch "other  information  as  you  think  best,  you  will 
greatly  oblige  a  brother  farmer.  Respectfully 
yours,  li.  !'• 

Holliston,  Mass.,  March  13,  1867. 

Mi;.  R.  P. :— Dear  Sir,— Yours  of  the  13th 
is  at  hand,  and  I  take  the  lirst  opportunity  to 
answer  as  well  as  I  may  some  of  j  our  (jnes- 
tions.  According  to  the  dictionary,  noilimj  is 
the  act  or  practice  of  feeding  cattle  or  horses 
with  fresh  grass  or  green  food  cut  daily  for 
them,  in^tead  of  pasturing  them.  Sti'ict  soil- 
ing would  hardly  allow  the  use  of  grain  of  any 
kind,  much  less  any  dry  or  cured  fodder, 
neither  any  feeding  in  the  pastures. 

I  have  never  practiced  or  advocated  that 
kind  of  soiling  for  the  purposes  of  butter-mak- 
ing. If  the  object  were  to  obtain  (he  largest 
amount  of  milk  for  sale,  without  much  regard 
to  quality,  it  might  be,  and  probably  in  many 
sections  ol"  the  country  it  is,  the  best  mode  of 
keeping  cows  in  summer. 

During  the  last  summer,  I  had  occasion  to 
visit  the" milk  farms  of  ]\Ir.  T.  P.  Denny  and 
Mr.  llnmi)lireys,  of  Brookiine,  who  each  keep 
from  twcnt\-hve  to  thirty  cows,  and  who  sell 
all  their  milk.  They  feed  green  food  princi- 
pallv  through  the  summer  season  in  preference 
to  ])asluring.  Several  of  their  best  cows  were 
at  that  time  giving  twenty  quarts  each  per  day 
— a  (|iianlity  much  above  what  could  be  ob- 
tained on  dry  feed.  As  to  pasturing  milk 
cows,  these  gentlemen  say  it  is  well  enough 
when  the  pastures  are  in  their  best  condition 
and  arc  near  the  buildings.  Distant  pastures 
require  of  the  cows  too  nuich  travel,  ami  no 
pastui-e  is  in  its  best  condition  but  a  very  few 
weeks  in  tlie  year. 

Tlje  milk  farmers  near  the  eities  seem  to  be 
driven  to  the  soiling  system,  from  necessity, 
and  they  obtain  uniformly  larger  ([uantities  of 
milk  than  they  could  by  any  other  metliod. 
As  I  make  butter  from  my  milk,  1  care  as  much 
for  (puility  as  (juantity ;  and  in  my  own  prac- 
tice, when  I  use  tlie  term  solliu;/,  1  mean  by 
it  stall  feeding  in  opposition  to  pasturing. 
And  I  believe  tlie  lime  is  soon  coming  when 
this  system  of  feeding  milch  cows  for  the  dairy, 
must  be  generally  adopted  all  through  the 
Eastern  part  of  our  State,  and  around  the 
cities  generally  throughout  New  England. 


The  style  of  farming  has  changed  very  much 
since  our  grandfathers  were  on  the  stage. 
They  cut  oif  the  ibrests,  burned  the  wood, 
except  enough  (or  fences,  sowed  rye  and  grass 
seed,  and  then  pastured.  The  land  being  new 
and  well  co\ered  with  ashes  from  the  burned 
timber  and  wood,  produced  lor  many  years 
large  crops  of  good  pasture  grass.  At  that 
time  land  was  cheap ;  not  worth  much  more 
than  the  cost  of  clearing;  and  the  farmers  in 
estimating  the  cost  of  a  pound  of  butter  or  a 
quart  of  milk,  hardly  took  into  the  account 
anything  for  pasture  feed.  Only  twenty-five 
years  ago,  I  saw  a  promising  heifer,  two  and  a 
half  years  old,  sold  for  SlU.-'JO,  from  a  drove 
being  peddle<l  out  on  the  way  from  Brighton 
to  Rhode  Island.  Pasturing  must  have  been 
of  little  account  where  that  heifer  was  raised. 
But  that  time  has  gone  by,  not  goon  to  return. 
The  lands  of  New  England  are  exhausted  of 
their  original  fertility,  and  a  diiferent  system 
of  farm  management  is  called  for.  Some  of 
my  neighbors  are  still  anxious  about  their  old 
worn  out  pastures.  They  mow  the  bushes 
every  fall,  and  occasionally  plow,  manure 
lightly,  ci'op  heavily  ;  first  with  potatoes,  then 
oats,  next  hay  a  few  years,  and  then  pasture 
thirty  or  forty  years.  At  the  end  of  the  rota- 
tion the  land  is  considerably  poorer  than  at 
the  beginning. 

The  one  great  trouble  with  the  pasturing 
system  for  us  at  the  present  time  is,  that  we 
cannot  make  and  save  enough  manure  fiom  the 
stock  our  farms  will  keep  to  enalde  us  to  re- 
tain the  present  condition  of  the  land,  but  are 
constantly  making  it  poorer.  I  believe  it  is 
this  system  that  has  caused  the  gradual  run- 
ning out  of  the  faiming  lands  of  the  country, 
for  the  past  two  hundred  years.  And  I  should 
think  when  (arms  are  every  week  advertised 
in  the  papers  to  be  sold  for  what  the  buildings 
would  cost,  it  was  an  iiulication  that  we  had 
nearly  reached  the  bottom. 

I  gave  up  the  idea  of  depending  on  pastures 
for  milch  cows  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and 
have  not  turned  a  farrow  or  spread  a  shovelful 
of  manure  on  any  pasture,  with  one  excep- 
tion, since  tliat  time.  IMy  general  practice 
has  been  to  commence  near  the  buildings,  and. 
as  far  as  I  go,  to  remove  all  (he  fences  and 
ror'ks,  as  fast  as  seems  reasonable ;  draining 
where  necessary,  manuring  very  heavily  the 
best  grass  land,  sowing  thickly  with  grass  seed 
alone,  and  cutting  all  the  grass  ])ossible  on  the 
ground  gone  over.  The  outside  lots  were 
mowed  as  long  as  they  produced  suflicient  to 
pay  for  cutting,  then  turned  out  to  pasture. 
Pines,  birches,  and  other  kinds  of  forest  trees, 
were  allowed  to  grow  where  1  did  not  intend 
to  plow.  Thus,  when  the  land  will  no  longer 
l)roduce  grass,  there  will  be  growing  a  crop 
of  wood. 

You  say  you  cannot  pasture  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  the  stock  you  can  winter.  Suppose  you 
can  winter  ten  head  and  wish  to  keep  that 
number.     If  you  will  immediately   tiuii  out 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


239 


some  of  the  poorest  of  your  mowing,  perhaps 
you  will  be  able  to  keep  ten  with  what  pasture 
you  will  then  have,  by  reedinjr  hay  in  the  stall 
night  and  morning  as  needed,  till  the  first  of 
July.  Then  feed  new  hay  or  grass  cut  every 
day,  till  the  first  of  August,  letting  the  cows 
get  their  dinner  in  the  pasture.  By  this  time 
you  will  have  corn  fodder  ready  to  cut,  if  V'ou 
will  i)lant  it  early  enough  this  spring.  If 
planted  at  suitable  times  and  in  sulKcient 
quantity,  you  ought  to  have  that  as  a  principal 
feed  for  two  months  or  longer.  At  this  time 
you  might  perhaps  keep  the  cows  entirely  out 
of  the  pasture,  saving  all  the  manui-e  they 
will  make.  If,  by  the  time  the  fiost  has  ended 
the  green  fodder  season,  the  pastures  have 
thrown  up  a  last  bite  for  the  cows,  they  may 
be  turned  in  again  for  a  short  time  for  their 
dinner,  feeding  plenty  of  good  hay  night  and 
morning.  If  no  grass  is  in  the  pasture  at  this 
time,  you  may  as  well  call  the  soiling  season 
ended,  unless  you  can  find  in  the  mowing  some 
spots  iVom  which  you  can  cut  rowen. 

If  you  adopt  this  plan,  you  will  need  a  cel- 
lar under  the  stable,  into  which  the  manure  can 
be  dropped.  Shovelling  fresh  manure  in  sum- 
mer out  of  a  stable  window,  fi-om  cows  fed  on 
green  food,  is  not  a  pleasant  kind  of  employ- 
ment. You  ought  also  to  provide  yourself  in 
some  way  with  dry  muck,  loam,  or  sand 
enough  to  absorb  all  the  liquid  part  of  the 
manure.  The  opportunity  you  will  have  of 
making  from  two  to  four  times  the  manure  you 
now  do,  you  will  find  to  be  one  of  the  princi- 
pal advantages  of  the  soiling  system. 

Without  plenty  of  manure  very  little  can  be 
accomplished  in  this  part  of  the  country,  at 
the  present  time,  but  with  it  almost  anything 
can  1)0  done  that  may  be  desired  in  the  way  of 
farming. 

You  ask  how  much  and  what  kind  of  grain 
is  best  for  bvitter  cows.  This  is  yet  an  open 
question.  Some  good  fiirmers  are  now  con- 
tending that  earUj  cat  English  Jiay  is  the  best 
feed,  next  to  grass,  a  cow  can  have.  But  with 
such  hay  as  most  fiirmers  use,  and  especially 
when  feeduig  green  ibod,  like  corn  fodder,  I 
believe  some  grain  is  necessary  in  order  to 
keep  the  cows  in  good  tiesh  mIuIc  giving  a  large 
amount  of  milk.  I  usually  i'ecd  two  quarts  of 
Indian  meal  and  from  four  to  six  quarts  of 
•wheat  shorts,  per  day,  to  each  cow,  varying  the 
quantity  somewhat  according  to  the  age  and 
condition  of  the  animal.  1  believe  a  fleshy 
cow  may  be  allowed  all  the  shorts  she  will  eat 
without  being  injured.  A  lean  cow  must  be 
brought  to  a  lull  grain  diet  very  gradually. 
One  thing  I  have  noticed  about  feeding  shorts 
is,  that  cows  will  never  touch  a  bone,  or  ever 
be  caught  gnawing  boards  or  old  leather, 
if  they  have  long  been  fed  with  plenty  of 
shorts. 

Y''ou  ought  to  obtain  Mr.  Quincy's  little 
work  on  soiling,  and  you  would  do  well  to 
spend  a  day  or  more  in  visiting  farms  where  the 
system  has  been  adopted.     1  have  never  yet 


known  a  man  to  adopt  the  soiling  system  and 
afterwards  go  back  to  pasturing. 

To  your  last  question,  "Does  the  soiling 
system  pay  ?"  I  answer,  that  where  grass  do(;s 
not  grow  spontaneously  all  through  the  sum- 
mer season,  in  sufiicient  quantities  lor  the  full 
needs;  of  the  stock,  this  system  of  soiling,  or 
stall  feeding  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  is  the 
only  resort,  and  if  it  won't  pay,  it  must  be  be- 
cause the  whole  business  of  dairying  won't 
pay.  If  it  will  pay  to  keep  stock  at  all,  it  will 
pay  better  to  keep  it  well.  Believe  me.  Sir, 
very  truly  yours,  A.  W.  Chekvkii. 

Sheldonville,  Mass.,  March  20,  1S07. 


For  the  JVeiP  England  Farmer. 
GHAPES. 

IMessrs.  Editors  : — The  article  on  grapes 
by  S.  S.  Chamberlin,  and  your  remarks  upon 
his  vines,  their  fruit,  and  the  home  of  the  owner, 
and  its  location,  are  very  interesting  and  sug- 
gestive. 

That  part  of  IMr.  C.'s  article  in  which  he 
speaks  of  wine — its  value  and  cost,  and  its  use 
to  the  poor  and  the  sick,  I  nuist  confess  myself 
unable  to  appreciate,  as  I  have  never  used  a 
quart  of  wine  in  my  life ;  but  his  remarks  on 
growing  grapes  for  their  fruit  are  certainly 
tunely  and  excellent,  and  will,  I  hope,  be  very 
useful.  He  certainly  understamls  growing 
grapes ;  and  though  many  will  call  his  state- 
ment an  exaggeration,  I  accept  it  as  a  sober 
truth ;  because  I  can  name  others  who  have 
come  so  near  to  him  in  the  weight  of  their 
grapes,  per  vine,  on  an  average,  of  the  same 
variety,  that  I  have  no  reason  lor  being  sur- 
prised. The  secret  of  his  success  lies  in  the 
location  and  aspect,  and  in  the  care  he  takes 
of  his  vines.  Under  the  same  conditions, 
many  other  varieties  now  generally  discarded 
would  well  repay  the  owner.  But,  as  Mr. 
Chamberlin  says,  so  I  say,  I  wish  it  to  be  un- 
derstood 1  am  not  referring  to  '■vineyard  modes.'' 

In  my  articles  on  "Grape  Fever,"  I  did 
have  reference  chiefiy  to  "vineyard  modes," 
yet,  as  then,  I  now  say,  "no  doubt  all  these 
varieties  are  cultivated  with  much  satisfaction 
by  persons  of  taste  and  experience,  and  in 
many  cases  the  fruit  is  worth  double  the  cost 
of  raising  it."  It  is,  however,  none  the  less 
true  that  tiiose  varieties,  including  ihe  Isabella, 
are  not  safe  vines  for  open  or  field  culture ; — 
they  must  be  well  sheltered  and  the  aspect 
good,  and  the  location  high  and  free  i'rom 
early  frost.  On  this  point  Mr.  Chamberlin 
observes,  "I  am  satisfied  that  these  vines 
would  often  fail  to  ripen  their  fruit  by  the  frost 
striking  them,  if  they  had  been  out  in  my 
fields."  But  under  the  condition  he  names, 
"the  frost  does  not  have  a  chance  to  injure 
them  so  early  by  three  or  four  weeks."  The 
time,  he  says,  "they  usually  ripen,  is  about  the 
middle  of  September." 

Mr.  Chamberlin  has  an  unusually  favorable 
location,    or  his   Isabella  grapes   would  not 


240 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


May 


ripen  before  the  last  of  September.  Here, 
nineteen  miles  south-west  of  Boston,  and  about 
one  hundred  feet  higher  than  that  plaee,  Isa- 
bella grapes  are  not  fit  to  gather  lor  market 
before  the  time  I  have  mentioned.  Within  a 
few  rods  of  where  I  am  writing  this,  a  vine  of 
that  variety  trained  on  the  south  of  a  building. 
and  having,  by  estimate,  two  hundred  and  ili'ty 
pounds  of  fruit  on  it,  was  struck  with  frost  to 
the  destruction  of  its  fruit  three  weeks  alter  my 
Hartford  ProliRc,  and  two  weeks  after  my 
Concord  grnpes  had  been  completely  ripened 
and  sold  in  Boston  ;  and  these  were  grown  in  an 
open  garden  on  a  trellis.  I  wish  friend  Chani- 
berlin  would  try  one  of  each  of  the  varieties  I 
have  named,  to  see  how  soon  in  the  season 
they  would  ripen  at  his  place  ;  if  he  will,  as  I 
am  coming  to  Manchester  in  April,  I  shall  be 
happy  to  make  lilm  a  present  of  some  vines. 
I  think  they  will  ripen  their  fruit  in  his  fields 
as  soon  as  his  Isabellas  will  ripen  theirs  on 
the  barn. 

I  do  hope  he  will  accept  my  small  gift  as  a 
token  of  my  confidence  in  his  ability  to  care 
for  the  vines  properly  ;  and  also,  because  I  am 
satislicd  that  he  would  then  recommend  Hart- 
ford Proliiic  and  Concord  to  his  neighbors 
who  may  not  have  such  a  good  place  as  his  to 
raise  L-abella  grapes. 

Will  not  some  others  give  their  experience, 
and  thus  encourage  the  growth  of  a  fruit,  which 
I  and  friend  Chamberlin  have  found  to  be  so 
prolitable.  John  Fleming. 

Sherhorn,  Mass.,  March,  18G7. 


VAEIETIES  OF  STRAWBEEEIES. 
As  chairman  of  the  INIassachusetts  Horticul- 
tural Society's  Committee  on  Fruits,  J.  F.  C. 
Hyde,  Esq.,  gives  the  following  brief  review 
of  the  present  estimation  in  which  the  various 
kinds  of  strawberries  are  held  by  the  practical 
cultivators  of  this  fruit  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton : — 

"IIovey''s  Seedling  is  still  the  best  variety 
of  its  seai-(in.  Jenny  Lind  is  a  favorite  early 
sort.  La  Constante  has  been  gaining  friends, 
though  we  i'ear  that  for  ordinary  field  ci\lture  it 
will  not  succeed:  Brighton  Pine  still  holds 
its  i)lac(',  especially  among  market  frardcners. 
The  Bulliilo  Seedling  and  Ilusseirs  Proliiic  are 
not  valualiie  varieties.  The  French  Seedling 
is  soft  and  poor,  and  of  no  value  as  a  market 
fruit.  Some  line  specimens  of  the  Agricultu- 
rist were  shown  by  E.  A.  Bi-ackett,  of  Win- 
chester, who  has  been  quite  successful  with 
this  variety.  In  point  of  (luality,  it  Is  not  up 
to  our  well  known  varieties,  but  may,  like  the 
Wilson,  to  which  it  is  superior,  be  grown 
for  marUet.  It  is  a  good  grower  and  bearer. 
The  Monitor  is  a  solt  and  worthless  variety. 
The  Brooklyn  Scarlet  is  acid,  small  or  medi- 
um size,  and  of  poor  (quality." 


From  Macmillan's  Magazine. 
SEASONS. 

BT  CHRISTINA  G.  ROSSETTI. 


O  tlie  cheerful  budding-time  1 

When  tborn-hedgeB  turn  to  green, 
When  new  leaves  of  elm  and  lime 

Cleave  and  shed  their  winter  screen; 
Tender  lambs  are  born  and  "b-.ir," 

North  wind  finds  no  8nov>f  to  bring, 
Vigorous  Nature  laughs  "Ila,  ha," 

In  the  miracle  of  spring. 

O  the  gorgeous  Blossoms-days  I 

When  broad  flag-flowers  drink  and  blow, 
In  and  out  in  smnmer  blaze 

Dragon-flies  flash  to  and  fro; 
Ashen  branches  hang  out  keys. 

Oaks  put  forth  the  rosy  shoot, 
Wandering  herds  wax  sleek  at  ease, 

Lovely  blossoms  end  in  fruit. 

O  the  shouting  Harvest-weeks  I 

Motlier  eartli  grown  fat  with  sheaveS 
Tljiifty  gleaner  finds  who  seeks; 

liusset-golden  pomp  of  leaves 
Crowns  the  woods,  to  fill  at  length; 

Bracing  winds  are  felt  to  stir, 
Ocean  gathers  up  her  strength, 

Beasts  renew  their  dwindled  fur. 

O  the  starving  Winter-lapse  I 

Ice-bound,  Iiunger-pinched  and  dim; 
Dormant  roots  recall  their  saps, 

Empty  nests  show  black  and  grim. 
Short-lived  sunshine  gives  no  heat, 

Undue  buds  are  nipped  by  frost, 
Snow  sets  forth  a  winding-sheet, 

And  all  hope  of  life  seems  lost. 


Wool. — The  manufacture  of  knit  woolen 
goods  has  been  greatly  stimidated  in  this  coun- 
try by  the  high  cost  of  importation  since  the 
war,  and  it  is  now  estimated  that  40U  sets  of 
machinery  and  40,000  hancb  are  employed  in 
this  branch  of  industry  in  the  United  States, 
producing  goods  to  the  value  of  about  $:^0- 
000,000  per  year.  The  New  England  and 
Middle  States  nearly  monopolize  this  business, 
New  York  taking  the  lead  with  the  extensive 
mills  at  Cohoes. 


Pure  Italian  Bees  are  not  plenty  in  this 
country.  None  are  absolutely  pure  whose 
workers  have  less  than  three  yellow  bands. 
(i>ueens  and  drones  from  motiiers  of  undoubted 
purltv,  sport  in  color  and  are  not  relied  on  as 
a  test  of  purity.  But  queens  bred  from  pure 
mothers  must  produce  workers  with  three  }el- 
low  hands,  to  be  pure.  This  is  the  test  of  pu- 
rity now  adopted  by  the  best  bee-keepers,  not 
only  of  this  country,  but  in  Europe. — liural 
New  Yorker. 


Fruit  Prospects. — A  correspondent  of  a 
New  Jersey  paper  writes  that  he  has  made  a 
wide  circuit  among  the  peach  orcliards,  and 
finds  the  prospect  good  in  most  of  them,  though 
some  are  nmch  injured.  He  finds  strawberries 
raspberries  and  l)iackbcrries  in  first  rate  condi- 
tion, and  promising  well  lor  the  season.  Ap- 
ples and  pears  are  also  good. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


241 


CHESTER  "WHITB   SWUOJ. 


These  swine,  known  also  as  Chester  County 
Whites,  Chester  Whites,  &c.,  derive  their  name 
from  Chester  County,  Penn.,  where  they  are 
said  to  have  originated,  some  forty  years  ago, 
by  a  cross  between  the  best  native  stock  of 
that  section  and  a  boar  imported  from  Bed- 
fordshire, England,  by  a  Capt.  Jeffries.  San- 
ford  Howard  describes  the  old  stock  as  fol- 
lows :  Head  large ;  the  nose  or  snout  thick, 
but  not  long  for  the  size  of  the  animal ;  the 
ears  large,  thick  and  flapping ;  the  body  rather 
long,  and  tolerably  round  ;  the  back  generally 
hollowing,  frequently  with  a  considerable  de- 
pression immediately  behind  the  shoulders ; 
the  legs  generally  large  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  body,  and  in  fat  animals  frequently 
giving  way  so  much  as  to  bring  the  dew-claws 
fully  to  the  ground ;  the  skin  rather  thick,  and 
covered  with  long,  wavy  bristles.  He  then 
remarks  that  many  of  the  hogs  now  called 
Chesters,  or  Chester  Whites,  have  upright  and 
somewhat  thin  ears,  less  bristles,  thinner  skin, 
and  less  coarseness  of  bone  than  the  old  stock, 
plainly  indicating  a  cross  with  some  finer 
race. 

This  breed  appears  to  be  attracting  much 
attention  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States  at 
the  present  time,   and  the  above  cut,  from  a 


photograph  of  a  pair,  will  give  a  good  idea  of 
their  outside  show. 


AGRICULTUBAIi  ITEMS. 

— The  price  of  flour  was  quoted  in  California, 
Feb.  21,  at  f  i.75a)gi5.25  per  bbl.;  hay  $8a$14  per 
ton. 

—Edwin  Hammond,  of  Middlebury,  Vt.,  re- 
cently sold  six  ewes  to  go  to  the  West  for  $600 
apiece. 

— The  California  Farmer  says  that  nursery  men 
are  doing  a  good  business  in  that  State,  as  there  is 
a  general  desire  to  improve  everywhere. 

—Mr.  James  O.  Sheldon,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  lately 
purchased  of  Samuel  Thorn,  forty  short  horn  cat- 
tle of  the  Duchess  and  Oxford  families  at  an  aver- 
age of  over  ^1000  per  animal. 

— Maple  orchards  are  of  great  value  to  farmers. 
More  attention  should  be  paid  to  growing  young 
maples  by  nursery  culture  or  otherwise.  They 
readily  start  from  the  seed. 

—Mr.  Sullivan  Fisk,  of  Compton,  C.  E.,  last 
season  raised  525  bushels  Davis  Seedling  potatoes 
from  one  acre  of  ground.  Thirty  loads  of  manure, 
were  spread  on  oat  stubble  in  the  fall,  and  plowed 
in.  In  the  spring,  the  land  was  again  plowed,  har- 
rowed, and  furrowed  about  three  inches  deep, 
three  and  a  half  feet  apart.  Large  potatoes  were 
cut  into  three  pieces  each,  and  one  piece  dropped 
in  a  hill,  the  hills  flfteen  inches  apart.  They  were 
hoed  twice  in  a  thorough  manner. 


2i2 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR^tER. 


]May 


latrks'    ^cpuilmcnt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 


HOAV   TO   UAKE   HOME  PLEASANT. 


BY      ANNE      G.      HALE. 


[Entered  accordin?  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
1S66,  by  11.  P.  Katoir&  Co.,  in  the  Clcrli's  Ollicc  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


CHAPTER  IV. 
HOUSE  PLANTS.  AND  THEIR  CULTURE. 

Heliotrope. — This  word  is  derived  from 
the  Greek,  and  signifies  tuniing  to  the  sun, 
which  was  supposed  to  be  a  peculiarity  of  the 
genus.  The  Latins  called  the  plant  Verruca- 
ria,  because  the  juice,  mixed  with  salt,  was 
said  to  be  ellicacious  in  removing  warts.  Throe 
species  have  been  brought  from  the  south  oi 
Europe,  one  in  1040 ;  but  the  most  familiar 
have  been  introduced  from  Peru.  The  helio- 
trope is  prized  more  for  its  fragrance  than  its 
beauty,  though  Voltaire's,  which  has  deep,  pur- 
ple tlowers,  is  certainly  handsome.  It  is  in- 
creased by  cuttings,  and  should  receive  treat- 
ment similar  to  that  given  the  fuchsia. 

HoYA,  or  Wax-plant,  took  its  generic  name 
from  Thomas  Hoy,  a  celebrated  English  gard- 
ener. This  genus  is  composed  of  climbing 
plants,  bearing  both  leaves  and  llowers  of  a 
waxen  appearance.  The  leaves  are  deep  green ; 
the  tlowers  are  either  blush,  or  cream  colored, 
and  are  very  fragrant ;  they  hang  in  bunches 
and  secrete  a  honey-like  juiee.  The  best  method 
of  propagating  this  plant  is  by  layers,  though 
cuttings  are  sometimes  started  in  the  pot  of  the 
parent  plant.  The  hoy  a  should  have  a  soil  of 
peat,  sand,  and  loam,  in  a  pot  drained  with  cin- 
ders. It  needs  little  water,  but  much  heat ;  and 
should  never  be  placed  out  of  doors.  If  wa- 
tered occasionally  with  liquid  manure  the  soil 
will  require  no  renewal  for  several  years.  Do 
not  take  off  the  Hower-stalks,  they  bloom  anew, 
.year  after  year.  Set  the  pot  on  a  high  shelf, 
near  a  window ;  and  train  it  so  that  it  receives 
the  warm  air  at  the  top  of  the  room.  Let  it 
droop  over  pictures,  and  about  the  window — 
it  will  be  a  very  elegant  decoration,  The  hoya 
is  a  native  of  the  hottest  parts  of  Asia. 

Hyacinth. — The  old  heathen  poets  say  that 
Zephyrus,  prompted  by  jealousy,  killed  Ilyacin- 
thus,  the  friend  of  Apollo ;  and  from  the  blood 


of  the  youth  sprang  this  ilower,  the  petals  of 
which  were  inscribed  with  his  initial,  which  is  also 
the  Greek  exclamation  of  woe,  Ai,  Ai.  It  is 
in  allusion  to  this  circumstance  that  Milton,  in 
his  lament  over  Lycidas,  speaks  of  the  hy- 
acinth as  the  "flower  that  sad  embroidery 
wears."  Hyacinths  are  very  abundant  in 
Greece,  and  are  useel  in  profusion  at  weddings  ; 
as  also  at  funerals,  the  bier  is  always  strewn 
with  them.  This  custom  is  observed  likewise 
in  Italy.  Bryant  has  referred  to  it  in  his  poem 
of  a  child's  funeral  at  Sorrento  ;  and  he  calls 
the  flowers  '^sad  hyacinths"  probably,  in  re- 
collection of  the  old  myth.  Near  Aleppo  and 
Bagdad  very  fine  hyacinths  are  found  growing 
wild.  The  Dutch  have  paid  great  attention  to 
their  culture,  almost  from  time  immemorial. 
In  1720  they  had  under  cultivation  at  Harlem 
over  two  thousand  varieties.  Hyacinths  are 
exceedingly  fragrant,  as  well  as  very  beautiful 
both  in  color  and  ibrm.  Their  curling  petals 
have  furnished  a  simile  often  met  with  in  liter- 
ature— "hyacinthine  locks" — which  refers  not 
to  the  purplish  black  color  of  some  hair,  as  has 
been  erroneously  stated,  but  to  a  tendency  to 
turn  up,  or  curl  at  the  end,  which  is  more  no- 
ticeable in  the  petals  of  the  wild  hyacinth  than 
in  those  of  the  cultivated  flower. 

The  hyacinth  is  raised  from  its  bulbs,  which 
increase  themselves  more  or  less  every  year. 
When  cultivated  in  the  house,  the  bulbs  are 
generally  grown  in  water,  but  it  is  not  so  good 
a  way  as  to  plant  them  in  soil.  Late  in  Octo- 
ber fill  small  pots,  one  for  each  bulb,  if  you 
choose,  or,  a  larger  one  to  accommodate  a 
number.  First  place  a  layer  of  broken  bricks, 
then  one  of  small  pieces  of  charcoal ;  then 
loam,  river-sand  (washed),  and  decayed  leaves, 
equal  parts,  each ;  and  a  little  charcoal  dust. 
Let  the  soil  rest  lightly  in  the  pot,  and  in  the 
centre  press  the  bulb  till  it  is  about  half  cov- 
ered. Tighten  the  soil  a  little,  by  pressing  it 
lightly  around  the  bulb.  Set  the  pot  in  a  dark 
place,  where  it  will  be  moderately  warm.  If 
the  situation  be  damp,  it  will  need  very  little 
water.  When  the  bulb  is  rooted  bring  it  to 
the  light, — set  it  on  a  mantel-piece  or  in  a  win- 
dow. The  shoot  will  look  white  at  first,  but  it 
will  soon  become  green,  and  grow  rapidly. 
Now  water  it  very  freely  every  day,  adding  a 
few  drops  of  annnonia  to  the  water  once  in  ten 
days.  When  off-sets  appear,  press  them  out 
with  the  finger,  or  a  smooth,  thin  stick. 

If  vou  wish   to  grow   hyacinths  in  water, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


243 


choose  Gnu,  heavy,  medium-sized  bulbs,  and 
keep  them  in  damp  moss  a  few  weeks.  Get 
the  darkest  colored  glasses ;  fill  them  with  rain 
water  to  which  a  little  common  salt  has  been 
put ;  not  entirely  full — the  bulb  placed  in  the 
neck  of  the  glass  must  not  touch  the  water. 
Keep  them  in  a  warm,  dark  place  till  the  glass 
is  half  full  of  roots.  Change  the  water  (it 
must  be  always  warm)  once  in  a  fortnight; 
and  keep  it  always  of  the  same  height  by  fill- 
ing in  a  little  as  it  evaporates.  ^\Tien  the  wa- 
ter is  changed  always  use  rain  water,  salted 
slightly,  and  add  a  few  drops  of  ammonia.  If 
the  roots  get  slimy  and  green,  wash  them  care- 
fully in  warm  water.  The  bulbs  after  bloom- 
ing in  water  are  generally  so  exhausted  as  to 
be  valueless.  But  those  kept  in  soil  may  be 
transferred  to  the  garden  in  the  spring,  and 
may  live  several  years  ;  or  they  may  be  dried, 
and,  wrapped  in  paper,  kept  in  a  cool,  dry 
place  until  the  autumn,  and  then  started  again 
for  winter  flowers.  A  very  pretty  way  of 
growing  the  hyacinth  is  to  place  it  with  the 
bulbs  of  snow-drops  and  crocuses  in  a  deep 
dish.  Cover  the  bottom  of  the  dish  with 
pounded  charcoal — not  very  fine — an  inch  deep. 
On  this  have  a  layer  of  damp  silver  sand.  Ar- 
range the  bulbs  at  equal  distances  upon  the 
sand,  and  keep  the  dish  in  a  dark  room  for 
three  weeks.  Then,  pour  a  little  water  just 
inside  the  edge,  all  around  the  dish,  and  if  the 
bulbs  are  started  up  from  the  sand  by  the  new 
roots,  pour  drj'  sand  over  them  till  they  are 
covered.  When  the  lea%'es  appear,  bring  the 
dish  to  the  light ;  and  as  soon  as  the  flower- 
spikes  peep  up,  take  them  to  the  window,  or 
flower-stand ;  water  them  now,  daily,  with 
warm  rain  water  slightly  salted. 

Hydrangea. — The  word  signifies  water- 
vessel,  and  is  of  Greek  derivation.  It  is  a 
marsh  plant,  and  requires  a  great  deal  of  wa- 
ter,— ten  or  twelve  gallons,  daily,  in  the  sum- 
mer, is  often  Imbibed  by  a  single  plant,  if  of 
large  size.  It  is  a  native  of  the  Carolinas  and 
Florida  ;  also  of  Japan  and  China.  It  thrives 
best  in  the  shade  ;  and,  like  the  agapanthus,  is 
usually  kept  as  an  ornament  for  the  verandah 
in  summer.  It  is  propagated  by  layers,  in  a 
soil  of  peat  and  loam.  The  natural  color  of 
the  fiov.er  is  pink :  but  if  blue  flowers  are 
wanted,  powdered  alum  must  be  mixed  with 
the  soil,  one  ounce  to  a  quart  of  soU.  Iron 
filings  have  the  same  effect. 


The  IvT,  whose  botanical  name  is  Iledera — 
the  Celtic  for  "a  cord"' — is  what  is  called  a 
rooting  climber,  because  its  stems  climb  up  and 
wind  themselves  around  anything  that  presents 
a  rough  surface  for  their  roots  to  take  hold  of. 
//.  helix,  commonly  called  English  ivy,  is  an 
evergreen  plant,  growing  plentifully  in  the 
woods  of  Great  Britain ;  and  hiding  with  its 
foliage  the  gnarled  old  oaks  and  sycamores ; 
or  hanging  its  long  garlands  of  verdure  in  pic- 
turesque beauty  about  the  walls  of  dilapidated 
churches,  and  around  the  crumbling  ruins  of 
ancient  castles.  But  with  us  it  needs  protec- 
tion from  the  cold  of  winter ;  and,  if  reared 
out  of  doors,  must  then  be  covered  with  mats. 
It  is,  however,  one  of  the  best  plants  for  par- 
lor culture,  and  ought  to  be  in  everj-  house. 
It  needs  a  light,  rich  soil  of  peat  and  loam, 
drained  with  pot-sherds ;  and  regular  and 
plentiful  watering  must  be  given  it.  It  is  very 
pretty  as  a  hanging  plant  in  the  upper  part  of 
a  window,  or  seated  upon  a  shelf  or  bracket 
and  trained  about  the  walls.  Cuttings  root 
easily  in  water,  and  long  stems  of  ivy,  cut  from 
plants  cultivated  out  of  doors,  may  be  kept  in 
vases  of  water  all  winter  upon  the  mantel- 
piece, and  then  set  in  the  ground  in  the  spring 
to  make  large  new  plants.  There  is  another 
species,  called  the  German  ivy,  having  more 
succulent  leaves,  which  grows  more  rapidly. 
This  goes  also  by  the  name  of  Irish  ivy  ;  but 
many  do  not  consider  it  as  properly  belonging 
to  the  genus.  It  should  have  the  same  treat- 
ment as  //.  helix.  There  is  yet  another  plant, 
which  is  ven,-  pretty  for  hanging  pots, — the 
Roman,  or  Coliseum  ivy, — called  sometimes, 
mother-of-thousands.  It  throws  out  slender, 
purplish  stems  having  small  green  leaves  with 
purple  lining ;  and  it  bears  tiny,  lilac-colored 
flowers,  shaped  like  the  blossom  of  the  snap- 
dragon. This  grows  in  great  profusion  in  the 
south  of  Europe,  in  the  cracks  and  crevices  of 
old  buildings, — where  there  seems  scarcely 
soil  enough  to  give  it  foot-hold ;  the  roof  of 
the  grand  cathedral  at  Milan  is  in  some  por- 
tions thickly  overgrown  with  it.  This  does 
well  in  sandy  loam,  but  will  not  bear  great  wa- 
tering. Among  the  ancients  the  \\y  was 
held  in  high  esteem.  They  dedicated  it  to 
Bacchus,  and  he  is  represented  crowned  with 
it  to  prevent  intoxication. 

Lantana. — This  is  the  ancient  name  of  the 
Viburnum,  which  the  plant  resembles  in  foli- 


244 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


May 


age.  It  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies — 
brought  thence  in  1692.  L.  aculeata  is  the 
most  common  species.  The  blossom  is  similar 
to  that  of  the  verbena ;  and  changes  in  color, 
from  yellow  to  orange  and  red.  It  requires 
the  same  soil  and  treatment  as  the  calceolaria. 

Lemon. — The  lemon  belongs  to  the  genus 
Citrus,  which  includes  oranges,  lemons,  limes, 
shaddocks,  citrons,  &c.  It  is  an  ancient  ge- 
nus, the  species  of  which  are  characterized  by 
their  handsome  evergreen  leaves,  odoriferous 
flowers,  and  fragrant  and  delicious  fruit.  The 
golden  apples  of  the  Hesperides,  and  the  for- 
bidden fruit  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  are  sup- 
posed to  refer  to  this  family ;  though  we  have 
no  authentic  record  of  any  species  of  Citrus 
having  been  known,  and  certainly  none  were 
cultivated,  by  the  Romans.  The  plants  are 
natives  of  Asia.  The  citron,  which  diffei-s  lit- 
tle from  the  lemon,  was  carried  from  Persia  to 
Europe — cultivated  in  Italy,  by  Palladius,  in 
the  second  century ;  and,  about  a  thousand 
years  later,  the  orange  was  also  introduced  to 
Italy,  from  China  and  India.  Orange-trees 
were  growing  in  England  in  1695;  "carried 
thither,"  says  Gibbon,  "by  a  knight  of  the  no- 
ble family  of  Carew."  It  has  been  raised  by 
Sir  Francis  Carew  from  seeds  brought  by  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  ;  but,  as  such  trees  could  not 
readily  have  borne  fruit,  it  is  more  likely  that 
Gibbon's  account  is  correct.  They  were  kept 
in  open  ground,  having  a  moveable  cover  for 
•winter.  They  were  killed  in  the  great  frost 
of  1739-40. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  there  were  few  exotics,  orange  trees  be- 
came fashionable  for  conservatories.  And, 
although  other  plants,  of  almost  endless  vari- 
ety, have  been  in  competition  with  them  since, 
and  some  of  them,  in  the  mere  matter  of  fash- 
ion, have  occasionally  gained  the  precedence, 
no  vegetable  production  has  yet  been  found 
capable  of  attaming  such  high  perfection  in  fo- 
liage, flower  and  fruit  combined,  as  the  oi'- 
ange.  Lemon  or  orange  trees  may  be  raised 
from  seeds,  and  in  six  or  eight — ^possibly  in 
three  or  four — years  may  blocm.  But  they 
are  more  sure  to  bloom,  and  will  bloom  sooner, 
if  budded,  or  grafted.  A  seedling  lemon  or 
citron  makes  as  good  a  stock  I'or  budding  with 
orange  as  the  orange  stalk  itself.  Seeds  should 
be  planted  n  pots,  drained  with  cinders.  Soil, 
onc-thlid   of  sand ;  and  the  remainder  light 


loam  that  has  not  been  cultivated,  peat,  leaf- 
mould,  and  old  manure,  in  equal  parts.  Mix 
all  well  together  that  the  compost  may  be  uni- 
form. As  soon  as  the  first  shoot  appears,  wa- 
ter the  soil,  and  give  the  pot  air,  heat,  and 
light :  but  keep  it  from  the  sun,  if  it  shines 
powerfully.  After  the  first  leaves  have  opened, 
water  with  liquid  manure  once  a  month ;  and 
wash  the  leaves  and  stems  frequently.  The 
foliage  will  be  handsomer  if  the  pot  is  kept  in 
the  shade. 

Lemoxs. — AVhen  seedlings  are  two  years  old, 
they  should  be  budded  from  healthful  and 
fruitful  trees.  They  must  then  be  kept  in  a 
cool — not  cold — airy  place,  and  be  watered 
charily.  When  the  bud  shows  growth,  give 
more  Avarmth,  and  more  water.  Young  or- 
ange and  lemon  trees  are  very  desirable  for 
the  flower-stand,  even  if  they  do  not  bloom, 
because  their  beautiful  evergreen  foliage  affords 
a  fine  contrast  to  other  plants.  But  if  the 
blossoms  and  fruit  are  wanted,  the  best  way  is 
to  buy  a  tree  ready  to  bloom.  These  are  gen- 
erally imported.  The  Italians  have  for  many 
years  supplied  both  North  and  South  America, 
as  well  as  all  Europe,  with  orange  trees,  of 
which  they  have  extensive  nurseries.  The 
prettiest  for  house  culture  are  the  dwarf.  The 
dwarf  Mandarin  bears  fruit  of  exquisite  flavor. 
The  dwarf  Otaheite  is  a  more  common  kind ; 
this  bears  a  great  abundance  of  fruit,  but  it  is 
not  so  nice,  neither  are  the  flowers  so  fine,  as 
those  of  the  Mandarin.  The  shaddock  bears 
very  large,  beautiful  flowers.  The  blossoms 
of  the  lemon  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  oi-- 
ange,  and  the  under  side  of  their  petals  is 
tinted  with  purple.  The  orange  blooms  in 
JNIarch  ;  and  the  fruit  shows  its  Ibrm  in  April, 
but  does  not  begin  to  turn  yellow  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring.  It  requires  over  a  year  to  rip- 
en oranges,  and  they  are  better  for  remaining 
longer  on  the  tree ;  they  can  remain  three 
years  on  the  tree  before  being  gathered — the 
orange  never  drops  naturally.  The  lemon 
ripens  irregularly,  and  falls  off  when  ripe. 

Once  in  six  years,  orange  trees  should  be 
pruned,  the  shoots  shortened  to  within  an  inch 
or  two  of  the  old  wood.  It  will  not  blossom 
fur  two  years  after  this,  but  it  will  throw  out 
handsome,  vigorous  shoots,  which  at  the  end  of 
that  time  will  be  covered  with  an  abundance  of 
flowers.  Unless  the  tree  appears  sickly  it  will 
not  need  re-potting  except  at  the  time  of  prun- 


1867. 


NEW   E^'GLAls'D    FAEIMER. 


245 


ing.  Then  take  it  from  the  pot,  trim  off  the 
small  fibres  and  mouldy  roots,  and  soak  the 
ball  of  roots  in  warm  water  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes — to  detach  the  old  soil.  Place  it  in 
a  pot,  with  drainage  and  soil  as  for  seedlings, 
adding  thereto  a  little  charcoal  dust.  Keep  it 
in  the  shade  a  month,  and  water  it  sparingly. 
Give  it  room  then  with  other  flowers,  and  water 
it  more,  as  it  grows.  Wash  it  frequently,  for 
it  is  apt  to  be  troubled  with  insects.  It  needs 
light,  but  not  much  sun  till  the  fruit  is  set. 
Everybody  knows  that  orange  blossoms  are 
the  most  appropriate  flowers  for  bridal  decora- 
tions. 

Lily  of  the  Valley. — Convallaria,  the 
botanical  name  of  this  beautiful  flower,  is  of 
Latin  derivation,  and  refers  to  the  places  where 
it  grows.  It  cannot  be  the  plant  of  the  same 
name  of  which  Solomon  speaks,  because  it  is 
a  native  of  cold  or  moderately  warm  countries, 
and  would  never  have  bloomed  in  the  fields  of 
Palestine.  Old  English  writers  call  it  May 
lily.  In  the  western  part  of  Norway  it  grows 
in  greater  abundance  than  any  other  wild 
flower.  A  recent  traveller  says  that  it  stood 
everywhere,  scenting  the  air,  in  such  profusion 
one  could  scarcely  step  without  bruising  its 
tender  stalks  and  blossoms.  Its  fragrance 
when  fresh  is  remarkable  only  for  sweetness ; 
but  when  the  flowers  are  dried  they  are  power- 
fully narcotic.  A  wine  is  made  of  the  flowers 
in  Germany.  A  beautiful  and  durable  green 
color  may  be  prepared  from  the  leaves,  with 
lime.  An  extract  is  made  from  the  roots  and 
flowers  which  has  all  the  properties  of  aloes. 
The  plant  is  very  common  in  Great  Britain, 
growing  in  the  woods,  from  whence  the  Lon- 
don markets  are  supplied.  It  was  brought  to 
this  country  among  our  earliest  exotics,  and  is 
foimd  in  almost  every  garden,  filling  the  air  in 
its  vicinity  with  fragrance  during  the  months 
of  May  and  June.  But  it  can  be  made  to 
bloom  in  winter  and  is  one  of  the  sweetest  as 
well  as  prettiest  parlor  plants  we  can  have. 
The  bulbs  should  be  taken  from  the  garden  in 
November.  Choose  those  having  the  thickest 
and  bluntest  buds — the  sharp-pointed  buds  pro- 
duce only  leaves.  Fill  a  pot — a  box  four  in- 
ches wide  and  deep  is  better — with  light,  rich 
soil.  In  this  set  the  bulbs  slightly,  just  so  as 
to  cover  all  but  the  point  of  the  bud.  Lay 
moss  over  them  ;  and  then  coyer  all  with  an- 
other box,  so  that  they  may  be  in  complete 


darkness,  — for  this  is  essential  to  success. 
Keep  the  box  in  a  warm  place,  but  dark,  until 
the  flowers  begin  to  show.  Then  remove  the 
covering  box,  and  gradually  take  the  box  of 
plants  to  the  light.  The  leaves  will  look  white, 
but  they  will  become  green  very  rapidly  after 
the  admission  of  sunlight  and  air.  Occasion- 
ally give  them  warm  water — they  must  never 
be  dry.  They  will  be  in  bloom  in  a  month 
from  the  time  of  planting  the  bulbs.  Another 
way  of  treating  them  is  to  wrap  each  bulb  in 
moss,  and  then  lay  them  all  closely  together, 
the  points  upward,  in  a  box ;  and  sprinkle  soil 
in  among  and  upon  them,  just  leaving  the  tops 
bare,  and  covering  from  the  light  as  before, 
until  they  are  in  bloom.  Then  take  them  out 
carefully,  and  arrange  them,  the  moss  still 
about  them,  in  baskets  or  glass  dishes  or  vases. 
The  moss  will  need  moistening  occasionally ; 
but  they  will  remain  in  bloom  a  good  while 
with  very  little  moisture. 

Lobelia. — This  genus  takes  its  name  from 
an  old  French  botanist.  Most  of  the  species 
are  natives  of  this  country.  Some  are  found 
at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  a  few  in  the 
south  of  Europe.  L.  Cardinalis,  (called  by 
Cutler  in  his  account  of  the  indigenous  plants 
of  North  America,  published  in  178.5,  Ameri- 
can Pride)  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
family.  This  species  attracted  the  attention 
of  English  florists  early  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  is  now  cultivated  among  their 
choice  plants.  Transplant  in  the  fall  to  rich 
loam.  Keep  it  shaded  a  month.  Cut  it  nearly 
down  to  the  root,  at  the  time  of  transplanting. 
Water  it  with  weak  liquid  manure,  and  as  soon 
as  it  shoots  out  well  take  it  to  the  flower-stand ; 
its  gorgeous  scarlet  flower  will  be  a  valuable 
addition  to  any  collection.  L.  Gracilis,  a 
trailing  species,  bears  a  pretty  blue  flower, 
which  makes  an  elegant  appearance  in  a  hang- 
ing-pot. 

Maherxia  ;  more  properly,  Hermannia. — 
Named  in  honor  of  Hermann,  a  Dutch  botan- 
ist. It  is  a  delicate  little  shrub,  and  needs  the 
support  of  a  frame.  Nothing  can  be  prettier 
than  a  thriving  specimen  of  M.  Odorata  in 
full  bloom ;  the  frame  being  covered  with  its 
fine,  neat  foliage,  thickly  hung  with  the  small 
bell-like  flowers  that  dispense  a  most  delicious 
fragrance.  It  is  easily  raised  from  cuttings 
started  in  damp  sand  under  a  glass ;  and  then 
transplanted  to  pots,  drained  with  crocks,  hav- 


246 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAE]VIER. 


May 


ing  a  soil  of  peat,  sand  and  loam.  Keep  it 
moist  but  not  too  wet.  Give  liquid  manure 
occasionally. 

MiGxoXETTE.  —  This  is  a  French  name, 
meaning  little  darling ;  but  the  French  them- 
selves call  the  plant  by  its  botanical  name.  Re- 
seda. It  is  a  native  of  Egypt  and  Barbary. 
In  France,  as  well  as  in  England,  it  is  culti- 
vated in  boxes  for  the  window  seats  and  bal- 
conies ;  but  with  us  it  is  usually  confined  to 
the  garden.  It  is,  however,  well  worthy  of 
house-culture,  and  may  be  added  to  winter 
flowers  by  setting  apart  a  few  plants  from  the 
garden,  cutting  off  their  flower  buds  when 
they  appear,  and  transplanting  them  in  the  au- 
tumn to  pots  filled  with  sandy  loam  ;  still  it  is 
better  lo  plant  the  seed  in  a  pot  especially  for 
winter.  This  should  be  done  in  September, — 
just  scatter  the  seed  on  the  top  of  the  loam, 
and  then  sift  more  of  the  soil  upon  it, — and 
keep  it  in  a  shady  place  till  it  is  an  inch  high ; 
then  give  it  sun  and  more  water.  In  October 
bring  it  to  the  kitchen,  where  it  will  be  warm 
night  and  day.  Let  it  have  the  full  sunshine, 
and  when  flower  buds  appear  carry  it  to  the 
floAver-stand. 

One  plant  may  be  made  to  grow  into  a  tall 
shrub,  by  taking  off  the  buds  as  fast  as  they 
appear  through  the  first  season,  and  then  trim- 
ming away  the  branches  so  as  to  form  it  like  a 
tree.  It  should  be  taken  in  with  house-plants, 
and  kept  warm  and  well- watered,  through  the 
winter.  The  second  summer  it  should  receive 
the  same  treatment  again,  but  by  the  third 
summer  it  will  have  acquired  woody  back,  and 
in  all  respects  be  a  complete  shrub.  Then  it 
may  be  allowed  to  bloom,  and  for  many  years 
it  will  bear,  every  summer,  an  abundance  of 
very  fragrant  flowers.  No  doubt  by  skilful 
management  the  plant  might  be  made  to  do  the 
same  for  winter. 

INIixiuiXTS. — The  name  is  derived  from  the 
Greek,  and  signifies  an  ape.  The  flower-seeds 
resemble  a  monkey''s  face,  hence  the  plant  is 
sometimes  called  monkey-flower.  It  is  a 
showy  plant,  of  easy  culture,  brought  from 
South  America — some  species  from  Mexico. 
One,  M.  luteus,  is  a  culinary  plant  in  Peru. 
It  is  raised  from  cuttings,  in  a  soil  of  peat  and 
loam,  which  should  be  watered  proiiisely — 
enough  to  keep  the  saucer  full.  But  the  pot 
should  be  deeply  drained  with  pebbles,  and 
the  water  should  be  emptied  from  the  saucer 
every  day. 


Money  Plant. — This  plant  belongs  to  the 
Loose-strife  family ;  and  they  were  so  named 
by  the  ancients  because  they  erroneously  sup- 
posed that  their  flowers  quieted  restive  oxen 
by  being  placed  upon  the  yoke.  This  species 
is  of  trailing  habit  and  looks  pretty  at  a  win- 
dow. Fill  a  small  pot — a  conch-shell  is  more 
tasteful — with  rich  garden  soil  and  set  the  slips 
securely.  Keep  it  in  the  shade  till  they  begin 
to  grow,  giving  it  jjlenty  of  Avater.  Then 
hang  it  in  the  sunshine  and  it  will  soon  be 
studded  with  bright  yellow  blossoms ;  but  it 
will  not  bloom  away  from  the  sun,  and  it  will 
die  unless  kept  constantly  damp.  It  is  a  na- 
tive of  England — growing  abundantly  in  the 
meadows. 

The  Myrtle  derives  its  name  from  a  Greek 
word  meaning  perfume.  It  is  a  native  of  Afri- 
ca and  Asia,  as  also  of  southern  Europe. 
"The  myrtle  groves  of  the  south,"  have  fur- 
nished the  poets  with  many  a  theme.  The  an- 
cients paid  great  attention  to  odorous  shrubs, 
hence  the  myrtle  became  an  object  of  high  re- 
gard among  them,  and  in  the  rich  climate  of 
Greece,  which  strengthens  the  perfume  of 
plants  it  grew  to  great  perfection.  Virgil  tell 
us  that  myrtle-wood  was  used  for  making  im- 
plements of  war  on  account  of  its  hardness ; 
and  the  Portuguese  now  consider  it  the  hardest 
wood  that  grows.  In  the  estimation  of  the 
Arabs  it  stands  very  high  also.  They  say  that 
Adam  fell  down  from  Paradise  with  three 
things:  the  myrtle — which  is  the  chief  of  sweet- 
scented  things  in  the  world ;  an  car  of  wheat — 
which  is  the  chief  of  all  kinds  of  food  in  the 
world ;  and  pressed  dates — which  are  the  chief 
of  the  fruits  of  the  world. 

The  ancient  Romans  dedlcat.ed  the  myrtle 
to  Venus,  the  goddess  of  beauty ;  they  steeped 
its  leaves  in  their  wine  to  improve  its  flavor, 
and  to  add  to  its  invigorating  properties  ;  they 
used  the  berries  in  medicine  ;  and  they  wove 
garlands  of  it  for  the  head  of  their  chief  mag- 
istrates, and  for  the  brows  of  the  dead.  This 
last  practice  was  adopted  by  the  eai  ly  Chris- 
tians ;  and  though  it  was  finally  prohibited,  on 
account  of  its  heathen  origin,  the  myrtle,  as  a 
religious  decoration  has  never  been  entirely 
set  aside.  In  the  Madeira  Islands,  where  myr- 
tle trees  are  very  abundant,  the  churches  are 
adorned  at  festivals  with  its  leaves  and 
branches  ;  and  they  are  also  borne  in  proces- 
sions in  Catholic  countries.     In  Australia  the 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAR^^IER. 


247 


myrtle  grows  to  a  great  size  ;  having  an  enor- 
mous trunk,  and  standing  one  hundred  feet 
high  before  it  expands  its  canopy  of  foliage. 

JU.  communis — the  common  myrtle — is  the 
species  usually  cultivated  in  this  country.  It 
is  the  myrtle  of  the  Scriptures,  and  has  several 
varieties.  The  broad-leaved  is  the  Jew's  myr- 
tle. They  still  regard  it  with  veneration,  and 
are  anxious  to  obtain  it  for  the  celebration  of 
their  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  In  Europe  it  is 
frequently  cultivated  expressly  for  that  pur 
pose  ;  the  most  devoted  obeying  literally  the 
command  of  the  prophet  Nehemiah  to  "Fetch 
olive,  and  pine  and  myrtle."  The  leaves  of 
this  variety  grow  in  threes.  There  is  also  an- 
other broad-leaved  variety ;  also  a  narrow- 
leaved,  the  box-leaved,  and  the  Chinese. 
This  last  bears  purple  flowers ;  the  others 
white.  The  myrtle  is  propagated  by  cuttings 
stuck  in  sand  under  a  glass.  Cut  the  slip  at  a 
joint ;  and  cover  it  with  sand  half-way  to  the 
next  joint.  When  it  is  rooted  set  in  a  three- 
inch  pot  drained  with  crocks.  Soil — one-half 
garden  loam ;  and  the  remainder  sand  and  leaf 
mould  in  equal  proportions.  It  needs  air  and 
regular  watering  to  flourish  Avell,  also  frequent 
washing.  In  the  winter  give  it  a  sunny  situa- 
tion ;  but  in  summer  keep  it  in  the  shade  and 
water  it  sparingly.  It  need  not  be  re-potted 
till  the  second  year.  Do  not  change  the  jDOt 
too  often  as  it  stops  its  growth — only  be  sure 
that  it  is  not  pot-bound.  If  not  too  frequently 
disturbed  it  soon  becomes  a  large  plant,  one  of 
the  neatest  and  handsomest  for  the  parlor. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CULTUKE    OF    PLANTS. 

Mr.  Editor  : — I  merely  wish  to  say  how 
interested  I  am  in  those  articles  entitled  "How- 
to  make  Home  Happy." 

Not  having,  like  the  woman  who  does  not 
live  in  her  shoe,  a  cluster  of  olive  branches  to 
superintend  and  direct  in  the  way  they  should 
go,  I  am  more  especially  devoted  to  my  house 
plants,  of  ^^Ilich  I  have  a  choice  colliction. 

I  live  in  a  farm  house,  and  my  kitchen,  like 
many  old  farm  house  kitchens,  is  dark  and 
homely,  but  my  two  south  windows  filled  with 
plants  present  a  cheerful,  pleasant  appearance 
with  their  luxuriant  green  leaves,  and  bright 
beautiful  flowers,  even  in  the  middle  of  winter. 

I  have  often  wished  my  husband  would 
take  a   more  practical  view  of  the  valuable 


hints  to  be  found  in  the  Fakmer,  on  the  differ- 
ent items  of  farming ;  but  now  I  have  an  op- 
poi'tunity  to  try  some  of  those  rules  myself. 
I  have  a  number  of  the  varieties  of  plants 
mentioned  by  Miss  Hale,  and  I  intend  to  ap- 
ply the  rules  therein  laid  down  to  their  culti- 
vation. If  they  do  not  thrive  as  well  under 
that  system,  you  may  be  sure  I  shall  find  fault, 
for  my  flowers  seem  like  pet  companions. 

Allow  me  to  add  that  I  hope  we  shall  have  a 
few  hints  on  dahlia  raising.  They  are  great 
favorites  of  mine,  and  I  would  like  to  know  if 
there  is  a  way  to  obtain  a  variety  of  those 
beautiful  flowers  except  from  the  seed,  which 
is  a  slow  way  of  getting  them. 

A  Subscriber. 

Concord,  Vt.,  Feb.  22,  1867. 


Remarks. — Thank  you  for  the  compliments 
expressed  and  implied.  We  think  you  will  not 
regret  following  the  directions  given,  but  as 
you  already  appear  to  have  good  success  with 
your  plants,  and  seem  to  be  a  little  doubtful 
whether  the  new  plan  is  as  good  as  your  own, 
adopt  the  new  by  degrees.  Try  it,  for  in- 
stance, on  the  additions  you  make,  from  time 
to  time,  to  your  stock.  You  will  find,  before 
the  chapters  on  Plant  Culture  are  completed, 
many  varieties  named  which  will  be  new  to 
you,  probably,  and  Avhich  would  doubtless 
thrive  well  with  you,  and  amply  repay  you  for 
your  trouble. 

Such  a  windoAv  as  yours  should  have  some 
hyacinths  in  it,  next  winter.  There  can  hardly 
be  anything  easier  to  grow  than  they  have 
proved  with  us,  and  the  common  varieties  are 
not  expensive.  For  garden  culture,  to  be 
planted  in  the  fall,  good  bulbs  will  cost  from 
$1.50  to  $3.00  per  dozen.  For  pot  or  glass 
cultui-e,  the  price  is  i-ather  higher.  Single 
bulbs  will  cost  you  from  25  cts.,  to  $3.00  each, 
according  to  rarity  and  beauty.  Named  va- 
rieties can  be  had  for  $1.00  a  dozen,  or  for 
$1.75  a  dozen  without  names.  The  blossom 
is  fir.e  and  very  fragrant.  We  have  jr.st  put 
aside  one  lot  which  have  done  blossoming,  and 
have  another  lot  coming  forward  to  take  their 
place. 

The  dahlia  was  extremely  popular  once,  but 
of  late  years  other  flowers  have  taken  its  place, 
and  it  is  not  anything  like  so  common  as  ten, 
or  even  five  years  ago.  You  can  best  pro- 
cm-e  a  variety  at  the  florists,  and  we  recom- 


248 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARI^IER. 


May 


mend  you  to  Washburn  &  Co.,  J.  Breck,  or 
Hovey  &  Co.,  of  this  city,  Avho  will  charge  you 
from  $1.50  to  $6.00  a  dozen  for  strong,  thrifty 
plants  that  Avill  give  you  an  abundance  of  blos- 
soms, if  properly  cared  for.  The  expense  of 
getting  the  plants,  properly  packed,  would  not 
be  very  great  if  you  are  near  the  railroad,  or 
have  an  express  running  to  your  town.  | 

"With  regard  to  the  culture  of  the  dahlia. 
Rand  says  it  thrives  best  in  a  rich,  deep,  pli- 
able soil,  which  should  be  well  manured  with 
thoroughly  decomposed  manure,  and  well 
drained.  Plants  should  be  set  the  latter  part 
of  May,  five  feet  apart,  and  tied  to  tall  stakes. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Germantoion  Telegraph 
says : — 

I  plant  the  bulbs  in  hot  beds,  just  as  I  would 
sweet  potatoes ;  when  the  plants  get  up  lour 
or  five  inches,  I  cut  them  olf  down  close  to  the 
tuber  or  bulb  ;  these  sprouts  I  cut  up  into  little 
pieces,  making  the  lower  cut  just  below  an  eye. 
These  cuttings  I  put  out  in  sand,  and  they  soon 
strike  roots  and  grow.  The  tuber  will  send  up 
other  sprouts,  which,  when  of  sufficient  size,  are 
cut  off  and  treated  in  the  same  manner.  A 
large  number  of  plants  are  thus  made  from  a 
single  tuber  or  root.  By  this  method  the  finest 
flowers  can  be  produced.  If  you  plant  the 
whole  bulb,  with  one  eye  on  it,  the  plant  will 
grow  very  rapidly  and  strong,  but  it  will  all  go 
to  stalk  and  leaves,  and  the  flowers  will  be  in- 
different.    Most  people  plant  out  dahlias  too 


early ;  the  first  of  June  is  plenty  early  enough. 
The"  best  flowers  are  those  which  are  produced 
late  in  the  season.  The  treatment  of  the  plants, 
after  they  start,  requires  no  special  skill. 

If  you  have  not  already  tried  the  gladiolus, 
as  a  garden  flower,  you  cannot  do  better  than 
to  add  it  to  your  collection.  It  is  easy  of  cul- 
ture, easily  kept  through  the  winter,  and  the 
common  kinds  increase  quite  rapidly.  It  is  a 
thrifty,  clean  plant,  and  its  long  spikes  of  flow- 
ers are  very  handsome.  The  flowers  will  keep 
several  days  in  water,  and  a  spike  thus  treated, 
when  just  commencing  to  open,  will  continue 
blossoming  till  all  the  buds  have  opened.  As 
with  the  hyacinth,  you  can  get  the  bulbs  quite 
cheap,  or  you  can  pay  as  high  as  $i.00  for  a 
single  one.  Ordinary  kinds  will  cost  you  from 
10  cts.  to  30  cts.  each;  very  good  ones  25  cts. 
to  75  cts.  each ;  and  mixed  varieties,  in  which 
you  will  stand  a  good  chance  of  very  fine 
flowers,  $2.00  to  $2.50  a  dozen,  prepaid  by 
mail. 

But  our  remarks  are  encroaching  upon  our 
space.  A  quarter  of  a  dollar  to  Washburn  or 
Hovey,  will  secure  you  by  return  of  mail  a 
pamphlet  giving  full  lists  and  prices  of  plants 
and  seeds,  with  directions  for  culture.  We 
hope  you  may  have  "good  luck"  with  your 
plants,  and  that  our  response  to  your  inquiry 
may  prove  satisfactory.  Ed. 


/ 


DEVOTED  TO  AGKICULTUHE,  HORTICULTUBE,  AJVD  KINDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  June,  1867. 


VOL.  I.—NO.  6. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Kow. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN,  )  T, 

S.  FLETCHER,     \  Editors. 


BEAUTIFUL    JUTfE, 

"Seize,  happy  mortal,  seize  the  good- 
God's  hand  supplies  thy  sleep  and  food, 

And  makes  thee  truly  blest; 
With  plenteous  meals  enjoy  the  day, 
In  slumber  pass  the  night  away. 

And  leave  to  fate  the  rest." 

HE  month  of  June,  in  this  cli- 
mate, is,  really,  what  the  poets 
represent  May  to  be,  the  most 
lovely  month  in  the  year.  Summer 
is  commenced,  and  warm  weather 
thoroughly  established  ;  yet  the  heats 
rarely  rise  to  excess,  or  interrupt 
the  enjoyment  of  those  pleasures 
which  the  scenes  of  nature  at  this  time  afford. 
The  trees  are  in  their  fullest  dress,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  the  gayest  flowers  is  everywhere  scat- 
tered around,  just  before  they  are  cut  down 
by  the  scythe  or  scattered  by  the  heat. 

All  nature  is  glowing  with  fervid  life.  The 
grain  is  green  in  the  fields.  The  blades  of 
corn  are  shooting  up  green  and  succulent. 
The  plants  in  the  garden 'are  e.xpanding  their 
leaves  and  filling  the  soil  with  their  rootlets, 
and  each  is  struggling  to  secure  possession  of 
as  much  space  as  possible,  for  its  further  de- 
velopment. 

The  sun  shines  in  our  latitude  more  hours, 
this  month,  than  in  any  other  month  of  the 
year.  His  i-ays  are  sending  their  all-penetrat- 
ing force  into  the  most  hidden  recesses  of  ani- 
mated natui-e,  and  under  his  stimulating  influ- 
ence, she  is  driving,  in  full  tide,  the  life-blood 


through  every  artery  and  sap-vessel  of  every 
living  thing. 

And  now  that  June  is  so  beautiful,  its 
breath  so  fragrant  with  the  sweet  odors  of  the 
flowers,  and  all  the  rich  influences  of  the 
heavens  and  the  energies  of  nature  herself  are 
working  for  us,  and  cheering  our  labors,  let 
us  not  be  deficient  in  efforts  for  ourselves. 
First,  let  us 

Work  Systematically. 
Although  the  farmer  cannot  be  governed  by 
exact  rules  as  the  mechanic  can,  he  may  still 
introduce  system  into  his  labors  with  conven- 
ience and  profit.  The  work  for  June,  and  the 
other  summer  months,  should  be  reduced  to 
something  like  a  plan,  so  that  all  confusion 
may  be  avoided,  and  everything  be  ready  to 
accomplish  the  work  in  the  easiest  and  best 
way,  as  each  day  and  week  makes  its  new  de- 
mands. In  this  way  no  part  of  the  crop  is 
likely  to  be  neglected. 

No  Weeds.— There  is  an  old  story  of  the 
heathen  gods,  of  a  famous  robber  named  Sisy- 
phus, who  was  killed  by  Theseus,  and  his  punish- 
ment in  another  world  was  to  roll  a  great  and 
unwieldy  stone  to  the  top  of  a  high  hill,  and  as 
often  as  the  stone  almost  touched  the  top  of 
the  mountain,  down  it  would  go  again,  in  spite 
of  all  his  efforts  to  prevent  it.  So  he  had  to 
trot  back  and  roll  it  up  again  ! 

The  stone  of  Sisyphus  pretty  well  illustrates 
the  folly  of  allowing  weeds  to  perfect  them- 
selves in  our  gardens  and  fields.     The  farmer 


250 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


June 


destroys  an  immensity  of  them  in  one  year, 
but  they  are  so  numerous  that  sufficient  remain 
to  bring  up  legions  the  next, — so  he  goes 
on,  pulling  up  a  world  of  them,  like  rolling  up 
the  stone,  and  leaving  a  plentiful  crop  to  re- 
seed  the  land  for  generations  to  come  ! 

There  is  only  one  sensible  rule  about  the 
matter,  and  that  is,  utter  extermination.  Do 
not  leave  one  weed,  to  attract  even  the  beau- 
tiful snow-bunting  in  the  winter,  who  comes  to 
feed  upon  its  seeds. 

The  Cultivator  and  Hoe. — These  must 
be  kept  in  motion,  and  while  using  them,  do 
not  think  that  it  is  an  operation  merely  to  kill 
weeds  or  prevent  them  from  starting, — but 
rather  that  it  is  an  operation  full  of  scientific 
principles,  all  of  which  tend  to  mellow  the  soil, 
to  admit  warmth  and  moisture  into  it,  and  fit  it 
to  receive  important  influences  from  the  air. 
When  you  indulge  in  this  train  of  thought, 
your  work  will  rise  in  dignity  and  importance, 
the  hours  and  days  will  appear  shorter,  and  at 
night  you  will  return  from  the  fields  a  more 
cheerful  and  happy  laborer  from  God's  vine- 
yard. 

CoNCLUSiox. — We  must  not  detain  you  in 
this  beautiful  and  busy  season,  to  refer  to 
many  more  important  things.  Only  one  other 
point  will  bring  us  to  a  conclusion,  and  that 

Relates  TO  Haying. — On  many  pieces  of 
our  excellent  land  the  grass  comes  into  blossom 
as  early  as  the  20th  or  2oth  of  June,  and  many 
years'  experience  confirms  us  in  the  opinion 
that  it  is  better  to  commence  haj  ing  with  such 
grass  at  that  period,  and  then  keep  on  in  secur- 
ing the  general  crop.  Clover,  especially,  ought 
to  be  cut  before  any  of  it  is  lodged.  From 
June  20  to  July  20,  we  usually  have  the  finest 
hay  weather  that  occurs  during  the  season.  It 
is  thirty  days  in  which  we  are  enabled  to  se- 
cure hay  a  third  faster,  with  the  same  help, 
than  we  can  in  any  other  thirty  days.  Trv  it, 
brother  farmers,  and  inform  us  of  the  result. 

P.  S.  Do  not  fail  to  devote  a  day  or  two  to 
visiting  during  the  month  of  June,  with  some 
of  the  members  of  the  family.  If  you  have 
no  family  get  one  as  fast  as  possible,  and  let 
the  wedding  tour  come  in  June. 


— An  army  of  rats  made  a  raid  on  the  hog-pcn 
of  a  faniuT  at  Summer  Ilill,  N.  Y.,  a  few  weeks 
ago,  and  killed  and  nearly  devoured  a  hog  weigh- 
ing two  hundred  pounds. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HO'W  PLANTS    GROW. 

Put  a  seed  in  the  ground,  and  observe  what 
takes  place.     Soon  it  begins  to  swell,  and  in  a 
few  days  bursts  its  envelope.     The  plumule  or 
stem  is  now  visible,  folded  along  the  opening 
edge  of  the  seed,  and  tending  to  push  its  ex- 
tremity  into  an  erect  position.     The  radicle 
becomes  visible,  and  soon  divides   itself  into 
several  parts,  with  hairy  projections  on  their 
surface.     Within  the  seed  a  change  has  taken 
place,  not  apparent  to  the  eye.     A  portion  of 
the  starch  in  which  the  germ  is  enveloped,  has 
been  converted  into  a  soft  sweetish  substance, 
which  is  being  absorbed  b}-  the  stem  and  radi- 
cle, and  constitutes  their  food  for  a  time,  just 
as  the  yolk  and  albumen  Avithin  the  shell  are 
absorbed  and  digested  by  the  chick,  until  the 
organs   by   which   it  can  obtain   nourishment 
from  without,  are  perfected.     The  little  hairy 
projections  on  the  surface  of  the  radicle  are 
daily  becoming  more   numerous,  and  each  is 
terminated  by  an  open  mouth.     These  are  the 
organs  by  which  the  young  plant  is  to  commu- 
nicate  with  the  soil.     The    rising   stem   now 
pushes  through  the  soil,  into  the  air,  and  the 
light  converts  its   yellowish  white   color  into 
a  delicate   green.     Plants    that    grow   in   the 
dark  are  never  green.     When   the   buds  are 
unfolding  and  the  leaves  are  growing  rapidly 
in  the  spring,  if  there  are  two  or  three  cloudy 
or  rainy  days,  the  portions  of  the  leaves  that 
have   grown    during   these   days,  will  be  of  a 
lighter  green  than  the  portions  that  had  pre- 
viously grown,  and  when  the  sun  breaks  forth, 
a  few  hours   will  change  their  hue  to  a  dark 
and   brilliant   green ;    thus    showing   that  the 
green  color  depends  upon  the  chemical  influ- 
ence of  the  sun's  rays  upon  the  sap.     A  care- 
ful  examination  of  the  green  surt'aca  of  tho 
stem   will    disclose   minute    orifices   in   great 
number,  or  pores,  which  are  so  many  organs 
by  which  the  stem  communicates  Avith  the  air, 
as  the   root   does  with  the   soil.     The  starch 
within  the  seed  has  now  been  wholly  changed 
into  sweet  pulp,  and  digested  by  the  organs  of 
the  growing  plant.     But  it  is  no  longer  needed, 
for  the  organs  by  which  the  plant  is  to  commu- 
nicate with   the  external  world  are  complete. 
It  can  take  care  of  itself.     It  is  now  no  longer 
dependent  Tipon  the  nursing  care  of  the  mother 
])hint,  but  has  commenced  a  separate  and  in- 
(l(I)endent  life.     It  cannot  indeed  run  about 
likti  the  chick,  and  pick  up  its  (bod,  but  it  can 
drink  it  up  from  the  soil  in  which   it  stands, 
and  from   the   air  which   bathes  its  surlaces. 
And  as  it  needs  more  food  from  day  to  day,  to 
sustain  its  increasing  growth,  it  obtains  it  by 
pushing  its  roots  further  and  further  into  the 
soil,  with  new  mouths    constantly  opening  to 
drink  it  in  ;    and  by  lifting  itself  higher   and 
higher  into  the  atmosphere,  and  forming  new 
buds,  and  unfolding  new  leaves,  or  by  increas- 
ing those  already  formed, — every  new  surface 
presenting   new   pores  or  mouths  to  drink  in 


18/57. 


NEW   ENGLAND   i'AllMLli. 


2.S1 


nminxhmftnt.      In  a  plant  rapirlly    fp-rm'w^,  \     V.y  the  ftXfKrnmrmfii  of  M.  Bamjfl,   from 

hiuirlrfrdjt  of  nf:w  ino'ifhi  arc  thrj?.  fom.*;'J  fiff.y  to  «ixf.y  p<;r  i-.c.iti.  only  of  iuic<;  was  ol>- 
(:vf;ry  f!ay,  to  rrir:rr-.a-.»:  if,-.  pom;r  of  obt.airiiri;<  |  t.ainr-.d  from  \h(:  f>f;f;t. ;  v/htn-An  thf;  profliK-t.Ion 
fwxJ ;  ar.fj  thru  itji  vt-ry  j^rowth  in^Tfra«.*t^  it«  at,  th^:  pr*«;r.t,  tim*;  ix  from  ^^ij^hty  to  fif'hty- 
pow»:r  o/  j^rowiri;^.  A«  f,h(r  «r»:m  advawj-.n  in  j  fiv»;  p<r  r:<nt..  T\„:  yu-.Ul  of  «ficVar  wa.t  about 
hiAHUt,  m:  find  prof.iiF><;rarif:<;.4,  *;if.fi<:r  in  t.h/;  j  on*;  ar.fJ  om-half  p<rr  r;<;nf..,  whilf;  at.  f>i<:  prfK- 
fonn  of  nnj,'H  or  an  I»:i,  .mirroiirirlinj<  it,  or  «<r«-  !  4:nt.  Uttu;  in  Franrf;  it  h  ahoiit  .«tf:Vfn  ;  in  Gf-r- 
rmri.t^f,fard<;«part.iall;/y.iinro.iiiflifi;<it..    From  I  many,  f:ij/ht.  to  ninf; ;  anrl  in  ffnssja,'  ninf;  to 


th»r«*:  protiiUrranfrf!."!,  whif^li  an;  so  many  rcM-.r- 
voIr^  of  «ap,  biiflt  an;  tlirown  out.,  wfti*;Ji  «oon 
\fA\<^}\\i-u  info  l>rariff)(:.H,  on  th<j  nari'm-.f.  of 
^hi'ii  n<-w  drd«;«  or  .f<;;rmf;Tit„'(  an;  fomififl, 
(fr.'ifif^  r'lHti  to  nf;w  bfirj.«»  and  n«:w  hranrf,*;?!. 
And  l)»;n;  we.  rnay  nofif:*;  a  <;Tm'oij.'«  fjurt,  viz: 
tfiat  f.lj<;  hn'J.t  anrj  f;ran'fif;.t  an;  nf/t,  fbrrn^.d  in 
tWrt-Ji.  liht:  (UK 


U:n  per  ccTit  'i'h*;  r-o^it.  vrsA  nearly  thirty  cmtH 
jH;r  pound,  wfiilf;  at.  i\„:  pn;.«ifcnt  time  it  i«  aJxmt 
forjr  'f-nts, 

M.  l;<;ro«n<;,  a  Frfinrlmian,  of)t,aIn(;d  in  1811, 
about  two  p-r  ci-di.  of  f^i^nr  Horn  iUt:  i,*:<d. 
<)t.\n:r  f:x\>i'.nmti\U  yif-lr]*:d  two  and  OTif;-balf 
p*;r  f:<;nt,    A  far;t,ory  workin;^  /"/K>  toTi«  of  \x:t±n 


'^^>"y>-  anotli<;r;  but  ♦;a';h  n*;w  j  m  a  no.m(}U  wa,«t  <:(m^MU^ii(\  onit*-  *-xt.*;nMivf 
f^4d  I",  f,.,.<.l,r;d  out  o/if:-tf.inJ  OP  OT)>;-f;ftb  of  tb<:  I  'I},';n;  Mc  *;'<tabb'.^hm*rnt.^  now  in  ofx-ratlon 
'urr.ntuic.rcjKU:  iron,  l.h>:  Wru:  of  tbf;  la.Ht.  bud  f,<t-  j  that  work  /;0,000  tonf.      A  rasp  thcj,  workf;d 

up  about  thnr<;  tons  p<;r  diftn.     Now,  from  l.OO 


low  it,  «o  tliat  ♦;a'rfi  f<ufJ  may  have  its  bundb 
of  (tap  v<:HH(:li*  muti'in^  dircrtly  to  it,  without 
iiiU-.ri'i-.rUiif  with  the  vfc.<»«cl.«(  wiiicb  nouri«h  the 

bud    f>*;low. 

'Ifii?!  f;xj»an.<t(on  of  plant'*,  b*;Iow  and  abovf;th<; 
Koil,  and  f.h«;  frontfant,  ofi^-.u'iiK/  of  n<;w  mouf.h.<t  or 
or;.^an.««  of  communication  with  the  t:xU:ma\ 
worlrl,  an;  the  r:/)uivah:nt  given  to  plants  for 
the  power  ot  \()(jnii<)U(>it  jjjiven  to  animal.**, 

'J  h';  life  and  expansion  of  plant.n  in  limiUu 


to  '/>()<>  tons  a  day  are  eori^.timed  by  one  ra>  p, 

in  ]H\2tU«:  eo*t  of  manufaeturinj.^  f.ii'^'nr  vrnit 
about  ninf;  eentn  per  pound,     (^fiernieal  yehoolii 
and    imperial  faetone.s  were  estabb'-h'-fl,  and 
}(ovemrnenf.  ordered  the  eijltivatiwi  of  100,0<X) 
a/.Tes  rif  \nuitH. 

In  l)(:(:i:m\>cr,  1814,  favorable  tariff  duties 

infu.ted  new  life  int/j  the  indu.<!try;  manufae- 

...  ...  I  turers  introduced  j.mat  ituurovcmcittn  in  their 

t>y  tf.eir  nature  and  thf;  ctrctmittancj-A  m  which    eHtaf;li.*.hm<mt«,  to  .«luch  an  extent  that  they  oli- 

tfiey     an;    phued.       Some     comph;t^;     their   tained  «f;verity  j,*;r  f;ent,  of  jrjir*  from  the  beet. 

the   continuation  of  in  lien  of  fifty  and  <-ixf,y,     'i'he  yield  of  ftfjffar 


((rowtii  and    provide   for 


their  «pf;cie.s  in  one  year,  while  other.<»  con- I  was  from  thn:e  to  four  fkt  f;^'nt„  anrl  of 
tinue  to  jfrow  for  two  years,  or  for  many  years,  I  rnolay.'ses  about  five  per  c*^,t.  M  ('Jre«T>fcl 
perhaps  for  centuries.  So  with  animal  life.  lM\^,j.  claimed  that  he  obtained  five  «;r  (At. 
Some  complete  thf;ir  growth   and  work   in  a  mjj,ar  and  4.8  mok^.ses.     The  cost  of  mana- 


ihw  days  or  months,  wiiile  f^,bers  continue  for 
several  years,  or  scores  of  years,  atj-.oril'iu'^  to 
the  laws  of  their  nature.  All  livin;^  f>«;ings, 
v/hether  vegetable  or  animal,  are  subject,  to  cer- 
tain iaws  infi«:r»rnt  in  the  con.ftitufion  given  to 
them  by  the  Greator,  to  which  they  must  con- 
fonn  to  attain  the  perfe^lion  of  which  they  are 
capable.  (Jinrumstanfres  may  and  do  jrrf.vc.ut 
this  entire  conformity,  hen*;<5  the  imfxn^c^rtion 
which  we  conitantly  witness.  j.  n. 

Concord,  Mfum.,  lH(j7. 


BEET  8UGAK, 
To  show  the  progress  of  the  Jieet  Sugar 
manufacture  in  France,  we  copy  a  few  para- 
f.^raph.1  from  -Mr.  Grant's  little  volume  on  "Beet 
li^^ot  Sugar  and  Gultivatiom  of  the  iJtet," 
whirrh  -Messrs.  T><;c  «fe  Shepard  have  ju«t  pub- 
lished. 

In  1810,  M.  Deyenx,  a  rnemlj^rr  of  a  cfmi- 
mittee  previously  appointed  by  Napoleon  I,  to 
investigate  the  subjer:t  of  the  manufaf,-ture  of 
beet  sugar,  made  his  report,  and  present*;d 
two  loaves  of  siigar  equal  in  bvkry  resf^jct  to 
the  best  sugar  from  the  cane,  but  neither  the 
jK,Tcentage  of  sugar  obtained  nor  the  <rost  of 
pro<luct.ion  was  given.  Reports  not  well  veri- 
fied were  published  that  in  Germany  from  four 
to  hix  per  cent,  of  sugar  had  been  obtained. 


fa/:t.uring  was  about  sey^m  cfjnts  ]X:r  jK/und, 

From  18:i2  to  I8,';0  the  number  of  rnanufar> 
tories  largely  infrreased.  The  yield  of  sugar 
was  about  five  per  cent,,,  and  the  cost  of  pro- 
ductlon  alKjut  five  and  one-balf  cents  ix:r 
pound. 

In  I82.'j  F' ranee  produced  ,'///)  tons  of  sugar 
in  over  one  hundred  establishmeTits,  F'nxm 
18'>'^)  to  I8;;/>  great  progress  was  made,  'i'he 
sugar  produced  was  of  improved  quality,  and 
amounted  to  about  five  pfrr  cfmt.  of^the  weigirt 
of  beets  worked.  TTie  introduction  of  steam 
[K)wer  incTea''f;d  the  m^-ans  of  firoflurrtion  ty;n- 
fohl.  In  18;;G  four  hundred  and  thirty-six 
fk'^rf.ories  vr(:n:  in  OfKrratlon. 

Since  1810  the  production  of  h^;et  augarin 
FVance  has  doubled  cviry  ten  years. 

Tliere  w<-re  sixty  manufa/,'t.ories  of  befd;  sngar 
in  Austria  in  1840;  in  18f;o  the  number  had 
incTea.-.ed  to  rme  hundred  and  fort.y. 

'i'he  States  of  the  Zollverein  have  nearly 
qiiadnjpled  their  product.ion  in  the  past  fifteen 
years,  ,v2,o8G  tons  having  been  produced  in 
I8.vO,  againtt  18O,0^Kj  tons  in  ^H^',r^-C,. 

'i'he  intimate  relation  bf;tween  this  branch  of 
indu.stry  and  agricijlture  develofx;d  itself,  and 
there  were  no  longer  unimproved  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  a  .sugar  niSLTinf'sLCtory.  In  the  de- 
partment of  the  iVort.h,  where  the  indastry  wa* 
most  firmly  established,  the  numf>^;r  of  af'Tca 
under  cultivation  in  grain  increased  enonnou*- 


252 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


JUXB 


ly,  the  beet  pulp  furnishing  farmers  with  the 
means  of  feeding  an  Increased  number  of  cattle, 
thus  providing  the  means  of  fertilizing  an  in- 
creased amount  of  land. 

L'Eclio  Agricole  says,  that  "all  farmers  who 
obtain  first  prizes  at  the  agricultural^  exhibi- 
tions are  either  sugar  manufacturers,  distillers, 
or  cultivators  of  the  beet.  Those  who  have 
adopted  this  branch  of  agriculture,  either  as 
proprietors  or  tenants,  have  really  obtained 
astonishing  results. 

M.  Vallerand,  who  took  the  first  prize  in  the 
Department  of  Alsne,  bought.  In  1853,  a  farm 
of  eight  hundred  and  thirty -two  acres,  the  sales 
of  produce  from  which  amounted  to  .^8,000. 
In  1859  it  produced  $41,200.  M.  Dargent, 
who  took  the  first  prize  In  the  Department  of 
Seine  Inferieure,  cultivated  only  fifty_  acres. 
He  so  Increased  the  production  of  this  farm 
that  he  obtained  154,000  pounds,  or  68  tons 
and  1G8  pounds,  of  beets  from  a  single  acre. 
His  yield  of  wheat  was  43^  bushels,  and  of 
oats  58i  bushels  to  an  acre. 

The  culture  of  the  beet  involved  the  necessi- 
ty of  deep  ploughing,  heavy  manuring,  and 
thorough  weeding.  The  pulp  from  the  juice 
Is  extracted  in  the  manufacture  Is  an  excellent 
food  for  cattle,  the  number  of  which  has  been 
increased.  In  the  districts  devoted  to  that  In- 
dustry, from  eight  to  ten- fold  since  the  intro- 
duction of  sugar-making.  The  caUle  furnish 
an  immense  amount  of  manure,  which,  applied 
to  the  deeply-ploughed  and  well-weeded  beet 
lands  enhances  their  productiveness  for  the  ce- 
real crops.  In  1853,  when  the  Emperor  and 
Empress  came  to  Valenciennes,  a  trlumj)hal 
arch  was  erected,  with  the  following  Inscrip- 
tion : — 

Sugar  Manufacture. 

Napoleon  I.  who  created 
it. 
Before  tlie  manufacture  of 
beet  EUgnr,  the  arronclisse- 
ment  of  Valenciennes  pro- 
duced 695,750  bushels  of 
wheat,  and  fattened  700 
oxen. 

Among  the  conclusions  to  which  Mr.  Grant 
has  arrived  from  his  careful  investigation  of 
the  whole  subject,  are  the  following  :— 

That  the  skill,  which  Is  the  result  of  the  ex- 
perience of  more  than  a  century,  and  which 
has  made  France  independent  of  foreign  coun- 
tries for  her  supply  of  sugar.  Is  available  for 
us  to-day. 

That  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  can  be 
successfully  transplanted  from  France  to  the 
United  States. 

That  sugar  can  be  produced  in  this  country 
from  the  beet  nearly  If  not  (julte  as  cheaply 
as  it  (;an  l)e  from  the  cane  in  Cuba,  or  any 
■  other  country. 

And  tliat  at  present  prices  beet  sugar  can 
be  manufactured  in  this  country  at  a  profit  of 
from  eighty  to  one  hundred  per  cent. 


Napoleon  III.  wJio  protect- 
ed it. 
Since  the  manufacture  ot 
beet  sugar  was  introduced, 
the  arrondisfement  of  Va- 
lenciennes produced  1,157,- 
750  liushels  of  wheat,  and 
fattens  11,500  oxen. 


A  KOUGH  S"WAMP  RECLAIMED. 
A  correspondent  furnishes  the  following  par- 
ticulars of  the  reclamation  of  about  two  and  a 
half  acres  of  land,  situated  in  North  Wobum, 
Mass.,  near  the  soap  factory  cff  Messrs.  Eaton 
»&  Co.  At  first  Mr.  Eaton  tried  a  small  piece, 
by  applying  a  dressing  of  sand  and  manure  to 
the  surface,  but  was  not  satisfied  with  the  pro- 
cess, as  it  settled  down  quite  too  solid,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  pick  it  all  over.  Most  of  thfe 
swamp  was  thickly  covered  with  bushes,  the 
mud  varying  from  seven  to  fifteen  feet  deep, 
in  which  were  several  open  spring  holes. 
Six  years  ago,  the  swamp  was  drained,  and 
the  top  sod  was  entirely  taken  off,  the  spring 
holes  filled  up  and  a  layer  of  gravel  was  spread 
over  the  surface.  To  this  was  added  a  com- 
post of  "sugar"  gravel  and  horse  manure,  and 
the  whole  piece  seeded  down.  A  dressing  of 
similar  compost  has  been  applied  every  fall. 
Mr.  Eaton  estimated  the  first  year's  crop  at 
seven  tons  ;  two  years  ago  it  was  eleven  tons  ; 
and  last  year  he  kept  six  horses  through  the  win- 
ter which  had  no  other  hay  than  that  harvested 
In  two  crops  from  this  meadow.  The  whole 
cost  of  reclaiming  has  been  about  eight  hun- 
dred dollars. 


Preparing  Rennet. — At  a  late  meeting  of 
the  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.,  Farmers'  Club,  Mr. 
AVIlliam  Davis  stated  his  process  : — He  kills 
his  calves  at  four  days  old  ;  lets  the  calf  suck 
at  night ;  kills  the  next  morning,  and  removes 
the  rennet :  empties  by  turning  It  inside  out. 
Wipes  with  a  solt  cloth  all  iiltli  that  Is  attached, 
never  washes  ;  salts  and  packs  away  for  a  few 
days,  until  the  rennet  is  saturated  thoroughly 
with  salt ;  hangs  up  on  crotched  sticks  in  a 
room  where  the  temperature  Is  about  60  de- 
grees. When  sufficiently  dry,  packs  away  se- 
curely from  flies,  dust,  &c.  Does  not  use  un- 
til the  next  year. 


Curing  Meat. — In  Buffalo  they  are  apply- 
ing the  Alberger  process  of  curing  meat.  Af- 
ter the  animal  is  killed,  the  belly  Is  split  open 
and  an  Incision  made  In  the  heart ;  then  comes 
scalding  and  bristling  ;  after  this  another  incis- 
ion made  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  heart, 
and  into  the  two,  rubber  tubes  inserted,  and 
brine  well  heated,  (820°)  forced  in.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  brine  is  distributed  through  the 
carcass,  and  the  meat  is  cured,  the  remaining 
blood  being  displaced  at  the  same  time. 

—A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Farmers' 
Club,  says  that  chickens,  worms  or  squirrels,  will 
not  touch  seed  corn  that  has  been  smoked  with 
hams  in  a  smoke  house. 


18G7. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


253 


Fig  1.    Branch  of  Staminate  or  Male  Hop-  Vine, 


Fig.  2.    Branch  of  a  Pistillate  or  Female  Hop-  Vine. 


The  above  cuts  are  drawn  on  a  reduced  scale,  but  a  single  flower  of  the  male  vine  is  shown  at  the  left-hand 
corner  of  the  plate,  of  natural  size. 


CULTIVATION"    OF    HOPS. 

Choon  soil  for  the  hop  of  rottenest  mould, 
Well  doonged  and  wroughtas  a  garden  plot  should; 
Not  far  from  the  water  (but  not  overflowne ;) 
This  lesson  well  noted,  is  meet  to  be  knowne. 

The  sun  in  the  South,  or  else  Southlie  and  "West, 
Is  joy  to  the  hop  as  welcomed  ghost ; 
But  wind  in  the  North,  or  else  Northerly  East, 
To  hop  is  as  ill  as  fray  in  a  feast. 

Thus  wrote  Thomas  Tusser,  Esq.,  more  than 
three  hundred  years  ago,  in  his  celebrated 
"Five  Hundred  Points  of  Good  Husbandry." 
Notwithstanding  the  quaintness  of  his  style,  it 
will  be  seen  that  his  lines  are  full  of  hints  as 
to  the  soil,  manure,  location,  exposure,  &c., 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  hop. 

For  the  Weekly  Farmer,  of  February  16, 
we  prepared  an  article  on  the  Cultivation  of 
Hops,  which  was  published  without  any  illus- 
trations. In  consequence  of  the  frequent  re- 
quests which  have  been  made  for  such  illus- 
trations, and  for  further  information  upon  the 
subject,  we  have  obtained  permission  to  copy 
from  a  cheap,  but  valuable  work  entitled  Hop 
Culture,  published  by  Orange  Judd  &  Co.,  of 
New  York,  a  series  of  cuts  which  illustrate 


the  usual  modes   of  cultivating  the  hop  in  this 
country,  and  of  prepaiing  it  for  market. 

The  New  American  Cyclopaedia  describes 
the  hop  as  "a  vine  with  a  perennial  root  from 
which  spring  up  numerous  annual  shoots, 
forming  slender  flexible  stems,  angular  and 
rough  to  the  touch.  These  climb  spirally  to 
the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  The  leaves 
are  opposite,  on  long  winding  petioles ;  the 
smaller  ones  heart-shaped,  the  larger  three  or 
five  lobed.  It  is  found  wild  both  in  America  and 
Europe.  The  flowers  of  the  male  plant  (Fig.  1,) 
have  a  calyx  of  five  leaves  and  no  corolla ;  those 
of  the  female  plant  (Fig.  2,)  have  for  their  calj"x 
the  scales  of  an  ament,  each  two-flowered, 
styles  two,  seed  one.  They  form  a  foliaceous 
cone  or  strobile,  called  also  catkin,  for  the  , 
sake  of  which  alone  the  plant  is  cultivated. 
The  catkins  consist  of  the  scales,  imts,  and 
lupuline  grains  or  glands.  Tho  scales  are 
bracts  enclosing  the  nuts  which  are  small  and 
hard.  They  are  covered  at  their  base  with  an 
aromatic  resinous  substance  of  yellowish  color 
known  as   lupuline.     This   constitutes   about 


254 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAKIMER. 


June 


one-sixth  of  the  weight  of  the  dried  catkins, 
and  contains  the  greater  portion  of  their  val- 
uable qualities." 

In  this  country,  as  we  have  previously  re- 
marked, hops  maybe  grown,  as  a  general  rule, 
on  any  good  corn  land.  But  in  the  United 
States  as  well  as  in  England,  the  bulk  of  the 
crop  is  grown  in  a  few  favorable  localities. 
The  production  of  the  single  county  of  Kent, 
in  the  southeastern  part  of  England,  probably 
represents  one  half  of  the  whole  amount  raised 
in  all  the  other  counties.  In  Otsego  County, 
N.  Y.,  it  was  estimated  that  4,000,000  lbs. 
were  raised  in  18G3,  which  is  more  than  the 
whole  crop  of  the  United  States  for  1820,  and 
nearly  one-half  of  the  product  of  the  State  In 
1860. 

The  hop-yard  should  not  be  located  in  a 
valley  or  near  thick  woods,  but  still  it  should 
be  sheltered  by  hill  or  wood  from  prevailing 
winds,  for  the  reason  suggested  in  the  last  two 
lines  quoted  above  from  Mr.  Tusser.  On  the 
friable  calcareous  soils  of  Kent,  England,  hop 
roots  have  been  found  to  descend  ten,  lifteen 
and  more  feet  in  search  of  food  and  moisture. 
This  fact  illustrates  the  importance  of  deep 
and  thorough  preparation  of  the  soil.  The 
great  expense  of  poles,  bins,  kilns,  bags,  labor, 
&c.,  necessary  to  prepare  the  crop  for  market, 
makes  it  poor  policy  to  sjmre  labor  or  manure 
in  starting  the  yard. 

After  the  ground  is  duly  prepared  for  plant- 
ing, the  places  for  hills — seven  feet  by  eight  Is 
a  common  distance — are  usually  marked  by 
furrowing  each  way,  much  care  being  taken  to 
run  them  straight.  If  greater  exactness  is  de- 
sired, or  If  the  }ard  is  small,  the  hills  may  be 
marked  off  readily  by  the  use  of  lines  and  as 
many  stakes  as  hills.  Whether  the  hills  are 
formed  by  the  intersection  of  two  furrows  or 
by  spading  where  sticks  are  used,  the  follow- 
ing cut  illustrates  the  position  of  the  sets  and 
the  manner  of  covering  them  and  placing  the 
'stake  to  mark  the  hill. 


0'  ->  cxy    I 


*'(!«;/^ij,;41U^^..<^,^.;„,4^*' 


Ku;.  ii.     Manner  of  J'laiUinf/. 
The  directions  for  planting,  which  should  be 


permit,  say,  about  the  last  of  April  or  first  of 
May,  we  copy,  with  the  cut,  (Fig.  3,)  from 
Mr.  Judd's  Hop  Culture. 

Cultivation  the  First  Year. 

Provide  a  dibble,  or  a  sharp  piece  of  n'on, 
to  make  the  holes  in  the  manner  shown  in  the 
cut.  The  sets  are  Inserted  in  these  holes,  tak- 
ing care  that  the  eyes  in  the  set  point  upward. 
Four  sets,  at  equal  distances  apart, — although 
but  two  are  shown  In  the  cut, — form  the 
bill,  their  uj^per  ends  approximating  as  in  the 
ligure.  A  handful  of  bones  broken  fine 
and  thrown  Into  the  hill,  will  prove  of  great 
value  by  producing  a  rich,  high-llavored 
hop.  To  cover  the  sets,  take  hold  of  the 
upper  ends  and  pack  the  earth  carefidly 
around  and  over  them,  as  shown  in  Figure 
o.  The  sets  are  sometimes  planted  like 
potatoes,  •  and  sometimes  an  iron  crowbar 
is  used,  the  sets  being  held  by  one  hand  and 
the  earth  filled  in  around  them.  On  examina- 
tion of  lulls  planted  in  this  manner,  they  are 
frequently  found  twisted  together  in  the  form 
of  a  rope,  much  to  the  injury  of  the  hill. 
There  is  another  mode,  that  is  regarded  by 
some  as  having  advantages  over  the  above 
methods,  which  is  as  follows :  Take  the  pre- 
pared sets  and  bed  them,  or  plant  them  In  I'ows 
sufficiently  wide  to  admit  of  the  free  use  of 
the  cultivator  ;  a  single  set  In  a  place  from  five 
to  six  inches  apart.  The  bed  siioidd  receive 
careful  attention  in  the  way  of  hoeing  and 
weeding,  A  dressing  of  special  manure  is 
ustiful.  The  best  that  1  ha\  e  ever  used  con- 
sists of  six  or.  eight  parts  of  charcoal  dust,  two 
of  jjulverized  hen  manure,  and  one  of  plaster. 
This  is  also  a  valuable  manure  to  be  used  Near- 
ly, after  the  first  hoeing.  The  sets  should  be 
taken  up  the  next  October,  and  planted  with 
great  care.  One  strong,  healthy  set  will  make 
a  hill.  Immediately  after  i)lantlng,  the  hill 
should  be  covered  with  two  or  three  shovels  of 
manure.  A  yard  planted  In  this  manner  will 
come  into  bearing  the  next  season,  the  same 
as  if  planted  out,  as  in  the  manner  first  de- 
scribed. It  is  customary  to  plant  corn,  pota- 
toes, beans,  tobacco,  or  any  other  hoetl  crop, 
with  hops  the  tirst  year.  The  crop  that  shades 
the  least  Is  best. 

]\Iale  Hops. — In  the  centre  of  every  him- 
dred  hills,  or  at  regular  intervals,    should   be 
planted  a  male  hill.    The  poles  should   be  left 
in  these  hills,  or  other  means  adopted  to  mark 
them  distinctly  and  [)ernianently.     AVhen  the 
shoots  are  taken   from  these,  they  should  be 
tied  in  bundles  and  put  by  themselves,  to  pre- 
vent their  becomiuii;  mixed  with  tliose  of  the 
bearing  plants.     Tlie  male  plant  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance;  for  without  this,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  produce  good  hops. 
Corn,  potatoes,  or  any  other  hoed  crop,  can 
be  raided  llie   fu-st  year  with   the   hops.     The 
cultivation  consists  in  keeping  the  weeds  down 


done  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the   season  will  '  and  the  ground  mellow.     One  day's  work  in 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIilER. 


255 


season  is  better  than  two  later.  If  good  sets 
aro  used,  and  they  are  planted  very  early,  it 
will  pay  to  raise  a  erop  the  first  year,  and  the 
plants  will  be  the  better  for  it.  Set  one  stake 
to  each  hill,  and  let  all  the  vines  riui  upon  it. 
The  stake  should  be  but  eiizht  feet  long  and 
set  one  foot  in  i\w  ground  ;  if  longer  than  that, 
the  vines  will  not  get  to  the  top  in  season  to 
"■hop'"  well.  It  i&  best  to  stake  the  plants, 
because  then  they  are  out  of  the  way  in  culti- 
vating the  yard,  and  do  not  get  torn  off.  AVe 
raise  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  pounds 
to  the  acre  the  first  year,  at  no  cost,  except 
picking  and  drying,  besides  the  cultivation, 
which  nnist  be  done  even  if  none  are  raised. 
The  stakes  may  be  pieces  of  old  hop-poles,  or 
better,  one  and  a  quarter  inch  s(iuare  sawed 
stuff,  eight  feet  long,  (there  is  one  foot,  board 
measure,  in  each  stake.)  It  pays  well  to  get 
gas  tar,  heat  it  in  a  pan  made  for  the  purpose, 
and  dip  the  whole  stake  into  it  while  it  is  hot. 
This  makes  a  firm  coat  of  paint  on  the  stake, 
protects  it  from  the  weather,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  very  offensive  to  insects,  and  plant-lice 
will  not  lay  their  eggs  on  it  in  the  fall.  In  the 
autumn  of  the  first  year,  a  covering  of  two 
forkfuls  of  coarse  manure  should  be  given  the 
hills,  and  if  there  is  any  chance  of  water  stand- 
ing on  the  surface,  furrows  must  be  plowed  for 
surface  drains,  for  it  will  kill  the  hills  it  covers. 

We  shall  have  something  upon  the  second 
year's  management  on  another  page. 


RAISING    CALVES. 

For  the  first  ten  davs  the  young  calf  is  al- 
lowed the  milk  of  the  cow  exclusively.  The 
milk  of  the  newly  calved  cow,  as  every  dairy- 
man knows,  is  not  fit  during  the  first  week  for 
dairy  purposes,  and  is  the  only  suitable  nour- 
ishment for  the  delicate  digestive  organs  of  its 
young.  For  a  few  days  after  this  period, 
about  two  or  three  quarts  of  milk  at  a  meal 
should  still  be  given,  gradually  adding  some 
other  food  in  the  shape  of  gruel,  and  at  the 
same  time  diluting  the  milk  with  water,  so  as 
to  obtain  the  requisite  quantity  of  fluid.  Some 
recommend  whey,  where  it  can  be  procured. 
The  gruel  is  made  with  a  mixture  of  linseed- 
meal  or  oil-cake,  powdered  fine,  and  meal 
of  various  grains,  barley,  oats,  and  a  little 
wheat  flour.  The  proportions  recommended 
by  ^Ir.  Henry  Ruck,  in  a  paper  read  by  him 
at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Cirencester  Farm- 
ers' Club,  (P^ngland)  are  as  follows : — Into  a 
6  gallon  bucket  pour  2  gallons  of  scalding 
water,  stir  into  this  7  pounds  of  ground  linseed 
cake  ;  then  add  2  gallons  of  hay  tea,  which 
should  be  fresh  and  sweet ;  next  add  7  pounds 
of  mixed  meal ;  add  sufficient  cold  water  to  fill 
the  bucket,  and  well  mix  together.  Two 
quarts  of  this  gruel,  diluted  with  two  quarts  of 
cold  water,  will  be  about  the  right  quantity, 
and  of  the  right  temperature,  for  one  calf  at 
one  meal.     The  food  should  be  given  at  regu- 


lar hours,  and  twice  a  day,  morning  and  even- 
ing, will  be  found  sufficient.  The  hay  tea, 
which  seems  to  be  an  excellent  preparation,  is 
made  every  morning  by  filling  a  small  tub  with 
good  hay,  and  pouring  on  scalding  water ;  this 
should  be  u.-ed  in  the  evening,  fresh  scahHng 
water  added,  covered  down,  and  used  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  After  the  first  fortnight, 
when  the  calf  begins  to  chew  the  cud,  the  chief 
difficulty  and  danger  are  over.  As  the  calf 
begins  to  eat,  the  quantity  of  gruel  should  be 
gradually  diminished.  Solid  food  should  be 
placed  before  them,  to  train  and  encourage 
them  to  eat,  Avhich  they  will  very  soon  leara 
to  do.  The  best  material  for  this  purpose  is 
good  sweet  hay,  with  a  small  supply  of  crushed 
corn  and  crushed  oats.  In  addition  to  this, 
mangold  wurzel  willb  e  found  serviceable,  and 
is  very  much  relished  by  the  young  animals. — 
Canada  Fanner. 


FEATUBES  OF  A  PERFECT  ANIMAL. 

A  perfect  breeding  or  feeding  animal  should 
have  a  fine  expression  of  countenance — mild, 
serene  and  expressive.  It  thould  be  fine  in 
the  bone,  with  clean  muzzle,  and  a  tail  like  a 
rat's.  It  should  lie  short  on  the  legs,  and  not 
ewe-necked.  It  should  have  a  small,  well-put- 
on  held,  with  a  prominent  eye  ;  it  should  have 
a  skin  not  too  thick  nor  too  thin,  covered  with 
fine,  silky  hair — to  the  touch  like  a  lady's 
glove ;  it  should  be  straight-liackcd ;  well 
ribbed  up  and  well  ribbed  home  ;  the  hook 
bones  should  not  be  too  wide  apart.  A  wide- 
hooked  animal,  especially  a  cow  after  calving, 
always  has  a  vacancy  between  the  hook  and 
the  tail,  and  a  want  of  the  most  valuable  part 
of  the  carcase.  A  level  line  should  run  from 
the  hook  to  the  tail.  The  outline  ought  to  be 
such  that  if  a  tape  is  stretched  from  the  fore 
shoulder  to  the  thigh,  and  from  the  shoulder 
along  the  back  to  the  extremity  there,  the  line 
should  be  close,  with  no  vacancies ;  and  the 
line  should  fall  without  a  void  from  the  hook 
to  the  tail.  From  the  shoulder-blade  to  the 
head  should  be  well  filled  up ;  as  we  say — 
good  in  the  neck  vein.  Scarcely  any  one  ani- 
mal will  possess  all  these  marks — indeed,  to 
look  for  the  half  of  them  in  a  good  commer- 
cial animal  would  be  vain.  The  marks  are  set 
down  in  good  order,  but  just  as  they  occurred 
to  one  who  had  gained  his  knowledge  from  the 
study  of  tbe  living  specimens,  and  not  from 
books.  Thick  legs,  thick  tails,  and  deep  necks, 
with  thick  skin  and  bristly  hair,  always  point 
to  sluggish  feeders. — Mr.  McCombie,  of  Scot- 
land. 

Silk.— ,1.  W.  C.  Seavey  &  Co.,  Canton, 
INIass.,  manufacture  sewing  silks,  machine  and 
stick  twist,  employ  60  hands,  and  produce  up- 
wards of  300  pounds  per  week.  The  factory 
has  been  in  operatign  for  fifteen  years,  and 
within  three  years  its  producing  capacity  has 
been  doubled. 


256 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


June 


ROOTS   AJSTD    GRAIN    CROPS. 

f  ^  ^^c\\  has  been  written  on 
/^M^Y{  tlie  subject  of  root  crops. 
The  question,  whether 
'I^^V'-  roots  are  cheaper  than 
^  corn  in  feeding  horses  and 
other  domestic  animals 
while  at  labor,  has  not, 
perhaps,  been  satisfiicto- 
rily  solved,  nor  are  we 
aware  that  any  experi- 
^^;^..  ments  that  can  be  confidently 
-  v^-^  relied  on,  have  been  instituted 
'^  with  a  view  of  deciding  the 
point. 
A  writer  in  the  ''Farmer  and 
Gardener,''''  an  English  work  of  high 
authority,  in  speaking  of  "Horse 
Feed,"  says : — 
To  begin,  wc  will  premise,  that  each  working 
horse  wiU  consume  three  gallons  of  corn  per  day, 
or  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  Inishels  seven  gal- 
lons a  year;  now  if  we  take  thirty  bushels  as  the 
average  yield  of  an  acre  in  corn,  which  is  a  large 
one,  it  will  take  four  acres,  sixty  perches  of  ground 
to  raise  corn  enough  to  sustain  a  single  horse ;  on 
the  other  hand  let  us  suppose  that  an  acre  m  car- 
rots will  yield  three  hundred  bushels,  (and  this  is 
a  small  average,  for  700  Inishels  have  often  been 
produced  on  an  acre,)  and  as  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  three  pecks  of  this  root,  daily,  is  suffi- 
cient to  sustain  a  horse  well  at  labor,  as  there  are 
twelve  hundred  pecks  in  three  hundred  bushels, 
so  will  one  acre  sustain  a  horse  one  year  and  tUirty- 
five  days,  making  a  saving  of  three  acres  and 
ninety  perches  of  land,  and  nearly  the  equivalent 
of  that  amount  of  lalx)r  in  tillage,  as  all  will  ad- 
mit that  if  the  carrots  be  judicwusUj  drilled,  the 
amount  of  lalx)r  to  be  performed  on  their  culture, 
is  very  little  greater  than  what  is  requisite  to  se- 
cure a  good  yield  of  corn — one  thinning  and  three 
hoeings  being  all  that  is  necessary  to  ensure  a  good 
crop.  As  to  the  manuring,  we  will  observe,  that 
they  do  not  require  more  than  ought  to  be  given  to 
corn,  as  less  than  twenty  loads  should  not  be  de- 
voted to  either.  The  gathering  and  preservation 
is,  to  1)6  sure,  more  tedious  per  acre,  but  when  the 
labor  to  be  bestowed  on  four  acres  and  ninety 
perches  in  corn,  is  compared  with  that  requisite 
for  one  acre  of  carrots,  we  think  the  amount  will 
stand  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  latter. 

We  may  here  observe  that  seven  hundred 
bushels  per  acre,  is  by  no  means  to  be  regarded 
as  an  extra— much  less  as  the  maximum  yield 
of  this  root.  A  gentleman  in  Norfolk  County, 
Mass.,  informed  us  that  he  had  raised  carrots 
at  the  rate  of  1, GOO  bushels  to  the  acre,  having 
about  one-fourth  of  an  acre  accurately  nu-as- 
ured.  The  crop  was  on  good  land,  highly 
manured  and  thoroughly  tendtsd.  The  yield 
of  com  in  the  above  estimate,  which  is  aver- 
aged at  thirty  bushels,  is  less  than  it  should 
be,  unless,  as  we  suspect,  the  writer  being 
English,  means  wlieat,  for  which  "corn"  is  the 


popular  designation  in  England.  More  than 
three  times  that  amount  of  Indian  corn  is 
often  produced,  per  acre,  in  New  England. 

Mr.  S.  Blagge,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  many 
years  ago,  sent  a  communication  upon  the  cul- 
ture of  carrots  to  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Repository,  in  which  he  states  that  he 
spread  three  ox  cart  loads  of  old  stable  ma- 
nure on  one-eighth  of  an  acre  of  land,  of  a  rich, 
light  loam,  in  which  potatoes  had  been  planted 
for  two  years  preceding.  Plowed  it  in  the  fall 
and  twice  in  the  spring,  the  last  time  about 
the  first  of  May.  Sowed  the  seeds  in  furrows 
about  one  foot  apart.  In  ten  days  the  carrots 
could  be  just  perceived  above  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  and  in  six  more  the  rows  were  plain. 
They  were  then  hoed.  In  twenty  days  more 
they  were  hoed  and  weeded.  In  two  weeks 
from  this  time  they  were  thinned,  those  left 
standing  in  the  ground  remaining  about  one 
inch  from  each  other. 

In  the  beginning  of  July  they  were  hilled, 
so  as  to  cover  the  top  of  the  I'oot,  and  left 
until  the  beginning  of  November,  when  the 
crop  was  collected,  and  measured  one  hundred 
and  sixty  bushels,  or  at  the  rate  of  1280 
bushels  per  acre  !     He  adds : 

"As  the  foregoing  was  intended  as  an  experi- 
ment, I  was  particular  in  keeping  an  account  of 
the  expenses  attending  it,  and  find  that  the  whole 
amount  lor  manure,  labor,  &c.,  was  ^15.33  includ- 
ing $1.33  which  I  paid  for  one  pound  of  seed. 

"I  am  convinced  that  a  farmer  who  has  a  con- 
siderable stock  to  provide  for,  cannot  appropriate 
a  few  acres  of  his  land  to  a  better  purpose,  than 
that  of  raising  carrots.  Their  nutritious  property 
supplies  the  use  of  hand  food  for  beeves  ;  and  they 
are  extremely  serviceable  to  milch  cows,  who  re- 
quire something  better  than  dry  fodder  during  our 
tedious  winters.  Horses  are  very  fond  of  them, 
cut  in  pieces  of  three  inches  in  length,  washed 
clean,  and  given  to  them  in  proper  quantities." 

With  the  improved  modes  of  culture  which 
have  been  introduced  since  Mr.  Blagge  wrote 
the  above,  we  have  no  doubt  that  carrots  may 
be  raised  much  cheaper  than  they  could  be  at 
that  time  ;  for  less  than  one-half  his  cost,  in- 
deed. A  man  can  perform  as  much  in  a  car- 
rot field  in  one  day,  with  Harrington's  Culti- 
vator, as  he  could  in  three  Avith  a  common  hoe, 
and  do  the  work  as  well. 


—The  Kennebec  Union  Agricultural  and  Horti- 
cultural Society  elected  oflicers  in  Gardiner,  INIarch 
2.  President— Win.  II.  Merrill,  West  Gardiner; 
Vice  Presidents— Ben.) .  Berry,  Litchfield  ;  N.Fos- 
ter, Gardiner;  A.  D.  Knight,  Hallowell ;  Secretary 
— S.  Smiley,  Gardiner;  Treasurer  and  Collector- 
Cyrus  Libby,  Gardiner. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARJilER. 


257 


DWARF  PEAR  TREE. 
Is  n't  that  beautiful  H  Does  n't  it  almost  make 
your  mouth  water  ?  And  yet  there  is  no  law 
that  forbids  the  growth  of  such  a  tree  in  your 
garden,  or  of  one  a  little  less  symmetrical,  if 
you  do  not  happen  to  find  a  tree  equally  reg- 
ular in  its  proportions,  or  if  yours  should  re- 
fuse to  limb  out  just  according  to  the  picture. 
If  you  want  such  a  tree,  now  is  the  time  to  set 
it  out ;  and  our  object  in  getting  up  the  cut  is, 
we  confess,  purposely  to  "lead  you  into  temp- 
tation." 


A  PREMIUM  FARM. 
A  business  correspondent  expresses  much 
gratification  from  a  late  visit  to  the  farm  of 
S.  M.  Thomas,  of  Wayland,  Mass.,  to  which 
the  first  premium  of  the  Middlesex  Agricultu- 
ral Societ)-  was  awarded  a  few  years  ago.  The 
predecessor  of  Mr.  Thomas,  though  considered 
a  smart  business  man,  did  not  succeed  in  mak- 
ing a  living  upon  it.  The  present  occupant 
has  had  possession  about  twenty-five  years. 
He  is  not  a  trading  man,  and  has  brought  up 
this  farm  to  its  present  good  condition  simply 
by  industry  and  strict  attention  to  business. 
The  buildings  are  all  new,  well  situated,  ca- 
pacious and  convenient — especially  the  large 
barn  cellar.     The   soil  is  mostly  a  rich  loam, 


not  much  clayey,  yet  well  adapted  to  grass. 
In  consequence  of  the  labor  required  to  make 
milk,  Mr.  Thomas  does  not  sell  it  as  formerly. 
He  prefers  to  feed  steers  which  he  buys  to 
keep  over.  He  must  have  stock  of  some  kind 
to  make  manure,  as  he  cannot  buy  it  for  less 
than  ten  dollars  per  cord.  Our  correspondent 
speaks  of  "a  noble  pair  of  team  horses,  six 
oxen,  about  thirty  head  of  neat  stock,  and 
twenty  hogs,"  whose  contributions  to  the  ma- 
nure heap  are  most  carefully  husbanded,  as  is 
all  that  which  results  from  the  production  of 
about  3000  pounds  of  pork  a  year.  Mr. 
Thomas  had  300  cords  of  fire  wood,  cut 
the  past  winter,  all  but  about  fifty  cords  of 
which  has  been  drawn.  The  blocking-up 
snows  have  interfered,  and  delayed  the  finish- 
ing of  this  job  until  it  is  treading  on  the  heels 
of  the  spring  work. 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS. 
The  Vegetable  Would;  being  a  History  of  Plants, 
■with  their  Botanical  Descriptions  and  Peculiar  Prop- 
erties. By  Louis  Figuier,  author  of  the  "World  be- 
fore the  Deluge,"  and  other  popular  works.  Illustrat- 
ed with  446  engravings,  interspersed  through  the  text, 
and  24  full-page  Illustrations;  chiefly  drawn  from 
Nature  by  M.  Faquet,  Illustrator  to  the  Botanical 
Course  of  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  of  Paris.  New 
York;  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  445  Broadway;  Boston: 
Lee  &  Shepard.  1867.  676  large  8vo  pages,  with  a 
full  index. 

As  respects  paper,  type  and  illustrations,  this 
superb  volume  is  in  the  highest  style  of  English 
art.  From  the  little  cut  of  a  potato  plant  on 
page  468  to  the  full-page  illustration  of  the  Great 
Tree  of  California,  the  perfection  of  the  engraver's 
art  is  wonderfully  displayed,  and  most  happily 
unites  the  sentiment  of  the  artist  with  the  precision 
of  the  naturalist.  Though  less  capable  of  judging 
in  respect  to  the  scientific  ability  of  the  text,  we 
believe  it  is  entitled  to  a  similar  hearty  commen- 
dation, though  possessing  in  a  high  degree  the  at- 
tractiveness of  popular  description.  The  work  is 
divided  into  four  parts  ;  1.  the  Organography  and 
Physiology  of  plants;  2.  The  Classification  of 
Plants;  3.  The  Natural  Family  of  Plants  ;  4.  Geo- 
graphical Distribution  of  Plants  on  the  surface  of 
the  Globe.  As  a  present  to  a  friend  who  loves  and 
appreciates  the  flowers  and  plants  of  the  earth,  or 
as  an  acquisition  to  a  library  to  which  children 
have  access,  we  recommend  this  volume  as  one 
well  calculated  to  please  the  eye,  to  instruct  the 
mind  and  to  elevate  thought. 


CHEMISTRY. 
During  the  past  winter  we  listened  with 
great  pleasure  to  a  lecture  on  the  question 
What  has  Chemistry  done  for  Agriculture.^ 
by  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols,  of  Haverhill, 
Mass.     The  same  lecture  was  delivered  be- 


258 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARINIER. 


June 


fore  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  Salem,  with 
great  acceptation,  and  we  have  it  now  before 
us  in  pamphlet  form. 

We  have  room  at  present  for  only  a  single 
extract,  which  is  of  so  much  value  in  this  age 
of  seeking  after  fertilizers,  that  we  embrace 
the  earliest  available  moment  of  laying  it  be- 
fore the  reader.  It  has  been  tested  by  a  far- 
mer near  us,  and  found  excellent.  It  is  as 
follows : — 

"Take  one  hundi-ed  pounds  of  bones,  beaten  into  as 
small  fragments  as  possible,  pack  them  in  a  tight 
cask  or  liox  with  one  hundred  pounds  of  good  wood 
ashes.  Mix  with  the  ashes,  before  packing,  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  slaked  lime,  and  twelve  pounds  of 
sal  soda,  pov/dered  fine.  It  will  require  about 
twenty  gallons  of  water  to  saturate  the  mass,  but 
more  may  be  added  from  time  to  time  to  maintain 
moisture.  In  two  or  three  weeks  the  bones  will 
be  broken  down  completely,  and  the  whole  turned 
out  on  the  floor,  mixed  with  two  bushels  of  dry 
peat  or  good  soil,  and  after  drying  will  be  tit  for 
use." 

NORFOLK   COUNTY,   MASS. 
At  tlie  annual  meeting  of  the  Agricultural 
Society  of  this  county,  at  Dedham,  March  27, 
the  following  officers  were  elected : 

President— The  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  Dor- 
chester. 

Vice  Presidents — Amos  A.  Lawrence,  Brookline ; 
Otis  Gary,  Foxboro';  John  Gardner,  Dedham; 
Stephen  W.  Richardson,  Franklin ;  Elijah  Tucker, 
Milton;  Henry  Grew,  Dorchester. 

Corresponding  and  Recording  Secretary — Henry 
O.  Hildreth,  Dedham. 

Treasurer — Chauncey  C.  Cliurcliill,  Dedham. 

Executive  Committee — Marshall  P.  Wilder,  Dor- 
chester; Cheever  Newhall,  Dorchester;  H.  Hollis 
Hunnewell,  Needham  ;  Aaron  D.  Weld,  West  Rox- 
bury  ;  Joseph  H.  Billings,  West  Roxbury  ;  Francis 
P.  Denny,  Broolcline;  William  R.  Mann,  Sharon; 
Truman  Clarke,  Walpole;  Chas  Brcck,  Milton. 

Finance  Cominittee  and  Auditors — Ira  Cleveland, 
Dedham;  Charles  Hamant,  Mcdfield;  E.  S.  Rand, 
Jr.,  Dedliam. 

Mr.  Wilder  was  elected  member  of  the 
Board  of  Agriculture!  He  was  also  recog- 
nized as  the  delegate  of  the  Society  to  the 
Paris  Exposition,  by  a  series  of  complimentary 
resolutions. 


Product  of  one  Cow. — Mr.  S.  King,  North 
Monmouth,  ]\Ie.,  has  a  cow  from  which  he 
made  the  last  season  212  pounds  butter,  223 
pounds  of  cheese,  raised  one  calf,  and  sold 
$10  worth  of  milk.  As  this  was  his  only  cow, 
of  course  what  milk  the  family  used  was  also 
taken  from  her. 


Prolikic  Corn. — Dr.  Wm.  Morse,  of  Can- 
ton, Mass.,  raised  last  season  from  one  kernel 
of  corn,  fourteen  ears  containing  1C72  sound 


kernels.  The  variety  was  the  white  "pop- 
corn." The  land  was  prepared  for  carrots  by 
spreading  two  cords  of  horse  manure  to  the 
acre  and  plowing  it  in.  The  corn  was  planted 
at  irregular  Intervals  among  the  carrots,  the 
seed  about  six  or  eight  feet  apart.  This  kernel 
sent  up  five  stalks. 


Wool  Samples. — We  learn  by  the  New 
York  Tribune  that  the  distinctive  samples  of 
wool  required  by  the  late  law,  were  received 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  April  11. 
The  writer  says,  "It  is  understood  that  an  in- 
vitation has  been  extended  to  the  President  of 
the  National  Wool  Growers'  Association,  and 
also  to  the  President  of  the  National  Wool 
Manufacturers'  Association,  to  visit  Washing- 
ton and  examine  the  samples." 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
A   PLEA    FOR   PROGRESS,  THIS    TIME. 

I  am  really  glad  that  one  of  your  correspon- 
dents has  stepped  boldly  out  and  taken  side 
against  raising  poultry  on  a  large  scale.  The 
article  [see  Farmer,  March  16]  will  occasion 
reflection  and  discussion,  and  that  is  what 
leads  to  Improvement. 

It  will  be  apparent  to  every  reader  that  the 
theory  of  "N.  8.  T."  is,  that  hens.  In  order  to 
be  profitable  to  the  farmer,  must,  substantially, 
take  care  of  themselves.  They  must  "pick  up" 
their  living  In  a  free  and  Inexpensive  way. 
And  he  would  urge  that,  against  such  an  ad- 
vantage, the  cidtivator  oi  iowh — If  you  will  al- 
low the  expression — stands  no  sort  of  chance. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  frankly  confess  that  I 
belong  to  another  school  altogether.  I  will 
not  consent  to  go  back  to  the  days  of  our  fa- 
thers, when  a  mowing  machine  was  looked  upon 
as  a  new-fangled  notion,  and  contest  this  mat- 
ter on  thepicking  up  theory.  We  might  as  well 
expect  our  horses  or  our  cattle  to  gain  their  sub- 
sistence from  the  corners  of  our  yard,  or  from 
the  road-side,  as  our  hens.  My  own  experi- 
ence teaches  me  that  fowls,  under  judicious 
confinement,  fed  from  the  granary,  and  well 
cared  for,  are  far  more  profitable  than  those 
which  rove  about  the  fields  and  look  out  for 
themselves.  I  should  yield  the  ground  at 
once,  without  a  word  of  discussion,  If  I  thought 
otherwise.  I  know  that  some  of  your  readers, 
who  haven't  llvi'd  In  vain,  will  smile  just  a  little 
at  this  "answer"  to  my  plea. 

As  for  the  distempers  and  epidemics  which 
constitute  the  groimd  work  of  the  other  promi- 
nent reasons  why  raising  fowls  on  an  extensive 
scale  proves  unprofitable,  that  appears  to  me 
to  be  mostly  fancy.  Shut  a  dozen  (owls  up  in 
an  empty  flour  barrel,  and  I  should  expect  an 
awful  mortality  among  them  before  a  great 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


259 


while.  Or  let  the  coop  be  enlarged,  while 
little  or  no  attention  is  paid  to  cleanliness,  and 
the  result  will  be  precisely  the  same.  But 
when  allowed  to  run  in  large  and  well-con- 
structed yards,  Avith  plenty  of  clean,  fresh 
water,  and  plenty  of  green  and  growing  vege- 
tables to  pick  at  during  suunner ;  when  their 
roosts  and  their  nests  are  kept  scrupulously 
clean  and  free  from  vermin,  with  good  ventila- 
tion, fowls  will  tiourish  and  repay  all  the  care 
bestowed  upon  them.  Making  up  our  minds 
that  a  thing  can't  be  done  because  others  have 
tried  it  and  failed,  is  unworthy  of  us  at  this  late 
day.  It  is  a  very  cheap  argument,  yet  often 
met  with. 

Fifteen  years  ago,  when  I  moved  into  the 
"suburbs,"  I  thought  I  must  have  some  hens, 
to  complete  the  rural  picture.  At  first  I  tried 
the  picking  up  theory,  but  I  very  soon  found 
that  this  would  not  do.  I  got  no  eggs  of  any 
account.  And  besides,  my  neighbors  were 
after  me.  Their  gardens,  as  well  as  my  own, 
couldn't  stand  the  mischief. 

Then  I  tried  the  shutting  up ;  had  a  yard 
made  a  little  larger  than  a  barn-door,  with 
nice  nests,  and  all  that.  And  I  know  the  fowls 
did  not  suffer  for  food,  either.  All  this  occu- 
pied three  years.  But  still  the  eggs  were  not 
plenty. 

After  a  while  a  friend  from  the  city  came 
out  to  sup  with  me.  Of  course  I  had  to  f^how 
him  my  garden  and  descant  upon  its  merits. 
The  crop  of  pears — and  a  splendid  crop  it  was 
— pleased  him  wonderfully,  and  he  compliment- 
ed me  highly.  To  my  surprise,  he  knew  the 
names  of  every  variety  as  well  as  I  did.  As  I 
had  taken  him  for  a  "novice,"  this  puzzled  me 
not  a  little.  However,  I  afterwards  found  out 
that  he  was  a  constant  visitor  at  the  Horticul- 
tural Society's  rooms,  in  the  city,  and  had  a 
good  memory  to  back  his  good  sense.  I  took 
him  to  see  my  poultry,  too ;  but  here  his  com- 
pliments were  not  profuse.  He  asked  me  in  a 
quiet  way,  I  remember,  if  my  hens  laid  well. 
1  told  iiim  frankly  that  they  did  not.  "Well," 
he  replied,  "they  would  be  fools  if  they  did,  in 
such  a  place  as  this  !" 

I  felt  nettled  at  his  frank  criticism,  for  I  had 
flattered  myself  that  I  took  excellent  care  of  my 
biddies.  He  must  have  noticed  ray  confusion, 
for  he  at  once  went  on  in  his  good-natured 
way  to  offer  me  some  hints  in  regard  to  the 
business.  Confound  the  fellow,  I  don't  be- 
lieve he  ever  raised  a  hen  in  his  life.  He  was 
one  of  your  blackboard  farmers.  But  he  had 
an  eye  like  a  hawk,  was  a  great  reader,  and  a 
keen  observer ;  and  I  at  once  saw  that  he  was 
au  fait  on  the  subject  of  poultry  as  well  as  pears. 

"You  see,"  he  said,  "hens  are  living,  breath- 
ing creatures,  just  like  men  and  women,  and 
they  want  fresh  air.  They  can't  get  it  here. 
Then  look  at  that  dirty  water ;  possibly  they 
drink  it,  because  they  are  obliged  to.  Just 
look  here,"  and  as  he  said  this,  he  directed 
my  attention  to  the  roost,  "see  the  vermin!" 


I  will  not  go  through  the  entire  lecture ;  the 
above  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  whole.  Sudice 
it  to  say,  it  did  its  work  elfectually  ;  or  rather, 
it  put  me  in  the  way  of  doing  mine.  The  dif- 
ficulty stared  me  in  the  face  as  plain  as  day. 
And  as  soon  as  my  friend  was  on  board  the 
cars  to  go  home,  1  began  to  arrange  for  a  revo- 
lution about  my  hen-house.  I  had  my  yard 
enlarged  ten-fold.  The  old  nests,  which  had 
been  constructed  stationary,  were  removed, 
and  movable  ones  were  put  up,  so  that  every 
inch  of  the  room  could  be  occasionally  cleaned 
and  white-washed.  Then  the  fowls  were  made 
to  roost  in  the  barn-cellar,  which  was  warm, 
light  enough,  and  well  ventilated. 

I  will  not  tire  you  with  details,  but  only  say, 
that  my  success  was  perfect  and  satisfactory. 
My  hens  at  once  become  profitable,  and  yet 
I  did  not  do  all  that  might  have  been  done  to 
make  them  so. 

"N.  S.  T."  is  shy  about  coming  up  to  the 
main  question  in  my  plea.  He  doesn't  men- 
tion a  word  about  the  "reasonable  and  profita- 
ble course"  pursued  by  the  gentleman  in  Man- 
ville,  mentioned  in  a  late  Farmer.  He  en- 
closed an  acre  and  a  quarter  of  land  with  a 
high  fence,  and  in  that  yard  he  kept  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  hens.  During  nine  months 
of  the  year  he  tells  us  these  fowls  gave  him  a 
net  profit  of  two  dollars  a  day.  My  question 
was,  why  couldn't  another  &ivm\ax  yard  be  con- 
structed alongside,  for  a  like  number  of  fowls, 
and  double  pi'ofit  be  gained  ?  If  not,  ivhy  not  ? 
The  second  yard  would  cost  less  than  the  first, 
and  it  would  be  less  labor,  proportionally,  to 
attend  to  two  yards  than  one. 

A  single  point  more  and  I  will  close.  Your 
correspondent  offers  the  proposition  that  hens, 
being  quite  modest,  when  obliged  to  lay  in 
nests  which  are  used  by  other  hens,  become 
(juite  obstinate  and  indifferent  about  laying  at 
all.  Does  he  seriously  mean  this?  That, 
through  good  care  and  good  keeping,  we  can 
stimulate  prolification,  all  will  admit;  but, 
this  being  done,  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  na- 
ture's work  can  be,  substantially,  arrested  at 
the  effort  of  either  the  hen's  modestyor  her  ob- 
stinacy. Equally  absurd  is  it  to  talk  about 
her  laying  eggs  to  repay  the  kindness  of  her 
master  for  feeding  her.  She  cares  not  a  rush 
for  her  master  or  her  mistress,  either.  She 
lays  because  it  is  nature's  work,  and  always 
"without  a  thought  of  repaying"  any  mortal's 
kindness.  If  seriously  put  forward,  both 
these  propositions  may  be  set  down,  very  safe- 
ly, as  "blackboard"  physiology. 

Nor  do  I  at  all  agree  with  "N.  S.  T.,"  when 
he  Intimates  that  the  Creator  has  interposed 
any  bar  to  the  progress  of  his  children  in  any 
direction  except  that  which  pertains  to  absolute 
impossibility.  We  live  in  a  world  of  progress. 
We  do  not  know  as  much  as  our  descendants 
will,  a  hundi'ed  years  hence,  by  a  great  deal. 
They  will  look  back  upon  us  and  our  ways 
and  wonder  at  our  simple  ideas ;  while  they, 


260 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


June 


in  their  turn,  will  be  considered  as  simple  as 
we.  And  so  I  hold  it  to  be  irrational  to  point 
out  anything  not  circumscribed  as  above  stated, 
and  say  that  it  cannot  be  done.  To  say  that  it 
is  not  done,  is  no  argument.  Idex. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOTES    ON  GRAPES, 

The  result  of  fifteen  years'  experience  in 
grape  growing,  has  given  me  the  following 
rules  as  essential  to  success : 

The  soil  must  he  well  drained.  Other  things 
being  equal,  elevated  land  is  best.  I  prefer 
a  southwestern  exposure.  Rich  and  long  cul- 
tivated land  is  unfit  for  the  best  development 
of  the  grape.  The  soil  should  be  trenched  to 
the  depth  of  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet. 
For  field  culture  this  can  be  accomplished  by 
the  sub-soil  plow.  One  of  the  most  import- 
ant points  is  to  keep  the  soil  in  its  original 
position,  the  top  soil  above,  and  the  subsoil 
below. 

For  field  culture,  manure  the  same  as  for 
corn,  when  you  expect  to  get  one  hundred 
bushels  to  the  acre.  This  gives  the  plants  a 
good  start  the  first  year,  when  wood  and  not 
fruit  is  the  object.  Plant  about  six  inches 
deep.  Distance  according  to  the  kind.  Con- 
cord, twelve  feet  apart  in  the  row ;  Dela- 
ware six  feet.  I  prefer  rows  running  North 
and  South.  Rows  may  be  six  or  eight  feet 
apart.  Chestnut  or  cedar  posts,  and  wire  is 
the  cheapest  trellis.  No.  10  wire  is  the  best 
size.  In  the  spring  give  the  wire  a  coat  of 
paint  oil,  using  a  woolen  cloth,  and  it  will  last 
a  lifetime.  Fasten  the  wire  to  the  outside  of 
the  posts  with  a  small  wire  staple. 

For  field  culture  I  prefer  the  Concord  and 
Hartford.  The  objection  to  the  latter  that  it 
drops  its  berries  is  of  no  account.  No  one 
wishes  early  grapes  to  keep.  For  the  garden, 
add  Delaware  and  Rogers'  Hybrids,  with  one 
vine  each  of  Diana  and  Allen's  Hybrid.  The 
two  last  should  be  taken  down  and  covered  in 
the  fall. 

The  Concord,  Hartford,  Delaware,  and 
Nos.  1,  3,  4,  15,  19  and  33  of  Rogers'  Hybrids 
are  alike  hardy  with  me.  As  a  class,  I  prefer 
Rogers'  Hybrids.  So  well  assured  was  I  of 
their  superior  excellence,  that  in  1S55  the 
above  numbers  were  entered  for  premium  at 
the  Plymouth  County  Agricultural  Exhibition, 
as  the  best  six  varieties  of  Hardy  Native 
Grapes,  in  competition  with  all  other  varieties, 
— using  the  Delaware  as  the  teSt.  They  re- 
ceived the  first  premium,  and  the  committee 
gave  the  No.  3  the  first  premium  of  the  best 
single  dish — a  grape  pre-eminent  above  all 
others — enormously  productive,  twice  as  large 
as  the  Delaware,  same  color,  a.nd  just  as  good. 
No  grape  that  has  been  tested  as  extensively 
as  the  Concord  can  compare  with  it  in  (lualities 
that  make  it  a  general  favorite.  To-day  it  is 
the  grape  for  the  million. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  many  varieties  in  cul- 


tivation and  for  sale,  I  have  not  mentioned. 
If  a  man  has  money  and  leisure  he  can  afford 
to  buy  them.  If  not,  he  cannot.  In  a  few 
years  the  question  will  be  settled  whether  the 
immense  amount  of  printer's  ink  and  paper  has 
benefited  most  the  sellers  or  tho  buyers  of 
grape  vines.  L.  w.  p. 

North  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  March  18,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
ABSORBENTS— POTATOES— WHEAT. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — In  the  Farmer  of  Feb. 
2d,  Mr.  "Lectum"  makes  the  speakers  at  a 
recent  FaVmers'  meeting  say  some  things  which 
appear  absurd.  Where  the  meeting  was,  de- 
ponent saith  not ;  but  from  some  of  the  state- 
ments I  should  think  it  must  have  been  on 
some  other  planet,  rather  than  on  this  terra- 
queous globe. 

"E.  B."  said  he  did  not  think  liquid  manure, 
from  any  animals,  required  any  absorbent  in 
the  winter  season, — the  solid  part  being  suffi- 
cient to  absorb  it  all.  I  should  like  to  know 
if  his  animals  ai'e  well  supplied  with  water ; 
and  whether  he  ever  fed  his  hogs  on  pumpkins. 

"F.  D."  said  swamp  muck  is  over  90  per 
cent,  water.  It  is  about  200  per  cent,  water ; 
100  pounds  of  muck  when  dry  will  absorb 
very  nearly  200  pounds  of  water. 

Dry  Soil  as  an  Absorbent. 
I  wish  to  say  a  word  to  Lectum  through  the 
Farmer,  as  I  can  do  it  in  no  other  way,  not 
knowing  his  real  name  or  Post-office  address. 
He  asks,  "Will  it  pay  to  dry  and  house  com- 
mon soil  for  an  absorbent  ?"  I  say  yes  ;  it  will 
pay  abundantly.  The  same  quantity  of  com- 
mon soil  by  raeasui-e,  will  absorb  as  much 
liquid  as  meadow  mud.  If  one  has  four  cows, 
and  will  keep  them  in  their  stalls  a  suitable 
length  of  time,  they  will  thoroughly  saturate 
considerably  more  than  one  bushel  of  dry 
soil  every  day,  in  summer  and  in  winter, — not- 
withstanding what  "E.  B."  says  to  the  con- 
trary. This  will  in  a  year  increase  the  quan- 
tity of  manure  more  than  four  cords ;  while 
the  quality  will  be  but  little  if  at  all  injured. 

Cutting  Seed  and  Raising  Potatoes. 

In  the  Farmer,  Feb.  9th,  under  the  head- 
ing of  "Culture  of  Potatoes,"  it  is  recommend- 
ed to  cut  them  fine — not  having  more  than  two 
eyes  to  the  piece — and  put  two  pieces  in  the 
hills.  It  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  some 
farmers  if  those  who  recommend  such  scant 
seeding  would  prove  the  truth  of  their  theory 
by  accurate  experiments. 

I  have  received  a  private  letter  containing 
several  inquiries,  which,  for  several  reasons,  I 
(choose  to  answer  through  the  Farmer.  The 
writer  says : — 

I  notice  you  pu^  three  and  four  butts  in  a  hill. 
Please  state  the  nuinher  of  germs  or  eyes  each  butt 
contained,  and  about  the  quantity  of  the  potato  you 
planted.  Now,  so  many  butts  in  a  hill  require  a 
vast  amount  of  seed,  and  so  great  a  ci'owd  luxve  a 
small  chance  to  expand  and  grow.    Would  it  not 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


261 


be  far  better  to  distribute  the  butts  into  drills, — 
say  ten  to  twelve  inches  apart  ? 

The  number  of  eyes  contained  in  each  butt 
I  do  not  know  ;  probably  not  as  many  as  were 
contained  in  the  seed  end  which  I  cut  olF. 
The  first  bushel, — 60  pounds, — of  potatoes 
from  which  I  cut  the  seed  ends  last  year 
(which  was  a  fair  specimen  of  the  whole)  con- 
tained 392  potatoes ;  the  butts  weighed  49 
pounds  6  ounces,  seed  ends  10  pounds  10 
ounces;  the  butts,  therefore,  were  a  little  less 
than  five-sixths  of  the  whole.  Had  you  seen 
my  potato  field  last  August  you  would  have 
admitted  that  they  did  "expand  and  grow." 
The  vines  completely  covered  the  ground. 
In  my  first  experiment,  the  product  was  nearly 
at  the  rate  of  300  bushels  to  the  acre.  In  my 
second  experiment,  on  a  pile  of  old  mud  with- 
out manure,  the  product  was  at  the  rate  of  over 
280  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  never  had  any  ex- 
perience in  planting  in  drills.  If  all  parts  of 
the  soil  are  within  the  reach  of  the  roots, 
which  I  suppose  to  be  the  case  when  the  hills 
are  but  three  feet  apart,  I  can  see  no  advan- 
tage in  drills.  If  your  Long  Island  farmers 
would  plant  a  whole  butt,  instead  of  a  cjuarter, 
and  thus  plant  four  bushels  where  they  now  plant 
but  one,  I  am  confident  they  would  raise  larger 
crops,  over  and  above  the  extra  amount  of 
seed.  I  can  see  no  harm  in  their  trying  the 
experiment  and  communicating  the  result  to 
the  Farmer. 

Whether  the  disadvantage  of  a  larger  num- 
ber of  small  potatoes  would  more  than  coun- 
terbalance this  increased  product,  I  cannot 
say.  For  myself,  I  do  not  consider  small  jJO- 
tatoes  an  entire  loss,  as  I  have  animals  quite 
willing  to  eat  them.  You  say  the  formers  on 
Long  Island  in  digging  their  potatoes  turn  them 
out  with  a  four  or  five-tined  flat  fork  which  takes 
them  about  all  out  at  one  pitch.  From  this,  I 
suppose,  the  implement  is  made  similar  to  a 
manure  fork.  Would  it  not  be  better  if  so 
constructed  as  to  operate  as  a  hoe  ?  If  the 
tines  were  round  instead  of  flat,  I  should 
think  they  could  be  used  with  gi-eater  ease,  as 
they  would  not  meet  with  so  much  obstruction 
from  the  soil. 

Raising  Wheat. 

But  few  farmers  in  this  locality  have  at- 
tempted to  raise  wheat,  and  those  who  have, 
consider  it  an  uncertain  crop.  There  is  often 
a  large  growth  of  straw,  but  the  wheat  is  apt 
to  blight. 

Pasturing  Mowing  Lands, 

I  wish  that  some  one  who  holds  the  pen  of  a 
ready  and  powerful  writer,  would  write  a  pre- 
mium article  upon  the  injurious  effects  of  feed- 
ing mowing  lands  in  the  fall  and  spring. 
Spring  as  well  as  fall  feeding  is,  to  some  ex- 
tent, still  practiced.  If  the  attention  of  farm- 
ers could  be  fairly  turned  to  the  subject,  I 
think  we  should  soon  see  a  difference  in  their 
practice.  Fall  feeding  is  not  practiced  as  the 
result  of  any  well  matured  plan ;  it  is  not  sup- 


ported by  any  sound  argument ;  but  is  excused 
on  the  plea  of  an  imaginary  necessity,  and  is 
practiced   by  thoughtlessly   following   an   an- 
cient custom.  E.  B. 
Deny,  N.  H.,  March  6,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
METEOROLOGICAL   RECORD. 
February,  1867. 

These  observations  are  taken  for  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

The  average  temperature  of  February  was 
29° ;  average  midday  temperature  36°.  "  The 
corresponding  averages  for  February,  1866, 
were  2-1°  and  29°.  Warmest  day,  the  9'th, 
averaging  44° ;  coldest  day,  the  10th,  averag- 
ing 16°;  coldest  morning,  the  11th,  thermom- 
eter 0°.  Range  of  temperature  from  0°  to  52°. 
Average  height  of  mercury  in  the  barometer 
29.30  ms. ;  average  do.  for  February,  1866, 
29.34  ins.  Highest  daily  average  29.93  ins. ; 
lowest  do.,  28.65  ins.  Range  of  mercury 
from  28.63  ins.  to  29.99  ins. 

Fourteen  stormy  days.  Rain  fell  upon  five 
days.  Amount  of  snow  12.50  ins.  Amount 
of  rain  and  melted  snow  4.04  ins.  Twelve 
stormy  days,  six  of  rain,  in  Februarj',  1866, 
with  14.50  ins.  snow,  and  5.45  ins.  of  rain  and 
melted  snow.  There  were  two  cloudless  days  ; 
on  three  days  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast. 
No  cloudless  days  and  seven  of  total  cloudi- 
ness in  February,  1866. 

This  has  been  a  very  warm  month  as  the  com- 
parison with  record  for  last  year  will  show.  It 
is  also  remarkable  in  passing  by  without  the 
"cold  snap"  which  usually  occurs  in  February. 
The  warmth  of  the  weather,  with  some  rain, 
effectually  disposed  of  the  sleighing,  making 
us  about  as  short  a  season  for  sledding  this 
winter  as  last.  This  absence  of  extreme  cold 
is,  however,  an  inestimable  blessing  to  thou- 
sands of  poor  families  in  these  times  of  high 
prices.  A.  C. 

Clarcmont,  N.  H.,  1867. 


HOW    TO   LAY    SAWED    SHINGLES. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — Mr.  Mansur,  in  his  ar- 
ticle in  the  Farmer  of  Feb.  21st,  informs  your 
readers  how  to  "double  the  value  of  sawed  shin- 
gles ;"  and  I  think  well  of  his  advice,  though 
1  have  never  tried  the  experiment.  I  am  sur- 
prised to  see  how  little  attention  farmers  pay 
to  the  subject  of  roofing. 

This  subject  is  rather  out  of  their  line  of 
business  ;  but  is  it  not  as  well  to  have  a  good 
roof,  as  to  have  good  hay  spoiled  under  a  poor 
one  ?  Farmers  are  not  aware  how  soon  their 
roofs  need  repairs  where  they  have  been  con- 
structed Avith  cheap  materials,  such  as  sawed 
shingles  with  the  sap  on  them.  To  lay  shin- 
gles well,  requires  some  practice ;  and  to  lay 
sawed  shingles  and  make  the  best  work  that 
can  be  made  with  them,  requires  still  more  ex- 


262 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEJNIER. 


Junk 


perienee  ;  or  at  least  a  more  careful  eye.  Most 
all  sawed  shingles  have  a  rough  side,  and  a 
smooth  one,  i.  e.,  they  are  sawn  from  the  bolt 
somewhat  across  the  grain  of  the  wood ;  the 
grains  lapping  one  over  the  other  on  the  sides 
of  the  shingles  should  be  laid  so  that  the  water 
will  run  over  and  not  into  them  as  it  flows  from 
the  roof;  in  other  words,  lay  them  "right  side 
up  with  care."  If  perfectly  dry,  they  should 
be  laid  about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  apart,  to 
give  them  room  to  swell  in  wet  weather ;  and 
should  have  but  one  nail  in  each  shingle. 
Here  is  where  most  persons  fail.  In  nailing, 
it  is  often  said  that  we  cannot  nail  shingles  too 
well.  "That's  so,"  Messrs.  Editors,  but  we 
can,  and  there  is  danger  of  nailing  sawed  shin- 
gles too  much.  Where  they  are  naUed  down 
too  close  they  retain  moisture,  and  conse- 
quently rot  sooner  than  they  would  if  one  nail 
only  were  used  in  each  shingle,  which  gives 
them  a  chance  to  curl  up  a  little,  and  admit 
the  air  to  circulate  on  the  under  side.  _  I  have 
had  much  experience,  not  only  in  Maine,  but 
in  other  States,  in  this  matter  of  shingling,  and 
I  find  that  the  most  practical  or  experienced 
builders  prefer  the  aliove  method  of  laying 
loosely,  all  kinds  of  sawed  shingles.  To  make 
the  most  durable  roof  with  such  materials,  I 
would  have  it  first  covered  with  narrow  boards, 
put  about  three  inches  apart,  across  the  rafters 
and  then  lay  the  shingles  on  them  as  I  have 
described,  and  I  doubt  not  that  it  will  pay  to 
immerse  them  in  lime-water,  as  suggested  by 
Mr.  Mansur. — C.  Butterjield,  in  Me.  Farmer. 


RAISING   PEAR   TREES. 

Dr.  Van  Moxs,  of  Belgium,  has  written  a 
letter  to  a  correspondent  of  the  Magazine  of 
EorticuUure,  in  which  he  describes  a  new 
mode  of  obtaining  pear  trees,  wliich  if  reliable, 
will  result  in  increasing  the  number  of  trees 
indefinitely.  We  suggest  to  all  who  are  trans- 
planting pear  trees  to  make  experiments  ac- 
cording to  the  process  described  below,  as  it 
will  cost  little  or  nothing  to  do  so. 

But  if  the  fact  be,  as  he  describes,  why  have 
not  hundreds  of  us  who  haw  been  digging  up 
pear  trees  for  the  last  twenty  years,  and  leav- 
ing portions  of  their  roots  in  the  ground,  found 
them  springing  up  and  making  fine  trees  ?  Let 
us  try  it.     The  Dr.  says  : — 

"I  now  propagate  for  myself  and  intimate 
friends  the  most  choice  varieties  of  pears, 
which  1  obtain  by  means  of  the  roots.  Not  a 
single  one  fails  in  this  new  process.  It  is  im- 
material in  what  manner  thisy  are  set  out. 
This  nutliod  1  discovered  accidentally,  in  con- 
setiuence  of  some  roots  on  which  1  intended  to 
graft  other  kinds  of  pears,  being  thrown  on 
the  ground  and  covered  with  a  little  earth,  to 
preserve  them  until  used  lor  that  purpose,  and 
which  were  lost  sight  of  and  forgotten  until 


the  next  spring,  when  all  of  them  sent  up 
stocks,  which,  in  the  autumn,  were  as  tall  as 
those  raised  from  the  seed  of  two  years' 
growth.  They  can  be  set  out  in  the  spring  as 
well  as  autumn.  If  I  had  sooner  known  this 
method,  I  should  not  have  lost  a  single  one  of 
my  new  varieties  of  pears,  for  roots  could  have 
been  taken  from  all  the  kinds  in  my  large  plan- 
tation at  the  time  of  its  destruction. 

Such  roots  should  be  selected  as  have  one 
or  more  terminal  fibres,  and  those  that  are 
often  cut  off  or  left  in  the  earth  when  a  tree  is 
transplanted  succeed  well.  They  cannot  be 
too  small,  but  should  not  be  larger  than  the 
finger.  The  wounds  at  the  large  ends  of  the 
roots  should  be  covered  with  the  same  compo- 
sition to  protect  them,  as  in  grafting.  They 
must  be  set  obliquely." 


^VOOL   TARIFF. 
The  following,  we  believe,  is  a  correct  state- 
ment of  the  comparative  rates  of  the  tariff  of 
June  30,  1864,  and  of  the  new  act  of  March 
2,  1867. 

Old  Rates.        New  Rates. 
Clothing  Wools,  value  )  3  j^^ 

12  cts.  ]ir  lb.  or  less.  )  ^ 

Clotbiiig  Wools,  value  \ 

over  12  cts.  and  not  S  6  cts.  per  lb  I  10  cts.  per  ID.  ana 

over  24  cts.  >  |  11  per  ct.  ad  val. 

Clotbing  Wools,  value  ^  j^  ^  j^^  I 

over  24  cts.  and  not  ^^qI^ 

over  6Z  cts.  )  '■         } 

Clothing  Wools,  value  )  12  cts.  per  lb  )  12  cts.  per  lb.  and 

over  32  cts.  per  lb.     (  and  10  pr  ct.  \  10  per  ct.  ad  val. 

'''ITllc'IrTe^s  ^e!- lb*  |  ^  ctB.  per  lb  j  3  cts.  perpound. 

^  o^^r  lYcttpJ-^'lb*'  i  6  <=*«•  P-  1^  I  «  ^'^-  P-  P--d- 

*Carpet  Wools,  as  Donskoi  and  other  Russian,  Cor- 
dova or  Spanish,  Valparaiso,  Egyptian  and  East  India 
Wools  compare  as  above. 

Combing  Wools,  as  Leicester,  Cotswold, Lincolnshire, 
Canada  Long  Wools,  Alpaca  and  Goat's  Hair,  compare 
precisely  as  Clothing  Wools. 

In  reply  to  a  correspondent  who  criticises 
the  new  law  rather  severely,  and  who  says  "it 
must  take  a  pretty  fine  sight  to  see  where  the 
great  advantage  to  the  wool  groAver  of  the  new 
tariff  act  comes  in,"  the  editor  of  the  Ohio 
Farmer  advances  the  following  facts  and  fig- 
ures in  justification  of  a  more  hopeful  view  of 
the  subject : 

Of  the  56,000,000  pounds  of  wool  imported 
in  1866,  only  about  150,000  lbs.  or  less  than  one 
pound  in  oOO,  cost  over  2-1  cents  per  lb.  in  the 
port  whence  exported ;  tlierefbre,  nearly  all 
tiie  wool  imported  last  year  paid  but  ;>  to  6  cts. 
per  lb.  duty.  Mestiza,  all  fine  South  Ameri- 
can wools,  imported  in  1866,  cost  in  Buenos 
Ayres  10  cents  per  lb.,  and  paid  a  duty  of  3 
cents  per  lb.  Wools  from  the  Cape  of  (iood 
Hope  cost  about  14  cents  per  lb.,  and  paid  6 
cents  per  lb.  duty;  these  two  classes  compris- 
ing nearly  \  of  all  the  wool  imported.  The 
old  tariil',  fixing  the  duty  at  10  cents  per  lb. 
and  10  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  on  wools  costing 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


2G3 


24  to  32  cents  per  lb.,  was  a  dead  letter,  be- 
cause no  wools,  or  next  to  none,  were  imported 
that  cost  over  24  cents  per  lb. 

The  new  tariff  classifies  all  wools  imported 
into  three  distinct  classes,  indicating  by  name, 
in  the  first  and  second  classes,  all  wools  that 
come  at  all  in  competition  with  ours,  and  fixing 
the  duty  at  10  cents  per  lb.  and  11  per  cent. 
ad  valorem,  on  all  wools  costing  32  cents  per 
lb.,  or  less  (not  24  cents  per  lb.  or  more,  as 
under  the  old  tariff).  So  that  if  wools  in- 
cluded in  the  first  and  second  classes  cost  but 
5  cents,  or  any  sum  less  than  32  cents  per  lb., 
they  pay  a  duty  under  the  new  tarijf  of  10  cts. 
per  lb.,  and  in  addition  thereto,  11  per  cent. 
ad  valorem, ;  and  ninety-nine  one-hundreds  of 
all  the  wools  imported  are  included  in  classes 
No.  1  and  2.  It  is  only  the  coarse  native 
South  American  wools,  and  wools  of  like  grade 
from  other  countries,  that  are  included  in  the 
third  class,  and  come  in  at  3  to  6  cents  per  lb. 
duty.  But  those  wools  do  not  compete  ■ivith 
ours. 

To  recapitulate :  Buenos  Ayres,  Mestiza, 
and  all  fine  South  American  wools,  cost  to  im- 
.port,  last  year,  10  cents  per  lb.,  and  three 
cents  per  lb.  duty  in  gold.  With  gold  at  135, 
the  duty  on  a  pound  of  wool  was  4  cents  in 
greenbacks.  Take  the  same  wool  under  the 
present  tariff — a  pound  costs  in  Buenos  Ayres 
10  cents  and  10  cents  per  pound  duty,  and  in 
addition  thereto,  11  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  and 
the  duty  on  a  lb.  of  wool  is  11  cents  in  gold 
or  15  cents  in  greenbacks,  which  is  11  cents 
per  lb.  more  duty  than  was  paid  in  1866.  The 
Cape  wools  cost  last  year  about  14  cents  per 
lb.  and  paid  about  6  cents  per  pound  duty ; 
with  gold  at  135  it  would  make  the  duty  paid 
8  cents  per  lb.  in  greenbacks.  The  same 
wool  now  pays  10  cents  per  pound  and  11  per 
cent,  ad  valorem  duty,  which,  reduced  to 
greenbacks,  is  15  cents  per  pound,  or  leaving 
out  fractions,  7  cents  per  pound  more  duty 
than  under  the  old  tarifl". 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS. 

Transactions  of  the  Middlesex,  (Mass.,)  Agricultural 
Soeiity,  fur  the  year  1866.  With  a  List  of  Premiuins 
for  llK-ir  Tod  Exh'ibition,  atConcord.  Oct.  3aiul4, 1867  ; 
Officurs,  iic.  C'oiicord:  Printed  by  Benjamin  Tolmau. 
1867.     Pages,  120. 

This  well  printed  pamphlet  of  120  pages  contains, 
beside  ibc  usifal  valuable  record  of  the  Society's 
Transactions  for  the  year  past,  a  list  of  premiums, 
officers,  &c.,  fur  the  present  year,  which  is  the 
seventy-third  of  the  Society's  existence.  Addison 
Gage,  West  Cambridge,  President;  John  Cum- 
mings,  Jr.,  Woburn,  and  Simon  Brown,  Concord, 
Vice  Presidents  ;  John  B.  Moore,  Concord,  Scc'y ; 
Richard  Barrett,  Concord,  Treasurer.  Fair  at 
Concord,  on  the  new  grounds,  October  3  and  4, 
1867. 


— According  to  British  statistics,  animals  and 
children  born  in  the  latter  part  of  summer  arc  not 
likely  to  be  long-lived. 


FARMERS'    GARDENS— No.   IV. 
Deepening  the   Soil. 

N  the  cultivation  of  most 
garden  products,  depth  of 
soil  is  always  a  matter  of 
importance.  Lands  on  which 
the  vegetable  stratum  is  thin, 
are  deficient  in  permanent 
productive  power,  and  re- 
quire a  much  larger  appli- 
cation of  manur^i,  and  more 
thorough  working,  than  those 
which  have  greater  depth. 
Digging  two  spits  deep,  as 
is  practiced  in  Europe,  or 
gradually  going  deeper  Avith  the  plow,  tends 
to  obviate  this  difficulty,  and  will  eventu- 
ally render  the  soil  productive,  if  the  requi- 
site care  be  exercised  in  cropping  and  manur- 
ing. 

Where  the  upper  stratum  is  thin,  and  repos- 
ing on  a  poor  subsoil,  a  speedy  change  may 
be  effected  in  the  following  manner,  although 
from  the  great  cost  of  labor  in  this  country,  it 
may  not  be  advisable  to  adopt  it  except  on  a 
limited  scale. 

Along  the  margin  of  the  piece  to  be  im- 
proved, be  it  more  or  less,  throw  the  soil,  sub- 
soil, sods  and  all,  into  a  winrow  on  one  side, 
to  the  depth  which  is  desired,  say  twelve  or 
twenty-four  inches.  Then  commence  on  the 
side  in  the  direction  the  improvement  is  to 
proceed,  and  deposit  all  the  mould  and  sods 
taken  from  the  top,  in  the  bottom  of  the  first 
trench,  throwing  that  taken  from  the  bottom 
of  the  second  trench  over  on  to  the  top  of  the 
first,  and  in  this  manner,  proceed  till  the  work 
is  done.  Then  cart  on  old,  well-decomposed 
compost,  mixed  with  an  equal  volume  of  green, 
unfermented  stable  manure,  and  work  the 
whole  thoroughly  into  the  yellow  earth  until 
the  virgin  soil  is  approached.  A  liberal  allow- 
ance of  manure  is  requisite  in  order  to  hasten 
the  decomposition  of  the  soluble  silicates  con- 
tained in  the  fresh  earth,  as  well  as  to  insure 
the  more  ready  absorption  of  the  fertilizing 
gases  from  the  atmosphere,  which  are  neces- 
sary to  impart  vigor  and  activity  to  its  latent 
powers.  A  small  quantity  of  fresh  manure 
sprinkled  in  lightly  as  the  filling  goes  on,  will 
be  of  great  service,  and,  indeed,  any  kind  of 
vegetable  matter,  such  as  straw,  forest  leaves, 
or  chip  manure,  will  materially  assist  the  pro- 


264 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


June 


cess  of  enriching,  and  furnish  food  for  the 
plants. 

Lands  treated  in  this  manner  stand  the 
drought  much  more  successfully  than  untrench- 
ed  grounds,  and  are  always  found  to  be  more 
productive,  with  the  same  amount  of  manure, 
than  the  deepest  soils  in  their  natural  and  un- 
worked  state. 

On  gardens  we  have  seen  it  tried  repeatedly. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  sand  and  coarse 
gravel  ex«avated  from  wells  and  cellars,  will, 
when  exposed  to  atmospheric  influences,  im- 
bibe principles  of  fertility  rapidly,  where  no 
manure  is  used,  and  become  in  a  short  time 
covered  with  verdure.  We  have  knotvn  the 
common  yellow,  sandy  loam,  taken  from  the 
pit  and  spread  upon  upland  mowing  fields,  with 
the  happiest  results.  This  loam  is  full  of  fer- 
tilizing salts,  which,  upon  being  brought  to  the 
influence  of  the  air  and  rains,  impart  them  to 
the  roots  of  the  grass  with  surprising  effect. 

Plaster  and  charcoal,  each  have  a  powerful 
tendency  to  absorb  enriching  principles  from 
the  air,  and  in  all  experiments  like  the  one  we 
have  suggested,  they  can  be  profitably  em- 
ployed. The  second  year  after  digging,  a  very 
marked  improvement  will  be  apparent,  and  a 
single  operation  will  have  a  decided  influence 
for  many  years. 

Those  who  have  but  little  land  should  attend 
to  this  suggestion  if  they  wish  to  make  a  gar- 
den highly  productive.  We  have  tried  it  on 
garden  lands,  accomjianied  with  thorough 
draining,  and  think  we  have  doubled  the  crop, 
using  no  more  manure  than  we  did  before  the 

trenching. 

The    Soil  Breathes. 

When  a  soil  is  brought  into  the  genial  and 
healthful  condition  which  we  have  attempted 
to  describe,  it  has  a  vital  action  energizing 
every  portion  of  it,  and  it  really  breathes,  as 
truly  as  animals  do.  An  ingenious  and  philo- 
sophical writer  says:  "A  few  years  since,  if 
one  asserted  that  trees  had  lungs  and  breathed, 
he  would  have  been  held  to  an  argument  to 
prove  it ;  just  as  a  few  years  earlier  nobody 
would  have  believed  that  a  fish's  gills,  and  the 
leaves  of  a  tree,  and  the  lungs  of  a  beast,  all 
performed  the  same  office,  that  of  aerating,  or 
airing  the  blood  or  sap. 

"The  soil  breathes.  IIow  does  it  breathe  P 
Its  circulating  fluid,  the  blood  of  the  soil,  is 
water ;  this  comes  to  it  from  the  air,  and  is 


already  aerated,  (that  is,  filled  with  air. )  This 
soon  loses  its  gases  by  contact  with  the  soil, 
just  as  the  arterial  blood  fresh  from  the  lungs, 
loses  its  oxygen  when  passing  its  circuit  in  all 
parts  of  the  body.  The  blood  comes  back  to 
the  lungs  for  more  oxygen,  but  the  blood  of 
the  soil  cannot  do  this,  so  ice  must  let  the  air 
in,  to  come  in  contact  with  it." 

From  this  interesting  exposition  of  nature's 
workings,  the  gardener  will  see  the  necessity 
for  "stirring  the  soU  as  deeply  as  practicable 
during  droughts,  but  not  to  interfere  with  the 
roots  of  growing  plants, — so  that  a  deep  and 
light  soil  shall  invite  a  free  circulation  of  air 
beneath  the  surface.  Hot  air,  the  moment  it 
passes  beneath  the  surface  becomes  very 
moist,  from  the  water  which  it  originally  con- 
tained, and  it  deposits  it ;  thus  not  only  airing 
the  soil,  but  adding  to  its  moisture.  Cold  air 
can  hold  but  little  moisture,  but  hot  air  dis- 
solves an  immense  quantity,  which  it  deposits 
when  it  cools,  or  on  cool  surfaces.  Who  has 
not  noticed,  of  a  winter's  day,  a  locomotive 
leaving  behind  it  a  snowy  cloud  of  vapor,  like 
a  comet's  tail,  often  floating  for  a  minute  after 
the  train  has  passed?  Think  of  this,  and 
watch  the  steam  car  on  days  when  the  hot 
breath,  just  as  full  of  water  as  in  winter,  is 
puffed  out  into  the  eye  of  the  sun,  and  not 
steam  enough  shows  to  make  a  shadow,  it  is 
so  quickly  absoi-bed  by  the  air." 

These  general  remarks  are  sufficient  to  sug- 
gest to  any  observing  and  reflecting  person, 
how  he  may  secure  at  small  cost,  a  garden 
plot  that  will  give  him  scope  enough  to  raise 
all  the  fruits  and  vegetables  that  a  family  needs 
for  its  own  use.  It  will  require  some  labor, 
and  thought,  and  care,  and  so  it  will  if  he  plow 
his  fields,  builds  his  house,  or  sells  his  mer- 
chandise. But  the  soil,  once  brought  into  con- 
dition, and  followed  by  generous  dressings  and 
clean  culture,  it  may  be  heavily  cropt  for  gen- 
erations without  impairing  its  fertility. 


More  Profitable  Farmi>'g. — A  Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  correspondent  notices  another  in- 
stance of  profitable  farming  in  that  town. 
Three  years  ago  Mr.  M.  M.  Fisk  bought  six 
acres  of  rather  light  land,  on  which  he  has  ex- 
pended for  purchase  money  and  labor  $402. 
The  value  of  the  three  crops — potatoes,  corn, 
and  rye  seeded,  with  grass — has  amounted  to 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAR^klER. 


265 


DO  SHEEP  IMPROVE  PASTURES  P 
There  have  been  great  improvements  in  the 
culture  of  sheep  within  the  last  twelve  years  ; 
in  the  texture  and  quantity  of  the  wool,  and 
in  the  quality  of  the  flesh.  Their  numbers 
Lave  gi'eatly  increased — to  a  surprising  degree 
in  the  West — and  even  in  New  England  an 
unusual  attention  has  been  paid  to  them.  The 
increase  in  1865  was  over  four  millions.  In 
1860,  the  number  of  sheep  was  estimated  at 
22,471,275,  and  in  186G,  at  32,695,797— a 
gain  of  10,224,522.  Those  who  have  en- 
gaged in  their  culture^  have  found  it  sufficiently 
remunerative  to  encourage  them  to  go  on. 
The  introduction  of  machinery  into  this  coun- 
try to  manufacture  delaines,  and  goods  of  a 
similar  character,  has  made  a  demand  for  long 
wools,  and  especially  that  of  the  silky  cots- 
wold,  which  have  been  found  as  profitable  as 
the  fine  merino  wool.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
demand  for  the  merino  in  the  great  West,  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  has  been  so  great  as 
almost  to  outstrip  supply,  so  that  in  either  of 
these  branches  of  sheep  culture,  there  is  no 
present  prospect  of  lack  of  demand. 

Our  people  are  also  educating  themselves  to 
the  use  of  mutton  as  food,  instead  of  so  much 
beef  and  pork.  It  is  admitted,  we  believe,  by 
all  who  have  given  attention  to  the  subject, 
that  mutton  is  a  wholesome  and  nutritious 
food.  It  is  certainly  easUy  and  quickly  brought 
to  maturity,  and,  unlike  beef,  gives  an  annual 
return  in  wool,  which  pays  a  portion  of  the 
expense  of  falsing  as  it  goes  along.  Taking 
these  points  into  consideration,  it  is  the  opin- 
ion of  many  persons,  that  the  culture  of  sheep 
may  be  made  profitable  in  most  of  the  towns 
of  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  Con- 
necticut and  New  Hampshire.  It  is  already 
so  in  the  latter  State,  and  in  Vermont. 

It  is  thought  by  many  persons  who  have  had 
the  care  of  sheep  and  cattle  on  the  same  farm, 
that  where  eight  or  ten  head  of  cattle  are  kept, 
six  sheep  may  also  be  added  without  additional 
cost  to  the  owner ;  that  is,  that  the  manure 
which  they  leave  on  the  pastures,  and  in  their 
pens,  and  the  income  from  the  sale  of  lambs, 
will  pay  the  cost  of  keeping  and  care,  and 
leave  the  annual  clip  of  wool  and  the  carcases 
of  the  sheep  as  clear  gain.  There  are  some 
reasons  for  such  an  opinion,  and  granting,  for 
the  present,  that  it  is  sound,  let  us  see  what 
such  a  practice  would  do  for  our  fariliers.  We 
have  in  New  England,  as  by  Commissioner's 


Report,  183,942  farms ;  six  sheep  to  a  farm 
would  give  1,103,652,  which,  at  .§5.45  per 
head — the  average  price  in  February,  1866 — 
would  give  a  capital  of  six  millions  fourteen 
thousand,  nine  hundred  and  three  dollars,  and 
forty  cents.  If  the  average  clip  of  wool  was 
three  pounds  per  head,  at  fifty  cents  per  pound, 
it  would  give  one  million  six  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
dollars  !  A  nice  sum  to  be  divided  annually 
among  the  farmers  of  oui-  rough  climate  an  . 
rocky  hills  ! 

If  the  points  suggested  above  are  con-ect, 
or  approach  correctness,  whatever  is  said  or 
done  to  discourage  the  culture  of  sheep  in 
New  England  may  have  an  unhappy  tendency 
upon  the  interests  of  the  farmer.  We  have 
been  led  to  these  remarks  by  reading  the  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Matthew  Smith,  of  Middlefield, 
Mass.,  as  given  in  the  report  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Middlesex  Agricultural  Society,  for 
1865.  The  latter  adds  :  "One  of  your  com- 
mittee said  to  him  that  perhaps  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  stock  some  brushy  pastures  with 
sheep  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  pas- 
ture. He  answered  by  fsaying  that  you  and  I 
have  heard  quite  often,  the  last  five  years,  that 
sheep  would  improve  pastures  ;  but  don't  you 
believe  one  word  of  it,  for  I  have  always  kept 
a  large  flock  of  sheep,  and  I  know  that  it  is 
not  so." 

We  have  no  doubt  but  the  statements  made 
by  ]\Ir.  Smith  are  entirely  true,  in  his  case ;  but 
"one  swallow  does  not  make  a  summer,"  nor 
does  one  experiment  annul  many  others,  made 
under  different  circumstances.  We  think  it  is 
a  well  ascertained  fact,  that  sheep  do  generally 
improve  the  jyastures  upon  which  they  feed. 
The  history  of  the  improvement  of  sheep,  is 
the  history  of  the  improvement  of  the  land 
upon  which  they  have  fed.  The  history  of  the 
South  Down  is  the  history  of  the  improvement 
of  the  valleys  of  the  Downs.  Few  pastures 
exist  which  afford  finer  feed  for  sheep  than  the 
famous  ''Downs''''  of  England,  a  tract  of  land 
about  eighty  miles  long  and  six  wide,  which 
was  of  chalk  formation  and  nearly  worthless. 
From  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the  Downs  came 
the  famous  South  Down  sheep.  The  change 
wrought  upon  these  Downs  by  pasturing  sheep 
upon  them,  enclosing  and  cultivating  them, 
has  been  wonderful.  Sheep  that  were  previ- 
ously gaunt  and  slab-sided,  with  light  and 
comparatively  hairy  fleeces,  soon  yielded  the 


266 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEIMER. 


June 


sweetest  mutton,  weigliing  fifty  pounds  per 
quarter,  and  in  a  large  flock  gave  fleeces  whose 
average  weight  was  eight  pounds  each. 

The  improvement  of  Cotswolcls  is  no  less 
remarkable,  and  the  once  bleak  and  ban-en 
hills  from  whence  they  take  their  name,  have 
been  so  improved  by  the  culture  of  sheep  upon 
them,  that  they  attain  a  greater  weight  at 
twelve  and  fourteen  months,  than  they  for- 
merly did  at  three  and  four  years  old  ! 

If  not  greatly  overstocked,  pastures  which 
were  decidedly  poor  when  sheep  entered  upon 
them,  have  gained  in  fertility  from  year  to 
year.  A  portion  of  a  farm  in  Northfield, 
IVIass.,  was  proverbial  during  many  years  for 
the  abundance  and  richness  of  its  feed.  It 
had  been  pastured  for  a  long  time,  alternately 
with  cattle  and  sheep.  One  half  this  pasture 
was  sold,  fenced  off  and  fed  by  cows.  In  a 
few  years  the  part  sold  had  essentially  deteri- 
orated, while  the  other,  fed  as  it  had  been,  re- 
mained as  productive  as  ever,  although  both 
pieces  wei'e  grazed  by  about  the  same  amount 
of  stock. 

We  are  well  acquainted  vnth  a  pasture  near 
the  sea  coast  which  many  years  ago  was  an 
exceedingly  foul  piece  of  land — abounding 
with  a  great  variety  of  bushes,  among  which 
were  the  barberry  and  many  climbing  plants, 
and  so  closely  laced  and  intertwined  by  the 
wild  rose,  that  they  formed  an  almost  impene- 
trable jungle.  Twenty  years  afterwards  we 
saw  the  same  pasture  with  a  flock  of  sheep  on 
it  grazing  upon  a  close,  compact  turf,  covered 
with  short,  sweet  grasses,  and  loithout  a  weed 
or  bush  of  any  kind  iipon  it ! 

"How  has  this  reclamation  been  accom- 
plished?" we  inquired,  as  we  stood  looking 
upon  it. 

"i>^y  tlie  sheep,''''  said  our  informant. 
"Without  plowing  and  seeding?"  we  asked. 
"Yes,  hij  the  sheep  alone,''''  was  the  I'eply. 
The  pastiu'e  was  quite  uneven  and  rocky, 
but  the  sheep  had  exterminated  every  vestige 
of  wild  plants,  and  clothed  the  surface  with 
fresh,  rich,  perpetual  herbage. 

In  a  report  by  a  committee  of  the  House  of 
Lords,  in  England,  in  1829,  it  was  said :  "All 
farmers  testify  that  sheep  raising  is  absolutely 
indispensable  to  successful  farming ;  their  ma- 
nure is  necessary  to  preserve  the  fertility  of 
the  soil ;  and  that  without  them  the  whole 
kingdom  would  in  a  few  generations  be  re- 
duced   to   utter    barrenness    and    sterility." 


Their  importance,  in  this  point  of  view,  seemed 
to  be  generally  conceded  by  the  members  of 
the  gi'eat  Wool-  Grower''s  Convention,  which 
Ave  attended  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  in  the  winter 
of  1864. 

A  report  in  the  Plymouth  County  Transac- 
tions, says  :  "Some  of  the  finest  examples  are 
afforded  here  of  the  effects  of  feeding  sheep 
upon  pastures  that  have  become  exhausted  of 
nutritious  grasses,  and  grown  to  bushes,  brakes, 
briars  and  moss.  I  have  seen  pastures  that 
had  become  almost  worthless,  but  now  green 
and  smiling  as  a  lawn,  with  every  niche  among 
the  rocks  covered  with  the  richest  pasture 
grasses,  and  not  a  blackberry  vine,  wild  rose 
bush,  mullein,  or  other  worthless  plant  hi 
sight." 

In  a  report  by  Dr.  Joseph  Reynolds,  of 
Concord,  Mass.,  on  this  subject,  he  says: 
"Experience  shows  that  sheep  walks,  instead 
of  becoming  exhausted,  uniformly  grow  better, 
and  that  one  of  the  most  effective  means  of 
destroying  the  bushes  and  mosses,  and  bring- 
ing back  white  clover  and  sweet  grasses  to  an 
exhausted  pasture,  is  to  tm-n  upon  it  a  flock 
of  sheep." 

Mr.  Richard  S.  Fay,  long  a  member  of  the 
old  Massachusetts  Society,  and  of  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  who  gave  the  most  intelligent 
attention  to  the  culture  of  sheep,  said  he  had 
"constantly  under  his  eye  a  one  hundred  acre 
lot  upon  which  cattle  a  few  years  ago  coidd 
not  live,  that  now  maintains  in  good  condition 
a  large  flock  of  sheep ;  and  the  improvement 
of  the  pasture  has  been  so  great  that  a  dozen 
head  of  cattle,  besides  the  sheep,  do  Avell  upon 
it."  Mr.  Fay's  pasture  was  a  rather  dry  and 
very  rocky  piece  of  land,  and  was  reclaimed 
entirely  by  the  sheep. 

This  change,  however,  can  only  be  effected 
gradually.  It  will  not  do  to  turn  a  large  flock 
upon  the  pasture,  and  keep  them  there,  but 
enough  to  cause  the  sheep  to  crop  the  bushes 
because  they  cannot  get  all  the  grass  they  tvaiit. 
This  may  be  done  at  first  for  a  week  at  a  time, 
or  longer,  as  circumstances  may  exist.  In 
this  way  the  sheep  commence  the  destruction 
of  the  bushes  at  once,  by  eating  off  their 
leaves.  As  these  disappear,  the  sun  and  air  is 
let  into  the  sod,  the  rich  waste  of  the  sheep 
falls  upon  it,  scattered  everywhere  in  minute 
portions,  and  it  soon  springs  into  wonderful 
fertility,  "bringing  the  richest  perpetual  grasses 
and  gradually  driving  out  all  the  useless  plants. 


1867. 


J^EW   ENGLAND   FARIMER. 


267 


As  the  latter  disappear,  the  grass  increases, 
until  the  pasture  that  -would  support  only 
twenty  sheep  will  sustain  one  hundred  in  good 
condition. 

JMr.  Smith's  sheep  did  not  reduce  the  bushes, 
probably  because  they  found  all  the  good  grass 
they  wanted.  He  should  have  slightly  over- 
stocked the  pasture  for  a  week  or  two  at  a 
time,  and  we  have  no  doubt  he  would  then 
have  seen  the  work  of  destruction  going  on. 


TARIFF  SAMPLES  OF  WOOL. 
We  are  among  those  who  are  very  anxious 
to  believe  that  the  manufacturers  acted  in  good 
faith  in  their  agreement  to  work  in  concert 
with  wool  growers  in  securing  such  rates  of 
duty  as  would  promote  the  best  interests  of 
both  parties  to  the  contract,  and  that  they 
have  acted  throughout  in  accordance  with  the 
terms  of  that  agreement.  The  appointment  of 
a  leading  wool  merchant  of  Boston,  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  as  the  sole  agent  of 
'the  government  to  prepare  the  samj^les  of 
■wool  required  by  the  newtariif  law,  has  given 
occasion  to  those  who  doubt  the  integrity  of  the 
manufacturers  to  raise  the  cry  of  "sold  again." 
In  a  communication  to  the  Vermont  Farmer 
by  "J.  W.  C."  of  Springfield,  the  appoint- 
ment is  spoken  of  as  "an  outrageous  and  fla- 
grant wrong  to  the  wool-growers,"  and  some 
of  our  own  correspondents  have  spoken  of  it 
in  the  same  bitter  terms,  and  asked  why  the 
wool-growers  were  not  represented  on  so  im- 
portant a  commission.  But  as  Mr.  Bond  is 
neither  a  manufacturer  nor  a  wool-grower,  but 
a  buyer  and  seller,  and  unquestionably  well 
qualified  for  the  duties  of  his  appointment,  we 
have  held  on  to  the  belief  that  both  he  and  the 
government  were  disposed  to  do  justice  to  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  law,  and  to  both  parties 
■whose  interests  are  affected  by  it,  and  we  are  glad 
to  see  by  the  Rural  New  Yorker  that  a  letter 
has  been  received  from  Mr.  IMcCulloch,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  in  which  he  gives  assur- 
ance that  "the  samples  when  prepared  Avill  be 
open  to  the  criticism  of  all  parties  interested, 
and  should  it  be  discovered  that,  from  any 
cause,  a  mistake  has  been  made  in  the  classifi- 
cation or  arrangement  of  the  distinctive  sam- 
ples of  wool  and  hair,  the  Department  will  not 
be  slow  to  correct  it."  Upon  which  Dr.  Ran- 
dall comments  as  follows : — 

Without  in  the  least  impugning  the  good  faith  of 
the  Secretaiy  of  the  Treasury,  or  the  integrity  and 


other  qualifications  of  Mr.  Bond,  wc  have  to  say 
tliat  so  far  as  we  possess  any  information  in  the 
premises,  no  accredited  agent  of  tlie  wool-growers 
was  consulted  in  making  this  appointment;  and 
that  when  the  tariff  on  wool  and  woolens 
was  drawn  up  by  the  Committees  of  Growers  and 
Mnnntiictnrers,  and  one  of  the  Connnissioners  of 
Revenue,  in  the  winter  of  186.5-G,  that  Commission- 
er (Hon.  Stephen  Cohvcll,)  assured  us  that  both 
interests  would  be  represented,  and  equally  repre- 
sented, in  the  Committee  to  select  samples — that  it 
would  only  be  necessary  to  apprise  the  Secretary 
of  the  understanding  to  ensure  its  adoption  by  him 
— and  that  he  (the  Comniissioiier)  would  see  that 
he  was  so  apprised.  As  the  liill  did  not  pass  dur- 
ing the  session  of  I860-6,  it  is  very  probable  th? 
Mr.  Coh^»ell  did  not  inform  the  Secretary  of  this, 
understanding,  and  Mr.  C.  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  matter  during  the  last  session  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Congress.  But,  without  knowing  the  fact, 
we  take  it  for  granted  that  the  members  of  our 
Committee  in  Washington  called  Secretary  Mc- 
Culloch's  attention  to  the  arrangement. 

Secretary  MeCiilloch  will  be  asked  to  submit  the 
samples  prepared  l)y  Mr.  Bond  to  the  examination 
and  revision  of  a  Committee  of  Growers  and  Manu- 
facturers, selected  by  themselves,  before  the  sam- 
ples are  adopted  as  standards ;  and  if  he  accedes  to 
this,  his  plan  will  have  the  same  effect  with  the 
original  one.  We  cannot  suppose  that  Secretary 
McCulloch  will  refuse  to  comply  with  a  request  so 
palpably  just  and  rcasonaljle.  His  language  above 
quoted  ought  to  be  understood  as  sulistantially 
implying  so  much.  His  decision  in  the  matter 
will  be  placed  before  our  readers  as  soon  as  it  is 
received. 

We  think  that  we  cannot  misapprehend  the 
views  of  the  wool-growers  of  the  country  in  acting 
on  the  hypothesis  that  they  will  not  rest  satisfied 
with  having  the  entire  selection  of  the  custom 
house  samples  of  wool  confided  to  one  man,  what- 
ever his  qualifications — or  to  any  body  of  men  in 
which  the  gi'owcrs  are  not  equally  represented  with 
any  and  all  opposing  interests. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
DESTRUCTIOlSr   OF    TREES   AJSTD 
SHRUBS. 

Messes.  Editors  : — In  a  late  communica- 
tion to  the  Farmer,  I  spoke  of  an  evil  prac- 
tice which  I  fear  is  still  very  common,  and 
which,  as  I  hope  to  show,  is  far  more  mischiev- 
ous than  it  is  commonly  considered.  I  mean 
the  thoughtless  and  barbarous  practice  of  cut- 
ting off  and  destroying  the  trees  and  native 
shrubs  which,  in  a  thousand  places  in  the  coun- 
try, naturally  border  the  old  roads. 

I  now  wish  to  state,  as  briefly  as  possible, 
some  reasons  why  this  practice  should  be  dis- 
continued, and  why  and  how  the  mischief  done, 
shoidd,  whenever  it  is  practicable,  be  repaired. 

1.  It  impairs  the  beauty  of  the  roads. 

2.  It  diminishes  the  beauty  and  attractive- 
ness of  the  town  or  village. 

3.  It  makes  the  roads  uncomfortable,  by 
leaving  them  open  to  the  sun  and  exposed  to 
the  winds. 

4.  It  increases  the  drought  of  summer,  and 
the  violence  of  the  winds  at  all  seasons. 

5.  It  exposes  the  roads  to  be  filled  with 
snow  drifts  in  winter,  and  to  be  gullied  by  the 
rains  in  the  epd  of  winter  and  in  spring. 

6.  It  diminishes  the  fertility  of  the  land. 


268 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER.. 


June 


7.  It  tends  to  make  our  winters  colder  and 
our  springs  later. 

8.  It  suffers  water  from  the  spring  rains  to 
be  wasted  by  rushing  off  in  floods,  carrying 
with  them  the  best  of  the  soil,  instead  of  sink- 
ing into  the  ground  about  the  roots  of  trees 
and  bushes. 

9.  It  diminishes  the  showers  in  summer. 

10.  It  keeps  the  little  birds  at  a  distance 
from  the  fields,  gardens  and  orchards  where 
they  are  needed. 

11.  It  is  bad  economy,  by  destroying  trees 
which  are  becoming  more  and  more  valuable, 
from  year  to  year,  for  fuel  and  use  in  the 
arts,  and  for  the  fruits, — acorns,  chestnuts, 
wild  cherries,  walnuts,  beechnuts,  butternuts, 
hickory  nuts,  shagbarks, — and  by  destroying 
the  shrubs  and  undershrubs  which  produce  our 
delicious  and  useful  berries — whortleben'ies, 
blackberries,  raspberries  and  others, — and  the 
delicate  hazelnuts. 

12.  It  diminishes  our  happiness  by  lessening 
the  enjoyment  and  the  health  of  our  wives  and 
children,  and  of  those  helpless  and  dependent 
creatures  which  live  for  us, — the  domestic  an- 
imals and  the  birds, — by  robbing  them  of  the 
shade  and  shelter  afforded  by  the  trees,  and 

13.  It  does  much,  in  many  other  ways,  to 
diminish  the  cheerfulness  and  agreeableness  of 
our  homes. 

Our  climate  has  changed  for  the  worse  since 
the  original  settlement  of  this  country.  It  is 
one  of  more  fierce  extremes.  The  hills,  which, 
clothed  with  their  forests,  are  the  natural  de- 
fence and  protection  of  the  plains,  have,  in 
many  places,  with  strange  and  thoughtless  im- 
providence, been  stripped  and  laid  bare,  and 
the  storms  howl  and  rage  over  them  unchecked. 
On  the  plains,  the  old,  primeval  trees  have 
been  cut  down,  the  groves  thinned,  the  thick- 
ets weeded  away.  Our  broader  fields  are 
dryer  and  hotter  in  summer,  and  the  winds 
over  them  are  more  unbroken,  and  hence,  at 
all  seasons,  more  violent.  Delicate  plants 
are  cultivated  with  more  difficulty  than  former- 
ly. Cei'eal  crops  are  more  liable  to  be  injured 
by  drought.  The  deterioration  is  constantl}- 
going  on.  The  thinning  of  a  narrow  border, 
the  cutting  down  of  a  single  tree,  adds  some- 
thing to  the  evil. 

All  that  can  be  done  ought  to  be  done,  and 
very  much  may  be  done,  to  check  it.  The 
bare  hill  tops  and  their  steep  sides  may  again 
be  covered  with  trees.  The  poorest  lands, 
which  hardly  pay  for  cultivation,  may  be  given 
back  to.  the  forest  by  carel'ul  planting.  All 
the  surface  tliat  can  be  found  unoccupied, 
every  little  nook  that  can  be  spared,  should  be 
clothed  or  allowed  to  remain  clothed,  with  na- 
tive or  foreign  trees  and  shrubs. 

A  bare,  unprotected  field  has  the  winter's 
snow  swept  olf  and  so  freezes  to  a  great  depth, 
and,  by  its  slow  thawing,  materially  retards  the 
spring.  A  surface  carpeted  with  undershrubs, 
such  as  whortleberry  bushes,  arrests  the  fall- 


ing or  driving  leaves  and  early  snow,  and 
forms  a  fibrous  blanket,  to  keep  m  the  warmth 
of  the  earth  and  keep  out  the  cold.  Thus 
protected,  the  earth  below  this  blanket  does 
not  freeze ;  the  roots  of  the  plants,  large  and 
small,  forming  a  porous,  spongy  mass,  of  con- 
siderable depth,  the  lotjsened  earth,  under- 
neath, receives  and  keeps  the  dissolving  snow 
and  trickling  rain,  laid  up,  as  in  a  reservoir, 
against  the  hour  of  need.  The  early  flowers 
show  that  sprmg  comes  first  to  these  sheltered 
spots. 

Every  thicket,  every  clump  of  bushes, 
every  row  of  trees,  especially  every  broad  rib- 
bon of  mingled  trees,  bushes  and  undershrubs, 
does  something  to  soften  the  violence  of  the 
wind,  to  arrest  the  mists  and  rainclouds,  and 
to  store  up  a  little  treasure  of  moisture,  like 
that  just  described,  from  the  dissolving  snows 
and  the  rains  of  spring,  and  thus  provide  a 
source  for  daily  evaporation,  to  mitigate  the 
heat  and  droughts  of  suuimer. 

Whoever  can  look  back  for  half  a  century 
upon  almost  any  country  town  in  New  Eng- 
land, may  remember  many  a  little  perennial 
rill  of  fonuer  days  which  has  now  disappeared 
entirely,  and  many  a  brook  which  once  ran 
full  through  the  year,  but  which  is  now,  in  the 
dry  season,  reduced  to  a  diminutive  runnel, 
whose  music  has  ceased,  and  whose  course  is 
indicated  only  by  scattered,  stagnant  pools  or 
by  a  greener  line  through  the  meadow.  The 
change  from  worse  to  worse,  from  dry  to 
dryer,  is  still  going  on. 

To  stay  the  evil,  to  restore  the  rills,  again 
to  fill  the  brooks,  to  bring  back  a  softer  cli- 
mate, will  require  the  co-operation  of  all 
public  spirited  persons.  Every  one  must 
compensate  for  the  mischief  he  may  have 
done.  Whoever  has  cut  down  a  single  tree, 
young  or  old,  must  set  out  two  to  take  its 
place ;  whoever  has  uprooted  an  old,  broad- 
headed  tree,  such  as  an  ancient  chestnut  or 
oak,  ought  to  feel  bound  to  plant  at  least  ten 
young  ones.  Whoever  has  been,  directly  or 
indirectly,  instrumental  in  defacing  the  road- 
side, by  destroying  such  a  border  as  we  have 
been  speaking  of,  ought  to  hold  himself  re- 
sponsible for  another  as  beautiful  and  as  pre- 
cious. Whoever  has  an  acre  of  land,  the  cul- 
tivation of  Avhich  pays  poorly,  will,  if  he  has 
an  eye  to  his  interest,  plant  it  with  such  valu- 
able trees  as  will  flourish  there  best ;  or,  if  it 
lie  on  the  edge  of  a  forest,  he  will  let  it  plant 
itself  with  acorns,  seeds  or  nuts  from  the  for- 
est, only  taking  care  that  the  young  trees  shall 
not  be  nibbled  down  and  killed  by  cattle  or 
sheep.  The  owner  or  owners  of  a  bare,  un- 
sightly hill  must  assume  wisdom  enough  to 
manage  that  with  etjual  foresight.  The  reward 
will  not  be  the  mere  gratification  of  a  sense  of 
the  beautiful.  While  labor  is  so  dear  as  it 
now  is,  it  must  be  economy  to  raise  eighty 
1)usIk'1s  of  corn  on  an  acre,  instead  of  thirty, 
to  cut  three  tons  of  hay  instead  of  one,  both 
of  which  will  be  the  natural  consequence  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


269 


spreading  the  manure,  and  the  labor  upon 
nine  acres,  instead  of"  twenty-five. 

Wood  for  fuel,  timber  for  building,  materi- 
als for  furniture  and  for  the  use  of  all  workers 
in  wood,  are  becoming  every  year  scarcer  and 
dearer,  and  ti-ees  upon  the  hill  side  or  the 
road  side,  on  the  plain  or  in  the  valley,  will  be 
"aye  growing,"  while  the  planter  is  sleeping, 
and  will  continue  to  grow  when  the  planter 
shall  be  lying  with  his  forefathers  under  their 
shade. 

Then  we  must  not  forget  the  birds.  We 
cannot  get  on  without  them,  and  it  seems  a 
great  mistake  to  make  no  provision  for  them, 
when  their  co-operation  is  so  essential  to  us. 
A  few  of  the  insects  ai'e  our  friends,  and  may 
make  honey  or  spin  silk  for  our  enjoyment. 
Most  of  them  are  enemies,  ready,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  the  birds,  able  to  take  possession 
of  or  to  forestall  the  fruits  of  our  orchards,  the 
vegetables  of  our  gardens,  the  crops  of  our 
fields,  even  the  trees  of  our  forests.  We  must 
com't  the  alliancb  and  friendship  of  the  birds. 
We  must  have,  near  our  fields  and  gardens, 
copses  and  thickets  to  invite  and  shelter  them. 
We  must  protect  them  against  cats  and  boys 
and  idle  sportsmen.  The  birds  are  always 
ready  to  be  our  neighbors.  Tiiey  work  by  us 
and  for  us,  and  do  not  like,  and  ought  not  to 
be  obliged,  to  go  far  for  their  homes.  They 
are  pleasant  and  social  neighbors.  It  is  pleas- 
ant to  see  their  delicate  shapes  and  graceful 
motions,  and  to  hear  their  songs.  Their 
ceaseless  activity  is  a  perpetual  lesson  to  us. 
It  is  pleasant  to  have  meadows,  wheat,  peas, 
and  turnips  that  have  escaped  the  fly,  and  to 
gather  apples  and  pears  with  no  other  marks 
upon  them  than  the  remnant  of  the  blossom. 
These  pleasures  and  advantages  are  only  to 
be  secured  by  the  constant  co-operation, 
throughout  the  year,  of  the  birds.  We  shall 
Boon  see  the  necessity  of  increasing  their  num- 
bers by  importing  them  from  Europe. 

Whoever  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  spend 
a  summer  in  Old  England,  must  have  brought 
away  in  his  memory,  many  charming  pic- 
tures of  rural  scenery  unsurpassed  elsewhere. 
One  beautiful  element  in  this  scenery  is  the 
hawthorn  hedges,  flowering  in  spring,  the 
resort  and  home  of  the  birds,  varying  with 
the  seasons,  sometimes  a  little  ragged,  al- 
ways picturesque.  In  the  agricultural  coun- 
ties you  have  to  look  in  the  hedges  for  the 
■wild  shi'ubs  and  trees,  and  along  their  bor- 
ders for  most  of  the  wild  flowers.  No- 
where is  there  anything  to  surpass  these 
hedges.  In  New  England,  we  have  nothing 
yet  to  take  their  place.  They  protect,  soften 
and  ornament  the  field  they  defend.  The 
nearest  approach  to  their  beauty  and  use  in 
this  country,  is  given  by  the  borders  to  the 
roads  and  lanes  which  I  am  endeavoring  to 
save. 

A  traveller  entering  one  of  our  New 
England  villages,  and,  as  he  looks  down  upon 
it,  observing  the  church  and  the  school  house 


surrounded  by  shady  groves,  lines  of  stately 
forest  trees  along  all  the  great  roads,  so  that 
the  children  going  home  at  noon,  may  walk 
every  where  in  the  shade — the  by-roads  and 
lanes  bordered  with  shrubbery  and  trees,  like 
the  hedges  and  hedge-rows  of  Old  England, 
and  the  hills,  round  about,  crowned  with  for- 
ests, would  involuntarily  say  :  How  plcasajit ! 
how  beautiful !  and  would  be  likely  to  think — 
How  fortunate  and  happy  the  children,  how 
thoughtful  and  prudent  their  fathers  ! 

If  we  wish  to  dwell  in  a  more  genial  climate, 
softer  in  winter,  and  shadier,  cooler  and  moister 
in  summer,  in  towns  or  villages  more  beauti- 
ful to  the  eye  of  taste,  and  more  attractive  and 
agreeable  to  the  hand  of  industry,  we  must 
take  care  of  the  forests,  and  of  these  edges, 
relics  of  and  substitutes  for  the  forests,  where- 
ever  they  are  to  be  found. 

If  you  can  find  space  for  me,  I  should  like, 
in  another  paper,  to  say  a  few  words  about  the 
trees  and  other  plants  which  we  ought  to  take 
measures  to  retaui  or  to  reinstate. 

Boston,  April,  1867.  g.  b.  e. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

WHAT   CAJSr   BE   DONE    TO    SAVE   THE 
APPLE. 

There  are  those  who,  believing  in  periodic 
states  of  health  and  sickness  in  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  hold  that  the  apple  is  subject  to  a 
partial  failure  for  a  series  of  years,  and  then, 
from  unseen  causes,  to  a  return  to  its  former 
productiveness.  But  science  throws  too  much 
light  upon  our  ways  for  us  to  grope  along  thus 
blindly.  Man  has  the  same  control  over  the 
culture  of  trees  that  he  has  over  the  culture  of 
corn,  wheat,  or  any  other  annual.  All  are 
subject  to  the  same  laws  and  affected  by  like 
causes.  There  is  this  difference,  however. 
With  animals,  effect  follows  cause  immediately 
and  is  readily  seen ;  while  those  that  affect 
the  health  of  trees  may  be  at  work  years  be- 
fore any  thing  is  noticed  by  the  unpracticed 

As  trees  are  the  growth  of  years,  it  requires 
more  foresight  and  thought  to  cultivate  them 
than  it  does  the  short-lived  plants  and  vegeta- 
bles. Now  that  the  peach  has  fiiiled,  it  is 
easy  to  find  sufficient  reasons  for  its  failure  ; 
ancl  may  not  the  same  general  causes  which 
wrought  its  destruction  be  now  at  work  upon 
its  more  hardy  companion,  the  apple,  render- 
ing it  unprofitable  and  threatening  for  it  a 
similar  fate  ?  I  believe  all  the  evils  that  have 
befallen  the  apple  have  come  through  the  agen- 
cy of  man.  Through  the  same  agency  nmst 
come  the  remedy.  If  ever  an  "ounce  of  pre- 
ventive is  worth  a  pound  of  cure,"  it  is  now  in 
the  incipient  stages  of  a  failure,  before  diseases 
develop  into  epidemics.  So  wide-spread  al- 
ready are  the  causes  of  the  evils,  that  isolated 
individual  effort  can  effect  only  partial  cures. 
Radical  and  complete  cure  depends  upon  the 
combined  action  of  the  many.     StiU  what  the 


270 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAEMER. 


JONE 


individual  can  do,  must  by  no  means  be  neg- 
lected. 

The  causes  of  the  present  low  condition  of 
the  apple  tree  may  be  classified  under  three 
heads :  want  of  protection  against  climatic 
changes ;  of  defence  from  insects,  and  poor 
and  injudicious  culture. 

Protection  from  Climatic  Changes. 

This  is  the  first  point  to  be  aimed  it,  for  if  it 
cannot  be  secured  there  is  little  probability  of 
success,  however  carefully  the  trees  may  oth- 
erwise be  treated.  Florists  may  dwell  upon 
the  advantages,  nay,  the  necessity  of  jiroduc- 
ing  trees  and  plants  adapted  to  the  climate  ; 
and  propagators  of  new  varieties  may  claim 
they  have  achieved  that  desirable  end,  yet 
experience  proves  that  without  some  protec- 
tion, furnis^hed  either  by  nature  or  art,  there 
is  no  certainty  of  a  yield  Avith  any  kind  of 
fruit.  Varieties  of  limit  that  were  once  per- 
fectly hardy,  after  a  while  fail  to  bear  up  under 
the  rigors  of  our  climate.  When  all  the  con- 
ditions of  growth  are  perfect,  I  see  no  reason 
why  fruit  trees  should  not  bear  moderately 
every  year.  The  very  fact  that  fruit  buds 
form  and  blossoms  appear,  proves  there  is  a 
struggle  to  produce  fruit ;  yet  frecjuently  re- 
curring fiilures  show  conclusively  that  there 
is  somethhig  radically  wrong  in  their  culture. 

More  than  seventy  years  ago  scientific  men 
noticed  changes  in  our  climate,  which  are  gen- 
erally ascribed  to  the  destruction  of  our  for- 
ests. Their  removal  has  opened  the  coun- 
try to  more  intense  action  ot'  the  fiost,  M'ind 
and  sun,  causing  more  frequent  changes 
in  the  weather,  and  greater  extremes.  The 
heat  of  sumuier  extends  i'urther  into  autumn, 
which  favors  an  untimely  swelling  of  the  fruit 
buds;  the  weather  of  modern  winters  is  more 
inconstant  than  when  the  countr\-  was  more 
densely  wooded  ;  the  winds  being  more  varia- 
ble, snow  is  less  permanent,  and  the  ground  is 
more  exposed  to  the  action  of  severe  cold, — to 
alternate  freezing  and  thawing.  These  ex- 
treme changes  frequently  kill  the  l)U(ls  and 
injure  the  trees  themselves.  The  cold  of  win- 
ter is  prolonged  later  into  the  spring,  and 
hence  cold  storms  and  high  winds  often  occur 
while  the  trees  are  in  blossom,  and  are,  1 
think,  the  chief  cause  of  failure  of  fruit  in 
seasons  of  abundant  bloom. 

In  Euroj)e  the  blighting  ellucts  arising  from 
the  removal  of  the  forests,  and  the  benefits  of 
their  restoration,  upon  tender  vegetation,  es- 
pecially upon  fruit  trees,  have  l)een  fully  demon- 
strated. When  the  wholesale  destruction  of 
the  primitive  forests  of  this  country  shall  cease, 
or  the  waste  places  be  again  covered  with  trees 
to  a  degree  that  will  restore  in  part  or  wholly 
the  former  eciuanimity  of  the  climate,  is  a  sub- 
ject involving  combined  or  governmental  ac- 
tion, and  beyond  the  scope  of  this  article.  The 
question  now  claiming  our  attention  is,  not 
what  the  government,  but  what  the  iiulividual 
can  do  to  ameliorate  the  eiiects  of  the  climate 


upon  his  trees  ?  It  may  be  answered  briefly, 
plant  all  fruit  trees  not  in  single  exposed  rows, 
but  in  large  orchards,  and  surround  them  with 
belts  of  evergreens.  Whoever  is  aware  of  the 
effect  of  forests  in  equalizing  the  temperature 
and  in  breaking  the  force  of  the  winds,  will  at 
once  see  that  the  trees  of  a  large  orchard  will 
materially  protect  each  other,  and  that  the 
benefits  of  two  or  three  rows  of  evergreens 
must  far  exceed  the  labor  of  planting  them 
and  the  land  they  occupy.  In  the  cultivation 
of  trees,  valuable  hints  may  always  be  derived 
from  a  close  observation  of  nature.  It  is  one 
of  her  laws  to  protect  the  roots  with  a  layer  of 
dead  and  decaying  leaves,  which  tends  to 
equalize  the  temperature  of  the  ground,  keep- 
ing it  cool,  moist  and  light  in  hot  weather,  and 
warmer  in  winter.  The  amount  of  moisture 
recjulred  by  a  tree  in  full  foliage  and  laden 
with  fruit,  is  immense.  Can  trees  obtain  their 
full  supply  that  are  trained  to  grow  high,  with 
nothijig  upon  the  ground  to  check  the  evapo- 
ration caused  by  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  and 
the  dry,  hot,  parching  winds?  often,  too,  with 
some  cultivated  crops  drawing  the  nourishment 
the  trees  should  have.  Is  it  a  mysteiy  tljat 
the  fruit  of  a  tree  thus  situated  withers  and 
falls,  frequently  ?  that,  while  maturing  one 
crop,  it  cannot  properly  prepare  for  another  ? 
And  as  the  foimdation  of  a  fruit  crop  must  be 
laid  the  ^ear  before,  is  it  strange  that  its 
efforts  result  in  weak  buds,  that  weak  bud3 
should  produce  feeble  blossoms,  and  that  fee- 
ble blossoms  blast,  or  develop  inferior  fruit  ? 

Protection  from  Insects. 
Without  the  aid  of  birds,  the  efforts  of  man 
in  protecting  his  trees  from  these  pests  are  of 
little  avail.  Trees  collected  in  orchards  pre- 
sent greater  inducements  lor  birds  to  build 
their  nests  than  when  standing  singly ;  their 
prey  will  always  be  near  them,  and  they  will 
destroy  more  than  if  they  traversed  the  whole 
farm  for  it.  If  mischievous  boys  and  lawless 
gamesters  were  kept  out,  a  numerous  and  cfh- 
cient  guard  of  these  valuable  allies  might  be 
relied  upon.  The  occupants  of  poultry  houses 
and  coops  located  in  the  orchard  will  render 
no  little  assistance  in  the  great  work  of  pi'o- 
tection  from  insects. 

Good  Culture. 

By  having  all  the  fruit  trees  in  orchards,  the 
rest  of  the  farm  will  be  free  to  the  mower, 
horse-rake,  plough,  &c. — a  consideration  of 
much  importance  in  these  days  of  farm  ma- 
chinery. Securely  fenced,  it  will  also  be  pre- 
served from  the  browsing  and  other  depreda- 
tions of  fiirm  stock.  Neither  Avill  one  be 
obliged  to  make  the  circuit  of  the  farm  to  do 
a  little  pruning,  pick  up  the  windfalls,  or  de- 
stroy the  caterpillars.  The  site  of  an  orchard 
need  not  be  the  smoothest  and  best  part  of  the 
farm, — a  hill  side  or  a  rocky  piece  is  full  as  de- 
sirable a  location. 

1  would  have  an  orchard,  when  the  trees  are 
fully  grown,  occupy  all  the  ground ;  yet  not 


186/ 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


271 


so  thickly  as  to  crowd  each  other.  It  should 
be  laid  out  with  avenues  at  convenient  distan- 
ces for  teams  to  pass.  It  implies  thorough 
preparation  of  the  soil  before  setting  out  the 
trees.  Too  much  time  and  care  cannot  be 
given  to  the  selection  of  trees,  and  it  is  best 
tliey  should  have  been  grown  in  nurseries  in 
the  vicinity,  so  that  they  be  hardened  both 
root  and  branch  to  the  climate.  The  best 
specimens  are  cheapest  in  the  end.  Few  farm- 
ers can  afford  to  buy  poor  trees.  If  one  is  not 
fully  competent  to  select  trees,  it  will  be  money 
well  invested  to  hire  some  experienced  per- 
son to  do  it  foE  him. 

In  training,  the  trees  should  be  allowed  to 
branch  as  low  and  limbs  to  hang  as  near  the 
ground  as  they  will.  Low  heads  facilitate  the 
picking  the  fruit,  pruning,  killing  insects,  and 
they  shade  the  ground  better  during  our  hot 
summers.  By  the  time  the  trees  are  begin- 
ning to  bear,  all  plowing  and  cropping  should 
cease.  Whatever  grows  may  be  cut  and  piled 
under  the  trees  or  left  to  die  and  fall  where  it 
grows.  This,  with  the  leaves  will  make  a 
mulch  to  prevent  excessive  evaporation  during 
summer  and  keep  the  ground  warmer  in  win- 
ter— thus  giving  a  carpet  such  as  nature  spreads 
for  the  protection  of  our  groves  and  forests. 
Plowing  having  ceased,  the  roots  can  take  their 
natural  position  near  the  surface. 

The  growth  of  the  trees  should  not  be  forced. 
Light  and  frequent  applications  of  fertilizers, 
rather  than  heavy  and  occasional  ones,  are  to 
be  preferred.  Ashes  rntl  mineral  composts 
are  preferable  to  animal  and  highly  stimulating 
manures.  Where  only  fruit  is  taken  from  the 
land,  but  little  manure  is  required  to  maintain 
a  moderate,  even  and  hardy  growth,  which 
is  all  a  tree  can  bear  with  safety,  where  it  is 
to  be  tried  by  the  rigoi-s  of  New  England  win- 
ters. 

Regarding  the  cultivation  of  trees  in  this 
light,  notwithstanding  recent  failures,  the  man- 
agement is  plain  and  easy.  It  is  only  when 
we  depart  from  the  simple  laws  of  nature,  by 
attempting  too  much,  or  by  failing  to  come  up 
to  her  requirements,  that  labor  and  difficulties 
increase,  and  disappointments  multiply.  The 
apple  is  worthy  of  being  considered  an  impor- 
tant part  of  our  diet,  and  should  be  the  pride 
of  our  Northern  States ;  and  on  our  rough, 
rocky  lands,  remote  from  market,  should  be 
one  of  our  most  reliable  and  profitable  crops. 
And  is  it  too  much  to  hope  that  the  same  skill 
and  intelligence  that  has  brought  this  fruit  to 
its  present  degree  of  perfection,  can  prevent 
its  deterioration  P  N.  s.  T. 

Lawrence,  Mass.,  Feb.,  1867. 


Caledonia  Couxty,  Vt. — The  Fair  of  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  this  fine  farming  coun- 
ty, is  to  be  held,  as  we  are  informed  by  its 
Secretary,  I.  W.  Sanborn,  Esq.,  at  St.  Johns- 
bury,  Sept.  24,  25  and'26,  1867. 


AGKICDXTURAL  ITEMS. 

— Tlie  Chinese,  it  is  said,  use  wooden,  instead  of 
earthen  flower  pots. 

— Specimens  of  sponge  prepared  for  beds  and 
pillows,  said  to  be  equal  to  the  best  feathers,  were 
lately  exhibited  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club. 

—The  average  yield  of  wheat  in  England,  ap- 
pears by  official  returns  to  be  29  bushels  per  acre ; 
barley,  nearly  38 ;  oats.  46^. 

— The  great  Illinois  farmer,  M.  L.  Sullivant,  is 
preparing  to  set  400  miles  of  Osage  Hedge  on  his 
new  farm  in  Livingston  county. 

— In  English  markets,  wheat  raised  in  America 
and  in  vai-ious  countries  of  Eiu'opc,  commands  a 
higher  price  than  home-grown,  while  English 
grown  barley  bears  the  highest  price  of  all. 

— A  Fon  du  Lac  correspondent  of  the  Prairie 
Farmer  writes  that  men  purchased  sheep  there, 
three  years  ago,  at  ^4.50  to  ^5.00  each,  and  now 
arc  anxious  to  sell  at  $2.50  per  head,  and  no  sale. 

—The  bill  appropriating  $20,000  for  the  erection 
of  a  building  fur  the  accommodation  of  students 
of  the  Michigan  Agricultural  College  was  defeated 
in  the  lower  house  by  a  vote  of  33  to  58. 

' — A  correspondent  of  the  Western  Rural  took  a 
pailful  of  soft  maple  sap,  and  a  pailful  of  hard 
maple,  and  boiled  down  the  two  carefully,  and 
could  not  see  any  difference  in  quantity,  but  the 
soft  maple  sugar  was  the  lightest  colored. 

— A  man  in  Ohio  bought  a  nice  colt,  but  after- 
ward discovered  she  was  covered  with  blue  lice. 
He  applied  coal  oil,  and  the  results  were  beyond 
his  expectations.  In  24  hours  not  a  louse  was  left ; 
O'nor  a  filly,  either. 

— Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder  has  discovered  that  pencil 
marks  on  strips  of  zinc  for  ti'ee  labels,  which  can 
be  readily  rul)bed  off  when  first  written,  grow 
more  distinct  and  durable  with  age,  and  after  a  few 
years  can  be  erased  only  by  scraping. 

— Instead  of  taking  a  chilled  lamb  to  the  house 
to  warm  it,  a  St.  Albans,  Vt.,  correspondent  of  the 
Country  Gentleman  says,  "put  half  a  dozen  hot 
bricks  in  a  bushel  basket,  cover  over  with  fine 
straw,  and  put  the  lamb  on  the  straw,  and  he  will 
think  it  is  summer  in  a  few  minutes." 

—The  California  Farmer  congratulates  the  peo- 
ple of  that  State  upon  the  increase  of  flour  and  the 
decrease  of  gold  in  late  exportations.  Formerly 
nearly  every  steamer  carried  from  one  to  two  mil- 
lions of  bullion ;  on  Monday  last  only  about  two 
thirds  of  a  million,  while  the  freight  on  flour  is 
about  $30,000  each  trip. 

— We  are  sorry  to  learn  by  a  communication  in 
the  Iowa  Homestead  that  for  five  or  six  years  the 
canker  worm  has  been  extending  its  ravages  in 
Monroe  Co.,  Iowa.  Last  summer  the  writer  visited 
Eddyville,  in  the  Des  Moines  Valley,  and  says, 
"As  far  as  the  eye  could  stretch  forth,  up  and 
down  the  river  for  miles,  the  trees  were  entirely 
stripped,  and  the  twigs  and  limbs  contained  only 


272 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARJ^IER. 


June 


the  skeletons  of  leaves  shrouded  with  long  ropes 
of  the  voracious  gonnandizer — the  canker  worm. 
It  looked  as  if  the  messenger  of  death  had  wended 
his  path  along  the  stream  and  wreaked  his  ven- 
geance upon  that  lovely  valle.y." 

— The  Legislature  of  Indiana  have  adjourned 
without  locating  the  Agricultural  College,  although 
the  county  of  Hancock  offered  $300,000  to  have  it 
fixed  at  Greenfield,  their  county  seat.  The  five 
years  specified  by  Congress  expires  before  the 
Legislature  meets  again,  and  it  is  said  the  State 
forfeits  her  $000,000  of  the  college  fund. 

— Tlie  Monthly  Report  of  the  Agiicultural  De- 
partment for  Februarj',  gives  a  statement  by  which 
it  appears  that  the  annual  yield  of  milk  in  the  fa- 
mous dairies  of  Ayrshii'C,  Scotland,  is  425  gallons 
per  COW.  The  Hon.  Zadock  Pi-att,  of  New 
York,  in  a  dairy  of  80  cows,  reports  the  yield  at 
584  gallons. 

— Ephraira  Hannon,  Saco,  Yoi'k  County,  Maine, 
writes  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club  that  twenty 
years  ago,  he  cut  fence  posts  from  the  tops  of  hack- 
matack trees  in  August,  and  they  are  still  sound, 
though  set  in  sand  where  naturally  posts  soon  rot. 
Since  then  he  has  cut  posts  from  the  same  kind  of 
trees  in  winter,  and  they  did  not  last  five  years. 

— After  the  horse  is  nine  years  old,  a  wrinkle 
comes  on  the  eyelid  at  the  upper  corner  of  the 
lower  lid,  and  every  year  thereafter  he  has  one 
■well-defined  wrinkle  for  each  year  over  nine.  If, 
for  instance,  a  horse  has  three  wrinkles,  he  is 
twelve ;  if  four,  he  is  thirteen,  &c.  So  says  an  in- 
formant of  the  Field  and  Fireside. 

— An  English  correspondent  of  the  Country 
Gentleman  says,  "All  our  fatting  cattle  get  four 
pounds  per  head  dailj"^  of  linseed  cake,  when  first 
put  up,  incieasing  the  quantity  to  eight  or  ten 
pounds  to  finish  off";  this  in  addition  to  plenty  of 
roots.  The  very  best  linseed  cake  we  get  comes 
from  New  York,  Boston,  and  Philadeljihia,  and 
costs  here  now  $60  per  ton. 

— In  some  remarks  on  the  spring  care  of  ewes, 
Dr.  Boynton  of  the  Mirror  and  Farmer,  "goes  in" 
for  feeding  roots,  and  says,  "If  you  haven't  tur- 
nips, feed  potatoes,  and  if  you  haven't  these,  buy 
some.  If  j'ou  haven't  the  money  with  which  to 
buy,  sell  half  your  sheep  for  what  you  can  get,  and 
then  get  something  on  which  to  feed  the  other  half, 
and  you  will  make  money  by  the  operation." 

— It  is  suggested  by  W.  C.  Strong  and  D.  S. 
Dewey  in  the  New  York  Horticulturist,  that  red 
cedar  posts  may  protect  grape  vines  trained  around 
them  from  mildew.  Col.  Dewey  says  his  vines 
trained  on  these  posts,  have  been  exempt  from 
mildew  and  insects ;  and  those  growing  nearest  to 
the  post  have  surpassed  others  in  general  hcalth- 
fulncss  of  appearance  and  productiveness. 

— ^To  save  his  face  from  the  whisking  of  his 
cows'  tails,  while  milking,  a  Herkimer  county, 
N.  Y.,  dairyman  stretches  a  stout  wire  across  the 


stable,  immediately  back  of  the  cows.  In  the 
brush  of  each  cow's  tail  he  fastens  a  small  iron 
ring.  A  hook  upon  the  wire  secures  the  offensive 
member  out  of  the  way  of  the  milker.  As  soon 
as  the  cow  is  milked,  the  hook  is  removed  from 
the  ring,  and  the  animal  turned  out  of  the  stable. 

— A  dish-washing  machine,  of  the  size  of  a  large 
tub,  containing  wire  racks,  &c.,  costing  from  $8.00 
to  $15.00,  on  castors,  Mdiich  will  Avash  four  dozen 
plates,  or  two  or  three  dozen  milk  pans,  in  ten 
minutes,  and  requiring  no  wiping,  and  never  break- 
ing any,  has  excited  the  admiration  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club.  Now,  girls, 
for  white  fingers  and  delicate  hands  while  doing 
your  own  house  work. 

—The  Farmers'  Club,  at  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.,  in  a 
late  discussion  were  nearly  unanimous  in  the  opin- 
ion that  it  does  not  pay  to  raise  roots  on  a  large 
scale  for  cattle  feeding,  at  present  prices  of  labor. 
Mr.  Lewis  M'hose  opinion  was  not  controverted, 
thought  that  early  cut  hay — grass,  cut  just  as  it 
was  coming  into  flower  and  nicely  cured, — was  the 
best,  as  well  as  the  cheapest,  food  for  milch  cows 
in  winter. 

— An  experienced  grape  grower  of  Hartford,  Ct., 
Col.  Dewey,  saj's  in  the  Horticulturist,  that  he 
thinks  many  of  the  ills  of  vine  growing  are  di- 
rectly traceable  to  the  restraint  placed  upon  our 
free-growing  native  varieties.  He  asks,  are  not 
our  trellises  too  procustean,  and  our  methods  of 
confinement  too  rigid  ?  Do  limb  and  spray  have  a 
fair  chance  at  full  natural  development  ?  He  looks 
upon  motion  as  a  necessary  element  in  healthy 
vegetation  of  all  kinds. 


EXTRACTS   AWD   KEPLIES. 

RAISING   CALVES   AND   COLTS. 

Calves  may  be  raised  on  skimmed  milk  cheaper 
and  Ijetter  than  if  fed  with  new  milk — One  good 
calf  in  the  fall  is  worth  more  than  two  poor  ones — 
No  stock  can  be  soiled  so  profitably  as  calves. 

Do  these  propositions  need  argument  or  proof  ? 
Calves  raised  with  new  milk  are  fed  from  eight  to 
twelve  weeks  or  longer,  and  then  entirely  deprived 
of  it.  In  the  country,  away  from  any  market, 
skimmed  milk  is  of  far  less  value  than  the  cream  ; 
consequently  a  calf  can  be  fed  on  skimmed  milk 
longer  and  in  greater  quantity,  without  increasing 
the  expense,  and  thus  he  becomes  larger  and  bet- 
ter. Feed  regularly  as  to  quantity,  quality  and 
time.  Feed  liberally,  remembering  that  by  skim- 
ming the  milk  it  has  been  deprived  of  its  greatest 
cash  value,  and  some  of  its  nutritive  qualities. 
But  don't  skim  the  milk  too  closely ;  in  the  morn- 
ing skim  a  small  pan  of  milk  that  was  drawn  the 
night  previous ;  at  noon  another  small  pan  of  the 
same  milk,  and  at  night  take  a  pan  of  morning's 
milk.  Three  meals  a  day  are  better  than  two.  The 
milk  skimmed  as  aljove  directed  will  be  sweet,  and 
though  the  greater  part  of  the  cream,  and  that 
which  will  make  superior  butter  will  be  taken,  it 
will  not  be  deprived  of  all.  As  soon  as  the  calf  is 
old  enough  to  eat,  a  little  shorts,  fine  feed,  or 
something  of  that  kind,  may  be  given  dry,  feeding 
as  regularly  with  that  as  with  the  milk.  Com 
meal  is  not  good  in  any  form. 

Keep  the  calf  in  the  bam,  out  of  the  sun,  on  a 
floor  well  covered  with  sand  or  other  absorbents, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


273 


to  l)c  removed  as  soon  as  wet.  This  will  keep  the 
calf  from  belnff  lousy,  and  increase  the  compost 
heap  rapidly.  Feed  green  clover,  corn,  or  anything 
else  that  is  raised  for  cows,  and  better  calves  than 
are  usually  raised  on  new  milk  will  be  the  result. 
If  the  skimmed  milk  of  one  cow  is  insufficient,  sell 
one  calf  and  give  the  milk  of  two  cows  to  one  calf, 
and  it  will  l)e  worth  more  than  two  if  not  well  fed. 
Calves  have  been  raised  in  this  way  with  satisfac- 
tor.y  success.  Who  will  try  it,  and  report  ?  Don't 
be  afraid  to  give  a  little  niilk  after  the  calves  are 
"old  enough  to  wean."  They  must  have  some- 
thing to  eat  at  all  times  of  life,  and  nothing  is  bet- 
ter suited  to  their  natures  than  milk. 

A  few  quarts  of  milk  each  day  fed  to  a  colt  dur- 
ing the  first  winter  of  his  life,  will  increase  its  size 
and  consequently  its  value,  much  more  than  the 
cost  of  the  milk.  Those  who  are  afraid  to  feed 
colls  with  grain,  need  not  fear  any  injury  from 
skimmed  milk,  which  is  better  for  the  growth  of 
the  colt  than  grain.  Will  some  one  try  this,  and 
report  ?  Zenas. 

New  Hampshire,  March,  1867. 

TRANSPLANTING  APPLE  TREES. 

In  the  weekly  Farmer  of  March  30,  a  subscri- 
ber desires  information  in  relation  to  setting  an 
orchard  this  spring.  By  experience  in  this  region 
we  tind  the  better  way  is  to  set  the  trees,  if  not 
quite  large,  three  and  a  half  or  four  feet  apart  in 
a  well  fenced  nursery,  tirst  having  the  ground 
deeply  tilled  and  suitably  manured.  Thus  set, 
you  will  more  easily  take  care  of  them  and  more 
successfully  fight  the  different  kinds  of  worms  and 
insects.  The  trees  will  do  much  better  there  than 
in  an  orchard,  exposed  to  injury  from  teams  when 
tilling  the  land,  and  from  the  browsings  of  the 
stock  when  in  pasture.  When  the  trees  have  at- 
tained a  proper  size,  have  the  holes  well  dug  and 
prepared,  then  take  them  up  carefully  and  set 
them  out  with  as  little  exposure  as  is  convenient, 
pruning  the  top  and  roots  properly,  and  they  will 
do  much  better,  and  come  into  bearing  two  or 
three  years  sooner. 

I  think  the  following  the  best  kinds  for  this  lat- 
.  itude,  for  lionic  consumption  or  market :  For 
winter, — Newton  Pippin,  Esopus  Spitzenburg, 
Rhode  Island  Greening,  Northern  Spy,  Tolman 
Sweeting  and  Sweet  Greening.  For  fall  use, — 
Twenty-ounce-appJc,  Fall  Strawberry,  Holland 
Pippin,  Williams  Favorite,  and  Fall  and  Winter 
Pippins.  For  summer  use, — Red  Astracan.  Ger- 
man Bough,  Tart  Bough,  Harvest,  King  Sweet 
Large  Sweet  Bough.  J.  "King. 

Eagle  Bridge,  N.  T.,  April,  1867. 


LIST  OF  PEARS. 

Having  been  called  upon  somewhat  frequently 
to  advise  in  the  selection  of  sorts,  and  having  had 
occasion  to  observe  some  of  the  errors  which  have 
been  committed  by  the  inexperienced,  I  beg  leave 
to  offer  a  few  brief  suggestions,  which  may  benefit 
those  inexperienced  in  fruit  growing. 

ISIost  people  grow  too  many  sorts.  I  have  been 
sorry  to  sec  persons  of  small  grounds  and  smaller 
means,  search  through  the  entire  catalogue  to  find 
some  sort  which  they  had  not  already  planted, 
rather  than  set  more  than  a  single  tree  of  the  very 
best,  well-known  sorts,  which  will  succeed  well 
under  all  circumstances.  Applying  my  remarks 
more  directly  to  pears — a  fruit  most  desirable 
for  small  homesteads,  both  on  account  of  the 
less  room  which  they  occupy,  and  of  the  supe- 
riority of  the  fruit — it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that 
eight  of  the  best  sorts  will  furnish  a  family 
with  a  better  supply  of  fruit  than  twenty-five  se- 
lected with  reference  to  novelty  and  fancy.  Doubt- 
less our  distinguished  pomological  friends,  Messrs. 


Wilder,  Hovcy,  and  others  arc  conferring  a  great 
benefit  upon  the  public  l)y  the  cultivation  and  cx- 
hiT)ition  of  two  hundred  varieties,  but  we  who 
grow  for  profit  must  remember  that  the  benefit  is 
to  be  derived  from  the  cultivation  of  the  fcio  sorts 
which  have  proved  themselves  worthy  of  a  placo 
beside  the  Bartlctt  and  the  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey 
rather  than  the  many  which  are  entirely  worthless 
for  any  other  purpose  than  to  fill  up  the  tables  at 
the  annual  exhibition. 

Among  the  first  requisites  are  a  thrift}'  growth 
of  wood,  and  early  and  constant  bearing.  Some 
sorts  which  have  for  a  long  period  been  considered 
standard  by  expert  cultivators,  have  never  given 
any  satisfaction  to  people  in  general. 

Of  this  class  is  the  Winter  Nelis,  which  will  not 
make  a  good  tree  without  extra  cultivation ;  and 
the  Dix  and  Urbaniste.  which  exhaust  the  patience 
of  the  novice  by  their  tardiness  in  coming  into 
bearing.  Some  have  been  obliged  to  walk  Ijy  faith 
and  not  by  sight  from  twenty  to  tliirty  years  be- 
fore discovering  a  single  fruit  upon  their  magnifi- 
cent Dix  trees. 

Other  sorts  have  been  highly  recommended  for 
what  they  have  done  in  certain  localities,  while  in 
other  places  they  have  entirely  failed.  The  Bcurre 
Die!  is  an  instance.  But  without  occujiying  too 
much  space  in  the  already  crowded  columns  of  the 
t"ARMER,  I  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  list 
of  pears  for  general  cultivation,  on  village  home- 
steads, believing  that  the  sorts  recommended  are 
such  as  will  prove  successfal  in  the  hands  of  those 
least  acquainted  with  pear  culture. 

On  Pear  Stock : — Bartlctt,  Buffiim,  Sheldon,  Para- 
dise d'Automnc,  Beurre  d'Anjou,  Lawrence. 

On  Quince  Stock: — Beurre  Gilford,  L.  B.  de  Jer- 
sey, Duchess  de  Angouleme,  Doyenne  Boussouck, 
Vicar  of  Winklield.  •  g.  h, 

Worcester,  Mass.,  March  25,  1867. 


OATS,  CORN  AND   LINSEED   COMPARED. 

Please  inform  me  through  the  columns  of  the 
Farmer,  what  amount  of  nutriment  is  contained 
in  a  bushel  of  oats,  Indian  corn,  cotton  seed  and 
linseed,  and  where  linseed  can  be  obtained,  and  at 
what  price  for  100  pounds  ? 

Which  of  the  four  named  seeds  is  the  best  feed 
for  milch  cov/s,  for  producing  the  greatest  flow  of 
milk,  and  which  the  best  for  calves  and  lambs  ? 

J.   D.   BOYDEN. 

Corneal/,  Mass.,  March  18,  1867. 

Remarks. — According  to  statements  made  by 
different  persons,  in  different  countries,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  in  100  pounds  of  oats  there  is  from  5  to 
8  pounds  of  oil ;  in  same  amount  of  Indian  corn 
there  is  5  to  9  pounds,  in  linseed,  30  to  35  pounds. 
This  is  an  index  of  their  respective  values,  only  in 
gart,  because  their  other  nutritive  qualities  may 
be  more  favorable  to  one  or  the  other. 

Linseed  cake  maybe  purchased  at  the  agricultu- 
ral stores  in  Boston,  at  from  $60  to  $80  per  ton. 
Linseed  cake  produces  a  great  flow  of  milk.  For 
calves  and  lambs  we  should  prefer  oats,  carrots, 
beets,  or  other  roots. 

PULLING  WOOL — TICKS — CATARRH 

My  sheep  pull  their  wool  out  in  strings.  What 
is  tlie  remedy  for  that,  and  running  at  the  nose  ? 
What  is  the  best  remedy  for  ticks  ? 

West  Campton,  N.  H.,  1867.  w. 

Remarks. — Pulling  wool  out  may  possibly  be 
traced  back  to  feeding  too  late  on  frost-bitten  grass 
last  fall,  or  it  may  be  caused  by  ticks.    If  by  the 


274 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARTHER. 


June 


latter,  use  the  tobacco  wash,  or  the  common  mer- 
curial ointment;  but  either  with  great  care. 

For  "running  at  the  nose,"  treat  the  sheep  much 
as  you  would  yourself  or  your  child  for  "a  bad 
cold."  In  this  case,  an  ounce  of  prevention  is 
worth  several  pounds  of  cure.  Mr.  Morrill  says, 
remove  to  a  warm  shelter  and  give  some  loosening 
food  or  purgative  medicine,  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  aiding  nature  in  its  efforts  to  remove  the 
disease.  Dr.  Randall  remarks,  that  after  having 
tried  a  variety  of  experiments  on  this  disease,  he 
does  nothing  for  ordinary  cases  of  catarrh  in  his 
flock,  except  to  take  particular  care  that  their 
quarters  are  kept  comfortaMj,  and  that  they  have 
a  regular  supply  of  proper  food. 


A  TIGHT  CELLAR. 

In  your  issue  of  to-day,  j'ou  give  me  directions 
for  making  tight  the  bottom  of  my  tank,  which  I 
expect  to  profit  by,  and  for  which  I  am  very  much 
obliged ;  but  it  must  ))e  as  necessary  to  have  the 
sides  tight  two  or  three  feet  high,  as  the  bottom.  I 
am  told  by  those  who  have  tried  it,  that  liquid 
manure  will  soon  destroy  cement.  Is  this  so,  and 
if  so,  what  shall  I  do  ?  You  say,  spread  the  claj' 
on  one  side,  one  inch  deep,  then  pound.  At  least, 
I  suppose  you  would  have  me  spread  it  all  over 
one  inch  deep  before  puttiniT  on  more.     d.  l.  t. 

Marlboro',  N.  H.,  March  23,  1S67. 

Remaeks. — A  great  many  barn  cellars  are  ce- 
mented on  the  bottom,  and  last  for  a  long  time.  If 
you  wish  to  preserve  liquids  to  the  depth  of  two  or 
three  feet,  you  will  probably  be  obliged  to  lay  up 
regular  brick  or  stone  walls,  and  cement  them. 
Our  directions  were  plain,  we  think,  about  putting 
on  the  clay.  You  must  begin  somewhere,  so  we 
said  l)cgin  on  one  side,  and  added,  "and  170  on  un- 
til you  get  the  bottom  covered,"  &c. 


TO  prevent  sows  destroyixg  their  young. 

I  have  often  thought  of  giving  my  method  of 
taming  the  vicious  sow,  so  as  to  save  the  pigs,  and 
as  it  is  about  the  time  to  begin  operations,  I, will 
give  it  so  as  to  be  understood,  if  jiossible.  I  have 
never  known  it  to  lail.  When  the  pigs  are  due, 
watch  the  sow;  she  will  geianilly  l)cgin  making 
her  nest  from  6  to  12  hours  Ijctbre  j-ou  see  any 
pigs,  and  you  can  be  all  ready.  Have  a  basket  at 
hand  with  some  line  straw  in  it,  large  enough  to 
hold  all  the  ])igs  you  are  expecting,  with  a  few 
straps  that  will  l^uckle  easily  and  tight ;  keep  close 
watch,  and  if  on  the  appearance  of  the  pigs  the 
mother  sciins  disposed  to  destroy  them,  put  them 
quickly  in  llie  l)asket,  and  keep  them  warm.  Cover 
the  b;i,-kct  with  anything  at  hand,  and  keep  them 
in  heaving  of  the  mother  until  all  is  over.  Then 
let  two  men  take  the  sow  and  lay  her  on  her  side, 
and  straj)  her  fore  legs  togoihcr  nnd  the  hind  legs 
in  the  same  wa,y ;  i)ut  a  Miiall  lortl  in  her  month 
with  a  slip  noose  on  the  U|>pcr  jaw,  miilvc  it  last  to 
a  stake  or  anything  within  three  or  four  inches  of 
her  nose.  Tie  the  hind  legs  back,  so  she  cannot 
kick  to  hurt  the  pigs,  and  the  fore  legs  forward  for 
the  same  reason,  liaise  them  from  the  lioor  so 
she  cannot  turn  over,  and  when  all  is  ready  and 
you  see  she  cannot  ))0ssiiily  hurt  them,  jait  the 
pigs  with  her  and  leave  thei'n  12  hours,  and  if  she 
is  not  salislii  (1  turn  her  over  and  give  her  another 
lesson.  It  camiot  hurt  the  sow  if  the  legs  arc  not 
tied  too  tight.  1  have  tried  it  with  the  most  vi- 
cious sow  I  ever  saw,  and  have  never  known  a  pig 


lost  where  it  has  been  tried.  If  you  think  it  v/orth 
printing  I  may  try  again  on  some  other  subject. 
E.  \V.  Ormsbee. 
East  Montpelier,  Vt.,  Marchy  1867- 

Remarks. — This  process  is  new  to  us,  but  if 
managed  carefully  has  no  objections  on  the  score 
of  cruelty,  although  12  hours  seems  to  us  a  longer 
period  than  is  necessary  to  keep  the  animal  in  one 
position. 

We  do  not  think  that  the  tendency  of  sows  to 
destroy  their  young  grows  out  of  a  vicious  dispo- 
sition, but  from  an  unhealthy  01  morbid  condition 
of  the  system. 

Prevention  is  better  than  cure.  Let  the  sow 
have  constant  access  to  the  ground ;  plenty  of 
space  in  her  feeding  and  sleeping  room ;  a  variety 
of  food,  including  some  meat  or  fresh  fish ;  a  little 
and  but  little,  fine  litter  on  the  floor  where  the  pigs 
are  to  be  dropt. 

Accustom  her  to  being  handled,  petted  a  little, 
and  to  seeing  different  persons  about  the  pen. 

Feed  moderately,  and  treat  kindly  in  every  re- 
spect, observing  the  other  rules  suggested,  and 
sows  will  rarely  destroy  their  young. 


diseased  poultry. 

I  wish  to  inquire  through  the  Farmer,  what  is 
the  prpbal)le  cause  of,  and  cure  for,  a  disease  which 
Is  attacking  my  hens  ?  I  have  a  flock  of  bright, 
handsome  last  spring  pullets,  a  mixture  of  Bolton 
Grey  and  Dorking.  Within  a  few  weeks  one  af;er 
another  have  sickened  and  died.  We  first  notice 
a  drooping  of  the  wings  and  general  weak  appear- 
ance, and  a  swelling  on  one  side  of  the  neck,  or 
partly  on  the  breast,  so  that  the  hen  is  inclined  to 
carry  her  head  on  one  side.  As  the  disease  pro- 
gresses, the  comb  grows  dark  purple,  almost  black, 
and  in  trying  to  walk  she  pitches  forward,  some- 
times falling  on  one  side.  We  had  a  rooster  in 
somewhat  similar  condition  last  sunnner,  which 
recovered.  They  are  fed  with  dough,  corn,  and  occa- 
sionally a  few  scraps,  pick  up  a  good  many  seeds 
from  hay,  &c.,  having  free  access  to  all  parts  of  the 
barn,  and  out  of  doors,  when  they  choose  to  go; 
also,  plenty  of  fresh  water.  If  you,  or  any  of  your 
readers,  can  throw  any  light  upon  the  subject,  you 
will  oblige  a  sitbscriber.  h. 

Framingham,  Mass.,  March  29,  1867. 

Remarks. — In  cases  such  as  ycti  describe,  a 
gentleman  gave  a  hen  one  grain  of  calomel  in  a 
bread  pill,  and  four  hours  afterwards  1.5  grains  of 
jalap,  repeating  the  latter  for  four  succsssive 
nights.    The  cure  was  perfect. 


A    GOOD    YOKE   OF   OXEN. 


I  have  a  pair  of  oxen  that  traveled  fifty-six  miles 
out  and  liack,  in  live  and  one-half  days,  loaded 
one  way  with  one  cord  of  hard  wood. 

Andrew  Russell. 

Townsend,  Mass.,  March  28,  1867. 


salt  for  the  potato  crop. 
I  planted  a  few  potatoes  last  spring,  for  an  ex- 
l)eriment.  I  soaked  sawdust  in  strong  brine  and 
put  as  much  in  oath  hill  as  I  could  hold  in  one 
hand.  In  a  few  hills,  with  the  soaked  sawdust,  I 
put  from  one-half  to  a  tea(ui)ful  of  salt.  1  wi>hed 
to  finti  out  if  it  would  kill  the  jiotatoes.  Where 
the  sawdust  was,  without  the  addition  of  the  salt, 
the  potatoes  grew  very  rank,  the  vines  spread  out 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


275 


on  the  ground,  as  there  was  not  strength  to  hold 
them  up,  liut  when  straightened  up,  some  were 
nearly  as  high  as  my  head.  Tlie  potatoes  were 
very  large.  It  took  but  a  few  hills  for  a  bushel. 
Where  the  salt  was  added  they  were  not  as  large 
in  tops  or  liottoms.  It  was  evident  that  there  was 
too  much  salt. 

No  iiKinurc  of  any  kind  was  used  last  spring; 
the  year  before  there  was  a  little  spread  on  the 
laud.  My  little  girl  i)ut  from  ten  lo  thirty  sunllow- 
er  seeds  in  a  hill,  but  not  one  grew,  except  where 
she  scattered  them  outside  the  hills.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  tliat  salt  is  a  valuable  manure  for  some 
kinds  of  plants.  I  intend  trying  it  on  potatoes 
more  extensively  this  year.  Would  it  not  be  as 
well  to  put  clear  salt  in  the  hill  ? 

I  have  a  piece  of  land  that  I  raised  potatoes  on 
last  year,  that  is  mellow,  on  which  there  was  no 
manure  except  200  pouiuls  of  plaster  per  acre.  I 
wish  to  sow  either  to  wheat  or  oats  and  seed  dowTi. 
Would  salt  be  good  for  either  of  these  crops,  and 
how  much  per  acre  ? 

I  take  the  Fahmer,  and  read  it,  too,  and  I  have 
seen  1  lut  little  said  about  t  alt  as  a  manure.  One  of 
my  neighbors  that  saw  the  result  of  my  trial,  says 
he  shall  try  it  on  half  an  acre. 

I  have  two  reasons  for  not  using  barn  manure.  I 
have  l)ut  little,  and  the  piece  of  land  is  more  than 
a  mile  off,  all  the  way  up  hill.  G.  vv.  c. 

Gioton,  N.  H.,  1867. 

IlEMAiiKS. — We  have  no  doubt  but  that  a  small 
quantity  of  clear  salt  in  the  hill  would  be  useful  to 
potatoes;  but  it  should  not  come  near  the  seed. 
We  should  recommend  a  handful  of  plaster  to  the 
hill,  as  far  better  than  salt. 

A  mixture  of  salt  and  lime  would  be  excellent 
for  your  wheat  crop.  It  should  be  thoroughly 
mingled  and  sown  broadcast  in  a  powdered  condi- 
tion. An  English  farmer  found  the  salt  and  lime 
very  beneficial  on  the  potato  crop.  One  or  two 
parts  of  lime  to  four  or  live  of  salt. 

TO   PREVENT  A    COW    SUCKING    HERSELF. 

Please  print  in  your  next  number  of  the  Farmer 
the  tlifferent  remedies  to  prevent  a  cow  from  suck- 
ing herself,  and  oblige  E.  C.  Rowell. 

'Albany,  Vt.,  March  31,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  have  nsefl,  both  for  cows  and 
calves,  a  strip  of  stout  leather — a  piece  of  an  old 
tug,  or  sole  leather — with  a  row  of  projecting  nails 
gi'ound  sharp,  hung  by  a  head-stall  around  the 
nose.  We  have  seen  a  sort  of  straight  jacket  put 
upon  the  neck  to  prevent  the  turning  of  the  head — 
sometimes  a  square  ft-ame,  at  others  it  is  made  by 
placing  two  ox  bows  on  the  neck  and  fastening 
them  about  a  foot  apart,  one  behind  the  other,  by 
pieces  of  wood  screwed  on.  M.  C.  Johnson,  in 
Countrtj  Gentleman,  says  he  puts  an  ordinary 
leather  halter  upon  the  cow's  head;  slips  an  iron 
ring  on  a  surcingle  and  puts  it  around  the  body ; 
then  takes  a  round  smooth  stick  of  good  timber,  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  drives  a  staple  in 
one  end  and  ties  the  staple  to  the  rmg  in  the  halter, 
and  puts  the  other  end  of  the  stick  between  her 
fore  leg.-,  and  through  the  ring  in  the  surcingle. 
An  Ohio  correspondent  of  the  same  paper  says 
that  a  hickory  rod,  some  two  feet  long,  nicely  ta- 
pered to  shavp  points,  and  put  through  the  carti- 
lege  of  the  nose  in  the  same  manner  that  rings  are 


inserted,  proves  effectual.  A  light  board,  some 
eight  inches  by  five,  with  a  suitable  notch  in  one 
edge,  is  sometimes  hung  upon  the  gristle  of  the 
nose. 

But  we  believe  that  the  nose  strap,  which  should 
be  lined  on  the  inside  after  driving  the  nails 
through,  will  prove  the  simplest,  least  objectiona- 
ble, and  as  efhcicnt  as  any  other  cure  for  this  bad 
habit,  which  we  regard  as  a  good  reason  for  beef- 
ing any  animal  which  indulges  it. 

USE    OF   PLASTER. 

I  wish  to  inquire  through  the  New  England 
Farmer,  what  kind  of  soil  plaster  or  gypsum  is 
best  adapted  to,  and  what  are  its  effects  ?  If  it  has 
any  permanent  fertilizing  qualities,  or  acts  simply 
as  a  stimulant,  that  exhausts  the  soil,  making  it 
really  poorer  for  the  application  ? 

Has  it  any  value  as  a  top-dressing  on  old,  dry 
pastures,  or  grass  land  of  intervales  ? 

Will  hops  do  well  on  intervales  subject  to  ft-esh- 
ct  once  or  twice  a  year  ?  Subscriber. 

Lunenburg ,  Vt.,  1867. 

Remarks. — Plaster  is  supposed  to  act  as  a  direct 
food  for  some  plants — but  that  it  does  enrich  the 
soil,  acting  directly  and  by  virtue  of  its  own  ingre- 
dients, we  do  not  mean  to  assert.  It  must  not  bo 
relied  upon  alone.  It  undoubtedly  increases  the 
green  portion  of  plants  more  than  it  does  the  grain, 
and  this  adapts  it  to  pastures.  On  some  pastures 
a  dressing  of  plaster  will  bring  out  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  white  clover,  where  scarcely  a  plant  of 
that  kind  had  been  seen  for  years.  This  does  not 
itnporerish  the  pasture,  but  enriches  it  in  three 
ways:  1,  by  tilling  the  soil  with  roots  which  will 
eventually  die  there,  and  form  a  most  valualile  fer- 
tilizer ;  2,  it  causes  the  surface  to  be  covered  with 
valuable  herbage,  SLhowt  nine-tenths  of  which  come 
from  the  air ;  3,  the  stock  kept  on  the  pasture  are 
fed  abundantly,  and  consequently  their  droppings 
will  be  liberal,  and  tend  greatly  to  enrich  the  soil. 

Plaster  is  especially  beneficial  on  the  pea,  bean, 
turnip  and  clover  crops,  and  is  appropriate  to  such 
lands  as  will  best  bring  these  plants.  It  acts  well 
on  most  grass  lands,  and  ought  to  be  SGwn  in  damp 
or  rainy  weather,  when  it  will  adhere  to  the  wet 
leaves. 

We  should  think  the  hop  would  flourish  on  such 
lands  as  you  speak  of,  if  the  water  thoroughly 
passes  off  in  April. 

EXPERIMENTING. 

I  am  exceedingly  anxious  that  more  farmers 
shall  try  experiments,  the  coming  season,  believ- 
ing that,  aside  from  Divine  revelation,  experiments 
are  the  source  of  much  of  our  knowledge. 

What  means  can  ha  adopted  to  secure  more  ex- 
periments and  a  more  general  knowledge  of  them 
and  their  results  ?  I  wish  you  would  give  us  an 
editorial  upon  the  subject,  and  enlist  your  ablest 
correspondents  in  its  discussion. 

Would  a  system  of  premiums  have  a  tendency  to 
secure  the  result  ?  If  so,  I  will  be  one  of  20  to  pay 
a  $'100  premium  to  the  town,  or  farmers'  club,  or 
lyccum,  that  secures  the  gi"catest  number  of  the 
liiost  accurate  experiments  in  any  agricultural  de- 
partment, the  coming  season,  and  especially  in  the 
making  and  use  of  manure. 


276 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Junk 


Perhaps  a  more  general  and  common  discussion 
of  the  siihject  by  tlie  ablest  pens,  will  secure  the 
end.  There  are  prol)al)ly  hundreds  of  farmers  who 
have  experimented  witli  eonuuereial  manures  the 
past  season,  who  have  not  yet  made  iiul)lic  their  ex- 
periments— either  being  afraid  others  will  learn  for 
nothing  what  has  cost  them  money,  labor,  time  and 
patience,  or  not  having  been  successful,  are  afraid 
of  being  laughed  at ;  or  they  "can  not  Mritc  for  the 
papers,"  or  some  other  equally  unjnstitiable  rea- 
son. Are  siich  men  doing  their  duty  to  them- 
selves or  the  public  ?  Are  we  farmers  at  lil)erty  to 
live  for  ourselves  ?  Are  we  not  continually  receiv- 
ing bcnctits  from  our  neighbors,  great  good  from  a 
powerful  government,  made  moj-e  and  more  pow- 
erful l)y  internal  improvements,  and  the  increased 
knowledge  and  succe.'^s  of  its  ])eoplc  ?  And  if  any 
one  can  tell  of  anything  that  will  tend  more  to 
these  ends  than  judicious  exjieriments,  not  only 
made  but  reported  to  the  public,  let  him  not  hold 
his  peace.  Lectum. 

Vermont,  April,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  publishers  of  the  Neav  Eng- 
land Farmer  may  be  counted  in  for  two  shares 
in  that  premium,  on  the  sole  condition  that  the  re- 
sults be  faithfully  reported  for  the  benefit  of  the 
farming  community  in  general,  by  thcii"  publica- 
tion in  our  columns. 


special  manuees. 

I  would  like  to  know  what  manure  is  best  or  the 
most  profitable  to  spread  on  gi-ass  land  ?  Will  su- 
perphosphate of  lime  pay  ?  Stalile  manure,  deliv- 
ered, will  cost  about  fourteen  dollars  per  cord,  and 
I  do  not  think  it  pays  at  that  jirice. 

Etiielrert  "VVinsor. 

Smithfield,  Greenville,  R.  I.,  April  5,  1867. 

Remarks. — Fourteen  dollars  per  cord  is  a  large 
price  for  manure.  But  it  costs  some  of  our  mar- 
ket gardeners  nearly  or  quite  as  much,  and  j^et 
they  apply  from  ten  to  twelve  cords  per  acre,  and 
find  that  it  is  poor  policy  to  scrimp  in  manure. 
They  use  but  little  superphosphate,  and  that  for 
special  purposes.  We  must  make  and  save  all  the 
manure  we  can  from  our  barn  and  house — from 
our  stock,  muck-beds,  slops  and  waste — no,  there 
must  be  no  such  thing  or  word  as  waste — every 
thing  must  be  saved  and  used.  For  top-dressing, 
composts  are  usually  employed.  Mr.  Davis,  of 
Framingham,  Mass.,  whose  farming  operations 
were  recently  alluded  to  in  the  Farmer,  finds  that 
loam,  of  itself,  as  a  top-di-cssing,  increases  the 
growth  of  grass,  but  he  thinks  the  additional  value 
of  composting  pays  for  the  extra  labor  of  putting  a 
large  quantity  through  the  cattle  yards  and  hog 
pens. 

■WILL   PLASTER  PAY  ? 

I  wish  to  inquire  if  it  will  pay  to  cart  plaster,  at 
nine  dollars  a  ton,  five  miles  to  put  on  potatoes  and 
corn,  or  sow  on  grass  land  ?     Aauon  liiiiGiiAM. 

IJulliston,  Mass.,  March  30,  1867. 

Remarks. — Sometimes  it  will,  and  sometimes  it 
will  not ;  somewhere  it  will,  and  somewhere  it  will 
not.  The  operation  of  plaster  is  a  mystery  and  a 
puzzle.  We  have  witnessed  most  wonderful  results 
from  its  use  in  Michigan ;  while,  from  its  ajiijlica- 
tion  in  Massachusetts,  we  have  looked  in  vain  for 
proof  that  it  "pays."    Some  think  it  operates  bet- 


ter in  dry  seasons  than  in  wet.  Suppose  you  try  a 
little — by  which  it  is  sometimes  said  we  find  out 
what  a  good  deal  means. 


VERMONT  ■WHEAT. 

I  did  not  reply  to  the  inquiry  of  Mr.  Pannenter, 
for  the  reason  that  others,  and  one  in  this  county, 
Mr.  Nutting,  better  qualified  to  do  so  than  I  am, 
have  done  it. 

I  enclose  a  specimen  of  wheat  grown  by  me  last 
season.  I  do  not  know  any  name  for  it.  It  is  an 
Iowa  variety  and  will  stand  up  under  heavy  rains 
better  than  any  variety  I  have  ever  sown. 

My  crop  was  26^  bushels  per  aci-e,  of  60  pounds 
by  actual  weight.  It  makes  over  40  pounds  of  fine 
flour  per  bushel.  I  Avrite  that  others  may  be  en- 
couraged to  raise  wheat  in  this  section  where  it  has 
been  so  long  abandoned.  Royal  Burnham. 

South  Strafford,  Vt.,  April  9,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  berries  of  the  specimen  received 
were  so  large,  plump  and  handsome,  that  we 
showed  it  to  some  of  our  seed-sellers,  who  were 
verv  much  pleased  with  it,  and  wish  to  know  if 
j'ou  have  any  to  sell. 

frozen   teats — cows    FOR    THE    DAIRY — MANURE 
FOR   CLAY   LAND. 

Will  you  or  some  of  the  readers  of  the  Farmer, 
tell  me  what  can  be  done  with  a  cow  that  has 
frozen  her  teats  so  that  the  milk  leaks  out  all  the 
time ;  is  there  any  help  for  it,  or  not } 

Which  is  the  best  breed  of  cattle  for  the  dauy, 
the  Ayrshire  or  Alderncy  ? 

Which  is  the  best  for  clay  land, — to  put  the  ma- 
nure on  top  of  the  ground  and  harrow  it  in,  or 
plow  it  in, — for  grass  ?  Curtis  Wheeler. 

Fairfax,  Vt.,  March  29,  1867. 

Remarks. — Make  beef  of  the  cow  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. 

Your  question  as  to  what  breed  of  cows  is  best 
for  the  dairy  would  require  a  somewhat  extended, 
reply  to  answer  it  fully.  But,  briellj',  the  Ayrshire 
would  be  better  for  a  cheese  dairy,  and  the  Alder- 
ncy, or  a  gi'ade  of  Alderney,  for  butter.  The  cow 
for  a  good  cheese  dairy  is  not  the  best  cow  for  a 
butter  dairy.  There  avp  different  qualities  of  milk. 
If  Ayrshire  cows  are  used  for  butter,  one  good  Al- 
derney to  every  six  Ayrshires,  would  give  tlie  but- 
ter a  decided  improvement. 


POTATO-RAISING   ON   LONG   ISLAND,   N.   Y. 

Your  correspondent,  "G.  B.,"  Essex,  Vt.,  asks 
for  infonuation  as  to  the  "best  method  of  raising 
potatoes,  preparing  the  seed,"  &c.  Perhaps,  the 
following  statement  of  the  process  adopted  by  the 
farmers  in  this  section,  though  somewhat  dill'erent 
from  that  usually  practiced  in  New  England,  may 
attbrd  him  some  practical  hints. 

The  land  is  deeply  plowed,  and  horse  manure 
used,  which  forces  the  crop  to  early  nuiturity,  and 
hence  it  is  less  liable  to  rot.  The  largest  potatoes 
are  selected  for  seeil,  and  if  oblong,  arc  cut  in  quai'- 
tcrs,  rejecting  the  small  eyes  of  the  seed  end,  so 
called,  which  prcducc  small  potatoes  l)ut  do  not 
add  to  the  weight  of  the  product,  as  was  demon- 
strated  to  me  on  a  potato  field.  The  pieces  arc 
dropped  1.5  to  18  inchs  apart,  growing  no  more 
than  three  or  four  stalks  together,  so  that  it  is 
)-ather  drills  than  hills.  As  to  cultivating,  it  is  very 
little  more  work,  and  the  chances  of  growth  nmch 
greater  than  oversceding  in  the  hill.    From  the 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


277 


larcrc  eye,  or  germ,  comes  tlie  large  potato,  and  the 
contrary  with  the  smaller  viiies.  Our  farmers 
scout  tiic  ".small  potato"  planting— as  they  do  all 
small,  mean  seed,  and  all  small  atumals.  On  this 
Island  the  potato  business  is  reduced  to  a  science  ; 
and  a  look  at  the  tields  in  Flathusli  and  Flatlands, 
in  June,  will  satisfy  one  that  our  liirmers  under- 
stand their  business.  Perhaps  it  would  not  1)C  an 
exaggeration  to  say  that  witliout  advantage  as  to 
soil  or  climate,  they  raise  double  the  crop  to  the 
acre,  as  compared  with  the  New  England  States. 

H.  Pooii. 
Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  April,  1867. 


HAULING    WOOD   AND    MUCK — IMPROVING   A   FARM. 

Farmers  have  been  very  Inisy  lumbering,  and 
still  a  great  deal  of  the  timber  on  some  farms  must 
remain  in  the  Avoods  where  it  was  prostrated 
last  jMay  by  a  tierce  tornado.  Since  getting 
mine  out  I  have  hauled  a  lot  of  muck,  and  piled  it 
in  a  long  heap  so  as  to  have  it  i-cady  to  remove 
next  summer,  as  it  dries,  to  a  convenient  place 
near  my  cow  stable,  where  I  can  use  it  behind  my 
cattle  to  absorb  the  liquid  droppings,  and  thus  en- 
large the  manure  heap  and  consequently  increase 
the  fertility  of  tlic  farm.  This  I  think  one  of  the 
best  and  cheapest  methods  of  enriching  land,  situ- 
ated as  we  are,  so  far  from  market,  where  the 
frei^jht  on  artificial  manures  makes  them  so  costly. 
Ten  years  ago,  I  took  possession  of  the  farm  I  now 
occupy.  During  that  time  its  productiveness  has 
been  increased  one  hundred  per  cent,  without  the 
use  of  any  other  means  than  those  I  could  gather 
on  the  farm,  without  buying  manure  of  any  kind ; 
and  yet  I  see  room  for  more  improvement  in  the 
same  direction.  Still,  when  I  plant  carrots  for  the 
sake  of  having  some  to  color  the  winter  butter, 
which  I  do  by  feeding  them  to  the  cows  instead 
of  putting  the  juice  in  the  cream,  if  I  fail  of  har- 
vestingnearly  twice  as  manyas  W.  W.  Chenery  did, 
I  feel  that  I  have  not  fed  my  land  as  well  he  has 
his  imported  cattle.  I  am  practically  convinced 
that  it  is  easier  and  cheaper  to  raise  ten  bushels  of 
carrots  on  one  rod  of  land  than  on  two,  and  seven- 
ty-five bushels  of  corn  or  oats  on  one  acre  than  on 
two,  and  so  on  through  the  catalogue. 

W.   I.   SiMONDS. 

Roxbunj,  Vt.,  March  7,  1867. 

SPRING  WHEAT. 

Please  inform  me  through  the  columns  of  the 
Farmer,  what  kind  of  spring  wheat  I  had  best 
sow  ?  A  Subscriber. 

Haverhill,  Mass.,  April,  1867. 

E.EMARKS. — Those  who  have  been  sowing  spring 
wheat  will  please  reply.  Mr.  Wm.  Allen,  of  North 
Hartland,  Vt.,  prefers  the  White  Flint;  Mr.  Rufus 
Nutting,  of  Randolph,  Vt.,  says  the  most  popular 
variety  in  his  neighborhood  is  the  Black  Sea,  and 
"H.,"  of  Epping,  N.  H.,  recommemls  an  "early  va- 
riety." 


"bone  flour." 

Having  been  a  wee  little  journey  in  the  mud,  to- 
day, I  met  an  old  acquaintance  who  told  mc  that 
he  ti-ied  a  barrel  of  the  Boston  "Bone  Flour"  that 
was  sent  into  this  vicinity  last  season,  and  thought 
so  highly  of  it  that  he  intends  to  try  some  more  the 
coming  season. 

He  said  he  prepared  a  piece  for  corn  in  the  usual 
way,  putting  manure  in  the  hill,  from  the  barn, 
and  then  in  every  alternate  two  rows  he  put  a  de- 
cent handful  of  the  bone,  on  top  of  the  manure. 
When  the  corn  tassclled  out,  he  found  by  standing 
on  the  side  of  the  field  towards  which  the  rows 
run,  that  the  top  of  the  corn  presented  an  undulat- 


ing or  corrugated  surface,  every  other  two  rows  be- 
ing as  much  as  four  inclies  higher  than  the  inter- 
mediate ones.  He  did  not  harvest  it  separately, 
but  thinks  tlic  bone  did  good. 

He  also  sowed  four  quarts  on  one  rod  of  run-out 
grass  land ;  when  he  liaj'cd  the  field  in  which  it 
was,  he  did  not  notice  any  effect,  but  the  aftermath, 
or  rowen,  was  larger  where  the  lione  was,  and 
there  a  good  deal  of  clover  had  come  in,  though 
there  was  none  in  the  rest  of  the  field.  I  liclieve 
four  quarts  to  the  rod  is  about  ^  bushels,  or  6^ 
barrels  to  the  acre.  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  send 
you  the  above,  believing  that  the  publication  of  the 
results  of  experiments  is  too  much  neglected. 

RUFLS   NUTXIVG. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  April  9,  1867. 


CULTIVATION   OF   POTATOES. 

I  never  ■wTote  a  line  for  a  newspaper  in  the  world, 
but  as  I  see  by  an  article  in  your  valualde  paper, 
that  a  man's  sanity  would  be  called  in  question  if 
he  should  plant  small  potatoes,  I  will  give  you  my 
way  of  raising  them.  Last  spring  I  planted  two 
and  a  half  acres  of  potatoes  on  old  land  that  had 
I)een  up  three  years,  and  the  soil  was  dry  and  san- 
dy. I  plowed  it  three  inches  deeper  than  my  neigh- 
bors do,  and  then  I  furrowed  it  out  deep  and  put 
in  each  hill  a  small  shovelful  of  old  manure,  or 
compost,  as  more  than  half  of  it  was  stuff  that  I 
carted  into  my  yard.  The  rows  were  three  feet 
and  the  hills  two  and  a  half  feet  apart.  I  put  two 
potatoes  in  a  hill,  six  inches  asunder.  My  seed  po- 
tatoes were  about  the  size  of  hens'  eggs,  and  I 
never  use  larger  ones.  As  I  market  my  potatoes, 
I  plant  very  early.  As  soon  as  they  are  up,  I  run 
a  cultivator  through  them,  and  then  a  double  plow, 
after  which  a  man  can  hoe  an  acre  a  day.  In  ten 
days  I  run  the  plow  through  them  again,  and  it 
is  less  work  to  hoe  than  at  first.  I  save  time  and 
get  more  potatoes  Ijy  hoeing  twice!  I  change  my 
seed  most  every  year.  I  think  I  got  aijout  one 
hundred  bushels  more  l)y  changing  seed  last  year. 
The  result  of  my  crop  was  seven  hundred  and  for- 
ty bushels  of  good  nice  potatoes,  mostly  Oronoes, 
My  farm  lays  a  mile  from  the  foot  of  Sunapee 
Mountain.  O.  F.  Cain. 

Goshen,  Sullivan  Co.,  V.  II.,  March,  1867. 


GRAFTING   AVAX. 

The  directions  given  in  a  late  Farmer  for  mak- 
ing grafting  wax  are  precisely  the  same  that  I  have 
practiced  over  40  years.  A  few  days  since  I  took 
four  pounds  of  rosin,  two  pounds  of  beeswax,  and 
one  pound  of  tallow,  and  after  dividing  each  into 
pieces  or  lumps  as  small  as  walnuts,  put  the 
whole  into  a  brass  kettle— the  tallow  first — and  set 
it  on  the  stove  over  a  slow  fire,  and  as  it  melted  I 
stirred  all  well  together.  I  then  poured  it  into  a 
brass  kettle  contamingtwo  pails  of  cold  water,  and 
as  soon  as  it  was  cool  enough,  I  greased  my  hands 
well  with  tallow  and  divided  the  compound  into 
eight  balls.  I  then  formed  the  balls  into  rolls 
twelve  inches  long,  by  constantly  working  and 
pulling  until  the  mass  was  pHable  and  not  lumpy, 
and  have  a  fine  specimen  of  wax.  Spread  the  wax, 
when  grafting,  as  thin  as  coarse  In-own  paper  ou 
the  end  of  the  limb,  making  it  air-tight  around  the 
scions.  John  Ki>'g. 

Eaffle  Bridge,  N.  Y.,  April,  1867. 


to  prevent  hens  eating  eggs. 
"A  Subscril)er"  asks  in  the  Farmer  of  March 
30,  a  remedy  "for  his  hens  eating  their  eggs."  If 
he  will  give  his  hens  fresh  meat  twice  a  week,  with 
a  mixture  of  corn,  oats,  and  buckwheat,  and  a 
lump  of  lime,  pounded  bone,  oyster  shells,  or  like, 
I  think,  from  experience  and  ol)servaiion,  he  will 
find  the  remedy.    In  the  summer  season  hens  usu- 


278 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


June 


ally  roam  the  orchard  and  lots,  and  find  insects, 
worms,  ike.  In  the  whiter,  deprived  of  their  natu- 
ral variety  of  food,  they  often  resort  to  eating  their 
eggs.  Supply  this  variety,  and  this  bad  habit  will 
Le  prevented,  and  perhaps  cured.  "w.  h.  av. 

South  Windsor,  Ct.,  A^jril,  1867. 

Remarks. — "Another  Subscriber"  in  East  Ran- 
dolph, Vt.,  writes :  "Catch  the  hen,  and  with  a 
sharp  knife  cut  otf  the  flinty  point  of  the  upper  bill 
and  the  hen  will  not,  or  cannot,  strilic  hard  enough 
to  break  the  shell."    Rather  severe  on  the  biddy  ! 


CULTURE   OF   HOPS. 

I  am  thinking  of  setting  out  a  hop  yard,  and 
would  like  to  inquire  : 

1.  What  is  the  best  kind  of  hops  ? 

2.  What  distance  ought  they  to  be  set  between 
rows  and  hills  ? 

3.  How  should  they  be  manured. 

4.  How  should  they  be  poled,  with  long  or  short 
poles  ?  J.  F.  D. 

Bradford,  N.  H.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  hop  crop  has  greatly  increased 
latterly.  In  1850  the  whole  crop  of  the  country 
was  3,497,029  pounds;  and  in  1860,  10,991,996 
pounds !  Next  to  New  York,  Vermont  raises 
more  hops  than  any  other  State,  producing  638,- 
677  pounds  in  1860. 

1.  What  is  the  best  variety  of  hops,  we  do  not 
know.  They  take  their  names  from  a  variety  of 
circumstances,  such  as  the  hanging  of  the  fruit, 
the  color  of  the  tme,  that  is,  the  climbing  stem. 
The  grape-hop  takes  its  name  from  the  manner  in 
which  it  hangs,  the  cluster  being  close  together, 
like  a  bunch  *of  grapes.  Those  named  from  the 
vine,  are  the  green,  the  white  and  the  red.  Others 
are  named  from  places  where  they  have  been  suc- 
cessfully grown,  and  some  from  persons  who  have 
raised  them  from  seed.  The  plant  is  usually 
raised  from  cuttings  in  the  spring. 

2.  The  plants  are  usually  placed  in  hills,  at  the 
distance  of  five  or  six  feet  each  way,  and  should 
be  set  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  season  will 
permit. 

3.  The  hop  plant  loves  a  rich  loam ;  the  whole 
yard  should  be  manured  and  the  manure  well 
worked  in,  because  the  roots  extend  themselves  in 
every  direction,  and  often  quite  deep  into  the  soil. 
No  weeds  should  l)c  allowed  to  grow,  nor  the  sur- 
face to  become  hard. 

In  the  English  practice,  the  first  year's  poles  are 
about  six  feet  in  length,  but  twelve  feet  poles  are 
afterwards  used. 


FARMS   AND   FARMING    IN   WESTMINSTER,    VT. 

I  cannot  agree  with  you,  and  many  others,  in 
your  atlvice  to  young  men  about  commencing  life 
in  farming.  Docs  the  merclumt  get  all  his  cajiital 
Ijcfore  he  commences  business  ?  It  is  not  so  with 
our  most  successful  men.  If  they  can  l)()rrow 
money  at  six  per  cent,  and  let  it  at  ton,  it  is  what 
they  are  after.  So  with  farming.  I  know  there 
are  sonic  wlio  arc  afraid  to  risk  a  dollar  in  aii}'- 
thing,  iind  they  had  l)ettcr  let  farming  alone  and 
worlc  lor  otliers.  I  know  men,  young  men,  who 
arc  worth  froiri  ten  to  fifieen  thousand  dollars, 
that  has  all  been  made  williiii  the  same  niiuibcr  of 
years,  by  farming  alone,  running  in  debt  for  all. 


with  the  exception  of  their  stock ;  and  that  is  the 
way,  in  my  mind,  to  do.  Buy  a  farm  worth  not 
less  than  ten  thousand  dollars,  if  you  can  get 
trusted  as  much.  It  will  require  no  more  to  sup- 
port your  famil}',  and  but  little  more  to  keep  your 
team  than  on  a  three  thousand  dollar  farm. 

I  think  the  great  mass  of  fanners  mow  their  land 
too  long  without  plowing.  The  farmers  here,  most 
of  them,  practice  the  following  rotation :  corn, 
oats,  and  clover,  mowing  Init  one  year.  The  clo- 
ver fits  the  ground  in  good  shape"  for  corn.  We 
seldom  miss  of  a  good  crop  of  com  after  clover. 
The  crops  have  doubled  here  within  the  last  ten 
years,  with  those  mIio  have  practiced  this  method. 

Westminster,  Vt.,  March,  1867.  H.  c. 

Remarks. — This  is  a  plucky  view  of  the  case, 
and  a  good  view,  too,  where  the  person  who  pur- 
chases is  not  "scared  at  trifles."  A  large  fann 
can  be  managed  proportionately  cheaper  than  a 
small  one,  just  as  well  as  other  business  can.  It 
all  depends  upon  who  has  it.  Advising  young 
and  inexperienced  farmers  to  work  for  wages,  is 
not  advising  them  never  to  go  into  debt  for  a  por- 
tion of  the  purchase  of  a  farm. 


a  prolific  bean, 

In  1865  I  raised  from  a  single  white  bush  bean, 
659  in  number,  besides  from  12  to  20  that  got  out 
of  the  pods,  and  were  not  counted.  In  1866  I 
planted  the  659  beans.  The  cut-worms  took  about 
one-fourth  of  them,  as  I  judged,  and  yet  from  what 
was  left,  I  gathered  19.^  quarts  of  good  nice  white 
small  beans  ;  or  60,567  beans ;  there  being  3106  in 
one  quart,  from  actual  count.  If  over  "six  hun- 
dred fold"  is  not  pretty  well  for  old  Massachusetts, 
I  should  like  to  know  who  has  done  better. 

Bernardston,  Mass.,  Feb.  8,  1867.      H.  Allbe. 


INDUSTRIOUS    HENS. 


I  have  kept  through  the  winter  fifteen  hens,  and 
from  the  first  day  of  January  to  the  first  day  of 
April  they  laid  61  dozen  eggs.  Did  the  biddies  do 
well  and  pav  their  keeping  ?  d.  f. 

Harrisvilie,  N.  H.,  April  17,  1867. 


CARE  OF  SHEEP  AND  LAMBS. 

On  publishing  a  few  remarks  of  mine  on  the. 
"Use  and  misuse  of  Bucks,"  in  Weekly  Farmer 
of  Feb.  16,  you  suggest  that  by  giving  my  manner 
of  feeding  and  caring  for  my  sheep  and  lambs,  I 
might  benefit  your  readers.  I  will  therefore  give 
it  as  follows : 

I  take  my  lambs  from  the  sheep  about  the  first 
of  September.  The  sheep  have  the  fall  months  to 
recruit  in.  When  they  come  to  the  barn,  and  are 
put  upon  dry  feed,  I  give  them  roots, — rutabagas  I 
like  best, — at  least  every  other  day,  at  tlic  rate  of 
one  ))U>hel  to  50  sheep.  Clian.<;in'g  from  green  to 
entirely  dry  feed  induces  di^ease.  I  give  a  vaiie- 
ty  of  feed;  hay,  straw,  (poorly  threshed)  corn 
fodder,  and  a  little  oats,  corn,  or  other  grain,  iii 
meal.  I  give  them  salt  and  sulphur,  using  about; 
one  pound  of  sulphur  to  one  bushel  of  salt,  and 
have  no  trouble  with  ticks.  About  three  weeks 
before  latnbing  I  give  them  cooked  food — potatoes 
or  tiirnii)s — with  meal,  mixed;  or  wet  meal  with- 
out roots,  giving  it  (piite  wet.  This  feed  will  make 
milk  for  the  lambs  when  they  come. 

When  the  sheep  begin  to  lamb  I  jjut  two  or  three 
in  a  small  pen  for  a  few  days,  and  if  the  liMnf)S 
need  it,  I  give  them  a  little  cow's  new  milk  until 
they  get  smart  and  strong,  when  I  lait  them  in  the 
yard,  lea\iiig  the  small  i)en  for  others.  I  increase 
the  wet  feed  after  they  lamb,  and  continue  it  until 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


279 


they  can  get  a  good  bite  of  grass.  The  great  error 
is  in  .stopping  the  feed  wlien  tlie  sheep  l)egin  to 
leave  the  Ijarn.  They  will  tlien  refuse  hay  and 
their  niilli  will  partly  dry  up;  the  lambs  will  get 
stunted  before  tlic  grass  is  good,  and  tliey  never 
fully  recover  from  the  effects  of  this  neglect.  A 
few  dollars'  worth  of  feed  and  attention  at  this 
point  will  pay  ten-fold,  besides  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  thrifty  growing  lambs  and  hearty,  healthy 
sheep.  I  iuive  not  lost  a  sheep  by  sieliiiess  or  dis- 
ease for  tlic  last  live  years.  ' 

If  this  Iiasty  article  will  be  of  any  benefit  to  your 
readers,  I  shall  feel  that  I  am  only  rendering  a 
slight  equivalent  for  the  valuable  information  I 
am  receiving  weekly  from  your  columns. 

JoxATHAN'  Lawrence. 

St.  Johnsbicnj,  VL,  March  20,  1367. 

FAEMING,   GOOD   ROADS,   &C. 

Mr.  Editor,  yon  wish  us  to  write  for  the  Far- 
mer; Ijnt  you  will  not  expect  all  of  lis  to  l)e  Jolm 
Johnstons, or  Solon  llobinsons.  Yet  we  can  write 
you  somctliing — of  course  we  can — altliough  our 
farms  are  not  like  those  on  the  fertile  soil  of  New 
York,  or  the  more  distant  West.  Certainly  a  large 
number  of  good  farmers  in  this  our  county  of 
Rockingham,  can  do  this.  Most  any  one  of  them 
might  write  an  interesting  volume  on  farming  mat- 
ter. 

Farmers  of  New  England  have  some  drawbacks 
this  year,  as  they  are  now  selling  their  produce, 
such  as  potatoes,  pork,  meal,  &c.,  at  aljout  half  of 
last  year's  prices ;  but  if  they  want  flour,  corn, 
woolen  goods,  and  many  other  tilings,  they  find 
no  corresponding  reduction  in  prices.  And  again, 
high  taxes  are  a  thing  likely  to  give  the  farmer 
some  idea  of  the  value  of  his  country,  in  dollars 
and  cents. 

Good  roads  are  a  great  advantage  to  the  fiirmer 
in  marketing  his  produce,  &c.  Our  village  friends 
might  do  much  to  improve  the  highways  leading 
to  their  ]jlaces.  We  have  known  such  roads 
nearly  imi)assablc  •  sometimes  quite  so.  Every 
consideration  of  interest,  of  duty  and  justice  de- 
mands that  our  village  friends  should  move  in  this 
matter,  and  see  to  it  that  the  roads  leading  to 
their  places  be  put  in  good  condition,  well  drained 
and  smoothly  graded.  If  these  soft  arguments  do 
not  stir  them  up,  we  shall  be  under  the  necessity 
of  trying  what  virtue  there  may  be  in  harder  ones. 

Kennington,  N.  H.,  1867.  J.  w.  b, 


ECONOMIZING   ANIMAL   MATTER. 

Were  you  to  travel  among  the  dairy  farms  of 
this  county  you  would  occasionally  find  the  car- 
cases of  the  calves  that  have  been  killed,  lying 
around  the  barn,  there  to  remain  until  they  become 
offensive,  when  they  are  removed  to  some  out  of 
the  way  place  and  left.  Now,  aroi  nd  every  farm- 
yard there  is  a  quantity  of  the  leavings  of  hay, 
straw,  corn  stalks,  &c.  Gather  all  these  up  and 
put  in  a  ])ile,  say  from  one  to  two  feet  deep. 
Here  pile  these  same  calf  carcasses  close  to- 
gether on  the  top,  and  when  a  sufficient  number 
have  accumulated,  sprinkle  well  with  unslaked 
lime — say  for  ten  carcasses,  one  bushel  of  lime — 
and  then  cover  lightly  with  any  fine  material  han- 
dy, such  as  leached  ashes,  loam  or  muck,  and  then 
throw  on  top  more  of  your  coarse  material ;  if  you 
are  to  have  more  carcasses,  flatten  the  top  of  the 
pile  and  put  on  more,  and  treat  as  before.  If  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  lime  be  used,  the  whole  mass 
will  become,  before  any  one  not  well  acquainted 
with  this  mode  of  treatment  would  be  aware  of  it, 
a  heap  of  valuable  manure,  inoffensive  to  the  sen- 
ses. Where  the  carcasses  are  fed  to  the  hogs  the 
head,  legs,  bade  bone,  &c.,  are  always  left.  These 
can  l)e  treated  in  the  same  way,  and  instead  of  be- 
coming a  nuisance,  as  they  do  when  removed  to 


the  field  as  the  hogs  leave  them,  prove  a  source  of 
real  profit. 

The  time  occupied  in  doing  tliis  is  l)ut  little.  If 
the  heap  Ije  allowed  lo  reniain  through  the  sum- 
mer, otlicr  waste  flesh  and  bones  may  find  tlieir 
way  to  the  pile.  Wlien  the  time  comes  to  compare 
results  between  that  which  is  manured  with  this, 
and  that  which  is  dressed  with  guano,  pliosphate, 
or  bone  dust,  I  think  the  experimenter  will  say 
that  from  the  pile  pays  Ijest,  in  proportion  to  cost. 

Richmond,  Vt.,  April  9,  1867.  Heniue. 


LICE    ON    CATTLE. 

Will  the  editor  please  inform  us,  through  the 
Farmer,  of  a  way  to  keep  lice  off  of  cattle,  or  kill 
them  when  they  have  got  on  them  ?         f.  g.  g. 

Sharon,  April  6,  1867. 

Remarks. — Use  the  tobacco  wash  Mhich  is  ad- 
vertised in  the  Farmer,  or  the  mercurial  ointment. 
Both  must  be  used  with  care.  For  some  days  after 
they  ai-e  applied,  the  cattle  should  not  be  exposed 
to  cold  or  wet.  A  little  ashes  rubbed  in  among 
the  hair,  or  even  dry  garden  loam,  will  disturb 
and  lessen  the  vennin. 


TO   DESTROY   TICKS   ON   SHEEP. 

Will  you,  through  the  Farmer,  give  your  read- 
ers the  best  cure  for  sheep  that  are  trouljled  with 
ticks  ?  G.  c. 

Orange,  April  8,  1867. 

Remarks. — Dip  them  in  the  tobacco  wash  men- 
tioned in  another  article  in  this  paper.  Or  use 
mercurial  ointment. 


AGRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

— In  Philadelphia,  peach  and  apricots  trees  were 
in  full  blossom  on  the  12th  of  April. 

— The  six  woolen  mills  in  Oregon  last  year 
worked  up  more  than  1,000,000  lbs.  of  wool. 

— It  is  probable  that  the  coming  wheat  crop  will 
be  the  largest  ever  grown  on  this  continent. 

—Mr.  E.  T.  Miles,  of  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  is  the 
owner  of  a  calf  one  year  old  that  weighs  720  lbs. 

— Three  villages  in  Maine  have  this  spring  pur- 
chased from  one  nursery  firm  in  that  State  three 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  trees.  ■ 

— If  a  stable  is  kept  clean,  cows  will  go  into  it 
of  their  own  accord.  If  dirty,  they  have  to  be 
driven  in. 

— There  has  been  a  cheese  factory  company 
formed  in  Brookfield,  Vt.,  to  operate  with  250  cows, 
and  another  in  Williamstown  with  400  cows. 

— OfScers  of  the  West  Somerset,  Me.,  Agricul- 
tural Society  were  elected  March  2.  S.  W.  Hap- 
good,  President;  A.  W.  Moon,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,    Fair  to  be  held  Oct.  16  and  17. 

— The  London  Agricultural  Gazette,  says  that  in 
fifteen  counties  11  persons  have  been  imprisoned 
and  2134  fined  for  violations  of  laws  and  orders 
for  the  suppression  of  the  cattle  plague. 

— It  is  estimated  that  there  are  thirty-two  and 
one-half  millions  of  sheep  in  the  loj'al  twenty 
States  and  two  Territories.    It  is  supposed  that  the 


280 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEI^IER. 


June 


annual  number  of  lambs  will  be  over  twenty-four 
millions. 

— Soaking  cows'  teats  for  a  few  minutes  in  a  very 
strong  decoction  of  white  oak  bark;  also  rubber 
rings  that  fit  tight  enough  to  stay  on,  are  recom- 
mended by  the  New  York  Rural  to  prevent  cows 
leaking  their  milk. 

— The  Maine  Farmer  says  that  Warren  Percival, 
Esq.,  of  Vassalboro',  who  has  the  best  herd  of  pure 
Durhams  in  the  State,  gives  special  prominence  to 
the  development  of  the  dairy  qualities  of  this  fa- 
vorite breed. 

—A  correspondent  of  the  Mirror  and  Farmer, 
has  heard  that  chewing  the  centre  seed-stalk  of 
common  plantain  will  ctfectually  cure  the  hanker- 
ing for  tobacco,  in  those  who  wish  to  abandon  the 
miserable  habit  of  chewing. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
recommends  boring  an  inch  or  half  inch  hole,  say 
six  inches  deep,  in  the  end  of  posts  to  be  set  in  the 
ground  and  fill  it  with  crude  petroleum,  and  when 
the  wood  has  absorbed  one  filling,  to  fill  again  and 
plug  it  up,  when  the  post  may  be  set  in  the  ground. 

— The  Tribune  reporter  of  the  New  York  Far- 
mers' Club,  says  that  abortion  in  cows  is  confined 
to  dairy  sections  where  the  calf  sucks  little  or 
none,  being  killed  or  disposed  of  nearly  as  soon  as 
born,  and  asks,  Does  not  nature  indignantly  refuse 
to  be  a  party  in  a  transaction  which  cruelly  disre- 
gards her  instincts  and  longings  ? 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman,  in 
Champaign  Co.,  111.,  says  that  the  cattle,  the  lands 
and  wealth  generally  of  Central  Illinois,  are  fast 
being  gathered  into  the  hands  of  a  few  rich  men. 
The  Alexanders,  who  bought  Mr.  Sullivant's  farm 
of  23,000  acres,  now  own  some  1600  head  of  fat 
cattle,  and  are  buying  up  every  "bunch''  to  be  had 
of  the  smaller  farmei'S. 

— "Ramie"  is  a  new  Southern  staple  from  Java. 
It  will  grow  in  the  southern  half  of  Georgia,  will 
yield  five  crops  a  year  of  800  pounds  each ;  twenty- 
four  hours  after  being  cut  it  is  laid  out  in  long 
bands  of  pure  white  floss,  ready  to  spin.  It  is 
planted  like  sugar  cane ;  once  planted,  always  is 
planted,  grows  twenty  feet  high,  sells  for  twice  the 
price  of  cotton,  and  is  stronger  and  finer. 

— Merchants  find  it  necessary  to  employ  travel- 
ling agents  to  solicit  business.  The  Connecticut 
Board  of  Agriculture  lately  resolved,  "That  we 
recommend  to  the  Agricultural  Societies  the  prac- 
tice of  securing  contributions  of  stock  and  manu- 
factures by  personal  solicitations  of  breeders  and 
manufacturers,  and  devoting  some  time  previous 
to  the  days  of  the  Fair  to  this  object." 

— Mr.  J.  Clay,  of  Buxton,  Mc.,  who  recently 
visited  the  West,  makes  the  following  estimate  for 
tlie  Maine  Farmer  of  the  cost  of  a  prairie  farm. 
One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  will  cost  at  $o,  the 
lowest  estimate,  $800.  To  fence  this  with  posts 
and  boards  (and  it  must  be  fenced  to  save  the 


crops)  will  cost  $1  per  rod,  making  for  fencing 
$640.  Then  it  will  cost  as  much  or  more,  to  build 
a  house  and  barn  there  as  here,  say  $1500 — mak- 
ing the  whole  cost  $2940,  before  a  single  furrow  of 
the  tough  sod  is  turaed. 

— Some  six  years  ago,  a  correspondent  of  the 
Maine  Farmer  had  one  buck  of  coarse  wool,  and 
one  of  fine.  The  fine  wool  sheared  3|  lbs.,  long 
wool  7  lbs.  unwashed.  Since  that  I  have  made 
another  trial  of  fleeces,  both  washed,  with  this  re- 
sult :  tine,  4|  lbs. ;  long  wool  5  ll)s.  The  long  wool 
was  nice  and  clean,  the  fine  wool  I  could  not  get 
clean.  It  cost  me  two  dollars  more  to  keep  the  fine 
wool  buck,  while  the  fine  wool  lambs  were  not 
worth  as  much  as  the  others  by  about  one  dollar  a 
head. 

— A  gentleman  in  Montreal  whose  interest  in  ag- 
riculture induced  him  to  purchase  a  farm  on  one 
of  the  islands  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  after  three 
years  experience,  arrives  at  the  following  conclu- 
sion, as  stated  in  a  letter  to  the  Canada  Farmer, — 
a  conclusion  which  has  been  forced  on  many  other 
amateur  farmers.  He  says,  "I  am  well  aware  that 
to  make  a  good  farmer  requires  an  amount  of 
knowledge  and  application  which  people  who  have 
given  the  subject  no  attention  little  dream  of. 
The  profession  of  a  farmer  ought  to  rank  higher  in 
public  estimation  than  it  does ;  for  surely  the  pros- 
perity of  our  country  is  bound  up  with  it." 

— Mr.  McCombie,  an  experienced  grazier  and 
feeder,  near  Edinburgh,  says,  any  one  who  turns 
cattle  out  to  grass  that  have  been  fed  through  the 
winter  upon  cake,  corn,  brewers'  wash,  grains,  or 
potatoes,  and  kept  in  hot  stables  or  close  straw- 
yards,  will  be  miserably  disappointed  in  any  ex- 
pectation of  profit.  The  mode  of  feeding  has  been 
unnatural,  and  before  the  animal  begins  to  improve 
three  months  will  have  passed.  A  few  weeks 
feeding  of  cake  or  corn  may  not  absolutely  ruin  a 
beast  for  grazing ;  but  the  less  artificial  food  they 
get  during  the  winter,  if  afterwards  to  be  grazed, 
the  better;  and  when  kept  upon  the  food  above 
specified  for  several  months,  they  are  perfectly  un- 
fit for  grazing. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

KOTATION    OF    CROPS. 

A  discussion  by  tlie  Irasbiirg,  Vt.,  Farmers'  Club,  March 
25,  ISO",  reported  by  the  cjecretary,  Z.  E.  Jameson, 
Esq. 

The  President  remarked  upon  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject.  Z.  E.  .Jameson  said  that 
when  he  commenced  farming,  he  plowed  up  a 
piece  of  pasture  land  and  put  on,  first,  a  crop 
of  oats  ;  second,  a  croj)  ol'  oats,  and  third  a 
crop  of  oats  ;  each  crop  without  manure,  yield- 
ing forty  bushels  per  acre.  With  the  third 
crop,  sowed  grass  seed.  The  Iburtii  crop  was 
sorrel,  and  then  sorrel  with  weeds  anil  poor 
grass  until  tiie  ground  was  plowed  again. 
'J'his  land  has  been  occupied  l)y  lioed  crops 
[How  long  ?]  and  is  to  be  seeded  to  grass  this 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


281 


year,  with  a  better  prospect  of  a  good  yield. 
Grass  is  our  principal  crop,  therefore  when  it 
fails,  plow,  apply  manure,  and  plant.  The 
second  year  seed  to  grass  with  <;Tain.  Keep 
the  ground  up  only  two  years,  if  it  island  that 
can  be  hoed  ;  if  not,  sow  grain  two  years  and 
seed  with  the  second  crop.  Wm.  Jameson 
plowed  up  a  piece  [How  large  ?]  of  unproduc- 
tive land  and  spread  manure  that  cost  $1.50. 
He  had  two  crops  of  grain  and  has  cut  grass  six 
years  since.  Grass  is  our  best  crop.  With  it 
we  can  keep  stock,  with  stock  make  manure, 
and  with  manure  we  get  good  crops  again.  He 
plowed  four  acres,  harrowed  it  and  sowed  oats 
and  grass  seed.  Grass  grew  four  feet  high, 
and  has  continued  to  produce  a  good  yield. 
Three  years  ago  he  plowed  a  third  of  an 
acre.  Raised  barley,  potatoes  and  turnips. 
Second  year  he  had  twenty  bushels  of  barley, 
and  this  year  he  got  six  loads,  which  he  was 
quite  sure  was  full  two  tons  of  dry  hay ;  some 
of  it  reached  to  his  forehead,  over  Ave  feet 
high.  He  don't  believe  it  pays  to  raise  a  lot 
of  oats  to  sell,  but  feeds  grain  to  stock.  His 
farm  is  only  sixty  acres,  and  when  he  built  an 
addition  to  his  barns,  his  neighbors  asked  why 
he  did  so.  He  told  them  to  fill  with  hay.  His 
barns  are  now  crowded.  Still  he  intends  to 
double  the  present  yield.  If  his  land  was 
suitable,  he  would  cultivate  it  all  in  rotation, 
but  as  some  of  it  is  wet  and  rather  clayey,  he 
top-dresses  and  keeps  it  in  grass,  and  hoes 
the  dryer  portions. 

Mr.  Church  said  grass  is  the  chief  object, 
and  we  only  plow  to  tit  the  land  for  the  better 
production  of  this  crop.  If  land  is  easily 
worked,  and  the  sod  readily  decomposed, 
would  only  plow  two  years  ;  first  hoed  ci'ops, 
second  oats.  Ajjply  the  manure  the  first  year 
before  plowing.  If  the  ground  is  heavy  Avith 
a  very  firm  sod,  keep  it  up  three  years.  First 
crop  oats ;  second,  corn  or  potatoes ;  third, 
oats  and  seed  to  grass.  Mr.  Webster  said 
where  the  grass  gets  poor,  he  first  plows  and 
sows  to  oats  ;  the  second  year  plants  and  hoes  ; 
third  year  sows  wheat,  and  stocks  down  with 
eight  quarts  herds  grass,  and  six  pounds  clover 
per  acre ;  and  gets  a  good  quality  of  hay  and 
no  sorrel.     Applies  manure  to  the  hoed  crops. 

Mr.  Tenney  said  our  system  of  culture  must 
vary  according  to  the  soil.  We  get  money  by 
selling  beef,  wool  and  butter,  and  to  produce 
these  our  main  reliance  is  hay.  Pie  com- 
menced farming  in  1840,  and  had  had  twenty- 
six  year's  experience.  His  course  had  been  to 
take  the  poorest  soil  and  break  up  in  the 
spring, — never  in  the  fall, — turning  in  the 
manure.  Plants  and  cultivates  well.  Does 
not  plow  in  the  fall,  for  that  would  expose  the 
manure  to  sun,  wind  and  weather.  Plows  in 
the  spring  and  sows  with  grain  and  grass  seed. 
The  hardest  land  to  keep  fertile  is  that  which 
is  sandy.  It  bears  our  heaviest  timber.  When 
that  is  removed,  it  yields  bountiful  crops,  but 
is  soon  exhausted,  and  requires  very  liberal 
manuring.     He  was  set  against  potatoes,  and 


would  as  soon  sell  hay  as  potatoes.  He  was 
also  opposed  to  the  use  of  plaster  (gypsum). 
It  draws  the  fertility  from  the  soil ;  makes  a 
good  crop,  and  leaves  it  more  barren.  He 
knew  a  piece  of  land  about  one  mile  from 
Montpelier,  Vt.,  which  produced  very  poor 
hay,  that  was  heavily  dressed  with  plaster  five 
years.  The  first  year  there  was  a  good  crop ; 
the  second  year  a  monstrous  one — it  could 
hardly  be  dried  on  the  ground ;  third  year, 
not  quite  as  good ;  fourth  year  still  less,  and 
the  fifth  year  hardly  enough  to  wipe  a  scythe. 
This  was  some  sixteen  years  ago.  Since  that 
time  there  have  been  libera)  applications  of 
manure,  but  it  has  not  been  brought  back  to 
its  original  fertility.  Manure  should  be  ap- 
plied with  a  view  to  benefiting  the  crop  and 
improving  the  land.  Would  stock  down  the 
second  year.  We  should  so  manage  as  to 
raise  two  or  three  tons  per  acre  of  hay. 

E.  B.  Hill  remarked  that  he  had  tilled  light 
soil  and  got  the  best  result  by  applying  manure 
near  the  surfiice.  He  once  plowed  in  the  ma- 
nure on  a  piece  and  planted  potatoes,  but  re- 
ceived no  benefit  whatever. 

Mr.  Clougli  would  keep  up  moist  land  three 
years  :  first,  oats  :  second,  corn  and  potatoes  ; 
third,  wheat.  On  half  of  one  field  spread  the 
manure  and  plowed  it  in ;  on  the  other  half  he 
spread  it  on  the  furrows  after  plowing.  All 
the  crops  were  better  during  the  whole  rota- 
tion where  the  manure  was  put  on  top. 

A.  A.  Webster  practiced  a  rotation  like 
that  described  bv  Mr.  Clousrh. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FENCES. 

A  great  deal  has  been  written  upon  this 
subject,  and  many  experiments  have  been 
made  to  test  the  utility  of  various  materials 
for  the  purpose  of  enclosure.  The  amount  of 
capital  invested  in  fences  is  enormous,  and  he 
who  will  invent  anything  permanent,  will  be  a 
public  benefactor. 

In  this  section  of  the  country,  rails  are 
almost  universally  used  for  farm  fences.  White 
cedar  is  employed  whenever  it  can  be  pro- 
cured ;  but  it  is  becoming  scarce.  Good  cedar 
rails  sell  for  $70  or  $80  a  thousand.  Some 
farmers  have  enough  to  replenish  their  fences, 
but  many  who  once  had  enough  have  sold 
nearly  or  quite  all  their  timber. 

Next  to  cedar,  black  ash  is  extensively  used. 
This  makes  a  good  substitute,  but  it  is  not  so 
durable.  Rails  were  also  formerly  made  of 
pine,  but  as  the  country  became  older,  pine 
lumber  increased  in  value,  and  was  requii-ed 
for  other  purposes. 

The  great  expense  of  keeping  fences  in  re- 
pair has  caused  farmers  to  experiment  upon  a 
variety  of  trees  and  shrubs  to  supply  the  place 
of  rails  or  other  timber.  Thorn,  cedar,  arbor 
vitffi,  osage  orange,  and  white  willow,  have  all 
been  tried,  and  each  has  found  its  admirers. 
I  think  if  thorn  is  properly  trimmed  it  will 


282 


KEW   ENGLAND   FAKMER. 


JtlNE 


make  a  good  hedge,  but  it  requires  careful 
attention  several  years  to  make  a  fence  that  will 
be  safe  against  cattle,  and  1  should  not  be  wil- 
ling- to  risk  it  tb  protect  a  field  against  hogs. 

Arbor  Vita;  makes  an  excellent  wmd-break, 
and  should  be  set  at  the  north  and  west  of 
barnyards  and  orchards,  and  when  properly 
trimmed  it  makes  a  fine  front  fence,  though  it 
needs  some  light  material  to  protect  it  for  sev- 
eral years.     Wire  Avill  answer. 

I  have  had  no  experience  with  osage  orange, 
but,  judging  from  all  reports,  I  believe  it  will 
not  prove  hardy  enough  for  our  Northern  cli- 
mate. T      ♦!, 

I  pow  come  to  the  white  willow.  In  tbe 
American  Agriculturist  for  18G3,  No.  12,  a 
long  article  appeared  written  by  one  of  the 
Editors,  extolling  the  willow  in  high  terms  lor 
fencing.  That  paper  being  considered  by 
many  as  reliable  authority,  the  article  was 
carefully  read,  and  favorably  received. 

The  next  spring  and  summer  an  agent  ot  t.. 
S.  Pike,  of  Painesville,  Ohio,  canvassed  this 
county  thoroughly,  producing  samples  of  t«on- 
derfnl  growth,  glowing  handbills  with  cuts 
representing  beautiful  hedges,  and  recommen- 
dations from  agricultural  and  other  papers, 
and  from  distinguished  men  not  a  few,  in  lavor 
of  the  white  willow  for  farm  fences,  ihe 
thino-  took  readily.  Miles  and  miles  of  the 
cuttmcrs  were  subscribed  for.  Farmers  who 
can  scarcely  tolerate  anything  from  Yankeedom, 
subscribed  freely. 

In  the  spring  of  1865,  the  precious  cuttings 
came.  The  rush  to  secure  the  game  was  great 
The  cuttings  were  tied  up  in  bundles,  a  tew  of 
good  size  in  each,  but  a  large  proportion  of 
small  twigs.  Some  misgivings  were  apparent 
in  the  countenances  of  purchasers,  as  one  by 
one  the  precious  bundles  were  taken  away ; 
each  havino-  the  consolation  of  knowing  that 
he  was  not^alone,  and  that  if  he  had  actually 
bouo-ht  willow  twigs  cut  in  our  own  swamps, 
there  was  little  danger  of  being  laughed  at. 

Thousands  of  dollars  in  gold  or  its  equiva- 
lent, were  taken  from  Prince  Edwards  county  ; 
and  in  other  sections  of  Canada  and  of  the 
United  States  large  sums-  were  paid  for  that 
which  was  expected  to  make  a  cheap  and  du- 
rable fence.  , 

Before  one  season  had  passed,  the  scales 
betran  to  foil,  and  now,  after  two  summers,  a 
cle°ar  vision  discerns  only  a  few  slender  withes, 
where  a  rank  growth  was  anticipated,  iwo 
men,  within  my  knowledge,  have  succeeded,  by 
extra  care  and  manuring,  in  producing  a  fair 
growth  of  willows  ;  and  there  may  be  a  few 
other  exceptions  to  the  general  rule. 

Such  is  the  state  of  the  white  willow 
"hedges"  at  the  present  time,  in  this  part  of 
the  country.  Barnum  has  been  styled,  "The 
Prince  of  Humbugs,"  but  the  title  no  longer 
belongs  to  him,  for  the  willow  swindle  is  far 
ahead  of  any  of  his  sharp  practices. 

L.  Varney. 
Bloomjield,  C.  W.,Dec.  1,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
BUTTER   MAKING. 
In  connection  with  the  ability  to  make  good 
bread,  one  of  the  most  valuable  attainments,  if 
not  accomplishments,  which  any   woman  can 
possess,   especially  a  farmer's  wife,  is  the  skill 
or  knowledge  how  to  make  good  butter.     This 
is  not  an  art  that  comes  of  itself.     It  is  fully 
attained  only  by  study  and  practice.     But  with 
the  best  skill  and  judgment^  the  first  essential 
requisite   is  a  good  cow  or  cows ;  for,  other 
things  being  equal,  all   cows   will   not  make 
equally  good  butter.     Having  these,  the  next 
thing  is  their  food ;  for  it  is  certain  that  poor, 
sour  swamp  grass  or  hay  will  not  make  as  rich 
milk  and  cream  as  sweet  clover,  timothy   or 
red-top.     And  yet  good  cows  and  good  feed 
are  not  all.     To  make  good  butter,  there  must 
be  a  good  place  to  keep  the  milk  and  cream. 
This  is  a  matter  too  much  neglected  or  over- 
looked by  manv  farmers ;  and  it  is  to  this  fact, 
I  apprehend,  that  is  to  be  attributed  much  of 
the  poor  and  ordinary  butter  found  on  many 
tables,  and  also  in  the  market. 

Go  into  our  farm  houses  all  over  New  Eng- 
land, and  what,  in  too  many  cases,  are  the  ar- 
rangements and  conveniences  for  conducting 
this  most  delicate  and  important  business? 
Too  often  the  milk-room  or  pantry  is  very 
near  the  kitchen  or  leads  out  of  it,  so  that  all 
the  disagreeable  odors  that  escape  from  the 
various  culinary  processes  which  daily  are  car- 
ried on  there  are  more  or  less  absorbed  by  the 
milk  and  cream.  And  not  only  this,  but  fre- 
quently into  the  pantry,  with  the  milk,  are  put, 
for  future  use,  boiled  cabbage  and  turnip,  and 
onions,  raw  and  cooked,  codfish  and  halibut, — 
in  fact,  almost  everything  that  has  an  agreea- 
ble as  well  as  disagreeable  odor.  Besides,  m 
too  many  instances,  the  filthy  habit  of  smoking 
is  indulged  in  by  the  male  members  of  the 
household,  and  sometimes  by  the  female  also, 
so  that  the  house  from  cellar  to  garret  is  more 
or  less  impregnated  with  this  most  nauseating 
perfume. 

With  such  arrangements  as  these,  it  is  ut- 
terly impossible  for  any  one,  with  the  best 
care  and.eflbrts,  to  make  butter  of  the  first 
quality.  Even  with  the  utmost  attention,  only 
an  ordinary  article  can  be  produced.  And  it 
is  no  wonder  to  me  that  there  is  such  a  large 
amount  of  poor  and  second  rate  butter  found 
in  all  our  markets.  It  may  seem  sweet  at 
first ;  but  the  fatal  taint  is  there,  and  will  make 
itself  known  long  before  it  reaches  its  con- 
sumer. Hence  it  is  no  wonder  that  those  who 
wish  to  obtain  a  nice  article  of  butter  are  wil- 
lino-  to  pay  the  almost  fabulous  prices  which 
we  occasionally  hear  of  being  paid  for  a  really 
nice  and  reliable  article  in  the  city  market. 
To  make  the  best  of  butter,  there  must  be  a 
room  appropriated  solely  to  this  purpose,  into 
which  nothing  that  is  oifensive  or  unclean 
should  ever  be  allowed  to  enter.  Then,  when 
all  the  other  conditions  are  complied  with,  1 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


283 


see  no  reason  why  a  choice  article  of  butter 
may  not  be  made.  And  it  is  not  only  a  matter 
of  taste,  but  of  pecuniary  interest  to  every 
farmer  to  make  the  very  best  butter,  for  he 
will  always  find  a  ready  and  remunerating 
market  for  it.  * 

Tyngshoro\  Mass.,  Jan.  30,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
TREES    MOST   FIT   FOR  PLANTING, 

TO   TAKE   THE  PLACE   OF  THE   LOST   FORESTS. 

The  most  valuable  tree,  all  things  consid- 
ered, for  this  and  almost  every  other  purpose, 
is  the  rock  maple.  It  is  native  to  our  climate  ; 
it  is  easily  found  and  safely  transplanted.  It 
is  a  clean  and  graceful  shade  tree,  very  beau 
tiful  at  all  periods  of  its  life ;  it  is  greatly  and 
deservedly  prized  for  the  delicious  syrup  and 
sugar  made  from  its  juice ;  and  it  is  of  the 
highest  value  for  its  wood,  as  a  material  for 
the  arts  and  for  fuel. 

This  is  the  best  season  for  transplanting  it. 
On  the  edges,  and  in  the  openings  of  all  the 
maple  forests,  vast  numbers  of  the  young  plants 
may  be  found.  Those  of  a  size  and  shape 
suitable  for  planting  where  they  are  to  remain, 
may  not  so  easily  be  found  ;  but  a  itiw  can  be 
found.  For  this  purpose,  small  trees,  not  over 
twelve  feet  high,  should  be  selected,  and  those 
are  much  to  be  preferred  which  are  found 
growing  on  the  outskirts  of  the  wood,  where 
they  shall  have  been,  for  some  years,  freely 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  wind. 

A  person  looking  forward  to  extensive  plan- 
tations, and  taking  into  view  the  wants  of  his 
friends  and  neighbors,  will  do  well  to  remove 
a  very  large  number  of  plants,  two  or  three 
years  old,  to  nursery  rows,  where  they  may 
gradually  become  hardened  to  abundant  light 
and  air.  Many  of  the  young  trees  in  the" 
nursery  may  die;  and,  of  those  which  survive, 
only  the  most  sightly  and  promising  should  be 
chosen  for  permanent  planting.  The  best  soil 
for  the  maple  is  a  moist  soil,  with  a  clayey 
bottom,  or  one  in  which  clay  is  a  considerable 
ingredient.     But  it  will  grow  on  any  soil. 

Let  any  one  who  wants  to  see  what  a  beau- 
tiful thing  a  young  rock  maple  is,  from  earliest 
youth  to  the  beginning  of  maturity,  go  out  of 
Boston  over  the  Western  Avenue,  any  time  from 
May  to  November,  take  the  road  to  Brookline, 
and,  on  it,  the  first  turn  to  the  right,  through 
Appleton  Place,  and,  across  the  bridge,  through 
Longwood  to  St.  John"'s  Church.  He  will  need 
no  words  to  recommend  it.  Any  one  who 
wants  to  see  what  a  magnificent  shade  tree  it 
becomes  in  its  maturity,  may  drive  from  Bol- 
ton, over  the  hill,  by  what  was  formerly  Samp- 
son Wilder's,  afterwards  Stephen  Higginton's, 
—now  Mr.  Forbush's — to  the  Old  Common  in 
Lancaster.  On  the  hill,  he  will  see  a  row  a 
mile  long  of  these  grand  old  rock  maples. 
While  young,  it  is  a  singularly  attractive, 
delicate,  shapely  tree.  As  it  grows  older,  it 
shoots   up   and  expands    nobly    and    loftily. 


In  its  maturity,  its  broad  arms  extend  hori- 
zontally, filling  and  satisfying  the  eye,  and 
giving  great  depth  of  shade.  At  every  age, 
the  large,  broad,  full,  rich  leaf  is  very  beauti- 
ful at  all  seasons,  and,  in  autunm,  its  bound- 
less varieties  of  the  richest  colors,  all  the  yel- 
lows and  all  the  reds,  render  it  for  many  weeks 
the  most  resplendent  ornament  of  the  forests. 
No  flower  garden  can  vie  with  it. 

Consider  what  a  substitute  a  row  of  these 
trees  along  a  farmer's  field  or  a  great  highway, 
would  be  for  trees  that  have  been  ruthlessly 
or  carelessly  or  ignorantly  destroyed.  What 
a  magnificent  sight,  from  the  centre  of  the  vil- 
lage, will  be  a  grove,  say  rather  an  orchard,  of 
sugar  maples,  growing  on  the  lower  slope  of  a 
hill — a  situation  in  which  it  is  always  likely  to 
thrive. 

For  several  years  past  maple  sugar  has 
been,  in  Boston  market,  more  valuable  than 
Havana  or  New  Orleans, — for  syrup  it  is 
vastly  superior.  An  economical  husbandman 
may  soon  substitute  it  for  every  variety  of 
imported  sugar,  and  gain  by  the  substitu- 
tion. All  the  stages  of  the  preparation  take 
place  at  a  season  of  comparative  leisure,  when 
there  is  little  else  to  be  done  on  the  farm. 

Every  one  who  is  desirous  that  his  great 
grandchildren  shall,  in  their  old  age,  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  a  wood  fire, — and  it  is  fiir  the  greatest 
luxury  for  the  outer  man,  and  not  for  the  outer 
man  alone,  that  is  left, — must  plant  some 
acres  with  maples.  No  wood,  except  hickory, 
makes  a  pleasanter  fire  than  old  rock  maple. 
But  those  grandchildren  must  be  very  rich  or 
they  will  be  unwilling  to  afford  themselves 
any  thing  but  the  smaller  limbs  and  the  spray 
for  fuel.  The  trunk  and  the  larger  branches 
and  the  root  will  -be  altogether  too  precious. 
As  curled  maple,  shaded  mable,.  landscape, 
clouded,  and  bird's-eye  maple,  there  is  no  na- 
tive wood  which  furnishes  so  fine  a  material 
for  tables,  chairs,  bedsteads,  wardrobes,  book- 
cases, picture-frames,  and  almost  every  other 
kind  of  furniture ;  and  few  are  so  valuable  for 
lasts,  and  a  great  variety  of  wooden  ware. 

Several  other  native  maples  are  handsome 
and  valuable  trees.  The  white  or  red  maple, 
remarkable  for  the  silver  color  of  the  under 
surface  of  the  finely  cut  leaves,  is  a  rapid 
grower  and  a  broad-headed,  magnificent  tree. 
The  red  maple  nearly  resembling  the  rock  in 
the  character  of  its  wood,  is  well  known  for 
its  fine  autumn-colors,  everywhere  in  New  Eng- 
land. The  ]\Ioose  Wood  is  a  graceful  little  tree, 
and  the  Mountain  INIaple  is  a  pretty  shrub. 
The  Norway  maple,  a  hardy  species  from  the 
north  of  Europe,  stands  the  sea  breeze  and  the 
coldest  winter  better  than  any  other  tree  of 
the  family.  It  is  admirably  well  suited  to  be 
planted  in  exposed  situations  along  the  New 
England  coast.  The  Great  Maple  of  Europe, 
commonly  called  Sycamore  in  England,  is  a  no- 
ble tree,  and  grows  to  a  great  height,  often 
reaching  one  hundred  feet.  It  is  hardy  in  this 
climate,  and  grows  very  rapidly.     The  Field 


284 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


June 


Maple  of  England,  the  common  maple  of  the 
continent  of  Europe,  is  a  smaller  tree  and 
probably  less  hardy,  as  it  is  not  a  native  of  the 
northern  part  of  Great  Britain.         G.  B.  E. 

Boston,  April,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
IMPROVEMENT   OP    STOCK. 
Although  for  the  last  twenty  years  the  im- 
provement in  all  the  departments   of  Agricul- 
ture has  been  rapid  and  persistent,  yet  no  one 
thing  to  my  mind  has  kept  pace  with  the  im- 
provement which  is  especially  observable  here 
in   New  England,-  in   all  kinds  of  farm  stock. 
Twenty  years  ago,  the  Alderney  breed  of  cows 
which  is   adding  so  much  to  the  wealth  of  the 
dairy  Interests  of  the  country  was,  In  this  sec- 
tion, at  least,  unknown,  and  our  Durhams  and 
Devons  were  anything  but  generally  dissemi- 
nated.    At  that  time,  too,  I  can  well  remem- 
ber that  the  report  of  a  ten  or  eleven  pound 
fleece  of  wool  from  a  mature  Merino  buck  was 
received  with  very  grave  doubts  as  to  Its  truth, 
and  we  are  sometimes  disposed  to  smile  at  our 
early  unbelief  when   we   now   see   fleeces  of 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  pounds  in  weight 
quite  common  among  a  similar  class  of  sheep. 
Although  a  large  per  cent,  of  this  extra  weight 
is  produced  by  the  greater  length  and  thick- 
ness of  the  fleece  and  by  the  more   complete 
covering  of  every  part  of  the  body,  yet  some- 
thing must  be  attributed  to  the  extra  care  and 
shelter  fi'om  storms,  now  given.     A  recent  ex- 
amination of  the  flock  of  Eben  Bridge,  Esq., 
of  Bomfret,  Vt.,  who  has  been  for  many  years 
one  of  the  leading  breeders  of  Merino  sheep 
in  WIndson  County,  has  abundantly  satisfied 
me  of  the  rapid  improvement  which  the  past 
few    years    has  witnessed   in  this   invaluable 
breed  of  sheep.     Mr.  Bridge  has_  In  his  pos- 
session two  of  the   best   sire   animals  In   the 
country,  as  their  stock  amply  proves ;  and.  I 
should  judge,  about   one   hundred   and   fifty 
ewes,   which  for  compactness  of  fleece  upon 
every  part  of  the  body,  for  robust  constitutions 
and  symmetry  of  form  are  very  seldom  equalled. 
At  this  day,  the  great  point  to  be  keptsteadfly 
in  view  by  Merino  sheej)  breeders  Is  to  Increase 
the  amount  of  pure  wool  in  their  flocks,  and  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  flock  which  wfll 
cleanse  the  most  wool  per  head,  other  things 
being  equal,  will  take  the  front  rank  among  the 
Merino  sheep  of  the  country.  E.  R.  s. 

Cornish,  N.  H.,  Feb.  18,  1867. 


GRAPES   IN   MIDDLESEX    CO.,  MASS, 
From  various  reports  and  statements  pub 
lished  In   the   lately  Issued   "Transactions  of 
the  Middlesex,  Mass.,  Agricultural  Society," 
we  glean  a  few  facts  in  relation  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  Grapes. 

In  this  county  which  Is  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  originating  the  Concord  grape,  it  is  esti- 


mated that  more  than  fifty  acres  are  devoted 
to  grape  culture. 

Soil. — The  Committee  on  Vineyards  say, 
cheap  lands,  not  worth  more  than  twenty  dol- 
lars an  acre,  will  answer  every  purpose  of  a 
vineyard.  Redding,  a  great  authority  on 
wines,  says  that  good,  rich  soil  never  produces 
even  tolerable  wines.  It  will  be  seen  from 
one  of  the  Concord  statements,  that  one-half 
acre  of  waste  pasture  land,  after  being  turned 
into  a  vineyard,  was  made  to  yield,  from  356 
vines,  3592  pounds  of  grapes,  sufficient  to 
bring  the  sum  of  $1,243.20.  Two  thousand 
cuttings  are  also  raised  at  twelve  cents  apiece, 
making  .$240  additional.  Total,  $1,483.20, 
from  half  an  acre  of  land. 

In  the  statement  of  Thomas  S.  Hunt,  the 
ground  was  cleared  of  brush,  wood,  and  stone, 
and  plowed  ten  inches  deep ;  stable  manure 
composted  with  swamp  muck,  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  cart  loads  to  the  acre,  spread  and  cov- 
ered with  the  harrow,  and  potatoes  planted. 
The  following  spring  manure  as  before.^  The 
ground  Is  now  ready  for  the  vines,  which  are 
set  in  rows  running  east  and  west,  eight  feet 
apart  and  seven  feet  In  the  rows.  The  variety 
planted  Is  the  Concord. 

Manures. — After  the  vines  are  set,  the 
committee  say  that  ashes  of  wood,  leached  or 
unleached,  are  a  powerful  manure  for  the  vine, 
and  prol)ably  contain  all  that  it  requires.  Mr. 
Derby  of  Lincoln  used  green  manure  from  the 
hog  pen.  His  berries,  were  large  and  juicy, 
and  looked  better  for  the  market  when  freshly 
gathered  than  the  others  submitted  for  inspec- 
tion. But  In  one  week  after  they  were  re- 
ceived by  the  chairman  of  your  committee, 
they  began  to  shrink  up  and  to  taste  Insipid, 
and  to-day,  (Dec.  20)  they  have  all  faUen  from 
the  stem  and  shrunk  up,  nothing  but  their  skins 
remaining.  A  box  of  the  same  kind  of  grapes 
(Concord),  which  were  received  at  the  same 
time  from  Mr.  John  B.  Moore,  of  Concord, 
who  used  unleached  ashes  to  fertilize  his  vines, 
still  remain  on  their  stems,  and  are  plump. 
Their  flavor  Is  still  good,  although  it  has  lost 
some  of  its  sprightliness.  In  the  opinion  of 
the  chairman  of  your  committee,  the  diifcrence 
in  flivor  of  the  last  mentioned  grapes  Is  attrib- 
uted to  the  use  of  wood  ashes  for  manure,  in- 
stead of  a  gross,  rich  compost. 

Planting  and  Pruning. — Mr.  Hunt,  of 
Concord,  says,  throw  out  the  soil  as  deep  as 
planted,  and  in  circumference  from  three  to 
six  feet,  according  to  size  of  plant,  and  with 
pick  or  bar  loosen  the  subsoil  ten  Inches  deep  ; 
1  now  throw  back  a  part  of  the  soil,  crowning 
It  a  little  In  the  centre  ;  upon  this  spread  the 
roots  evenly,  covering  them  with  the  best  sou. 
Some  vineyardists  of  reputed  experience  rec- 
onunend  deep  trenching  and  high  manuring. 
They  should  also  add  a  long  purse  well  Idled. 
For  open  culture  in  our  vineyards,  whether  of 
large  or  small  extent,  it  will  not  pay. 

My  method  of  training  in  the  vineyard  is 


1867. 


KEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


285 


upon  stakes,  two  to  each  vine.  For  the  first 
two  years  (if  one  year  ohl  plants)  I  usually 
plant  a  single  row  of'  cuttings,  turnips,  carrots 
or  beans  ;  turn  a  furrow  midway  of  the  rows  ; 
into  this  I  put  tine  compost ;  the  ground  is  fre- 
quently stirred  and  the  weeds  kept  down,  the 
crop  paying  the  expense  of  cultivation.  For 
the  third  year  the  fruit  will  pay  it. 


Right  Time    to    Cut    Grass. — As    there 
seems   to  be   some  question  as  to  the  proper 
time  to  cut  grass  for  hay,  I  will  give  my  opin- 
ion.    Cut  early,  that  is,  as  soon  as  the  herds- 
grass  begins  to  blossom.     I  find  by  my  records, 
I  commenced   cutting   my  grass  the  16th  of 
June  in  1862,  in  1863  the  15th  of  June — in 
1864,  the  1-lth— in  1865  the  Uth  of  June— 
in  1866  the  25th  of  June.     And  now  for  the 
quality  of  the  hay.     I  feed  it  to  my  milch 
cows,  without  any  other   feed ;  they  would 
give   milk   until   they  calved,  did  I  not  dry 
them  off.     I  dried  off  two  cows  the  middle  of 
January — one  gave  two  quarls  of  milk,  the 
other  three,  per  day.     They  are  to  calve  the 
7th  and  8th  of  February.     I  have  milked  the      ^^-^i 
same  cows  until  they  calved,  but  think  it  in-  --ff^r^n^ 
jured  them.  -y 

I  feed  my  working  oxen  and  fat  cattle  on  '  ^-/^'^kfl 
the  same  kind  of  hay,  and  find  it  far  superior  '    /"''' 

to   late  cut   hay.     You  get  nearly  as  much 
weight  as  you   would  if  you  cut  your  grass 
later — that  is,  the  first  crop — if  you  cut  the 
aftermath  you  will  get  one-third  more.     There 
is  another  advantage.     A  barn  will  hold  from 
one-quarter  to  one-third  more  in  weight — the 
cost  of  cutting  the  same,  of  making  double, 
and  the  carting  into  the  barn  the  same.  — Asa 
Hubbard,  Middleton,  Ct.,  in  Co.  Gentleman. 


CULTIVATION  OF  HOPS. 
Our  last  article  closed  by  directing  that 
a  covering  of  two  good  forkfuls  of  manure 
be  put  upon  each  hill  in  the  autumn  of  the  first 
season.  Early  in  the  spring  of  the  second 
year,  and  every  year  thereafter,  this  manure 
should  be  removed,  with  the  dirt  from  the 
mam  root,  and  all  side  shoots  or  surface 
runners,  also  the  crown  or  top,  trimmed  off,  as 
directed  by  Mr.  Hansen  in  the  article  published 
in  the  Monthly  Farmer  for  April,  p.  176.  The 
following  illustrations  show  the  whole  process. 


Fig.  4.  Plant  Untrimmed.       Fig.  5.  Plant  Trimmed. 
Figure  4  represents  the    plant  before    trim- 


NEW    PUBLICATIONS. 

Beet  Root  Sugar  and  Cultivation  of  the  Beet.  Bj' 
E.  B.  Grant.  Boston  :  Lee  and  Bhepard.  1867.  158 
pages.     Fiice  $1.25,  bound. 

Wc  believe  that  American  farmers  can  and 
should  pioducc  the  wool  used  by  our  manufactur- 
ers ;  and  wo  also  believe  that  it  is  possible  for  us 
to  raise  our  own  sugar.  The  object  of  this  little 
woi'k  is  to  demonstrate  the  advantage  and  feasi- 
bility of  producing  beet-sugar  in  this  country. 
After  a  general  history  of  the  business  in  Europe, 
with  observations  upon  the  relative  advantages  of 
the  Old  and  New  World  for  its  production,  the 
author  gives  instruction  for  tlie  choice  of  soil  suita- 
ble for  the  cultivation  of  beets  ;  the  methods  of  pre- 
servation ;  of  raising  the  seed ;  and  of  the  preserva- 
tion and  use  of  the  pulp.  To  collect  the  informa- 
tion embodied  in  this  volume,  the  author  visited 
the  principal  establishments  in  France  and  Ger- 
many, as  well  as  the  prairies  of  the  West ;  and  yet 
the  publisliers  place  the  book  in  our  hands  without 
an  index — an  omission  tliat  seriously  detracts  ft'om 
the  value  of  this  timely  manual. 


— It  is  said  that  400  steam  cultivators  are  at 
work  in  England,  displacing  2500  horses. 


ming,  and  figure  5,  the  plant  after  having  been 
trimmed.  Mr.  Hansen  says  these  trimmings, 
or  sets,  if  not  needed  for  immediate  planting 
or  sale,  may  be  buried  a  foot  deep,  kept  clean 
during  the  summer,  and  used  the  next  spring. 
This  is  called  "grubbing,"  technically;  and  it 
is  well  to  make  it  so  literally,  by  destroying  all 
the  grubs  that  may  be  seen  about  the  hills. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  grub — one  which 
makes  a  beetle,  with  a  dark,  hard  head,  and 
white  body,  with  legs  all  on  the  foi-e  part  of 
the  body.  It  is  always  found  doubled  up  like 
a  horse-shoe.  The  other  is  a  caterpillar,  which 
makes  a  butterfly.  Both  must  be  killed  where- 
ever  found.  After  covering  the  root-stalk  with 
fresh  earth,  the  poles  should  be  immediately 
set.  The  earth  is  less  compact  immediately 
after  the  frost  leaves  the  ground  than  when  it 
is  thoroughly  settled. 

We  must  assume  that  the  necessary  poles 
were  procured  and  prepared  during  the  previ- 
ous winter.  Red  cedar,  tamarac,  hemlock, 
spruce,  pine,  chestnut,  ash,  and  almost  any 
kind  of  wood  will  answer.  In  his  contribu- 
tion to  Mr.  Judd''s  Hop  Culture,  Mr.  Ryder, 
Coventry,  Ct.,  says,  "get  them  of  as  uniform 


286 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


June 


size  as  possible,  about  sixteen  feet  in  length, 
and  from  tAvo  to  three  inches  in  diameter. 
Sharpen  the  larger  end,  for  a  distance  of  about 
twelve  inches,  leaving  a  blunt  point  full  one 
inch  thick."  Instead  of  using  an  iron  bar  to 
form  the  holes  for  the  poles,  Mr.  Amos  Tur- 
ner, of  Peru,  Me.,  uses  an  implement,  of 
which  we  copy  the  following  cut  and  descrip- 
tion from  the  same  work. 


Fig.  6. 


Turner's  Pod-auger  for  making  Holes  for 

Hop  Poles. 
Instead  of  using  a  crowbar,  we  make  holes 
for  the  poles  with  a  pod-auger.  The  blade  is 
of  steel,  and  an  old  mill-saw  is  just  the  thing 
to  make  it  of.  Cut  a.  piece  of  saw-plate  18 
;  inches  long,  2^  inches  wide  at  one 
end  and  G  inches  wide  at  the  other. 
This  is  to  be  bent  so  that  a  section 
of  it  will  be  semi-circular.  A  shank 
of  I  inch  iron  and  one  foot  long  is 
riveted  to  the  larger  end  of  the 
blade,  and  is  furnished  with  a 
wooden  handle  in  the  same  manner 
as  a  common  auger.  The  engrav- 
ino-.  Fig.  6,  shows  the  shape  of  the 
implement.  In  using  it,  the  auger 
is  pressed  into  the  soil  by  the  foot, 
then,  bv  turning  it  half-way  round 
and  lifting  it,  the  dirt  is  brought 
out,  and  a  hole  made  to  receive 
the  pole,  with  one-half  the  labor 
of  using  a  crowbar. 

The  strongest  and  best  poles  should  be 
placed  in  the^outside  rows,  where  they  will  be 
exposed  to  the  force  of  the  wind,  and  thus 
serve  to  protect  weaker  and  smaller  ones. 

The  poles  should  all  be  set  by  the  time  the 
vines  are  three  inches  in  height.     By  setting 
the  poles   early,   many  vines  will  run  up  of 
themselves   wliich  otherwise  would  not,   and 
thus    save   much   time   in   tying.     The   poles 
should  be  about  four  feet  apart  at  the  top,  as 
this  distance  prevents  the  vines  from  running 
to"-ether,  and  gives  the  sun  a  chance  to  strike 
alf  parts.     When  the  vines  are   about  three 
feet  in  length,  commence  to  tie  them.     There 
will  probaiilv  be   from   twenty-five   to  thirty 
vines  in  the  hill,  but  only  two  must  be  saved 
for  each  pole.     The  surplus  vines   may  be  cut 
oil",  or  twisted   into  a  mass  and  placed  upon 
the'  hill  with  a  stone  or  clod  upon  them.     In 
selecting  the  two  vines   lor  the  pole   do  not 
take  tlKr  largest  nor  the  smallest,  but  those  of 
medium  size.     In  very  rich  ground  it  may  be 
well  to  leave  a  couple  of  vines  on  the  ground 
lor  future  use,  in  case  you  shoidd  want  them. 
In  selecting  the  vines,   take   those   that   are 
nearest  the  centre  of  the  hill  or  inside  of  the 
poles,  for  in  cultivating  there  is  then  less  dan- 
ger  of   injuring   them.     Be   very   carel'ul   in 
handling   and   tying  the  vines,   for  they  are 
easily  broken.     Various  kinds  of  strings  are 
used,  but  with  any  kind  care  must  be  used  not  I 


to  have  them  too  tight.  Mr.  Jameson,  of 
Irasburg,  Vt.,  cuts  the  foot  from  an  old  stock- 
ing and  placing  the  leg  over  the  left  wrist,  un- 
ravels as  needed.  This  is  elastic  and  will  give 
as  the  vine  grows.  Tie  them  just  below  the 
second  bud,  carrying  them  around  the  pole 
from  left  to  right,  or  with  the  sun.  As  soon  as 
the  vines  grow  three  or  four  feet  beyond  the 
place  where  they  were  tied,  go  to  each  vine 
and  cut  off  all  trailing  arms  to  the  height  of 
five  feet ;  then  commence  to  cultivate  the  yard. 
With  a  hoe  remove  all  weeds  from_  the  hills, 
loosening  the  dirt,  as  is  customary  in  the  hoe- 
ino-  of  corn.  Do  not  hill  up,  however,  if  you 
would  save  your  vines  from  the  effects  of  the 
grubs,  which,  through  carelessness,  often  de- 
stroy whole  yards.  After  this  hoeing,  apply 
slaked  lime  or  good  wood  ashes,  sprinkling  it 
with  the  hand  in  sufficient  quantity  to  M-hiten 
the  o-round  around  each  hill.  Examine  the 
earth  around  the  roots  of  the  vines,  and  kill 
any  grubs  that  may  be  discovered.  It  pays 
well  to  search  thgroughly  for  these  pests. 

About  the  first  week  in  July,  when  the  grubs 
have  finished  work  for  the  year,  hoe  and  "hill 
up"  the  vines.  After  this,  the  yard  will  re- 
quire but  little  attention.  The  hops  will  be  in 
full  bloom  about  the  last  of  July  or  first  of 
August ;  and  as  from  this  time  the  hops  in- 
crease in  size  and  the  poles  get  more  heavily 
laden,  thev  require  more  or  less  attention,  es- 
pecially a"fter  a  hard  rain  or  heavy  winds. 
Many  poles  will  be  blown  over  or  broken,  and 
it  is  necessary  to  set  them  again.  If  they  are 
allowed  to  rernain  on  the  ground,  the  hops  will 
mould,  and,  after  a  time,  spoil.  The  vines 
should  be  unwound  from  the  end  of  the  broken 
pole,  which  should  be  sharpened  and  set  again 
as  before. 


Directions,  with  illustrations,  for  picking  and 
drying  will  be  given  next  month. 


SAMPLES  OF  FOREIGlSr  "WOOL. 
Immediately  upon  the  passage  of  the  late 
wool  tariff,  a  report  was  put  in  circulation  that 
the  law  was  to  remain  inoperative  until  an 
agent  could  be  sent  to  all  the  foreign  wool 
producing  countries  to  collect  specimens  for  the 
use  of  our  custom  house  officials.  It  appears, 
however,  from  a  letter  from  ]\Ir.  McCulloch, 
to  Dr.  Randall,  that  instead  of  contemplating 
such  delay,  instructions  were  issued  imme- 
diately upon  the  passage  of  the  Act,  to  the 
Collectors  of  customs  at  the  several  ports  into 
which  wool  is  imported,  to  classify  and  assess 
duty  according  to  said  Act,  to  the  best  of  their 
power,  in  the  absence  of  samples,  and  in  no 
case  to  finally  liquidate  an  entry,  but  hold 
them  all  in  abeyance,  until  the  samples  could 
be  procured.     Hence  in  all  cases  the  duty  has 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIklER. 


287 


been  assessed  on  all  importations  of  wool  since 
the  Act  went  into  effect,  under  its  provisions. 
The  Secretary  also  says  that  it  is  believed 
that  the  samples,  arranged  by  Mr.  Bond,  and 
now  awaiting  the  examination  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  National  Associations  of  Wool 
Growers  and  Wool  Manufactui'ers,  represent 
all,  or  nearly  all,  the  various  descriptions  of 
wool  usually  imported,  and  hence  he  does  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  send  an  agent  abroad  at 
all,  or  certainly  not  until  he  sees  some  neces- 
sity for  so  doing. 

Mr.  Bond  has  prepared  specimens  of  seven- 
ty different  grades  or  classes  of  wool,  which  it 
would  seem  might  enable  the  department  to 
classify  any  new  variety  that  is  not  expressly 
represented  by  either  of  these  specimens. 
Twelve  setts  of  these  specimens  have  been  pre- 
pared; one  of  which  is  in 'Washington,  the 
others  are  still  in  Mr.  Bond's  office  in  Boston. 
We  have  examined  them  with  much  interest. 
Each  specimen  is  put  into  a  glass  tube  or  jar, 
oh  inches  in  diameter  and  some  13  inches  long, 
which  is  plainly  numbered  and  marked  at  each 
end.  For  convenience  of  reference  and  safety 
of  preservation,  Mr.  Bond  has  devised  a  case 
of  pigeon-holes,  in  which  these  specimens  are 
deposited  and  arranged  according  to  the  class 
and  grade  to  which  they  belong.  The  whole 
forms  a  museum  of  foreign  wool  which  must  be 
interesting  to  all  who  grow  or  manufacture  this 
important  staple. 

We  notice  by  the  Rural  New  Yorker  that 
Dr.  Randall  proposes  that  the  case  of  samples 
now  at  "Washington  be  sent  to  New  York  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  committee  of  the 
Wool  Growers  and  Manufacturers  who  are  to 
examine  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the  facili- 
ties for  investigation  and  comparison  to  be 
found  there.  As  the  duplicate  cases  are  all 
here,  we  should  have  supposed  that  Boston  in- 
stead of  New  York  would  have  been  selected 
by  the  committee  for  their  place  of  meeting. 


A    GARDEN   OF   ACCLIMATIO]Sr. 

In  the  annual  report  of  18G5,  the  Commis- 
sioner suggested  that  the  government  estab- 
lish a  garden  of  acclimation,  where  animals, 
as  well  as  plants,  could  be  acclimated  and  then 
distributed  over  the  country. 

A  Little  Valley,  N.  Y.,  correspondent  high- 
ly appi-oves  of  this  suggestion,  and  states  that 
he  has  for  fifteen  years  been  engaged  in  do- 


mesticating some  of  our  native  wild  animals. 
He  commenced  with  one  of  the  noblest  of  our 
forest  animals,  the  Elk,  and  the  result  has 
been  a  success,  having  bred  and  raised  forty 
elk  on  his  farm !  He  has  also  bred  the  mink. 
He  "found  that  it  required  some  experienca  or 
skill  to  manage  the  wild  ones  taken  from  the 
woods  until  they  reared  their  first  young ;  but 
with  the  second  generation  the  difficulties  were 
ovei'come,  and  it  proves  comparatively  easy  to 
raise  them  in  large  .numbers. 

This  is  exceedingly  interesting.  The  races 
of  beautiful  and  valuable  animals  that  were 
once  plenty  among  us  ought  not  to  be  allowed 
to  pass  entirely  away.  Perhaps  all  of  them 
might  be  made  to  prove  profitable  in  a  pecuni- 
ary point  of  view,  as  well  as  interesting. 

The  "■Notes  of  the  Weather,''''  from  nearly 
all  parts  of  our  country,  show  that  the  month 
of  January,  1867,  was  the  coldest,  most  bois- 
terous, and  with  the  heaviest  flill  of  snow,  of 
any  month  of  Januaiy  since  that  of  1857. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    GAKDEN. 

A  few  hints  to  remind  the  readers  of  the 
Farmer  of  the  appropriate  garden  work  of 
the  season  may  not  be  amiss.  Little  is  gained 
in  being  in  a  hurry  in  planting  in  the  open  air, 
as  there  are  but  few  kinds  of  vegetables 
which  are  not  sensitive  to  the  frosts  and  cold 
that  may  be  expected  the  fore  part  of  May  in 
New  England.  Still  there  are  a  few  hardy 
plants,  the  seeds  of  which  may  be  sown  regard- 
less of  light  frosts.  Taking  up  our  subjects 
alphabetically,  we  begin  with 

Asparagus. — Dig  in  a  dressing  of  manure,  if 
not  already  done,  and  the  shoots  are  not  start- 
ed ;  if  so,  a  dressing  of  superphosphate  of  lime, 
lightly  raked  in  is  best.  Clear  olf  all  rubbish. 
i\lay  will  give  you  a  fine  supply.  Cut  3  to  4 
inches  below  the  surface  with  a  long,  narrow 
knife,  using  care  not  to  injure  other  shoots. 

Beans. — If  poles  are  not  on  hand,  prepare 
them  now.  Nothing  is  gained  by  planting  till 
settled  warm  weather.  If  you  feci  anxious  to 
have  a  few  early,  start  them  on  sods  in  a  hot 
bed,  or  under  glass.  When  the  weather  is 
settled,  and  ground  warm,  plant  all  varieties, 
reserving  the  Limas  to  the  last,  as  they  are 
the  most  tender. 

Beets. — These  will  bear  earlier  planting. 
Sow  in  drills  one  foot  apart,  using  plenty  of 
seed,  and  thin  them  out  for  greens.  The 
Early  Bassino,  for  summer,  and  Long  Blood, 
for  winter,  are  good  varieties. 

Cabbage. — Seed  may  be  sown  in  the  open 
ground  any  time  after  it  is  warm.  Plants 
started  in  the  hot-bed  should  be  transplanted 


288 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


June 


to  the  cold  frame  and  from  there  into  the  open 
ground  after  frosts  are  past. 

Carrots  may  be  sowed  in  well  prepared  soil 
in  drills  one  foot  apart ;  the  seed  mixed  with 
fine  dry  soil  will  be  easier  sown  and  more  even. 
Early  Horn  and  Long  Orange  are  best. 

Celery. — Transplant  from  the  hot  bed  to 
make  strong  plants  for  summer  use.  Sow 
seed  in  warm,  very  rich  soil,  in  drills  six  inches 
apart  for  main  crop. 

Cucumbers. — Plant  only  after  settled  warm 
weather,  in  hills  four  and  a  half  feet  apart ; 
put  a  larp;e  shovelful  of  well-rotted  fine  manure 
in  the  hill ;  put  in  plenty  of  seed  for  the  worms 
and  bugs,  and  when  the  rough  leaves  are  made, 
thin  them  out. 

Horse  Radish. — Dig  for  use,  reserving  the 
long,  small  ends  of  the  roots  for  replanting — 
it  has  been  the  custom  to  reset  the  crowns,  but 
a  much  nicer  and  better  article  is  had  by  plant- 
ing only  smooth  cuttings  of  the  root,  eight  to 
ten  inches  long.  Plant  in  rich,  deep  worked 
soil. 

Lettuce. — Sow  in  hot  bed  and  in  the  open 
ground  for  succession  ;  transplant  to  give  room 
to  head. 

Manure — for  the  garden  should  be  well  rot- 
ted and  free  from  weeds  and  other  seeds. 
Liquid  manure  is  very  valuable  to  forward  all 
vegetables  when  applied  judiciously. 

Onions. — The  seed  of  this  esculent  is  usually 
the  first  put  in  after  the  frost  is  out  of  the 
ground.  Set  rareripes  three  inches  apart  in 
rows  ten  inches  apart ;  let  the  soil  be  rich  and 
well  fined ;  keep  loose  and  clean.  Ashes  are 
excellent  for  the  crop. 

Parsnip. — The  seed  starts  slowly  and  may 
be  sowed  early,  as  light  frosts  do  not  injure 
them.  Sow  in  fourteen-inch  drills,  in  rich, 
deep,  well  worked  soil. 

Peas. — When  the  first  planted  are  well  up, 
plant  for  a  succession ;  the  dwarfs  in  drills  one 
to  two  feet  apart,  according  to  growth.  Taller 
growing  sorts  in  double  drills,  four  and  a  half 
to  five  feet  apart ;  bush  when  up  tliree  or  four 
inches. 

Peppers. — Sow  in  hot-bed,  boxes,  or  pots, 
in  the  house,  to  transplant  after  frosts  have 
gone  by  into  the  open  ground.  Some  kinds 
may  be  sown  in  the  ground  in  eighteen-inch 
drills  and  thinned  to  eight  inches  ;  give  a  dress- 
inrr  of  irnano  or  hen  manure,  using  care  not  to 
use  too  freeh'. 

Radish. — Sow  at  intervals  in  light,  sandy 
soil,  and  water  with  liquid  manure  to  force  a 
rapid  growtli.  Sow  in  any  vacant  spot  broad- 
cast or  in  drills.  To  be  crisp  and  good  they 
should  grow  (juick. 

Rhubarb  should  have  a  good  dressing  of 
manure,  forked  in  around  the  roots,  and  a 
headlet^s  barrel,  surrounded  with  horse  manure, 
placed  over  the  crowns  to  force  an  early 
growtli. 

Seeds. — Test  all  liy  sprouting  in  wet  moss 
or  the  like.  In  planting,  cover  the  seed  with 
fine  soil,  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  seed ; 


small  seed  requiring  less  covering,  as  a  general 
thing,  than  large  ones. 

Small  Fruits. — Currants,  raspberries,  black- 
berries, gooseben-ies,  and  strawberries  should 
be  pruned,  dug  about,  manured,  tied  up,  and 
new  beds  made. 

Squash. — Plant  only  after  frosts  have  passed, 
for  they  will  not  stand  the  cold.  Plant  early 
or  dwarf  sorts  in  hills,  four  feet  apart ;  running 
sorts  six  to  eight  feet.  No  two  varieties  should 
be  grown  near  together  as  they  are  very  liable 
to  mix. 

Tomatoes. — Transplant,  from  the  hot  bed, 
or  boxes  in  which  they  have  been  started,  in 
May,  after  frosts  have  passed ;  place  different 
varieties  at  a  distance  apart. 

Sweet  Herbs  should  be  found  in  every  gar- 
den. Divide  roots  of  sage,  lavender,  thyme 
and  rue.  Sow  seeds  where  the  ground  is 
warm,  in  drills,  separated  according  to  the 
growth  of  the  plant. 

Turnips. — Sow  for  summer  use  in  light  soil, 
fertilized  with  superphosphate. 

Tools. — Last,  though  not  least,  always  keep 
your  tools  in  order,  by  cleaning  after  using  and 
put  them  in  their  places  under  c'over  as  soon 
as  through  using,  and  then  no  time  is  lost  in 
hunting  and  cleaning  rusty,  lost  tools. 

W.  H.  White. 

South  Windsor,  Conn.,  April,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FOREST    TREES    FOR   RESTORrKTO 
LOST   FORESTS. 

For  many  situations,  and  for  all  seasons,  a 
grove  of  trees  of  the  pine  family  produces  a 
finer  effect  than  one  of  deciduous  trees.  As 
a  screen  it  is  more  perfect.  What  can  furnish 
a  more  eflectual  shield  from  the  winds  than  a 
hedge  of  arbor  vitae.f  Or  what  can  better 
protect  a  house  standing  too  near  a  noisy  or 
dusty  street  ?     It  is  eye-proof. 

A  person  studious  of  comfort  and  of  quiet, 
or  of  the  appearance  of  quiet  comfort, — and 
how  can  a  home  look  beautiful  which  lacks  the 
appearance  of  comfort  ? — will  find  inexhausti- 
ble resources  among  the  pines.  The  white 
pine,  when  first  planted,  needs  the  protection 
of  a  fence  or  of  other  trees.  But  it  grows 
very  rapidly,  and  will  continue  to  grow  for 
centuries,  till  it  towers  far  above  all  the  other 
trees  ;  for  it  is,  or  was,  far  the  tallest  tree  na- 
tive to  New  England.  Its  leaves  are  of  a  light, 
delicate  green,  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  brown 
of  cultivated  fields,  and  to  the  snow  and  bare- 
ness of  winter. 

Apparently  and  really  more  hardy,  and  a 
rapid  grower,  too,  is  the  red  pine,  commonly 
called  the  Norway.  It  deserves  to  be  better 
known  and  more  cultivated.  Crowing  l)y  it- 
self, wiiich  it  does  without  difficulty,  it  forms  a 
di'cp,  rich  mass,  of  darker  color  and  hardier 
apix'arance  than  the  white.  But  in  all  these 
qualities,  it  is  surpassed  by  the  Austrian  pine, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


289 


•whicli  has  been   successfully  introduced  fi'om 
Middle  Europe. 

The  least  valued  of  our  own  pines  is  the 
pitch  pine  ;  but  for  its  picturestiue  beauty,  its 
hardiness,  and  the  fact  that  it  thrives  on  sandy 
plains  where  no  other  pine  succeeds,  it  de- 
serves a  better  character.  It  approaches  near- 
er than  any  other  American  tree,  in  its  quali- 
ties and  appearance,  to  the  common  pine  of 
Europe,  called,  in  England,  the  Scotch  pine 
or  Scotch  fir.  Every  other  pine  is  apt  to  be 
ftifFand  monotonous.  The  pitch  pine  is  never 
so ;  it  is  always  modest  and  unpretending, 
common  but  not  vulgar,  with  a  wild  beauty 
and  picturestpieness  of  its  own.  A  low  round 
hill  covered  with  it,  near  the  residence  of  the 
Plon.  Judge  Thomas,  in  Jamaica  Plain,  is  one 
of  the  most  agreeable  objects  in  that  pleasant 
neighborhood. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  lofty  Nor- 
way spruce, — the  Avhite  fir  of  Norway,  the  red 
fir  of  Norway,  and  the  weeping  Norway  spruce, 
— which  are  deservedly  favorites  with  lovers  of 
trees.  They  have  the  recommendation, — no 
small  one  with  us,  consistent  republicans, — of 
being  distinguished  foreigners.  Till  lately, 
they  had  the  additional  charm  of  being  rare. 
They  deserve  all  the  attention  they  have  re- 
ceived. They  have  been  introduced  into  the 
lawns  of  many  of  our  rich  men  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  all  our  cities.  If  the  spruces  and 
firs  of  our  own  woods  are  less  imposing,  they 
have  still  great  merits,  and  ought  to  receive 
more  attention. 

But  there  is  another  tree  of  the  same 
family,  which,  in  beauty  and  in  utility  as  a 
screen,  is  unsurpassed  and  deserves  special 
notice.  It  is  the  common  hemlock,  with 
spray  and  leaves  finer  than  those  of  any  other 
tree  of  our  climate,  or  perhaps  of  any  region 
of  the  earth.  This  gives  the  tree,  while  it  is 
young,  the  appearance  of  the  most  exquisite 
delicacy.  The  leaves,  like  those  of  the  other 
evergreens,  grow  constantly  darker  as  they 
grow  older,  so  that,  in  the  spring,  the  close-set, 
bright  yellow,  minute,  tender  leaves,  coming 
out  from  the  opening  buds,  look  like  petals  of 
a  strange,  exquisite  flower,  at  the  end  of  every 
twig. 

The  young  trees  are  extremely  well  suited 
to  form  a"  hedge.  They  submit  patiently  to 
the  pruning  kniie.  The  terminal  branchlets  are 
so  small  that  they  make  a  closer  hedge  than 
any  other  plant ;  and  they  may  be  so  managed 
as  to  rise  to  any  height  desired. 

As  seen  in  a  thick  forest,  the  tree  is  often 
unsightly,  and  gives  a  false  impression  of  its 
character.  The  lower  branches,  killed  by  ab- 
sence of  light,  are  extremely  brittle,  and 
break,  not,  like  those  of  the  true  pines,  close  to 
the  trunk,  but  at  any  point,  giving  it  an  ex- 
tremely ragged  appearance.  None  need  be 
alarmed  by  this  fact.  For  the  fii-st  half  cen- 
tury, the  hemlock  always  has  the  appearance 
of  extreme  youth.  One  of  them  standing  by 
itself,  and  allowed  room  to  expand  its  branches 


on  every  side,  will  continue  very  handsome 
for  a  century. 

The  red  cedar  which  flourishes  upon  poor, 
hard,  rocky  hills,  which  the  other  pines  disdain, 
has  a  vast  variety  of  character.  Neglected, 
it  is  apt  to  become  scraggy  and  ragged.  But 
with  a  little  pruning,  often  without  it,  it  is  as 
symmetrical  as  an  Oriental  cypress,  which,  at 
a  little  distance,  it  perfectly  resembles. 

The  white  cedar,  a  true  cypress,  is  a  tree  of 
extreme  beauty.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
gracefulness  of  its  top  and  upper  branches. 
It  is  hardy  and  will  live  anywhere,  but  grows 
well  only  in  very  moist  situations. 

There  are  very  many  foreign  trees  of  the 
pine  family,  which  are  introduced,  cultivated, 
and  highly  prized  by  the  lovers  of  trees.  The 
larches,  native  and  foreign,  are  hardy,  and  in 
Great  Britain  are  extensively  cultivated  as  a 
timber  tree.  For  our  purpose  it  is  to  be 
avoided,  as  it  kills  the  bushes  under  it,  and  is 
particularly  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the 
grasses.  If  you  are  planting  only  for  grandeur 
of  appearance,  in  the  future,  plant  the  cedar 
of  Lebanon.  g.  b.  e. 

Boston,  April,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
RAISING   TURKEYS. 

The  following  suggestions  from  an  experi- 
ence of  fifteen  years  in  managing  turkeys  are 
submitted  to  the  readers  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer. 

Laying. 

Turkeys  are  shy  in  selecting  a  place  to  de- 
posit their  eggs ;  frequently  going  from  one- 
half  to  three-fourths  of  a  mile  to  find  some 
thicket  or  bush-heap,  and  exposing  their  eggs 
to  the  depredations  of  skunks  or  crows  !  they 
having  more  skill  than  the  owner  in  searching 
them  out.  It  takes  less  time  to  provide  safe 
places,  and  to  train  them  to  lay  in  these  places, 
than  to  hunt  up  their  "stolen  nests,"  to  say 
nothing  of  their  exposure  to  the  depi-edations 
of  mischievous  animals.  Take  some  enclosure 
that  can  be  spared  during  the  time  of  laying 
and  hatching,  and  fix  hiding  places,  in  which 
place  a  nest  egg.  Fasten  the  turkeys  into 
these  enclosures  a  part  of  the  day  for  three  or 
four  days  previous  to  laying.  They  will  re- 
construct the  artificial  nest,  sitting  a  few  min- 
utes at  each  time  for  a  day  or  two  previous  to 
laying.  After  they  have  accepted  these  nests 
and  deposited  the  first  egg,  the  work  is  done. 
I  have  had  from  three  to  eight  nests  on  a  long 
scaffold. 

Sitting. 

A  turkey  usually  prepares  her  nest  by 
scratching  away  the  ground  so  as  to  form  a 
scallop,  which  prevents  any  under  circulation 
of  air.  In  our  nest-making  we  should  be 
guided  by  the  turkey's  instincts  and  prefer- 
ences. I  usually  underline  with  dry  horse 
manure,  so  that  the  underside  of  the  egg  shall 
have  the  necessary  warmth ;  over  which  1  place 


290 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


JUXE 


the  nest,  di.sturbed  as  little  as  possible.  "Wlien 
the  litter  is  nearly  closed,  the  turkey  will  com- 
mence by  sitting  at  night  and  a  part  of  the 
day.  The  eggs  should  now  be  returned  to  the 
nest,  as  there  is  danger,  if  we  wait  until  she 
sits  steadily,  of  exposing  the  fresh  eggs  to  a 
too  sudden  change  of  temperature  for  success- 
ful incubation. 

The  turkey  is  a  most  assiduous  sitter, — 
sometimes  remaining  upon  her  nest,  to  the 
destruction  of  life.  They  should  be  occasion- 
ally taken  from  the  nest  and  fed. 

Care  of  the  Young. 
The  turkey,  when  first  hatched,  is  the  most 
tender  of  domestic  fowls.  If  they  can  be 
brought  successfully  through  the  first  four 
week's,  the  largest  and  most  difficult  part  of 
the  work  is  done.  I  have  found  cooping  for 
the  first  five  or  six  days,  in  some  long  coop, 
like  a  sheep  rick,  divided  so  as  to  give  each 
turkey  some  four  feet  space,  the  most  success- 
ful method.  The  young  intermix.  Each  tur- 
key is  the  common  mother  of  all  the  young. 
When  allowed  to  ramble  they  will  herd  to- 
gether, so  that  three  or  four  turkeys  with  75 
or  100  young  will  make  no  more  labor  than 
one  with  15  or  20.  During  the  first  four 
weeks  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  ramble 
until  the  dew  is  off,  returning  them  to  the  coop 
nights,  and  keeping  them  in  on  rainy  days. 

Feeding. 
The  most  natural  food  for  turkeys  is  insects. 
Were  it  not  for  rain  and   dew  they  would  be 
self-sustaining.     The  mother,  unbke  the  hen , 
does   not   starve   herself  to   feed  her  brood. 
She  does  not  even  divide ;  but  takes   all   she 
wants.     If  she  is  not  well  fed  she  will  ramble 
in  pursuit  of  food  beyond  the  strength  of   her 
young,  and  by  neglecting  the  invigorating  in- 
fluence   of  frequent   brooding,   may  lose  the 
weaker  ones.     Having  tried  various  kinds  of 
food,  the  best  success  has  been   secured   by 
using  wheat  bread  soaked  in  sour  milk  for  the 
first  few  days,  then  gradually  changing  to  brown 
bread,  aud  as  they  become  larger  and  require 
more  food,  intermixing  some  wheat  bran.     As 
soon  as  insects  become  plenty,  no   other  food 
is   required,   except  in  rainy,  damp  weather, 
which  is  more  injurious  to  young  turkeys  than 
to  h?gh  blood  sheep.     If  unprotected,  a  heavy 
showTr  will  freipiently  destroy  a  large  share  of 
a  healthy  brood.     Al)Out  the  first  of  October, 
insects  gradually  diminish,  the  mornings  begin 
to   be    cold   and  frosty,   and  some  cheap  and 
nutritious  food  is  necessary  ;  first,  once  a  day  ; 
then  twice,  and  after  about  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber,   food    should    be   constantly   kept  before 
them.     I  find  boiled  potato  mashed  fine,  thick- 
ened   with    bean   and   corn  meal,  a  cheap  and 
good  food,  which  should  be  made   richer  with 
meal,  adding  corn,  as  they  near  Thanksgiving 

and  Christmas. 

Statistics. 

The  following  estimates  bear  upon  the  ques- 


tion whether  rearing  turkeys  as  above  describ- 
ed, is  or  is  not  remunerative. 

Five  turkeys  will,  on  an  average,  bring  up  50 
young,  at  an  expense  of  $20  for  labor,  and  §40 
for  feed  or  $1.20  per  Lead, $60  00 

1865.  Sold  51  turkeys,  nearly  133i  lbs.  each,  .    $116  08 
Cost  of  raising  51  turkeys,  $1.20  each, CI  20 

Net  gain, ^^^  ^^ 

1866.  Sold  35  turkeys,  a  fraction  over  15  lbs. ; 
one  gobbler,  21  lbs.;  another,  22  lbs.;  aud 
another,  19  lbs. ;  38  in  all, P9  29 

Cost  of  raising,  at  $1.20  each, 45  60 

•  "7^ 

Net  gain, $-^'^  ^^ 

I  have  on  hand  8  hens,  and  two  young  gobblers,— one 
from  first  litter,  24  lbs. ;  from  second  Jitter,  19  lbs.  Best 
young  hen,  16  lbs.;  best  young  pair,  40  lbs.;  average 
tour  young  hens,  14  lbs.  4  oz. ;  average  four  old  hens, 
15  lbs.  10  oz. ;  best  old  hen,  17  lbs. 
Brandon,  Vt.,  1867.  H.  A.  Sumner. 


MANAGEMENT    OF   LAMBS. 

We  continue  our  extracts  from  Dr.  Randall's 

valuable  articles  in  the  Rural  Neio  Yorker,  on 

"Raising  Lambs,"  compiled  from  the  answers 

of  th(?leading  sheep  farmers  of  New  York  and 

New  England,  to  questions  which  he  submitted 

to  them. 

Docking  and  Castration. 

Mr.  Baker  docks  and  castrates  lambs  at  six 
to  ten  days  old;  Brown,  Heyne,  Rich  and 
Saxton,  at  four  weeks  old;  E.  O.  Clapp  at 
three  weeks,  A.  II.  Clapp  and  Wright,  at 
three  or  four  weeks,  but  Clapp  docs  not 
perform  both  operations  at  the  same  time; 
Elithorp  docks  at  one  or  two  weeks,  and 
castrates  at  eight;  Gregory  docks  at  wash- 
ing and  castrates  at  shearing;  Hammond 
do°  ks  at  two  weeks  and  castrates  at  four ;  the 
Marshalls  dock  and  castrate  at  from  six  to 
fifteen  days  ;  Pitts,  at  from  one  to  four  weeks  ; 
Pottle,  at  from  one  to  three  weeks,  according 
to  the  "strength  and  vitality"  of  the  animal; 
Sanlbrd,  at  two  weeks  ;  AVilcox,  at  one  or  two 
weeks,  but  does  not  perform  the  operations 
together.  Our  own  views  as  to  time,  manner, 
appropriate  weather,  &c.,  are  given  in  the 
Practical  Shepherd. 

Killing  Ticks  on  Lambs. 
All  concur  that  dipping  the  lambs  in  a  de- 
coction of  tobacco,  strong  enough  to  kill  ticks, 
is  the  most  effectual  mode  of  removing  these 
parasites  from  the  flock.  The  time  of  our  cor- 
retpondents'  dipping  them  varies  from  two  or 
three  days  to  two  weeks  after  shearing  the 
dams.  We  prefer  the  latter  time,  so  that  all 
the  ticks  on  the  ewes  shall  have  had  time  to 
get  (as  they  will)  on  the  lambs. 
"Weaning  Lambs. 
Baker  weans  lambs  at  three  months  old, 
making  it  a  point  to  do  so  "during  tlie  (lark  of 
the  moon,"  as  they  will  not  bleat  as  nuich  for 
their  dams  in  dark  as  in  light  nights  ;  Brown, 
the  Clapps,  Elil.horp,  Rich,  Saxton  and  Wil- 
cox, at  four  montlis;  Hammond,  from  three 
aud  a  half  to  four  months  ;  Heyne,  from  three 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER, 


291 


to  four  months  ;  the  Marshalls,  from  four  to 
four  and  a  half  months  ;  Pottle,  from  three  to 
three  and  a  hajf  months  ;  Sanford,  five  months  ; 
Wright,  from  lour  and  a  half  to  live  months. 
We  prefer  four  months,  but  might  shorten  or 
extend  the  time  according  to  circumstances. 

Tegs— Pasturage  after  "Weaning. 

A  lamb  is  called  a  teg  after  weaning  and 
thencelbrth  until  it  is  shorn,  at  the  usual  time. 
As  the  kind  of  pasturage  most  suitable  for  tegs 
has  been  the  subject  of  considerable  discussion, 
and  consequently  doubt,  in  England,  ve  put 
the  following  question  to  our  correspondents  • 
"Do  you  prefer  to  put  tegs  on  pasture  lands, 
or  on  the  after-growth  of  meadows  ?"  Baker 
prefers,  if  the  season  is  wet  and  the  feed  good, 
to  return  them  to  the  pasture  they  are  used  to  ; 
Brown,  the  Clapps,  Elithoi-p,  Hammond,  the 
Marshalls,  Pitts,  Saxton  and  Wilcox,  prefer 
the  after-growth  of  meadows ;  Pottle  prefers 
pasture  if  fiesh  and  good  ;  Rich,  good  pasture  ; 
Sanford  would  prefer  good,  fresh  pasture,  but 
not  having  it  at  that  season,  uses  the  after-growth 
of  meadows  ;  W^ right  thinks  he  would  prefer 
good  pastures  if  fed  close  and  allowed  to  start 
up  fresh ;  E.  O.  Clapp  likes  to  put  tegs  on 
stubbles,  (especially  wheat  stubbles,)  where 
the  land  has  been  seeded  down  to  grass  ;  Pot- 
tle objects  to  this,  because  "the  sharp  ends  of 
mown  stubbles  hurt  them." 

Our  own  experience  was  given  in  the  Prac- 
tical Shepherd  thus: — "The  moist,  mild  cli- 
mate and  constant  rain  in  England,  alfect  pas- 
tures very  differently  from  the  scorching  and 
often  very  dry  summers  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  as  a  general  thing  I  have  found  good, 
fresh  rowen  or  after-math  on  meadows,  or  the 
new  seeded  grass  in  grain  stubbles,  better  feed 
for  lambs  than  rested  pastures,  unless  the  latter 
have  been  seeded  the  same  or  the  previous 
year,  and  the  grass  on  them  is  tender  and 
fresh."  Such  is  our  continued  experience, 
though  it  might  not  be  so,  nor  do  we  feel  at 
all  confident  it  would  be  so,  under  the  condi- 
tions named  by  Wright ;  but  in  our  climate, 
and  on  heavily  stocked  farms,  those  conditions 
are  seldom  conveniently  attainable. 

There  is  unquestionably  force  in  Pottle's  ob- 
jection to  stubbles.  Whether  they  ever  pro- 
duce sore  mouth,  as  some  believe,  is  very 
doubtful ;  they  certainly  have  never  affected 
our  tegs  in  that  way, — but  they  cut  off  wool 
from  their  legs  and  heads,  and  thus  injure 
their  appearance  in  points  where  "fashion"  is 
very  exacting. 


agkicdtiTdtiaIj  items. 

— S.  F.  Dike,  of  Bath;  Abner  Cobum  of  Skow- 
hegan;  Lyndon  Oak,  of  Garland;  Isaiah  Stetson, 
of  Bangor ;  \Vm.  P.  Wingate,  of  Bangor ;  Nathan- 
iel Wilson,  of  Orono;  Geo.  P.  Sewall,  of  Oldtown, 
have  been  appointed  Trustees  of  the  State  Indus- 
trial College  of  Maine. 

—A  gentleman  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  has  a 


plantation,  some  thirteen  years  old,  of  the  verita- 
ble "Big  Trees"  of  California.  They  are  growing 
finely,  but  it  seems  a  long  time  to  wait  two  or  three 
thousand  years  for  the  maturity  of  a  tree. 

— In  opposition  to  the  theory  that  butter  made 
from  the  millj  of  cows  kept  on  limestone  soils  will 
not  keep  well,  a  correspondent  of  the  Country 
Gentleman  cites  a  case  in  which  a  crock  of  butter 
made  on  the  "Lime  Rock  Ridge"  of  Onondaga 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  was  sold  for  an  extra  price,  after  it  was 
twenty-two  months  old. 

— In  an  article  on  abortion  in  cows,  Dr.  Miche- 
ner,  in  the  Gennantoicn  Te^ef/rw^j/t  says  :  "You  will 
always  see  a  herd  of  cattle  excited  and  distressed 
at  the  sight  of  an  aborted  calf  hi  their  midst,  (and 
so  is  the  abortcr  herself;)  on  the  other  hand  where 
the  embryo  remained  its  full  time,  the  whole  herd 
seem  to  enjoy  it  from  an  instinct  of  their  nature 
that  all  is  right." 

— Dr.  Lenain  states  that  carbolic  acid  vapor  will 
kill  flies,  ants,  lice,  bugs,  ticks,  acari,  musquitoes, 
aphides,  l)utterflies,  earwigs,  wood  lice,  cockcha- 
fers, centipedes  and  other  insects  of  this  size,  but  it 
does  not  seem  to  act  injuriously  on  animals  larger 
than  mice.  It  possesses  also  most  wonderful  prop- 
erties as  a  disinfectant,  and  was  used  with  encour- 
aging results  in  treating  the  cattle  plague  in  Eng- 
land. 

— Z.  A.  Leland  says  in  the  Country  Gentleman^ 
that  the  main  roots  of  the  thistle  run  horizontally 
deep  underground.  When  digging  cellars,  he  has 
found  them  plenty  three  or  four  feet  below  the 
surface.  Troublesome  as  the  tops  arc,  he  regards 
the  roots  as  good  subsoilers,  and  the  plant  as  a 
great  ameliorator  of  the  soil.  He  has  seen  noth- 
ing which  restores  the  woijp  soil  to  'the  state  it  was 
in  just  after  being  cleared,  like  the  Canada  thistle. 


Cost  of  Raising  Stock. — The  cost  of  rais- 
ing calves  and  up  to  two  years  of  age,  was 
discussed  at  some  length,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  farmers.  The  gen- 
eral opinion  was  that  the  cost  of  raising  stock 
for  the  first  two  years  was  about  $50.  The 
following  is  Mr.  Lewis'  estimate  by  items  : — 

Value  of  calf  if  slaughtered  for  hide  or  rennet .   $1  50 
Seven  quarts  of  milk  per  day  for  a  month,  estimat- 
ing cheese  at  15c 7  20 

One  hundred  pounds  oil  meal  fed  during  summer    2  GO 

Whey   fed   during  summer 1  00 

Pasturage   first    season 2  00 

Wintering  first  winter,  hay  at  $12  per  ton  ....    10  00 

Pasturage   second    summer 8  00 

Hay  second  winter 18  00 

Total $49  70 


Vermont  State  Fair. — The  next  Annual 
Fair  of  the  Vermont  State  Agricultural  Socie- 
ty will  be  held  at  Brattleboro',  on  September 
10,  12  and  13. 


292 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


June 


iabks*    StpirrlmeHt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 

OR 

HOW   TO   MAIvE   HOIME   PLEASANT. 


BY     ANNE      G.     HALE. 


rEntered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year 
1866  hy  R.  P.  Enton  &  Co.,  in  tine  Clerli's  Office  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


CHAPTER  V. 
HOUSE  PLAINTS  AND  THEIR  CULTURE. 


Oleander.— This  plant  in  its  natural  state  in- 
habits the  borders    of  rivers— hence    its  botanic 
name,  Nerium.    It  is  a  species  of  laurel— is  some- 1 
times  called    the  rose-laurel- and    though  both 
leaves  and  flowers  arc  harmless  to  touch  and  smell,  | 
they   are  poisonous  to  the  taste.    It  is  a  native  of 
Southern  Europe  and  Asia.    In  1683  it  was  taken 
to  England  from  the  East  Indies.    It  is  grown  in 
the  gardens  and  shrubberies  of  Italy,  Sicily  and 
Greece,  and  cultivated  in  pots  to  adorn  the  gi-ounds 
of  chateaus  in  France  and  Spain.    One  species  of 
the  plant  has  been  used  in  tanning ;  from  another 
a  blue  dye,  equal  to  indigo,  has  been  procured. 
N.  splendens,  a  variety  of  N.  odorum,  is  the  kind 
generally  cultivated  in  greenhouses  and  conserva- 
tories in  this  country ;  but  the  atmosphere  of  the 
parlor  agTces  with  it.    Under  good  cultivation  it 
bears  very  large  and  fragrant  flowers  of  a  bright 
pink  color.     Propagate  it  by  cuttings.    After  a 
mature  plant  has  bloomed,  in  the  spring,  cut  back 
the  shoots  two  or  three  joints,  and  from  these  pieces 
select  the  strongest,  and  place  it  in  a  bottle  of  water. 
Hang  the  bottle  in  the  sunshine,  till  it  is  nearly 
filled  with  roots.    Then  get  a  pot  five  inches  deep. 
Fill  the  first  inch  with  pebbles,  and  the  next  with 
broken  charcoal.    Lay  on  this  a  mixture  of  loam, 
peat  and  leaf-mould  in  equal  proportions.    Sprin- 
kle a  little  of  this  upon  the  charcoal.    Then  hold 
the  young  plant  in  the  centre  so  that  the  tender 
roots  are  not  injured,  and  add  the  soil :  occasion- 
ally pressing  it  in  with  a  trowel-,  or  a  potting  stick, 
and  then   striking  the  pot  to  settle-it.    When  the 
pot  is  filled,  water  the  oleander,  and  if  the  soil  be 
loosened  around  its  collar,  add  more,  and  press  it 
carefully   to  make  it  firm.    Keep  it  in  the  shade, 
and  water  it  every   day,  till   it   shows   signs  of 
growth.     Then  give  it  the    sunshine.     Wash  it 
often,  and  give  it  liquid  manure  to  hasten  the 
flower-lnids.    Water  it  abundantly  while  blooming 
—indeed,  from  the  first  appearance  of  the  (lower- 
buds.    If  kept  in  the  shade  the  blossoms  will  be 
pale— let  it  have  all  the  sun  possil)le  after  they  be- 
gin to  show  color.    Old  nails  mixed  with  the  soil 
darken  the  color  of  the  flowers,  and  make  them 
grow  large  and  full.    Every  spring  get  out  all  the 
old  soil  that  you  can  with  a  trowel— a  large  iron 


spoon  is  better  for  this  puiiDose— and  fill  in  new 
soil  like  that  named  above.  Do  not  injure  the 
roots.  The  pot  need  not  be  changed  for  three 
years.  Keep  it  in  the  shade  out  of  doors,  where 
worms  cannot  reach  the  pot  nor  trees  drip  upon 
the  plant.  Water  it  enough  to  keep  the  soil  from 
drying  till  the  middle  of  August,  then  give  it  more 
water  and  the  sunshine,  gradually.  Toward  the 
last  of  September  it  should  be  taken  to  the  house, 
and  in  October  it  will  be  in  bud  and  ready  for  the 
parlor.  At  Christmas  it  will  be  in  bloom,  and,  if 
the  plant  is  three  years  old  or  more,  continue  so 
until  the  middle  of  May,  its  large  clusters  of  bright 
pink  flowers  delighting  everybody  with  their 
beauty  and  fragi-ance. 

OxALis,  comes  from  the  Greek,  and  signifies 
50„>.  ;_the  leaves  of  the  plant  have  an  acid  taste ; 
and  of  their  expressed  juice  a  chemical  preparation 
is  made,  and  sold  under  the  name  of  Salts  of 
Lemon,  to  take  out  iron-mould  and  ink-spots.  It 
is  a  native  of  Brazil,  Chili,  and  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  There  are  also  a  few  species  gi-owing  wild 
in  this  country  and  in  Great  Britain.  Old  English 
herbalists  call  it '-wood-sour  tre-foil"  (of  which  our 
word  wood-sorrel  is  a  corruption,)  and  "stubwort." 
Stubwort,  because  it  covers  the  ground  among  the 
stubs  in  coppices  when  they  are  cut  down.  They 
also  give  it  the  names  of  "Alleluia,"  and  "cuckoo's 
meat;"  because  it  springs  up  and  flowers  with  the 
singing  of  the  cuckoo,  at  which  time  Easter-Al- 
lelulias,  or  anthems  of  rejoicing,  were  sung  in 
church. 

Seedlings  of  the  oxalis  are  easily  raised,  but  the 
plant  is  generally  increased  by  offsets,  which 
should  be  set  in  a  pot  drained  with  pebbles,  in  a 
soil  of  sandy  peat  and  loam.  October  is  the  best 
time  to  start  them,  when  the  parent  plant  is  pre- 
pared for  the  winter.  The  leaves  will  soon  appear, 
followed  by  the  flowers,  (some  species  have  pink, 
others  yellow)  and  both  leaves  and  flowers  fold 
themselves  up  for  sleep  at  the  approach  of  night. 
During  the  winter,  water  liberally;  but  in  the 
spring  gi-adually  withhold  the  supply  till  the  leaves 
are  dead,  and  keep  the  pot  in  a  dark,  cool  place  all 
summer.  The  oxalis  is  very  pretty  for  a  hanging 
pot. 

Orange,  has  been  considered  under  the  head  of 
Lemon. 

Pansy.— This  word  is^a  corruption  of  the  French 
pmisee,  thought.  Louis  XV.  called  Qucsney,  the 
founder  of  the  economists,  his  "thinker,"  and 
caused  him  to  wear  three  flowers  of  the  pensee  as 
his  coat  of  arms.  "There's  pansies,  that's  for 
thought,"  says  Ophelia,  in  Hamlet.  Shakspeare 
also  calls  it  "love-in-idleness,"  as  in  this  extract 
from  the  "Mid  Sunnner  Night's  Dream— 


"Yet  marlvcd  I  whom  the  bolt  of  Cupid  fell,— 
It  fell  niKin  u  little  western  llowcr ; 
IJclbri'  milk-wliite,  now  piirpU^  with  love's  wound, 
And  niiiidens  call  it  love-in-idleness." 

The  plant  is  really  a  violet,  and  is  sometimes  called 
the  tn-colored  violet.  It  also  bears  the  names 
herb-triuity,  three-faccs-undcr-a-hood,  ladies'-de- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


293 


light,  kit-rnn-abont,  and  he.art's-case.  Clmstiana's 
guide,  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  says  of  a  shcp- 
herd-l)oy  singing — "this  hoy  leads  a  merrier  life, 
and  wears  more  of  tlie  lierb  called  heart's-ease  in 
his  bosom,  than  he  that  is  clothed  in  silk  and 
velvet."  The  pansy  is  common  in  Great  Britain, 
growing  in  the  corn-fields  and  hedges — blooming 
all  snmmer.  Under  the  name  of  "ladies'  delight," 
it  early  found  its  way  to  this  countxy ;  tJut  of  late 
years  it  is  seldom  seen,  except  in  old-fashioned 
and  neglected  gardens.  In  its  place,  hybrids,  ob- 
tained by  crossing  the  plant  with  the  dark  purple 
"English  violet,  have  met  with  great  favor.  Our  hand- 
somest varieties  come  from  Switzerland,  Germany, 
and  France.  England  also  furnishes  some  that 
are  very  fragi-ant  and  beautiful.  They  are  of  all 
shades  of  white,  yellow  and  purple, — separate  as 
well  as  united  in  the  same  flower.  Pansies  are 
most  easily  raised  from  division  of  the  roots,  but 
they  are  also  propagated  by  seeds  and  cuttings. 
Start  cuttings  in  sand,  under  a  tumbler.  Then 
get  them  in  a  pot  well-drained  with  clinkers ;  the 
soil  being  rich  loam,  sand  and  decayed  leaves, 
thoroughly  mixed.  Shade  thera  a  week,  and  water 
them  very  charily — just  enough  to  keep  them 
from  getting  dry.  Seeds  planted  in  the  garden  in 
the  spring  will  afford  cuttings  or  divisions  in  Sep- 
tember for  winter  flowers, — which  should  be  ready 
for  the  parlor  by  the  last  of  October.  Do  not 
'  water  them  too  much. 

Petunia. — This  word  comes  from  Petun,  the 
Brazilian  name  for  tobacco,  which  the  plant  was  at 
first  thought  to  resemble.  It  is  a  native  of  South 
America,  and  was  introduced  to  the  notice  of  flor- 
ists in  1823.  This  was  the  common  white  petunia. 
In  1830  a  purplish-crimson  species  was  discovered, 
and  from  the  cultivation  of  these  two  have  sprung 
all  the  varieties  now  known.  The  common  single 
petunia  is  easily  cultivated,  and  quite  hardy ;  but 
the  recent  varieties,  bearing  enormously  large 
and  double  flowers,  though  very  beautiful  and  fra- 
grant, are  frail  and  extremely  difficult  to  propa- 
gate. Common  white  or  purple  petunias  are  easily 
raised  from  seed,  in  the  garden  whence  they  may 
be  transferred  to  tlie  house.  Set  apart  as  many  as 
you  wish  for  winter  as  soon  as  they  come  up,  and 
pinch  off  the  flower-buds  as  fast  as  they  appear. 
By  the  autumn  these  plants  will  be  stout. bushes, 
which  can  be  potted,  for  flowering.  About  the 
middle  of  October  get  a  five  or  six  inch  pot  and 
drain  it  with  a  handful  of  pebl)les.  On  this  lay 
lightly  an  inch  of  rich  garden  mould,  and  then  set 
your  plant.  Wlien  you  take  it  up  don't  disturb 
the  roots ;  and  press  the  soil  carefully  around  the 
ball  when  placing  it  in  the  pot.  Water  it  to  settle 
the  soil,  and  make  the  surface  smooth  and  even. 
Keep  it  in  the  shade  a  week.  Then  give  it  full  sun- 
shine. Water  it  occasionally  witli  liquid  manure, 
beside  giving  it  warm  water  freely  every  day.  If 
it  grows  too  slender  pinch  off  the  flower-buds,  and 
abate  the  water.  Some  varieties,  even  M'ith  this 
treatment,  will  require  a  frame  for  support.  The 
petunia  can  also  be  easily  raised  from  cuttings,  by 


rooting  them  first  in  a  glass  of  water  placed  in  the 
sunshine,  and  then  set  in  soil.  The  double,  and 
larger  kinds,  are  apt  to  decay  if  placed  in  water, — 
start  those  in  sand  under  a  glass. 

Periwinkle.— This  pretty  little  vine  is  of  Eng- 
lish origin.  Its  botanical  name,  Vinca,  is  from  the 
Latin,  and  refers  to  its  habits  of  twining,  and  bind- 
ing its  shoots  about  everything  in  its  way.  We 
sometimes  call  it  running  myrtle,  because  of  the 
resemblance  of  its  leaves  to  the  broad-lcavcd  myr- 
tle. It  is  an  evergreen ;  and  may  be  transplanted 
from  the  garden  in  the  autumn  to  a  pot,  or  large 
sea-shell,  filled  with  good  loam,  for  a  hanging 
flower.  Water  it  once  a  fortnight  with  liquid 
manure  and  it  will  grow  luxuriantly.  By  Febru- 
ary it  will  be  studded  with  bright  blue  blossoms, 
( — one  variety  bears  white, — )  and  form  a  pretty 
contrast  to  the  money-plant.  It  may  be  returned  to 
the  garden  in  May.    Never  let  the  soil  get  dry. 

Pink. — Dianthus  Chinensis,  or  China  Pink, 
though  frequently  considered  a  garden  flower  is  a 
very  beautiful  addition  to  the  flower-stand.  This 
was  first  cultivated  in  England  in  the  early  part  of 
the  last  century,  and  from  thence  brought  to  this 
country.  Sow  the  seed  in  the  garden  in  the  sinlng. 
It  needs  light,  rich  mould.  In  Octolier  pot  a  plant 
for  the  house — draining  the  pot  with  pebbles — and 
keep  it  shaded  a  fortnight,  watering  it  freely  the 
while — and  then  give  it  sunshine.  Apply  liquid 
manure  to  the  soil  once  a  month  through  the 
winter.  The  bright  crimson  velvet  flowers  will 
crowd  each  other  unless  you  remove  some  of  the 
buds,  and  the  plant  will  go  straggling  over  the  pot 
if  the  stems  are  not  tied  up  to  rods.  In  the  spring 
increase  by  layers  in  the  same  way  as  carnations — 
it  is  a  surer  and  quicker  way  than  by  cuttings. 
The  China  Pink  needs  a  great  deal  of  water,  but  in 
small  quantities. 

Primrose. — This  is  so  called  because  inEngland, 
its  native  place,  it  is  often  the  first  to  open  its  flow- 
ers in  the  spring.  One  species,  the  auricula,  has 
been  already  described.  There  is  another,  the 
polyanthus,  which  is  very  desirable  for  edgings  of 
beds  and  borders ;  and  which  is  worthy  a  jjlace 
within  doors  for  the  sake  of  the  profusion  of  flow- 
ers it  will  give  in  January,  in  return  for  good  care 
and  plenty  of  water  and  sunshine.  Its  clusters  of 
yellow  flowers,  richly  bordered  with  claret  velvet, 
almost  of  themselves  "make  sunshine  in  a  shady 
place."    Give  it  the  same  treatment  as  the  pansy. 

Pyrethrum. — This  is  a  species  of  chamomile, 
which  it  is  sometimes  called.  Another  name  of 
the  plant  is  moimtain -daisy ;  that  was  given  it  be- 
cause it  resembles  the  genus  pyrethrum,  which  in- 
cludes many  plants  that  are  natives  of  high  places, 
as  the  peak  of  Teneriffe,  Caucasus,  the  Alps,  and 
the  Ural  mountains.  It  also  bears  the  name  of 
feverfew ;  and  is  of  the  same  order  as  the  chrysan- 
themum, the  daisy,  and  the  aster.  They  all  bear 
compound  flowers, — which  are  among  the  easiest 
for  cultivation, — readily  changing  from  single  to 
double  in  their  flowering  habits.  But  in-order  to 
perpetuate  a  double  flowering  plant  the  seeds  per- 


294 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


June 


fccted  by  the  florets  of  the  ray — as  the  bordering 
part  of  the  blossm  is  called — should  be  always 
planted.  Compound  flowers  are  also  propagated 
by  cuttings,  and  by  division  of  their  roots.  The 
pyrcthrum  is  most  generally  increased  by  cuttings. 
Keep  the  piece  in  water  a  week.  Then  get  a  pot 
and  fill  it  one-quarter  with  sherds,  for  drainage, 
and  in  a  soil  of  sand,  leaf-mould,  loam  and  peat  set 
the  young  plant.  Shade  it  a  week  or  two,  and  give 
it  warm  water  daily.  When  it  begins  to  grow 
place  it  in  a  sunny  situation,  but  after  the  flowers 
have  opened,  remove  it  to  the  shade — they  will  thus 
retain  their  beauty  and  purity  for  a  gi-cat  length  of 
time.  The  delicate  green  foliage  and  snow-white 
flower  of  the  pyrethrum  make  it  a  very  beautiful 
parlor  plant.  It  is  very  suital)le  for  ornamenting 
the  dress,  or  the  hair,  and  is  an  appropriate  funeral 
flow'er. 

Rose. — "VVe  come  now  to  the  queen  of  flowers, 
as  the  rose  has  been  acknowledged  in  all  ages, 
throughout  all  lands.  It  derives  its  name  from 
rhos,  an  ancient  Celtic  word  meaning  red,  in  allu- 
sion to  its  most  frequent  color.  There  are  no  roses 
in  Soutn  America ;  but  they  are  found  in  North 
America,  and  all  over  the  Eastern  continent.  Asia 
is  the  garden  of  roses.  The  vale  of  Sharon,  of 
whose  roses  Solomon  sang,  was  by  position  and 
soil  fitted  to  produce  them  in  great  perfection. 
And  Virgil  and  Ovid  have  celebrated  in  their 
vei'ses  the  roses  of  ancient  Pitistum,  (now  Salerno, 
in  Italy,)  which  were  said  to  arrest  the  voyagers 
of  the  Mediterranean  by  their  delicious  odors.  In 
fact,  not  a  poet,  nor  a  poetaster,  whose  words  have 
reached  the  public  ear,  has  ever  felt  that  his  work 
was  complete  until  in  rhyme  or  nnythm  he  had 
attempted  to  portray  the  charms  of  this  matchless 
flower.  The  old  mythology  asserts  that  the  red 
rose  is  indebted  to  Venus  for  her  blushes.  That 
the  blood  which  flowed  from  her  thorn-wounded 
feet,  when  I'unning  through  the  woods  in  hf  r  de- 
spair after  the  death  of  Adonis,  lent  the  flower  its 
color;  and  that  the  white  rose  sprang  from  the 
tears  which  she  shed  at  that  time.  But  Anacrcon 
tells  us  that  it  was  dyed  with  nectar  by  the  gods 
when  it  was  first  formed ; — he  speaks  of  it  also  as 
the  flower  of  Bacchus.  The  Turks  believe  that  the 
rose  sprang  from  the  sweat  of  Mahomet,  and  they 
deem  it  a  sacrilege  to  allow  one  of  its  petals  to  Ml 
to  the  gi-ound.  And  in  Persia  a  festival  is  held  in 
honor  of  the  rose,  which  continues  the  whole  time 
that  it  is  in  bloom.  Not  only  thcre^  but  in  Egypt, 
and  Barbary,  as  well  as  in  the  nations  of  Southern 
Europe,  the  rose  fills  an  important  place  at  all  fes- 
tivals and  entertainments,  both'  in  the  way  of  de- 
corations and  in  the  gratification  of  the  palate, — it 
is  said  that  the  Turks  have  several  difl'erent  ways 
of  preparing  it  for  sweet-meats. 

The  famous  attar,  or  otto,  of  rose,  which  used  to 
be  dearer  than  gold,  is  made  in  Turkey ;  as  also 
in  Persia,  and  India.  But  many  consider  that 
DOW  made  in  France  superior  in  delic.u'y  or  per- 
fume— the  Turkish  attar  being  a  coarser,  stronger 
odor.    Ortly  the  damask    rose,  which  takes  its 


name  from  Damascus,  where  it  formerly  grew  in 
great  abundance,  is  used  in  making  the  attar. 
Among  the  East-Indians,  the  Chinese,  Japanese, 
and  the  Persians,  rose-water  is  used  as  cologne- 
water  is  by  us — or,  rather,  more  freely.  'One  cere- 
mony of  salutation  when  a  friend  calls  is  the 
sprinkling  of  his  garments  with  rose-water,  by  the 
host.  Elegant  China  bottles,  with  stoppers  of  a 
peculiar  form,  provided  for  the  purpose,  are  counted 
among  the  indispensable  articles  of  housekeeping  • 
by  families  in  good  society.  But  we  must  return 
to  our  own  country  and  our  own  regard  for  this 
beautiful  and  fragrant  flower. 

The  brier-rose — wild-rose — dog-rose — it  has  all 
these  appellations — takes  its  name  ft'om  an  old  no- 
tion that  its  root  and  hips — seed  vessels — would 
cure  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog.  It  is  a  true  sister  of 
all  the  exquisite  roses  of  which  there  are  over  two 
thousand  varieties,  that  beautify  the  gardens,  the 
conservatories,  and  the  parlors  of  all  the  civilij;ed 
world ;  and  makes  the  best  stock  for  gi'afting  the 
most  superior  kinds.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to 
enumerate  all  that  are  considered  suitalde  for 
house  culture.  Most  of  them  that  stand  high  in 
favor  are  varieties  of  the  China,  or  Tea-scented 
rose,  of  which  the  old-fashioned  monthly  rose  is  a 
good  representative.  You  may  have  them  of  all 
colors,  from  deep  red  to  snow-white.  The  original 
tea-rose  was  brought  to  notice  in  1812,  and  its  de- 
scendants have  the  same  wants,  and  are  charac- 
terized by  the  same  habits  as  their  ancestor.  They 
need  frequent  cleansing,  or  they  will  be  infested 
l)y  the  red  spider,  thrips,  mealy  bug — in  fact,  all 
insects,  to  use  the  words  of  a  distinguished  florist, 
"from  an  earwig  to  a  lady-bug."  But  the  lady-bug 
is  really  a  benefit  to  the  rose,  for  it  feeds  upon  the 
aphis  and  its  eggs,  and  so  helps  to  rid  the  plant  of 
that  pest.  Rose-bushes  should  have  well-drained 
pots,  Init  they  need  not  be  very  large  ones.  They 
should  also  have  plenty  of  pure  air  and  sunshine ; 
though  some  are  patient  enough  to  look  thriving, 
and  benevolent  enough  to  show  their  flowers  v;here 
there  is  scarcely  a  ray  of  sunshine  the  Avhole  year. 
Cuttings  should  be  first  rooted  in  sand,  under  a 
tumbler,  and  then  transferred  to  a  pot  drained  with 
sherds  ;  having  a  soil  of  rich  loam,  sand,  peat,  and 
leaf-mould,  together  with  a  little  fine  charcoal, 
coarsely  mixed.  Keep  the  young  plant  shaded  a 
fortnight  after  this  change,  and  water  it  sparingly 
— but  never  allow  it  to  become  dry.  Then  it  will 
be  strong  enough  for  the  sunshine.  As  the  new 
branches  are  thi-own  out  give  it  a  little  more  water. 
AVhen  buds  appear  it  must  liave  all  the  sunlight 
possible  until  the  roses  open.  But  they  will  re- 
tain their  beauty  longer,  when  in  full  bloom,  if 
jn-otected  from  the  noontide  rays  of  the  sun ;  all 
the  rest  of  the  day  they  should  enjoy  it,  and 
have  plenty  of  water.  When  the  flowers  have 
faded,  cut  their  branches  back  half-way  that  they 
may  throw  out  more  blossoms.  AVhen  the  bush 
has  ceased  blooming  cut  back  all  the  branches  to 
witliin  a  few  inches  of  the  old  wood,  and  abate  the 
watering,  and  keep  it  in  the  shade — that  it  may 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


295 


rest.  After  a  few  weeks  repot  it,  with  a  ball  of 
earth  about  its  roots,  and  sink  the  pot  in  the  gar- 
den mould  till  September.  If  buds  appear,  pinch 
them  off.  In  September,  raise  the  pot,  and  water 
it  regularly  every  day,  but  never  let  the  water 
stand  about  the  roots,  or  let  the  soil  appear  soggy 
— stir  it  frequently.  Keep  it  in  a  cool  place,  with- 
in doors,  till  the  nights  get  chilly,  then  give  it  a 
sunny  situation  in  the  parlor.  If  the  plant  is 
strong,  and  thriving,  and  there  are  no  fears  of  its 
getting  pot-bound,  the  pot  need  not  be  changed 
oftcner  than  once  in  four  years  ;  but  the  old  soil 
should  be  replaced  by  new  in  the  same  way  as  for 
oleanders. 

Salvia. — This  genus  is  so  called  on  account  of 
the  supposed  healing  qualities  of  most  of  its  spe- 
cies, which  have  been  found  in  nearly  every  coun- 
try on  the  globe.  In  this  country  we  have  several 
exotics  under  cultivation ;  among  them  our  com- 
mon garden  sage,  which  is  used  in  cookery,  as  also 
in  medicine.  In  China  one  variety  of  this  is  pre- 
ferred to  the  tea-plant  for  making  that  beverage. 
S.  Mexicana  is  usually  styled  a  garden  plant,  but  it 
is  a  very  pretty  ornament  for  the  flower-stand, 
though  its  bright  scarlet  flowers  are  of  rather  short 
duration.  This  is  the  Mexican  sage,  often  called 
only  by  its  botanic  name,  Solvia.  There  is  another 
species,  S.  splendens,  which,  as  it  also  comes  from 
Mexico,  always  bears  the  name  of  Mexican  sage. 
They  both  require  the  same  treatment,  though  dif- 
fering in  appearance.  i>.  splendens  may  be  known 
from  its  long  spikes  of  flowers,  having  the  calyx  as 
well  as  the  corolla  of  a  bright-scarlet.  S.  Mexi- 
cana has  a  green  calyx,  and  the  scarlet  corolla  is 
more  labiate  than  that  of  the  other  species.  Trans- 
plant these  from  the  garden,  or  take  a  large  cutting 
and  start  its  roots  in  sand,  well-shaded,  in  Sep- 
tember. Give  it  a  soil  of  one-half  loam  and  the 
remainder  leaf-mould  and  sand  to  which  a  little 
fine  charcoal  may  be  added.  Water  it  spai-ingly 
and  keep  it  in  the  shade  a  week ;  then  increase  the 
water  and  give  it  a  place  in  the  house.  About  the 
middle  of  October  it  will  be  ready  for  the  parlor; 
its  elegant  scarlet  flowers  will  make  a  fine  show 
for  two  months.  Then  set  it  in  a  cool,  dry  place 
till  spring,  when  it  should  be  set  in  the  ground  till 
the  following  autumn.  Divide  the  root;  when  it 
gets  very  large,  take  new  cuttings  and  let  the  old 
one  remain  in  the  garden. 

Verbena. — This  name  is  derived  from  the  Cel- 
tic for  vervain,  a  plant  that  grows  freely  along  our 
country  roads.  It  is  in  fact  the  same  plant,  with 
this  exception — the  wild  vervain  bears  its  flowers 
in  long  spikes,  and  the  verbena  of  cultivation  is  a 
cluster-flowered  species.  The  wild  vervain  was 
once  called  holy-herb.  It  grew  on  the  Capitoline 
hill  at  Rome,  and  was  considered  sacred  both  by 
the  Romans  and  Greeks,  who  used  it  at  religious 
festivals,  and  also  sent  it  by  their  ambassadors 
when  making  treaties  of  peace.  It  was  much  valued 
by  the  Druids  of  ancient  Britain,  and  used  by  them 
in  casting  lots  and  foretelling  future  events.  Their 
priests  ordered  the  plant  to  be  gathered  "when  the 


dogstar  rose  at  such  time  as  neither  the  sun  nor 
the  moon  should  be  above  the  earth  to  sec  it." 
With  this  charge  also,  that  "before  they  take  up 
the  herbe  they  bestow  upon  the  gi-ound  where  it 
gi-owcth  honey  with  the  comb,  in  token  of  satisfac- 
tion and  amends  for  the  violence  and  wrong  done 
in  depriving  her  of  so  holy  an  herbe."  It  is  said 
that  the  vervain  is  always  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
towns  and  villages,  that  it  never  gi-ows  at  a  half 
mile's  distance  from  houses,  which  circiunstance 
has  gained  for  it  the  name,  "simpler's  joy."  The 
first  really  handsome  verbena  that  was  introduced 
for  cultivation  came  from  Buenos  Ayres,  in  1827. 
It  was  a  beautiful  plant,  bearing  scarlet  flowers, 
and  immediately  became  a  favorite.  Since  then  a 
large  number  have  been  brought  to  notice,  and  we 
have  them  of  every  color  and  shade  except  light 
blue.  The  verbena  is  raised  with  little  care,  but 
it  grows  the  handsomer  for  good  attention.  Seed- 
lings will  bloom  in  three  months  from  planting; 
the  seed  can  be  sown  in  the  garden  in  May,  and  in 
the  autumn  a  plant  can  be  potted  for  the  parlor. 
But  a  better  way  is  to  take  cuttings  in  August, — 
July  is  none  too  early  if  the  young  plants  are 
large  enough, — and  set  as  many  as  you  choose  in 
pots  di-ained  with  clinkers,  in  a  soil  of  loam,  leaf- 
mould  land  sand.  Water  the  plant  slightly,  to  set- 
tle the  soil,  and  then  fill  in  the  soil  to  the  rim  of 
the  pot.  Keep  the  plant  in  the  shade  a  month. 
Pinch  off  the  shoots,  especially  the  central  one,  to 
make  it  grow  bushy.  Then  set  it  in  the  sun,  and 
give  it  liquid  manure  occasionally.  Some  persons 
prepare  a  fertilizer  for  verbenas  by  mixing — im- 
mediately before  using  it — half  an  ounce  of  the 
sulphate  of  ammonia  with  a  gallon  of  water ;  and 
apply  it  to  the  soil  once  a  week.  This  is  also  a 
good  preparation  for  calceolarias  and  lantanas  and 
ivies  ; — and  it  suits  the  fuschiaand  the  heliotrope — 
giving  to  their  foliage  a  peculiarly  dark,  green, 
healthy  appearance. 

Tie  up  the  stalks  to  rods  arranged  at  the  edge  of 
the  pot,  or  train  the  plant  to  a  trellis.  Syringe  it 
thoroughly,  at  least  once  a  week,  to  keep  off  the 
aphides,  after  taking  it  to  the  flower  stand,  which 
should  be  in  October.  Give  verbenas  all  the  sun 
you  can,  and  a  plenty  of  air,  but  don't  water  them 
too  much.  The  colors  of  the  crimson  and  purple 
flowered  varieties  are  deepened  by  mixing  char- 
coal dust  with  the  soil.  In  the  spring  cut  verbe- 
nas half  way  back  on  every  stem,  and  set  these 
cuttings,  as  also  the  old  roots,  in  a  bed  in  the  gar- 
den ;  and  as  the  branches  lengthen  pin  them  to  the 
soil, — to  take  root  for  more  plants, — with  old  hair- 
pins, or  bits  of  bended  wire.  The  verbena  in  many 
of  its  species  has  strong  propensities  for  trailing, 
so  it  can  be  made  a  pretty  hanging  plant  by  allow- 
ing the  branches  to  grow,  and  only  pinching  oflF 
the  side  shoots.  All  verbenas  for  the  house  should 
be  placed  in  the  pots  they  are  to  occupy  through 
the  winter  in  July  or  August. 


—A  law  suit  is  pending  in  Chicago  about  five 
and  a  half  inches  of  land. 


296 


NEW   ENGLAND    EARTHIER. 


June 


HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  FOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Fried  Potatoes. 
Pare  and  cut  the  potatoes  in  thin  slices  over 
night,  let  them  stand  in  cold  water.  In  the  morn- 
ing, shalie  them  in  a  dry  towel,  till  perfectly 
drained.  Then  drop  them  into  very  hot  fot,  enough 
to  float  them.  (The  fat  from  Ijcef  suet  is  best.) 
Shake  tmd  turn  them  till  brown,  keeping  them 
very  hot.  Dip  out  with  a  skimmer  and  salt  them 
a  little.  If  properly  done  they  will  be  crisp  and 
delicious. 


in  the  morning  instead  of  putting  all  into  one  loaf, 
put  it  into  the  "cast  iron  roll  pan,''  now  sold  every- 
where. Bake  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour, 
and  you  have  a  nice  thing  for  breakfast,  sure  to  be 
light  and  wholesome. 


Dressing  for  Fowls. 
A  sausage  cut  up  with  bread  crumbs,  wet  with 
an  tgg  and  a  little  boiling  water,  will  be  found  to 
be  convenient  and  good. 


Indian  Cakes. 
Mix  up  Indian  meal  with  water  or  milk,  with  or 
without  an  egg,  into  a  batter,  rather  thicker  tlian 
for  griddle  cakes,  add  a  trifle  of  flour,  salt  well, 
and  pour  it  into  the  cast  iron  roll  pan,  previously 
i  well  heated ;  bake  in  a  veiy  hot  oven.  Success 
greatly  depends  on  having  the  pan  and  oven  hot 
enough.  Wheat  flour  may  be  used  in  place  of  the 
meal. 


Sponge  Cake  Pudding, 

Stale  sponge  or  other  plain  cake  may  be  made 
into  a  nice  pudding,  by  crumbing  it  into  a  little 
more  than  a  pint  of  milk  and  two  or  three  beaten 
eggs  and  baking  it.  Sauce — sugar  and  butter 
beaten  together. 


Orange  Custard. 

Ptemove  the  rinds,  thick  cells  and  seeds  from 
four  oranges.  Add  sugar  and  wine  to  the  pulp  till 
it  is  agreeable.  Place  a  layer  of  sponge  cake 
broken  small  on  the  bottom  of  a  deep  glass  dish. 
Pour  over  a  part  of  the  orange,  wine  &c.  Then 
another  layer  of  cake,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
fruit.  Just  before  it  is  served,  pour  over  the  whole, 
cold,  soft  custard,  made  by  stirring  the  beaten 
yolks  and  a  little  of  the  white  of  three  eggs  into  a 
pint  of  boiling  milk,  with  three  table  spoonfuls  of 
white  sugar.  /  Mary. 

Parsonsjield,  Me.,  1867 

I  find  so  much  that  is  valuable  in  your  depart- 
ment of  fanuly  receipts,  that  it  is  but  fair  that  I 
should  contribute  my  share  towards  keeping  it 
full.  The  great  difficulty  which  we  housekeepers 
on  a  moderate  income  have,  is  to  get  up  nice  but 
cheap  dishes.  One  cannot  help  making  good 
things,  who  has  plenty  of  eggs,  butter,  sugar,  &c., 
to  draw  upon ;  the  trouble  is  to  suit  the  family  on 
an  economical  use  of  these  staples.  Such  receipts 
then  should,  I  think,  have  the  place  of  honor  in 
your  columns. 

Brown  Bread  Breakfast  Cakes. 
Mix  up  brown  bread  over  night  as  usual,  then 


Graham  Cakes. 
Take  nice  Graham  flour,  with  plenty  of  salt,  wet 
it  with  boiling  water,  into  a  thick  dough,  cut  into 
rolls  about  an  inch  thick.    Bake  in  a  hot  oven. 


Troy  Pudding. 

The  following  receipt  was  published  in  your 
paper  a  long  time  ago ;  it  is  so  valuable  as  to  bear 
repetition,  especially  for  the  benefit  of  your  many 
new  subscribers : — 

Two-thirds  of  a  cup  of  pork  or  suet  chopped 
fine,  two-thirds  cup  of  molasses,  one  cup  of  sour 
milk,  one  teaspoonful  of  saleratus,  four  cups  of 
flour,  three  cups  of  any  kind  of  berries  or  chopped 
apple.  Steam  three  hours.  Sauce — Butter,  sugar, 
a  little  boiled  cider,  flour  and  water.  Indian  meal 
may  be  substituted  for  part  of  the  flour  with  econo- 
my. 


Cusk  a  la  Creme. 

If  any  housekeeper  desires  to  make  the  best  dish 
from  fresh  fish  she  ever  saw  or  tasted,  let  her  try 
the  following : — 

Take  a  fish  weighing  from  two  to  three  pounds, 
rub  it  well  with  salt  and  put  it  into  a  kettle  with 
enough  water  to  cover  it.  When  it  comes  to  a  boil 
set  it  oflT  where  it  will  cool.  When  cool  enough 
take  out  the  bones.  Take  a  pint  of  milk  or  cream, 
and  boil  a  large  onion  and  a  piece  of  mace  in  it. 
Rub  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  butter  into  some  flour, 
strain  off  the  onion  from  the  milk,  and  mix 
smoothly,  adding  a  little  pepper.  Put  it  on  the 
fire  and  stir  until  like  a  thick  sauce.  Lay  the  fish 
in  a  deep  dish  and  pour  the  sauce  over  it.  Have 
some  crumbs  ready  to  sift  thickly  over  the  top. 
Then  bake  from  half  to  three-quarters  of  an  hour. 

Gava. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGBICULTUKE,  HORTICUTiTtTRE,  AND  EXWDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  July,  1867. 


VOL.  I.— NO.  7. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
OrfiCE,  34  Merchants'  Row. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWK, 
8.  FLETCHER, 


Editors. 


JULY.— THE   HAY   MONTH. 

'I  am  a  true  laborer.  I  earn  that  I  eat,  get  that  I  wear, 
owe  no  man  hate,  envy  no  man's  happiness,  glad  with 
every  man's  good,  and  content  with  my  own  farm." — 
Skakspeare. 

ET  us  earnestly  strive 
to  use  the  above  lan- 
guage in  sincerity,  and 
we  shall  find  each  suc- 
ceeding July  a  hap- 
pier month  than  any  of 
its  predecessors. 

What  a  month  of 
fruition  the  abundant 
spring  rains  and  vivi- 
fying suns  of  June  have 
made  it.  How  the  farm 
has  filled  up — what  a 
I  fullness  there  is  all 
about  the  homestead. 
The  fences  are  half  hid- 
den in  the  spires  of  the 
ripening  red  top,  the  heads  of  herdsgrass  and 
sweet  blossoms  of  the  red  clover.  You  had  a 
near  neighbor  a  month  ago,  but  now  his  dwell- 
ing is  out  of  sight.  '  Honeysuckles  of  varied 
hues  and  odors  twine  around  the  pillars  of  the 
piazza,  or  kindly  climb  over  the  lattice  of  the 
old  porch  to  shut  out  the  noonday  sun.  The 
world  don't  look  half  as  large  as  it  did  a  month 
ago,  but  a  great  deal  more  crowded. 

How  appropriately  are  all  things  ordered  to 
aid  us  in  our  labors  !  The  heat  is  now  greatly 
increased,  just  at  the  moment  when  we  are  en- 


gaged in  the  great  Hay  Harvest, — and  the 
showers  that  are  usuall}^  so  plentiful  in  June 
are  in  a  measure  held  back,  so  that  the  farmer 
is  able  to  cut  the  grass  and  rapidly  prepare  it 
for  storing  away  in  the  barn. 

But  nature  is  still  lavish  in  her  bounties. 
The  grass  fields  are  shorn  of  their  beauty,  it  is 
true,  soon,  however,  to  be  clothed  anew  in 
"living  green."  While  they  are  recuperating, 
other  plants  are  coming  into  vigorous  maturity. 
Besides  the  flowers  of  last  month,  there  are 
now  the  candytuft,  the  catch-fly,  columbines, 
egg-plants,  marigold,  marvel  of  Peru,  roses 
and  lilies.  So  the  woods  and  groves  produce 
new  flowers,  and  the  roadsides  are  ornamented 
with  the  blue  bell  and  other  gay  blossoms  to 
gladden  the  traveller's  eye  and  heart. 

Before  the  month  closes,  the  rye  will  be  yel- 
low and  ready  for  the  sickle.  The  "oats  will 
whiten  apace,  and  quiver,  each  individual  gram 
on  its  light  stem,  as  they  hang  like  rain-drops 
in  the  air."  The  wheat  and  barley  assume  a 
dull  green,  while  their  swelling  ears  bow  be- 
fore every  breeze  that  blows  over  them. 

Haying,  now,  is  the  work  which  calls  for 
most  of  the  farmer's  time.  Indeed,  on  many 
farms  it  commences  in  June.  Many  pieces  of 
clover  are  ready  for  the  scythe  during  the  last 
week  in  June,  and  deteriorate  essentially  if  not 
cut.  But  hoeing  ought  not  to  be  neglected. 
It  is  better  to  suspend  haying  for  a  day  or 
two  to  hoe  the  growing  crops,  than  to  allow 
weeds  to  take  possession  of  the  ground.     It 


298 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


requires  but  little  labor,  comparatively,  to  go 
over  a  field  that  was  well  plowed  and  harrowed, 
and  where  weeds  and  grass  have  not  been 
allowed  to  spring  up, — but  where  this  work  was 
slighted,  and  weeds  have  been  allowed  to  take 
root,  the  labor  of  hoeing  is  slow,  tedious  and 
expensive,  and  the  soil  is  robbed  of  a  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  nutriment  that  ought  to 
have  sustained  the  prime  crop. 

Harvesting  the  Small  Grains.  Do  this  be- 
fore the  grain  is  fully  ripe.  See  article  on 
another  page  of  this  number,  on  this  subject. 

Celery.  Set  celery  plants.  Cover  them 
with  boards  for  a  week  to  keep  the  sua  off, 
and  water  freely. 

Cabbage.  Set  cabbage  plants  in  every 
nook  and  comer  for  a  late  crop.  They  are 
excellent  for  the  stock,  and  excellent  for  bipeds 
all  through  the  winter,  as  "cold  slaw." 

It  will  not  be  too  late  to  put  in  melons,  and 
cucumbers  for  pickles  early  in  this  month. 
Wherever  early  crops  have  been  taken  off  put 
in  ruta  bagas,  and  later  in  the  month  the  flat 
turnip. 

It  will  not  be  difficult  to  get  tico  crops  on 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  ground  occupied, 
and  where  such  is  the  case,  the  profit  will  be 
more  than  doubled.  The  market  gardeners 
get  fow  crops, — spinach,  peas,  potatoes  and 
cabbage.  The  peas  are  sowed  the  moment  the 
spinach  is  off",  then  potatoes  are  planted  be- 
tween the  rows  of  peas,  and  are  fairly  estab- 
lished by  the  time  the  peas  fail.  The  pea 
vines  are  then  cleared  off  and  cabbage  plants 
set  in  their  place. 

July  will  be  a  busy  month  to  every  good 
farmer, — but  if  he  takes  its  work  with  some 
system,  and  does  not  attempt  too  much,  he 
will  find  the  work  of  haying  interesting,  and 
the  month  one  of  calm  and  rational  enjoyment. 


FRUIT  PRBSEBVING  HOUSE. 
While  sipping  his  wine  one  day  with  some 
philosophic  friends,  Dr.  Franklin  noticed  that 
a  fly  which  he  had  taken  from  his  wine  as  he 
poured  it  out,  and  thrown  carelessly  upon  the 
table,  supposing  it  to  be  dead,  was  showing 
signs  of  life.  Now  as  the  life  of  a  lly  can  be 
preserved  during  a  "bottled-up"  imprisonment 
of  several  years  in  a  cold  wine  cellar ;  as  other 
animals  survive  the  stupor  of  hibernation,  the 
Doctor  and  his  friends  began  to  philosophize 


on  the  probability  of  the  discovery  of  some 
scientific  means  by  which  human  life  may  in 
like  manner  be  held  in  suspense  for  fifty  or  a 
hundred  years.  The  Doctor  suggested  that  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  take  a  nap  of  a  century 
or  so,  and  then  be  permitted  to  open  one's  eyes 
on  the  changes  which  might  occur  in  the  world 
during  that  length  of  time.  We  were  reminded 
of  this  little  incident  in  the  Doctor's  history 
by  what  we  saw  and  heard  at  the  formal  open- 
ing. May  20th,  of  a  building  in  Cambridge,  re- 
cently erected  by  the  Massachusetts  Fruit  Pre- 
serving Company.  Science  may  be  compelled 
to  stop  short  of  the  Doctor's  hopes,  but  it  is 
certainly  doing  great  things  in  the  way  of  pre- 
serving fruits,  vegetables,  fresh  meats,  fish,  &c. 
After  examining  the  building  and  testing  the 
preserved  fruits,  the  president  of  the  company, 
Dr.  Geo.  B.  Loring,  explained  the  principle 
on  which  the  house  is  built, — being  that  per- 
fected by  Prof.  Nyce  of  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
The  building  is  two  stories  high.  The  walls 
are  some  three  feet  thick,  formed  on  the  inside 
and  outside  with  sheets  of  galvanized  iron,  and 
between  them  a  packing  of  wood  shavings.  The 
second  story  is  the  ice  room,  separated  from 
the  fruit  room  by  a  floor  of  galvanized  iron, 
made  water  tight,  and  so  inclined  as  to  allow 
the  water  from  the  ice  to  run  off.  The  floor 
of  the  fruit  room  is  also  of  galvanized  iron, 
with  shavings,  &c.,  below,  to  prevent  the  en- 
trance of  moisture.  Some  patentable  matter 
is  spread  upon  the  floor  to  absorb  moisture  and 
to  affect  the  air.  The  object  of  the  house  is  to 
secure  uniform  and  proper  coldness,  dryness, 
purity,  absence  of  light,  and,  if  possible,  the 
great  agent  of  decomposition,  the  oxygen  of 
the  air. 

Dr.  Loring  spoke  with  much  confidence  of 
the  success  of  the  new  method,  regarding  it  as 
of  great  value,  not  only  for  the  preservation 
of  domestic  fruits,  but  of  foreign  fruits ;  and 
remarked  that  the  construction  of  these  houses 
would  render  the  business  of  dealing  in  the 
latter,  now  so  hazardous,  quite  safe  and  remu- 
nerative. Eggs,  vegetables,  and  other  pro- 
ducts of  the  farm  could  be  preserved  with 
equal  facility ;  and  he  had  no  doubt  that  by 
building  these  houses  on  a  smaller  scale,  the 
use  of  cellars  would  be  superseded  to  a 
great  extent.  The  advantage  of  this  would  be 
that  the  fruit  would  not  only  be  preserved  for 
a  much  longer  period,  but  would  be  kept  in 


18G7, 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


299 


much  better  condition,  and  thus  the  health  of 
the  community  would  be  promoted. 

One  great  objection  to  some  fruit  preservers 
has  been  the  rapid  decay  of  fruit  on  being  ex- 
posed to  the  air.  Mr.  C.  F.  Hovey  exhibited  a 
collection  of  Hubbardston  apples,  taken  from 
Mr.  Converse's  fi-uit  house  in  Maiden,  six 
weeks  ago,  and  since  kept  in  a  counnon  cellar, 
as  an  evidence  that  the  cold  and  dry  atmos- 
phere of  the  fruit  houses,  so  thoroughly  sus- 
pends decay  that  fruit  will  keep  for  a  long  time 
after  being  taken  out  of  them. 

We  understand  that  the  company  propose 
to  rent  the  building  to  farmers  and  market 
men  who  deal  in  fruits,  berries,  vegetables, 
fresh  meats,  fish,  &c. 


ILLINOIS  INDUSTRIAL  UNIVERSITY. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  had  a  two  days  and 
a  half  session,  at  Champaign,  commencing 
May  7.  From  a  report  of  its  doings  in  the 
Prairie  Farmer,  we  learn  that  the  Regent,  Dr. 
J.  M.  Gregory,  made  a  report  on  the  organiza- 
tion, course  of  study,  &c.,  which  occuj^Ied 
over  two  hours  in  reading  !  It  favors  manual 
labor,  which  the  writer  of  the  report  in  the 
Farmer  appears  to  disapprove  ;  it  is  silent  as 
to  the  admission  of  females,  but  as  the  law 
makes  no  distinction,  it  is  thought  they  may  be 
admitted  as  well  as  males  ;  it  provides  for  in- 
struction in  nearly  all  branches  except  law, 
medicine  and  theology ;  for  a  regular  course 
of  three  years,  and  for  instruction  in  optional 
studies.  The  students  are  to  wear  a  prescribed 
uniform  and  be  subject  to  a  regular  military 
drill.  The  Board  ordered  the  sale  of  180,000 
acres  of  the  land  scrijjt  at  not  less  than  50c 
per  acre  ;  leaving  200,000  on  hand.  Improve- 
ments and  alterations  in  the  buildings  and 
grounds  to  the  amount  of  $7000  were  ordered. 
The  school  is  to  be  formally  opened  on  the 
first  Monday  of  March,  1868,  but  it  is  hoped 
that  accommodations  for  some  of  the  classes 
will  be  provided  by  the  first  of  October  en- 
suing. Executive  and  other  committees  wei-e 
appointed,  and  the  institution  seems  to  be 
fairly  under  way. 

Ringing  Trees. — Mr.  Joseph  Davis,  of 
Baldwinsville,  Mass.,  writes  to  us  that  the  trees 
which  were  made  productive  by  this  process, 
have  been  planted  about  thirty  years,  and  al- 
though still  thrifty  and  growing,  never  pro- 
duced more   than  one  peck   of   apples,  and 


those  so  knurly  and  shriveled  that  he  could  not 
tell  what  kind  they  were,  until  he  girdled 
them.  After  waiting  thirty  years  for  them  to 
bear  fruit,  Mr.  Davis  agrees  with  Mr.  Baker 
that,  under  the  circumstances,  the  experiment 
was  not  only  "allowable''  but  entirely  justifica- 
ble. 


COLIC  IN   HORSES. 

We  are  informed  by  a  gentleman  who  has 
given  much  attention  to  the  diseases  to  which 
horses  are  liable,  that  the  following  remedy  is 
a  safe  and  effective  one.  It  is  certainly  sim- 
ple, and  if  administered  with  proper  prudence, 
we  are  not  aware  that  it  would  do  any  harm  to 
the  animal,  if  it  did  not  effect  a  cure.  We 
give  it  the  more  readily  because  it  is  a  remedy- 
always  at  hand,  namely  : — 

Dissolve  as  much  salt  in  a  quart  of  pure 
water  as  may  be  required  thoroughly  to  satur- 
ate the  liquid,  and  drench  the  patient  with  one 
half  of  it.  If  sjmptoms  of  relief  are  not  no- 
ticed in  fifteen  minutes  or  half  an  hour,  give 
the  remainder.  He  states  that  this  remedy  has 
proved  entirely  successful  in  very  severe  cases, 
where  other  more  complicated  medicines  had 
failed. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  colic,  jftatulent  colic, 
and  spasmodic  colic.  In  the  first,  it  is  occa- 
sioned by  the  enlargement  of  the  intestines  by 
the  food  passing  through  the  process  of  fer- 
mentation, instead  of  digestion.  Gases  are 
largely  generated,  and  hence  the  distention 
and  pain. 

The  s'pasmodic  colic,  which  is  accompanied 
by  more  excruciating  pains  than  the  former,  is 
caused  by  a  contraction  of  a  portion  of  the 
small  intestines.  In  either  case,  to  force  down 
various  pungent  and  violent  remedies  is  dan- 
gerous and  crue? 


Black  Knot. — B.  D.  Walsh,  Editor  of 
the  Practical  Entomologist,  in  stating  that 
black  knot  is  nothing  but  an  assemblage  of 
minute  funguses,  says  that  the  kind  that  infest 
the  plum  is  a  distinct  species  from  that  found 
on  the  cherry,  and  he  cites  several  instances 
in  proof,  where  trees  of  the  plum  were  full  of 
the  knot,  while  cherry  trees  standing  within  a 
short  distance  were  wholly  unaffected,  al- 
though the  spores  were  liable  to  be  blown  in 
profusion  from  one  tree  to  another.  He  also 
states  that  the  black  knot  on  the  chokecherry 
and  wild  black  cherry  differs  in  species  from 
the  knot  which  attacks  the  cultivated  cherry. 
— Country  Gentleman. 


300 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


FAKMEBS' 


GARDENS-- 
Shelter. 


•No.   V. 


HERE  it  is  de- 
sirable to  raise 
early     vegeta- 
bles    and    the 
finer  fruits,  this 
^^  is  an  important 
matter  in  most 
of  the   North- 
ern States,  and 
one    that   does 
not  receive  the 
consideration  that   it 
deserves.    Under  the 
head  of  '■'■Location,'''' 
we    referred    to    the 
shelter     aiforded    by 
the     form      of     the 
ground. 

Where  a  garden 
lies  upon  a  gentle  in- 
clination to  the  South, 
if  the  ground  above  is  occupied  by  an  orchard 
or  by  forest  trees,  and  especially  by  ever- 
greens, little  other  shelter  is  needed.  But 
such  situations  cannot  always  be  obtained. 
Where  the  garden  is  upon  level  grounds,  fences 
of  boards,  or  stone  walls  are  the  shelter  more 
commonly  resorted  to.  But  there  are  objec- 
tions to  cutting  up  the  grounds  around  the 
home  into  small  enclosures.  It  detracts  much 
from  their  beauty,  and  the  constant  opening 
and  shutting  of  gates  and  bars  is  attended  with 
much  inconvenience. 

Belts  of  white  pine,  arbor  vitae,  or  Norway 
Spruce  planted  in  double  or  triple  rows  on  the 
northerly  and  easterly  side  of  gardens,  furnish 
a  better  protection,  and  at  the  same  time  add 
much  more  to  the  beauty  of  the  ground. 
Where  it  is  desired  to  raise  early  vegetables 
or  the  finer  fruits,  some  such  shelter  is  abso- 
lutely necessary.  Vines  and  the  more  deli- 
cate pears  are  often  greatly  injured  and  even 
ruined  by  rain  storms,  accompanied  by  north- 
east winds.  A  fence  five  or  six  feet  high,  or 
an  evergreen  hedge,  will  generally  save  them 
Under  such  a  shelter,  beds  for  early  vegeta- 
bles may  be  arranged,  and  next  to  them  the 
more  tender  varieties  of  pears  may  be  planted. 
In  such  situations,  the  ground  will  not  freeze 
as  deeply  in  the  winter,  and  will  be  in  a  condi- 
tion to  be  worked  several  days  earlier  than  in 
open  ground. 


In  such  sheltered  situations  the  climate  is 
greatly  modified,  and  is  actually  found  to  be 
several  degrees  warmer  on  cold  and  windy 
days  than  in  unsheltered  places. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of 
amelioration  of  climate  produced  by  artificial 
shelter  is  found  in  the  garden  of  Mr.  Tudor 
of  Nahant.  This  is  a  rocky  promontory  pro- 
jecting from  the  coast  of  Lynn  and  Massachu- 
setts Bay.  It  consists  chiefly  of  ledges,  or 
rock  piled  vipon  rock ;  is  not  more  than  half  a 
mile  wide,  and  is  exposed  to  the  full  sweep  of 
the  easterly  winds,  which  bring  the  salt  spray 
over  the  surface.  The  soil  is  thin,  and  with 
such  fierce  visitations  of  wind  and  salt  water, 
the  vegetation  is  meagre  and  only  of  the 
coarsest  kind.  Yet,  in  such  a  situation,  sci- 
ence and  labor  have  triumphed  over  the  nat- 
ural obstacles,  and  made  the  almost  barren 
rocks  to  blossom  as  the  rose !  Corn,  and 
waving  grain,  trees  of  various  climes,  fruits, 
flowers,  shrubbery  and  rich  lawns  now  meet  the 
eye,  where  only  desolation  held  sway  but  a 
few  years  before. 

Mr.  Tudor  found  that  trees,  even  those  of  a 
hardy  character,  would  not  grow,  or  scarcely 
live,  swept  and  twisted  by  the  winds,  and 
coated  by  the  salt  spray,  and  he  set  himself  to 
protect  them.  The  first  step  was  to  amelio- 
rate the  climate.  Cold  winds,  surcharged  with 
acrid  salts  must  be  kept  out,  while  soft  suns 
and  gentle  airs  must  be  admitted  to  the  plants, 
and  he  has  so  far  changed  the  climate  of  the 
locality,  as  to  enable  him  to  rear  tender  plants, 
and  to  produce  fruits  scarcely  attainable  in 
sheltered  spots  in  the  interior.  Around  one 
garden  he  erected  fences  from  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  high  of  common  lathes,  nailed  to  strong 
cross  pieces,  leaving  interstices  about  two 
inches  wide  between  them.  Around  another 
garden  the  fence  is  of  brick ;  the  lower  five  or 
six  feet  is  close,  and  the  upper  portion  full  of 
holes  about  two  inches  square.  These  fences 
so  break  and  sift  the  winds  as  to  deprive  them 
of  all  power  of  either  straining  the  trees,  or 
conveying  the  salt  spray  to  their  foliage.  At 
the  same  time  the  temperature  is  so  changed, 
that  several  degrees  of  difference  may  be  no- 
ticed between  the  inside  and  outside  of  the  en- 
closure. In  a  cold  day,  there  is  a  genial,  soft 
atmosphere  in  the  garden,  while  out  of  it,  No- 
vember winds  may  howl  along  the  coast  with 
icy  breath.     Under  this  change  of  temperature, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


301 


Mr.  Tudor  has  succeeded  in  clothing  this  part 
of  the  promontory  with  rich  varieties  of  plants. 
We  saw  pear  trees  only  transplanted  four 
years,  loaded  with  fruit.  The  Northern  Spy 
fruited  in  perfection.  There  were  tender  rasp- 
berries, and  nearly  all  the  fruits  found  in  our 
gardens. 

Mr.  Tudor  has  set  10,000  trees  among  the 
rocks  on  the  handfid  of  earth  he  could  come 
at,  where  he  desired  to  plant,  so  that  now  the 
currents  of  wind  being  broken,  and  evaporation 
in  a  measure  retarded,  vegetation  will  spring 
into  life  spontaneously,  and  trees  of  a  less  hardy 
character  than  those  commenced  with,  will  suc- 
ceed. His  example  is  widely  felt,  and  other 
cultivators  take  the  hint  from  his  operations, 
and  by  means  of  fences  and  shubbery  are  en- 
abled to  rear  plants  which  it  would  be  otherwise 
impossible  to  do. 

On  Cape  Ann, — another  promontory  still 
farther  North  than  Nahant, — is  a  granite  wall 
fifteen  feet  high,  erected  by  the  owner  of  a 
quarry,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  his  gar- 
den from  the  east  wind. 

The  market  gardeners  in  Belmont,  West 
Cambridge,  and  other  towns  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  erect  light  board  fences  on  the  north- 
erly and  easterly  sides  of  their  grounds,  and 
against  them  arrange  long  rows  of  hot  beds, 
covered  with  glass,  and  in  addition  straw  mat- 
ting during  the  night.  Here,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  horse  manure  from  the  city  stables, 
they  raise  lettuce,  radishes,  early  cabbages, 
turnips,  beets,  cucumbers  and  tomatoes,  and 
large  quantities  of  similar  plants,  which,  at  the 
proper  season,  are  either  transplanted  into 
their  own  fields,  or  sold  to  gentlemen  in  the 
vicinity.  Indeed,  quite  a  profitable  trade  has 
recently  sprung  up  between  these  gardeners 
and  the  people  from  the  country,  who  resort  to 
them  for  early  plants  to  be  transplanted  into 
their  own  gardens. 

The  proof  of  the  benefit  of  shelter  to  the 
garden  in  our  climate,  meets  one  on  every 
hand.  There  are  few  good  grapes  that  ripen 
ia  New  England  on  unprotected  grounds,  but 
sheltered  by  a  wall  or  hedge,  many  fine  grapes 
will  attain  perfection.  One  of  the  finest  nur- 
series within  our  knowledge  is  protected  by  a 
thick  belt  of  forest  trees,  and  here  the  finest 
pears  yield  their  fruit  in  perfection,  Avhich  will 
rarely  pay  for  cultivation  in  unsheltered  local- 
ities. For  the  early  maturity  of  fruits,  so  that 
they  may  escape  the  autumnal  frosts,  high  cul- 


ture and  heavy  manuring  cannot  take  the  place 
of  shelter.  These,  in  tlie  culture  of  grapes 
and  pears,  will  produce  a  luxuriant  growth  of 
wood,  and  large,  plump  fruit,  but  the  wood  is 
so  filled  with  sap,  that  the  maturing  of  the 
fruit  is  rather  retarded  than  hastened  by  it. 
For  this  purpose,  the  atmosphere  needs  to  be 
cultivated  rather  than  the  soil,  and  this  can 
only  be  effected  by  shelter,  which  protects  the 
fruits  from  the  searching  Avinds,  and  surrounds 
them  with  a  warmer  and  more  uniform  temper- 
ature. 

We  formerly  attempted  to  produce  early 
maturity  by  high  culture,  but  experience  has 
proved  its  futility.  This  will  give  us  fine  fruits 
where  the  season  is  long  enough,  but  will  not 
insure  their  early  maturity,  which  is  the  great 
desideratum  in  the  northern  States,  especially 
with  respect  to  those  fruits  and  plants  that 
have  been  brought  to  us  from  regions  where 
the  climate  is  warmer  and  the  seasons  are 
longer. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS     ANIMALS,    INCLUDUyTG    IN- 
SECTS.—KTO.  IV. 
Cut  'Worms. 

We  resume  our  notice  of  noxious  insects 
with  some  remarks  concerning  cut  worms,  the 
Agrotididce  of  entomologists.  Of  these,  ac- 
cording to  Walsh,  there  are  two  genera,  Ag- 
rotis  and  Hadena.  Those  which  are  commonly 
known  as  Cut  Worms  by  the  farmers  and  gar- 
deners of  New  England,  are  the  larvas  of  a 
few  species  of  the  genus  Agrotis,  similar  in 
appearance  and  habits,  described  by  Harris  as 
"thick,  greasy-looking  caterpillars,  from  IJ 
inches  to  2  inches  in  length,  when  fully  grown, 
of  a  dark,  ashen-gray  color,  with  a  brown 
head,  a  blackish  horny  spot  on  the  top  of  the 
first  and  last  rings,  a  pale  stripe  along  the 
back,  and  several  minute  black  dots  on  each 
ring." 

Dr.  Melsheimer,  of  Pennsylvania,  calls  the 
chief  culprit  of  this  genus,  the  "corn  cut 
worm,  varying  in  color  from  a  pale  ash  to  a 
deep  or  obscure  brown."  They  take  their 
qualifying  name — "cut" — from  their  manner 
of  attacking  vegetation.  Lying  concealed 
during  the  day,  at  a  small  depth  in  the  soil, 
they  come  out  in  the  night,  and  cut  off,  near 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  Avhatever  young  and 
tender  plant  they  may  chance  to  reach,  some- 
times dragging  the  amputated  part  down  to 
and  over  their  retreat,  that  they  may  feed  on 
the  same  during  the  day. 

I  know  of  no  young  plant,  red  pepper  not 
excepted,  either  of  the  field  or  garden,  that 
is  not  sometimes  attacked  by  these  indiscrimi- 
nate devourers ;  though  they  seem  to  prefer 


302 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


July 


cabbages,  young  corn,  and  beans.  They  are 
hatched  and  grow  to  a  length  of  from  three- 
eighths  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  by  autumn, 
yet,  feeding  cliiefly  on  grass  and  small  weeds, 
their  injuries  are  then  too  trifling  to  be  noticed. 
But  from  the  20th  of  May,  to  the  10th  of  July, 
of  the  following  year,  just  when  the  crops  of 
the  field  and  garden  are  in  their  infancy  and 
tender  age,  the  mischief  perpetrated  by  these 
larvffi  is  often  very  serious.  We  are  told  that 
the  perfected  insects  or  moths  from  these 
caterpillars,  are  those  ashen  colored,  nocturnal 
millers,  so  called,  that  make  such  Quixotic  at- 
tacks on  the  lamps  and  candles  during  summer 
evenings. 

There  is  another  naked  ground  caterpillar, 
that,  perhaps  from  the  want  of  more  thorough 
examination,  I  have  not  yet  identified  with  any 
of  the  descriptions  of  entomologists.  It  is 
somewhat  thicker  and  longer  than  the  brown 
cut  woi'm,  of  a  shining  and  slightly  translucent 
appearance,  of  a  smoky  color,  shaded  with 
brown  and  green,  and  has  a  copper  colored 
head.  Unlike  the  brown  cut  worm,  he  cuts 
the  young  corn  below  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  just  above  the  lateral  roots.  He  matures 
as  a  larvje,  in  July,  a  little  later  than  the  brown 
worm.  Life  and  health  being  granted,  I  in- 
tend to  procure  some  moths  from  these  copper- 
heads next  summer,  and  send  them  to  head- 
quarters for  trial  and  a  name.  Their  ravages 
are  mostly  noticed  in  the  corn-field,  and  ai'e 
more  fatal  to  the  corn  than  those  of  the  brown 
■worm. 

And  now,  behold,  our  fields  and  gardens 
are  occupied  by  an  army  of  amputators,  with 
instruments  in  hand,  whose  sole  employment 
and  pleasure  is  to  lay  waste  and  destroy ;  and 
nothing  prevents  the  completing  of  the  de- 
struction which  they  yearly  initiate,  except  the 
want  of  numbers.  And  it  is  certainly  perti- 
nent to  inquire  for  what  purpose  they  are  com- 
missioned and  sent  among  us.  Certainly  not 
to  utterly  destroy  the  vegetation  on  which  they 
subsist ;  for  in  that  case  they  must  themselves 
perish.  And  certainly,  not  to  prevent,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  maturing  of  ample  crops  in 
field  and  garden ;  for  if  so,  they  have  I'ailed 
in  their  mission.  It  seems  probable  that  their 
normal  condition,  as  to  numbers,  is  just  suffi- 
cient to  cut  oflF  and  suppress  only  the  redun- 
dancy of  plants.  But  when  they  proceed  to 
amputate  whole  fields  of  corn,  cabbage,  and 
beans,  we  have  a  right  to  presume  that  they 
have  gone  beyond  their  instructions  and  should 
be  punished. 

When  we  consider  the  extraordinary  fecun- 
dity of  this  class  of  animals, — each  female 
moth  laying  from  two  hundred  to  five  hundred 
eggs,  it  is  more  wonderful  that  they  are  kept 
so  near  their  normal  numl)er,  than  that  they 
occasionally  greatly  exceed  it.  Taking  the 
lowest  luunber  of  eggs, — two  hundred  to  ea(;h 
pair  of  moths, — to  keep  the  numl)cr  uniform, 
from  year  to  year,  ninety-nine  out  of  each  one 
bundled  must  fail  to  produce  a  perfect  insect, 


and  one  only  must  succeed.  The  agencies 
commissioned  to  suppress  the  ninety-nine  have 
never  yet  exceeded  their  instructions  to  the 
amount  of  one  ninety-ninth  part  of  the  work 
assigned  them  ;  and  do  not  often  fall  short  of 
fulfilling  the  same  to  an  equal  degree  of  accu- 
racy. This  is  more  than  can  be  said  of  some 
of  our  modern  generals. 

I.  B.    Hartwfll. 
Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS     ANIMALS,    INCLUDING    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.    V. 
Cut  ■Worms. 

Perhaps  if  we  could  get  some  glimpses  of 
the  probable  utility  of  these  Agrotidians  un- 
der consideration,  we  might  be  more  willing 
to  endure  them  under  proper  limits. 

In  natui-e's  plan  there  is  no  less  redundancy 
of  young  plants  than  of  young  animals ;  for 
nature  sows  liberally,  and  so  should  the  farmer 
— expecting  that  the  redundancies  will  be  sup- 
pressed. Our  insect  assists  in  this  work,  and 
at  the  same  time  furnishes  from  his  own  re- 
dundance, subsistencefor  other  animals.  Also 
he  mines  the  soil  twice  a  year — first  to  hiber- 
nate, and  secondly  to  pass  through  his  trans- 
formations ;  thus  promoting  aeration  of  the 
soil,  and  finally  adding  to  its  fertility  by  con- 
tributing his  remains. 

The  agencies  by  which  these  insects  are  kept 
in  check  are  numerous,  and  many  of  them  un- 
known as  yet.  The  most  obvious  are  the  birds 
and  toads.  The  red  wing  blackbird  and  cog- 
nate species,  several  varieties  of  sparrows, 
though  accounted  granivorous,  and  the  thrush- 
es generally,  forage  on  the  ground,  and  de- 
vour, with  other  larva;,  many  cut  worms. 
Many  of  these  birds  seem  to  hunt  rather  leis- 
urely and  carelessly,  seldom  stopping  to  listen 
for  their  prejs  or  to  dig  into  their  subterranean 
retreats.  But  the  common  robin  is  a  model 
hunter.  From  early  dawn  to  evening  twilight 
he  is  on  the  cultivated  fields  and  gardens  of 
his  friends,  (for  he  knows  and  shuns  the  place 
where  the  boys  shoot  robins  and  steal  their 
eggs,)  hunting  for  worms,  as  soon  in  the  sea- 
son and  as  late  as  cut-worms  can  be  found. 
In  hunting,  he  moves  forward  a  few  paces  at 
a  brisk  hop,  and  then  stops  a  few  seconds  to 
look  and  to  listen  ;  and  such  is  the  acuteness 
of  his  hearing,  that  if  a  worm  moves  in  the 
ground  near  him,  it  is  soon  dispatched.  Both 
male  and  female  robins  engage  in  this  work, 
]\Irs.  Rol)in  being  the  most  industrious.  Sev- 
eral pairs  are  sometimes  seen  on  the  same 
field,  each  taking  a  diiferent  portion  of  the 
hunting  ground.  Our  robins,  from  kind  treat- 
ment, have  become  quite  tame,  approaching 
so  ni'ar  lliat  when  hoeing  in  the  field,  I  have 
repeatfdiy  and  distinctly  witnessed  all  that  is 
lu're  affirmed  in  reference  to  their  habits. 
The}'  have  one  weakness, — the  like  of  which  is 
incident  to  the  parental  affection  in  some   of 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


303 


their  superiors, — that  of  feedinfif  their  full 
grown  children  for  some  weeks  after  they  have 
left  the  nest ;  working  hard  themselves  to  sup- 
port their  offspring,  as  young  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen of  leisure. 

It  has  been  estimated  on  reliable  data,  that 
a  brood  of  five  young  robins  and  their  two 
parents  consume  on  an  average  200  larva? 
daily.  Add  to  this  the  number  taken  by  other 
birds,  and  the  unknown  cjuantity  captured  by 
the  nocturnal  toads,  and  we  can  appreciate 
some  of  the  agencies  that  keep  these  marauders 
under  restraint.  Yet  there  are  other  agen- 
cies, not  well  understood,  which  occasionally 
are  more  efficacious  than  those  enumerated. 
In  18G2  the  amount  of  cut-worms  with  us,  was 
at  least  six  times  its  usual  number ;  while  in 
1861  and  I860  the  number  was  about  an  aver- 
age one.  Yet  during  these  years  there  was 
no  corresponding  diminution  and  increase  of 
insectiverous  birds  or  toads.  An  unusual  re- 
dundancy of  tent  caterpillars,  canker  worms, 
field  mice,  &c.,  is  occasionally  followed  by  an 
unusual  scarcity,  from  causes  unknown. 

Perhaps  it  is  expected  that  some  methods 
■will  be  suggested  by  which  the  ravages  of 
these  insects  may  be  prevented.  Most  cer- 
tainly ;  and  the  reader  shall  have  the  benefit 
of  what  little  I  know  in  this  direction.  First, 
then,  take  and  pay  for  the  New  Exgland 
Farmer,  a  paper  too  well  known  and  appreci- 
ated to  need  a  word  of  encomium  ;  The  Amer- 
ican Naturalist,  Salem,  Mass.,  at  $3  per 
year,  or  the  Practical  Entomologist,  published 
monthly  at  Philadelphia,  at  50  cents  a  year. 
Next,  encourage  and  cherish  the  toads  and 
birds,  especially  the  robins,  and  not  excepting 
the  crows,  taking  care  to  tar  the  seed  corn, 
according  to  frequent  directions  given  in  the 
Farmer.  Then  drive  away  all  the  boys  that 
shoot  and  rob  the  birds,  and  thin  out  the  cats. 
Protect  some  of  the  cabbage  plants  with  hol- 
low cylinders  or  prisms,  four  or  five  inches 
high,  made  of  paper,  bark,  or  thin  wood. 
For  these  ravagers  travel  in  the  night  from 
plant  to  plant ;  not  under  ground,  but  on  its 
surface,  and  will  not  scale  a  perpendicular 
wall,  a  few  inches  high.  Last  and  best  of  all, 
go  into  the  cultivated  fields  and  help  the  robins 
dig  the  transgressors  out  from  their  shallow 
retreat,  generally  immediately  under  a  dilapi- 
dated plant,  and  destroy  them  or  collect  them 
in  a  dish  and  commit  them  to  the  love  and 
good  will  of  the  poultry. 

Salt  and  salt  marsh  mud  is  recommended  as 
a  disperser  of  these  and  other  field  vermin.  I 
know  that  strong  brine,  liberally  applied  to 
the  laying  boxes,  roosts  and  walls  of  the  hen- 
house will  effectually  banish  hen  vermin  ;  and 
I  know  that  very  weak  brine  applied  to 
squashes,  cucumbers,  &c.,  will  kill  the  vines. 

For  the  protection  of  corn  from  grubs  and 
other  larvas,  the  following  remedy  has  been 
given  :  a  tablespoonful  of  salt  and  plaster,  one 
part  of  the  former  and  three  parts  of  the  latter, 
applied  around  the  corn,  not  too  near,  as  soon 


as  it  is  up.  Many  intelligent  farmers  use  a 
similar  mixture  as  a  fertilizer ;  but  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  so  small  a  quantity  of  salt  will  kill 
the  larvas.  I.  B.  Hahtwell. 

Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


QUANTITY  OF  SEED  PER  ACRE. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  in  this 
country  in  relation  to  the  quantity  of  seed  re- 
quisite to  stock  an  acre,  and  we  find,  often- 
times, that  the  want  of  a  regular  and  recog- 
nized rule  in  this  particular,  is  the  source  of 
serious  failures,  and  loss  of  both  time  and 
cash. 

The  usual  quantities  of  the  several  kinds  of 

seed  accorded  to  the  acre  in  New  England  is, 

so  far  as  we  are  acquainted  with  general  usage, 

as  follows : — 

Wheat l«  bushels. 

Rye \\         " 

Ptas 2  '< 

Barley 1^102  " 

Oats 2  to  3  " 

Buckwheat 3  to  4  pecks. 

Clover  seed,  (red) 10  pounds. 

Indian  corn 6  quarts. 

In  the   '^ Farmer'' s  Dictionary,''''  there  is  a 

table  in  which   the  quantity   of  seed  usually 

allowed  to  the  acre  by  the  farmers  of  Great 

Britain,  is  set  down  as  follows  : — 

Wheat 2.1  to    3^  bushels. 

Oats 4    to    6        " 

Barley 3    to    4        " 

Rye •    .  2^  to    3|      '< 

Peas 34  to    4|      '< 

Buckwheat 2    to    2^      " 

Clover,  (red) 12    to  16  pounds. 

Clover,  (white) 2    to  4        " 

Trefoil  .   .   • 2  " 

Kye  grass,  here   called   "Witch 

grass,"  and   never   sowed  .   .  2  " 

Turnips 2  to  3  " 

From  four  to  six  bushels  of  oats,  and  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half  bushels  of 
peas,  would  he  considered  rather  a  large  allow- 
ance here.  We  apprehend  there  is  a  mistake 
in  the  figures,  though  we  find  that  in  cultivat- 
ing the  fiax  plant,  the  most  experienced  grow- 
ers In  Great  Britain,  and  particularly  in  Ire- 
land, where  the  best  flax  probably  In  the  world 
is  produced,  never  sow  less  than  six  bushels  to 
the  acre. 

In  this  country,  from  half  a  bushel  to  three 
pecks,  and  sometimes  four  of  buckwheat,  and 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  of  peas,  ^re  deemed 
an  ample  allowance,  even  on  the  richest  lands. 
We  may,  perhaps,  account  for  the  superior 
quantity  of  seed  allowed  by  the  English  by 
the  well  known  superiority  of  their  prepara- 
tory labors,  and  their  highly  systematic  modes 
of  cultivation. 


304 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


CULTIVATION  OF  HOPS, 
In  the  old  adage  that  "all's  well  that  ends 
well"  there  is  a  truth  of  most  frequent  applica- 
tion in  all  the  affairs  of  men,  but  in  few,  per- 
haps, more  strikingly  illustrated  than  in  the 
business  of  hop-growing.  The  soil  of  the 
yard  may  be  worked  and  enriched  by  the  most 
careful  and  lavish  hand ;  no  pains  may  be 
spared  in  procuring  the  best  roots  and  poles, 
nor  in  planting  and  setting  them ;  the  vines 
may  be  most  carefully  trained,  the  soil  most 
carefully  cultivated,  and  the  depredations  of 
insects  most  assiduously  guarded  against,  and 
yet  from  want  of  care  or  skill  in  harvesting 
and  preparing  the  crop  for  market,  the  whole 
enterprise  may  prove  a  failure.  In  an  article 
written  by  William  Blanchard,  and  printed  in 
the  old  New  England  Farmer  for  1834,  we 
find  the  remark  that  "hops  always  grow  first 
sort ;  second  sort  and  refuse  hops  are  made 
so  by  unskilful  management  in  picking  and 
drying."  But  notwithstanding  this  caution, 
the  hops  grown  in  New  England  declined  so 
much  in  character,  as  to  cause  great  complaints 
by  the  purchasers  in  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, in  which  cities  most  of  our  hops  were  sold. 
In  1842,  on  the  appointment  of  Benj.  Farns- 
worth,  inspector  of  hops  in  Massachusetts,  the 
brewers  of  Pliiladelphia  and  of  New  York  ad- 
dressed a  comunication  to  him,  urging  a  more 
careful  inspection  on  his  part,  and  also  appeal- 
ing to  the  growers  for  a  reform  in  their  habits 
of  picking  and  curing.  They  said  that  hops 
were  annually  shipped  from  Boston  and  other 
eastern  ports,  as  first  sort,  and  purchased  by 
the  consumer  at  the  highest  prices,  which,  upon 
examination,  were  found  to  contain  such  large 
quantities  of  leaves  and  stems  as  to  render 
them  unfit  for  use.  We  are  not  informed  as 
to  Mr.  Farnsworth's  success  in  reforming  the 
abuses  complained  of,  and  allude  to  the  sub- 
ject for  the  simple  purpose  of  enforcing  the 
importance  of  carefully  observing  the  follow- 
ing directions,  which  we  condense  mainly  from 
Mr.  Judd's  Hop  Culture,  for 

Picking  and  Curing. 

The  time  for  picking  hops  is  determined  by 
rubbing  them  between  the  fingers.  The  seeds 
should  be  full  and  hard,  and  well  studded  with 
small  roimd  dust,  of  a  golden  color,  at  the 
base  of  the  scales,  and  the  stem  of  the  hops 
should  have  plenty  of  this  "condition,"  as  in 
this  is  the  weight.  If  the  hop  is  too  ripe,  the 
wind  will  shake  out  the  seed  and  dust,  and 
loss  of  weight  will  be  the  consequence.     If  not 


ripe,  these  properties  have  not  matured,  and 
the  weight  will  be  inferior,  but  the  hops  will 
look  better.  If  there  is  much  picking  to  be 
done,  and  but  few  hands,  it  is  best  to  com- 
mence rather  early,  for  you  will  probably  end 
late  enough.  In  picking,  bins  are  necessary. 
A  bin  consists  of  a  wooden  frame  and  a  bag, 
called  a  "bin-cloth."  This  cloth  is  made 
from  two  pieces  of  sacking,  thirty  inches  wide 
— one  piece  eight  feet  long,  for  the  bottom, 
the  other,  twenty-one  feet  long,  for  sides  and 
ends — formed  into  a  bag,  and  suspended  in 
the  bin-frame.  If  necessary,this  bag  can  have 
a  partition  in  the  middle. 

The  bin-frame  requires  two  pieces,  ten  feet 
long,  two  by  three  inches,  with  the  corners 
taken  off  and  the  ends  rounded  for  handles. 
One  foot  from  each  end,  bore  one  and  a  quar- 
ter inch  hole  for  four  legs  two  and  a  quarter 


Fig.  7.    Hop  Bin-Frame, 

feet  long ;  also  one  foot  from  the  end  mortice 
in  two  end  pieces,  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
three  and  a  half  inches  wide,  and  one  and  a 
half  inches  thick.  Brace  each  leg  to  the  mid- 
dle of  each  side  piece.  At  each  end  put  a 
brace  to  each  leg,  and  let  these  braces  extend 
above  the  top  of  the  frame  two  and  a  half  feet, 
and  cross  each  other  six  inches  from  their  ends. 
These  top  pieces  are  termed  the  "horns." 
These  crosses  are  a  rest  for  the  pole  while  the 
hops  are  being  picked.  The  vines  should  be  cut 
about  one  foot  from  the  ground.  The  poles 
are  then  taken  with  the  vines  upon  them,  and 
placed  against  the  rest.  The  hojis  are  readily 
picked  from  the  vine  into  the  bin.  In  England, 
hop-picking  is  conducted  with  much  system. 
An  engagement  is  made  with  the  pickers,  the 
pole-pullers,  the  measurer,  the  poke-boy,  the 
carrier,  and  the  dryers.  Thus  the  grower 
knows  what  each  hand  has  to  do.  The  ground 
is  staked  into  lots  of  twelve  hills  square,  and  a 
stake  is  placed  in  the  middle.  The  pickers 
are  divided  into  companies,  to  which  are  as- 
signed four  bins.  These  bin  companies  are 
numbered,  that  each  picker  may  know  where 
he  belongs.  With  each  company  is  a  bin  man, 
whose  duty  is  to  pull  the  poles  and  carry  them 
to  the  bins  as  the  pickers  recjuire ;  he  also 
must  help  hold  the  "poke,"  (a  long  bag  of 
ten  bushels  capacity,)  must  carry  the  bag  to 
the  wagon,  strip  tiie  vines  from  the  poles  after 
they  are  picked,  and  help  move  the  bins  from 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


305 


one  lot  to  another.  He  is  paid  by  the  day. 
Pickers  are  paid  by  the  bushel.  A  tin  ticket 
indicating  the  number  of  bushels  picked  is 
given  to  the  picker,  upon  which  he  draws  his 
money  at  the  office  of  the  grower.  A  boy  at- 
tends the  measurer  and  helps  hold  the  bag. 
The  call  to  work,  to  dinner,  &c.,  is  made  by 
blowing  a  horn.  As  soon  as  the  kilns  are 
supplied  for  the  night,  (for  drying  goes  on 
night  and  day,)  the  work  stops.  One  meas- 
urer, who  acts  as  foreman,  is  required  to  about 
twelve  companies.  After  picking  is  over,  the 
poles  should  be  stacked. 

A  Vermont  hop-grower  uses  bins  about  8 
feet  long,  2h  feet  high,  3  feet  wide  at  the  top, 
and  2  at  the  bottom.     The   object  in  having 


Fig.  8.    PicMng-Bin. 

the  bins  narrower  at  the  bottom,  is  to  render 
it  more  easy  for  the  pickers  to  stand  close  to 
them.  A  board  is  fitted  across  the  bin  near 
one  end,  having  a  narrow  cleat  nailed  upon 
each  end  of  it,  so  as  to  hook  on  to  the  sides  of 
the  bin.  Upon  the  centre  of  this  board  is 
nailed  another  piece  about  a  foot  long  and  4 
inches  wide,  through  which  a  mortice,  1X4 
inches,  is  made  to  receive  the  standard — a 
piece  of  board  4  inches  wide  and  30  inches 
long,  with  a  notch  in  one  end  for  the  poles  to 
rest  in.  The  standard  is  kept  at  the  proper 
height  by  a  pin,  as  seen  in  figure  8.  A 
crotched  stake  is  set  for  the  but  end  of  the 
pole  to  rest  upon.  At  such  a  bin,  three  girls 
and  a  man  can  work  to  good  advantage.  The 
man  pulls  the  poles,  first  cutting  the  vines  two 
or  three  feet  from  the  ground,  lays  them  upon 
the  bin,  helps  pick,  and  throws  them  off  in  a 
pile.  By  taking  four  or  six  rows,  and  six  hills 
in  each  row,  we  bring  as  many  poles  together 
at  one  place  asis  convenient.  When  the  bins 
are  too  full  for  convenience  in  picking,  the 
hops  are  shoveled  into  sacks,  in  which  they 
are  conveyed  to  the  kiln.  The  owner  or 
some  very  careful  man  should  attend  to  this 
and  see  that  all  are  picked  well.  Where  any 
are  found  with  bunches  of  hops,  or  any  large 
leaves,  the  picker  should  sort  them  and  pick 
them  all  out.  For  this,  the  most  careful  man 
is  required,  and  every  careless  girl  in  the  yard 
will  abuse  him  as  much  as  she  can.  Good 
pickers  will  gather  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels 
per  day  well,  but  wages  should  be  based  on 
about  fifteen  bushels  for  a  day's  work,  as 
many  girls  will  not  pick  more  than  that. 


EXTRACTS  AWD   BEPLIES. 

FAILURES   IN   WHEAT   GROWING. 

In  the  New  England  Farmer,  of  April  6,  I 
noticed  an  article  on  raising  wheat  in  New  Eng- 
land, by  H.  Poor.  He  asks  wheat  growers  to  tell 
their  experience.  I  propose  to  do  so  at  this  time, 
although  I  do  not  think  it  will  hold  out  much  en- 
couragement to  my  brethren  to  raise  their  own 
wheat.  It  is  now  nineteen  years  since  I  commenc- 
ed farming,  on  what  my  neighbors  termed  a  worn 
out  farm,  and  as  I  was  obliged  to  run  in  debt  for 
the  entire  purchase,  and  had  not  a  dollar  with 
which  to  buy  stock  or  tools,  I  felt  that  in  some 
Avay  I  must  raise  on  the  farm  nearly  everything 
that  was  consumed  in  my  family.  The  soil  of  my 
farm  varies  from  stiff  clay  to  sandy  pine  plains. 

I  have  tried  many  experiments  both  with  spring 
and  winter  wheat.  It  has  always  proved  a  failure 
— not  pei'haps  wholly  so,  but  I  do  not  think  I  ever 
got  over  ten  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and 
most  always  of  poor  quality.  During  my  experi- 
ence as  a  farmer,  I  have  learnt  so  to  improve  what 
is  called  "worn  out"  sandy  plain  land  as  to  raise 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty-three  bushels  of  rye  per 
acre  on  it,  but  the  same  land  will  not  produce 
more  than  five  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  I  have 
learnt  to  raise  fifty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre,  but 
the  same  land  will  not  yield  a  good  crop  of  wheat. 
I  can  raise  from  two  to  four  tons  of  hay  per  acre, 
but  I  cannot  raise  good  wheat  on  the  same  kind  of 
land.  I  have  raised  six  hundred  bushels  of  onions 
per  acre,  but  when  that  same  land  was  soAved  to 
Avheat  the  crop  did  not  pay  for  harvesting,  except 
for  the  straw.  I  have  sowed  a  part  of  a  field  to 
oats,  and  a  part  of  the  same  field  to  wheat,  and 
got  as  large  oats  as  man  need  wish  to  harvest,  but 
not  more  than  six  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  I 
have  sown  wheat  with  oats,  but  the  oats  got  the 
best  of  it.  I  have  sown  wheat  M'here  the  land 
was  rich, — after  onions  for  instance — and  also 
where  the  land  was  moderately  fertile, — follow- 
ing corn  or  potatoes ;  I  have  sown  it  on  land 
long  used  as  pasture,  but  the  results  have  always 
been  about  the  same — almost  a  failure. 

I  hope  what  I  have  written  will  not  prevent  the 
brotherhood  from  trying  experiments  with  wheat, 
though  I  do  advise  them  not  to  sow  too  largely 
at  first.  I  have  no  doubt  that  on  some  farms, 
and  in  many  parts  of  New  England,  wheat  may  be 
grown  to  some  advantage.  If  we  can  be  reasona- 
bly sure  of  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  and  Avorth 
from  four  and  a  half  to  five  dollars  per  bushel, 
according  to  Brother  Poor,  a  good  deal  ought  to 
be  sown.  M.  S.  Kellogg, 

Chicopee  Falls,  Mass.,  April  18,  1867. 
Remarks. — We  are  sorry  that  Mr.  Kellogg  has 
had  poor  success  in  raising  wheat ;  but  wc  thank 
him  for  so  full  a  statement  of  his  experiments. 
Failures  as  well  as  successes  should  be  reported 
and  published.  "What  would  the  sailor  say  to  a 
chart  which  refrained  from  indicating  the  places  in 
which  other  ships  had  foundered  or  run  aground  ? 


BARNS   AND    CATTLE    TIES. 

Last  season  I  built  a  barn  60x40  feet,  posts  18 
feet,  with  cellar  under  the  whole.  I  boarded  with 
spruce,  one  foot  wide,  and  battened  with  spruce 
stuff  two  and  a  half  inches  square,  split  corner- 
wise,  which  makes  a  good  substantial  batten.  I 
have  18  stalls  or  tics,  so  arranged  that  each  crea- 
ture eats  by  itself.  I  have  used  bows  and  chains, 
but  cattle  would  frequently  break  loose.  I  now 
use  straps  and  like  them  best  of  anything  I  ever 
used  or  have  seen  used.  I  pass  the  strap  through 
the  ringaround  the  stanchions,  and  fasten  the  buckle 
end  of  the  strap  to  the  ring,  about  ten  inches  from 


306 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


July 


the  buckle  with  a  piece  of  leather  about  two  and  a 
half  inches  long,  with  a  rivet  in  each  end,  which 
keeps  all  in  its  place.  I  have  composted  manure 
for  25  years,  and  think  I  have  learnt  something  of 
muck  and  the  way  of  treating  it.  o.  f. 

Tmibridge,  Vt.,  April,  1867. 

Remarks. — Well,  now,  we  should  like  to  know 
what  you  have  learned  of  muck,  and  something 
of  your  way  of  treating  it. 


OLD    APPLE   TREES. 

I  would  inquire  when  is  the  best  time  to  cut  the 
"tops"  from  some  large  apple  trees  that  I  have 
just  dug  up  and  transplanted  ?  How  much  should 
I  cut  off?  The  trees  are  about  ten  years  old  and 
bore  last  year. 

As  I  want  to  set  out  a  few  creeping  flowers,  that 
will  gi-ow  up  this  summer,  will  you  be  kind  enough 
to  name  a  few  ?  I  also  want  to  raise  a  nice  cluster 
of  showy  flowers  ;  please  name  a  few  that  would 
look  well,  and  also,  a  handsome  bush;  which  looks 
the  best,  flowering  or  otherwise  ?        A  Reader. 

East  Kingston,  N.  H.,  April,  1867. 

Remarks.— It  is  a  very  unsuitable  time  to  cut 
a  tree  now,— that  is,  April  or  May,— but  as  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  trees  would  have  sufficient 
root  power  to  send  out  leaves  on  all  their  branches, 
the  safest  way  will  be  to  shorten  in  most  of  the 
twigs,  so  as  to  reduce  the  branches  considerably 
in  that  way.  Cut  an  inch  or  two  from  one  twig, 
twice  as  many  from  another,  and  a  foot  from  a 
third,  if  it  will  bear  it.  Then  take  out  limbs  from 
the  inside  of  the  tree,  until  the  top  is  reduced  to 
about  one-half  its  original  size— being  careful  all 
the  time  to  preserve  a  true  balance  and  graceful 
fonn  of  the  tree.  Wherever  you  cut,  take  the 
branch  off  close  to  the  one  from  which  it  grew, 
pare  the  cut  smooth,  and  cover  it  with  a  little  gum 
shellac,  dissolved  in  alcohol.  Have  it  nearly  as 
thin  as  water,  and  apply  with  a  small  brash. 

We  removed  a  twelve  years  old  apple  tree  last 
spring  when  in  leaf  and  blossom,  treating  it  as  we 
have  described  above.  The  foliage  all  fell  off,  but 
a  new  gi'owth  immediately  succeeded,  which  was 
quite  full  and  vigorous,  and  there  was  a  slight 
j^rowth  of  some  of  the  terminal  branches.  This 
spring  the  tree  looks  as  well  as  its  fellows  about  it. 

For  three  climbing  plants  take  the  Yellow  Trum- 
pet Monthly,  and  the  Evergreen  Scarlet  Monthly 
Honeysuckle,  and  the  Virginia  Creeper,  {Ampe- 
lopsis  quinqupfoUa,)  or  American  Woodlnnc. 

For  a  cluster  of  showy  flowers,  take  Asters  in 
variety,  Canterbury  Bell,  Cardinal  Flower  and 
Phloxes  in  variety. 

For  handsome  bushes  take  the  Rose-colored 
Wicgela,  Japan  Quince,  {Cgdonia  Japonica,)  and 
the  Forsythia. 

Tlicse  few  flowers  about  any  house,  set  in  proper 
positions  and  growing  vigorously,  will  give  it  a 
charm  and  attraction  that  it  never  had  before. 
Thank  you  for  starting  in  the  good  work. 

advertising   in   FARMER — RAISING   POTATOES. 

My  advertisement  in  the  Farmer  ot  "Seed  Po- 
tatoes," brought  in  the  orders  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  I  don't  know  but  I  will  have  to  expend 


all  the  small  profit  on  the  sales  to  inform  my  pat- 
rons that  I  am  not  able  to  fill  any  more  orders. 

As  I  have  been  requested  to  detail  my  method 
of  raising  potatoes,  perhaps  I  had  better  do  it 
through  the  Farmer,  though  I  presume  but  few 
if  any  will  be  benefited  by  the  practice  of  one  liv- 
ing among  the  rocks  of  Vermont  from  which  the 
mountain  streams  run  both  north  and  south  to 
meet,  if  at  all,  somewhere  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
My  custom  is  to  break  up  greensward  in  the  fall 
of  the  year;  next  spring  sow  with  oats,  and  the 
following  season  spread  and  plow  in  a  suitable 
coat  of  green  manure  to  make  the  land  sufficiently 
rich,  after  taking  off  a  crop  of  potatoes,  to  bear  a 
crop  of  grain,  and  stock  down  to  grass.  Thus  a 
single  piece  is  kept  up  but  three  seasons,  taking 
two  crops  of  grain  and  one  hoed  crop. 

I  have  tried  various  methods  of  potato  seeding, 
but  my  greatest  success  has  been  when  I  have 
used  the  least  seed,  cutting  potatoes  into  pieces 
containing  only  two  or  three  eyes  and  dropping 
about  eighteen  inches  apart,  one  piece  in  a  i>lace, 
with  rows  three  feet  apart.  The  first  that  I  ever 
planted  in  this  way  was  a  choice  variety,  and  the 
amount  of  seed  seemed  so  small,  that  after  all  were 
covered  except  the  last  two  rows,  I  took  up  the  seed 
from  the  last  i-owand  put  it  into  the  other,  making 
tv/o  pieces  instead  of  one  in  a  hill  in  that  row.  In 
harvesting  I  found  the  potatoes  were  very  much 
smaller  in  this  row,  and  not  much  if  any  greater 
yield  than  where  only  a  single  piece  was  put  in  a 
hill.  It  may  be  necessary  generally  to  hoe  them 
twice  in  order  to  destroy  weeds  ;  but,  if  it  is,  the 
work  should  be  done  before  they  are  large  enough 
to  be  injured  by  doing  it.  If  stray  weeds  come  up 
afterward  they  should  be  pulled  and  destroyed. 
I  am  not  obliged  to  hoe  but  once,  and  that  not  par- 
ticularly on  account  of  weeds,  for  my  farm  was  not 
remarkably  weedy  when  I  bought  it,  and  they 
have  been  growing  beautifully  less  ever  since. 
W.  I.  Simonds. 

Roxbury,  Vt.,  April  19,  1867. 

Remarks. — Friend  Simonds  is  not  the  only  one 
who  has  experienced  the  good  results  of  advertis- 
ing in  the  Farmer.  Our  circulation  is  so  large, 
and  among  such  a  ixading  class,  that  any  an- 
nouncement in  our  columns  cannot  fail  to  attract 
attention. 


CHANGING  SEED. 

The  belief  in  the  beneficial  effects  of  changing 
seed  for  potatoes  and  other  roots  is  very  prevalent 
among  English  farmers.  They  also  favor  a  fre- 
quent change  in  the  seed  of  wheat  and  other  grain. 
If  the  objections  to  in-and-in  breeding  of  animals 
is  based  on  philosophical  principles,  why  should 
we  not  expect  that  a  similar  practice  with  roots 
and  grains  would  result  equally  disastrously  ? 
From  my  own  experience  and  observation,  I  be- 
lieve that  all  kinds  of  roots  grown  year  after  year 
from  the  same  seed  and  on  the  same  quality  of 
land  will  gradually  deteriorate.  If  I  go  to  my 
neighbors  across  the  way  and  buy  my  seed  pota- 
toes grown  upon  land  and  with  manure  sinular  to 
my  own,  I  should  not  expect  to  sec  much  dilFer- 
ence;  but  if  I  go  several  miles  and  obtain  thosQ 
grown  upon  a  ilifilrcnt  soil  and  under  dillbrcnt 
treatment,  I  should  look  for  a  difference  l)oth  in 
quality  and  in  quantity.  Exposure  is  also  iiiipor- 
tant.  Potato  and  other  root  crops,  grown  upon 
land  that  is  exposed  to  heavy  winds  and  storms 
will  be  more  stunted  in  their  growth  than  those 
grown  in  a  more  sheltered  and  warm  place.  Five 
or  six  years  ago  I  bought  of  a  neighbor  a  mixture 
of  Irish  Greys  and  King  potatoes.  I  told  him  I 
should  sort  them  when  I  got  home,  as  I  had  always 
kept  my  varieties  separate.  He  advised  me 
not  to  do  so;  remarking  that  the   Irish    Greys 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


307 


would  not  grow  as  well  nor  be  as  productive  alone, 
as  wlien  mixed.  As  he  was  an  old  man  and 
a  practical  farmer,  I  took  his  advice,  and  have 
since  found  others  who  agree  with  him. 

I  must  repeat  what  I  said  in  my  article  on  wheat, 
that  I  have  great  faith  in  the  beneficial  effect  of 
salt  on  land  situated  fin*  from  the  ocean,  and 
planted  to  root  crops.  Edward  Hebb. 

Jeffersonville,  Vt.,  1867. 


USE   OF   SVPEKPHOSPHATE. 

In  April,  1866,  I  bought  one  barrel  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime.  I  sowed  some  on  my  pasture, 
and  some  was  used  on  potatoes,  corn,  and  garden 
vegetables  ;  but  I  never  could  see  the  least  benefit 
from  its  application,  although  I  watched  the  pas- 
ture veiy  closely.  I  took  some  superphosphate 
and  mixed  it  with  muck  and  dry  ashes,  and  ap- 
plied it  to  some  small  apple  trees  by  hoeing  the 
dirt  from  around  them  so  as  not  to  injure  the  roots, 
then  applied  about  three  pints  of  the  compost  and 
drew  the  dirt  back.  The  fair  growth  of  the 
trees,  and  the  large  growth  of  grass  about  them, 
caused  me  toihink  that  the  superphosphate  would 
do  well  to  compost.  o.  f. 

Tunbridge,  Vt.,  April  15, 1867. 


UrPROVED   STOCK   IN   CANADA. 

The  directors  of  the  Compton  County  Agricultu- 
ral Society  met  at  Compton  Centre,  March  16,  for 
the  purpose  of  arranging  list  of  premiums,  &c.,for 
the  Fall  Fair.  After  transacting  our  business,  M. 
H.  Cockrane,  Esq.,  one  of  the  members  of  our 
Board,  invited  us  to  visit  his  farm,  some  two  miles 
from  the  village,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  the 
thoroughV)red  stock  which  he  has  imported  or  in- 
troduced into  the  counrty.  We  noticed  first  about 
50  excellent  swine,  old  and  young.  His  arrange- 
ments for  their  comfort  are  admirable.  We  then 
examined  some  beautiful  specimens  of  the  Clydes- 
dale draft  horses,  and  afterwards  his  thorough- 
bred short  horns  and  Hereford  cattle.  He  has 
bulls  of  both  breeds  from  calves  up  to  the  Duke  of 
Oxford,  a  short  horn,  now  five  years  old,  imported 
and  formerly  owned  l)y  the  Compton  County  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  and  to  which  farmers  here  are 
much  indebted  for  good  stock.  He  has  also  some 
splendid  cows,  of  both  breeds,  imported  from  Eng- 
land, Kentucky  and  Canada  West,  with  some  few 
yearlings,  one  of  which,  purchased  at  the  Provin- 
cial Show,  Canada  West,  last  fall,  took  their  first 
prize,  and  weighs  now  1250  pounds.  A  just  idea 
of  the  convenient  aiTangements  that  Mr.  Cockrane 
has  made  for  the  health  and  ease  of  management 
of  his  stock,  can  be  formed  only  by  visiting  his 
premises.  He  has  just  remitted  by  a  Canada  \Vest 
importer,  I  believe,  (^7000  to  England  for  choice 
animals,  one  of  which  is  to  be  an  entire  horse  of 
the  Suffolk  Punch  breed. 

After  feasting  our  eyes  at  the  barn  and  stables, 
we  were  invited  into  Iiis  house,  where  our  appe- 
tites were  most  hospitably  feasted  in  their  turn. 

Of  the  cheese  factoiy,  built  last  year  by  Mr. 
Cockrane,  I  gave  you  some  account  in  the  early 
part  of  last  winter.  I  will  soon  send  you  a  notice 
of  the  time  and  place  of  holding  our  next  Fair,  and 
an  urgent  invitation  to  all  readers  of  the  Farmer 
who  can  make  it  convenient  to  do  so,  to  attend 
the  exhibition  of  our  society,  and  also  to  visit  the 
farm  and  stock  to  which  I  have  thus  briefly  allu- 
ded. Hiram  French. 

Eaton,  Compton  Co.,  C.  E.,  March  18,  1867. 

FROGS. 

The  season  of  frogs  has  come  again.  It  is  a 
pleasing  sound  to  the  lovers  of  nature,  and  wakes 
up  old  thoughts  and  old  associations.  A  few  re- 
marks on  the  natural  history  of  the  little  croakers 


and  peepers  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  the  columns 
of  the  Farmer. 

The  first  sounds  we  hear  are  from  croakers.  A 
thousand  voices  are  vying  with  each  other  in  a 
strange  medley.  You  approach  a  pond  and  you 
will  see  hosts  of  the  little  croakers  lying  flat  on 
the  w.ater  singing  with  all  their  might.  Yon  catch 
one  of  them  and  you  will  find  him  to  be  of  dark 
uniform  green.  Keep  him  out  in  the  warm  sun- 
light awhile  and  he  will  turn  to  a  light  drab  color. 
Another  sound  is  soon  heard  blending  in  with  the 
croakers.  It  is  from  a  shy  fellow.  Who  has  seen 
him  ?  Who  can  find  him  ?  As  you  approach  his 
retreat,  he  is  silent,  but  wait  a  little — keep  still. 
The  sounds  start  up  under  your  feet,  to  the  right, 
to  the  left,  but  you  can't  see  him.  Nor  will  you 
hear  the  sound  of  a  ripple  as  he  dives  into  the 
water.  The  fact  is,  you  are  not  looking  for  the 
little  diminutive  thing  that  he  is.  I  had  the  good 
luck  to  capture  one.  I  found  him  on  a  little  twig, 
and  saw  him  in  the  act  of  singing.  As  he  sung,  his 
throat  looked  very  much  like  a  soap  bubble.  I 
caught  him  in  my  hand ;  he  was  of  a  light  green 
color,  measuring  only  an  inch  in  length,  with  a 
cross  on  his  back  like  an  X.  I  found  him  de- 
scribed in  the  books  under  the  name  of  Pickering's 
Hylodes. 

I  have  never  seen  half  a  dozen  in  my  life.  They 
are  so  near  the  color  of  green  vegetation,  and  so 
small,  that  they  are  not  easily  noticed,     c.  s.  p. 


CULTIVATING   STRAWBERRIES. 

Select  a  suitable  piece  of  ground ;  enclose  it  with 
boards  four  inches  wide ;  cover  the  ground  two 
inches  thick  with  manure ;  spade  it  up,  mixing 
well ;  cover  the  whole  two  inches  deep  with  muck ; 
mark  off  one  foot  each  way ;  set  the  plants  the 
first  week  in  August ;  water  tham  until  they  get 
well  started,  and  next  June  you  will  have  a  good 
crop.  Then  weed  and  you  will  have  another  crop 
the  next  year ;  so  you  can  get  two  crops  and  not 
have  to  weed  but  once.  This  we  have  found  out 
by  experimenting,  as  the  Farmer  advises,  and 
know  it  to  be  the  best  way.  w. 

Clarendon,  Vt.,  April  20,  1867. 

Remarks. — There  may  be  more  weeding  on  a 
bed  set  out  in  May,  but  there  will  be  less  Avatering, 
and  we  think  a  better  crop  the  next  year. 


KILLING    BRUSH. 

I  have  noticed  in  the  Farmer  an  article  speak- 
ing of  salt  to  kill  brush,  and  other  wild  substan- 
ces. I  have  about  three  acres  of  land  covered 
with  whortleberry  brush,  which  I  would  like  to 
kill  out  without  plowing,  if  it  can  be  done  without 
too  much  expense.  If  you,  or  any  one  else,  will 
inform  me  how  much  salt  it  will  take  to  the  acre, 
you  will  confer  a  favor  on  an 

Old  Subscriber. 

Northbridge,  Mass.,  April  14,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  do  not  recollect  what  article 
our  correspondent  alludes  to,  but  have  the  opin- 
ion that  it  would  cost  more  to  kill  the  brush  with 
salt,  than  it  would  to  cut  and  burn  it,  and  then 
reclaim  the  land  by  plowing  and  cultivating. 

Salt  is  undoubtedly  excellent  for  the  land  in  cer- 
tain quantities,  but  it  seems  to  us  that  if  enough 
were  applied  to  kill  a  whortleberry  growth,  that 
nothing  else  would  grow  there,  until  a  deep  plow- 
ing and  thorough  mixing  had  taken  place. 

If  the  land  is  too  rough  for  plowing,  and  dam- 
aged salt  can  be  obtained  at  a  cheap  rate,  it  might 
be  an  economical  process  to  cut  or  pull  up  the 


308 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


July 


bnshes,  dig  up  tbe  mosses,  and  uneven  places, 
throw  the  whole  together,  and  mix  salt  with  the 
mass  as  the  pile  is  made  up. 

It  would  i-equire  two  or  three  years  to  bring  it 
into  a  fine  condition,  and  would  require  overhaul- 
ing once  or  twice  a  year,  and  perhaps  fresh  addi- 
tions of  salt  as  the  work  went  on.  When  com- 
pleted, this  would  form  a  capital  dressing  for  the 
pasture. 

The  cattle  would  browse  the  tender  shoots  that 
would  spring  up  from  the  roots  that  were  left  in 
the  ground,  so  that  many  j'ears  might  elapse  be- 
fore the  bushes  Avould  gain  any  considei'able  gi'owth. 

Try  an  acre  in  a  manner  something  like  this  and 
report  to  the  Farmer. 

INCREASE   OF    BIRDS    AND   INSECTS. 

The  pretty  severe  laws  for  the  protection  of 
birds  are  based  upon  their  presumed  value  for 
destroying  insects  injurious  to  vegetation.  But 
what  IS  the  result  as  a  matter  of  fact  ?  The  birds 
have  increased  in  this  town  during  the  past  ten 
years  very  largely, — it  would  be  safe  to  say  ten- 
fold. Cultivators  of  fruit  have  given  the  most 
efficient  aid  to  the  law,  and  the  orchards  and  gar- 
dens are  vocal  with  the  songs  of  the  numerous 
small  birds,  especially  protected  by  the  laws.  But 
have  not  the  insects  increased  in  the  same  or 
greater  ratio  ?  Every  year,  I  in  common  with  my 
neighbors,  make  a  clean  sweep  of  the  caterpillars, 
going  over  the  trees  several  times  so  as  to  make 
the  destruction  certain ;  and  yet  every  succeeding 
year  brings  an  increase  of  these  nuisances.  I  have 
been  an  ardent  defender  of  birds  and  of  the  bird 
laws,  upon  the  supposition  that  an  increase  of 
birds  would  within  some  reasonable  time  give 
relief.  I  have  submitted  quietly  to  the  annual 
loss  of  a  portion  of  my  strawberries  and  sweeter 
pears  and  a  larger  portion  of  my  finest  cherries 
and  blackberries,  with  the  fullest  faith  that  while 
the  birds  were  devouring  a  fair  share  of  these 
delicacies,  they  would  rid  me  of  some  proportion 
of  tlie  insect  pests  of  the  orchard  and  garden. 
They  have  not  done  so.  The  insects  are  more 
numerous  than  ever,  in  spite  of  hand  enishing, 
brushing,  scraping,  and  a  dehige  of  soft  and 
whale-oil  soaps.  My  experience  is  verified  by 
that  of  my  neighbors.  To  what  shall  we  look 
for  relief?  The  more  trees  we  have,  the  more 
birds  and  the  more  insects.  The  ravages  of 
the  canker  worm,  caterpillars  and  borers  are 
growing  worse  from  year  to  year,  and  fruit- 
growers are  debating  whether  they  can  afford 
to  support  and  feed  the  birds  as  well  as  the 
insects.  Already  one  orchard  of  four  hundred 
noble  apple  trees  has  been  denuded  of  its  ti"ces  and 
the  land  laid  down  to  grass,  because  the  owner 
found  it  impossible  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  the  in- 
sects, and  others  are  debating  whether  they  had 
not  better  follow  in  the  same  track.  If  you  can 
give  us  any  comforting  advice  pray  do  so. 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  Axtril,  1867.  J.  A.  ii. 

Remarks. — We  are  fellow-sufferers  with  our 
correspondent,  and  gannot  administer  much  com- 
fort. Is  New  England  peculiar  in  this  respect  ? 
What  have  other  people  done  in  England,  France, 
and  Germany  ?  Have  not  destroyed  the  birds, 
we  trust.  That  insects  have  increased,  there  is  no 
doubt.  But  does  not  supply  usually  increase  de- 
mand, as  well  as  the  reverse  ?  If  we  supply  a  large 
variety  of  food  upon  which  insects  of  all  sorts  de- 
light to  feed,  is  it  strange  that  their  number  in- 


creases ?  You  destroy  the  caterpillars  on  your 
premises,  but  your  neighbors,  perhaps,  permit 
thousand  of  wild  cherry  trees  and  other  plants  to 
grow  luxuriantly  all  about  them,  which  supply 
food  abundantly  for  legions  of  these  insects.  A 
universal  onslaught  will  only  exterminate  them, 
and  so  of  other  nuisances. 


TOP   DRESSING   GRASS   LAND — RAISING  ROOTS. 

I  see  a  great  deal  in  the  Farmer  about  top  dress- 
ing, and  perhaps  a  little  of  my  experience  on  the 
subject  may  be  acceptable.  About  thirteen  years 
ago,  I  bought  two  acres  of  land,  one  acre  of  which 
was  plowed,  the  I'cst  in  grass,  except  one-half  acre 
on  which  the  buildings  and  some  apple  trees  stood. 
The  first  year  the  hay  hardly  paid  for  mowing.  In 
the  fall  I  cleared  out  the  woodshed  and  spread  its 
contents  on  the  grass  land.  As  soon  as  I  could,  I 
seeded  down  the  ren\ainder  to  grass,  and  have 
mowed  it  yearly,  orchard  and  all.  I  have  contin- 
ued top  dressing  ever  since,  though  for  the  few 
first  j'ears  I  had  but  little  to  apply.  After  putting 
what  I  want  on  my  potato  patch,  I  now  spread  the 
rest  on  my  grass.  In  the  fall  I  put  on  my  summer 
manure.  But  having  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  is  a  loss  in  applying  it  in  the  spring,  I  shall 
let  my  manure  lie  this  year  in  the  shed  till  fall. 

I  usually  mow  twice ;  about  the  first  of  July  and 
September,  i  have  about  one  acre  in  another  place 
among  the  rocks,  which  I  mow  but  once,  allowing 
my  cows  to  take  the  second  crop.  This  some  of 
my  townsmen  think  the  best  way,  believing  that 
it  does  not  hurt  the  land  so  mucii  for  the  cows  to 
gnaw  it  down  to  the  roots,  as  it  does  to  cut  it  off 
with  a  scythe  ;  but  I  don't  think  so.  I  do  it  sim- 
ply because  my  cows  want  something  more  than 
they  can  get  in  the  pasture  during  the  latter  part 
of  the  season.  On  the  hay  which  grew  on  these 
three  acres,  I  wintered,  in  1865-6,  two  cows,  a 
horse,  and  four  sheep,  and  kept  two  cows  six 
weeks.  The  past  winter,  1866-7, 1  have  kept  a  calf 
in  addition  to  the  above  stock,  but  I  am  a  little 
short  for  hay,  as  my  second  crop  last  year  was  not 
more  than  half  the  ordinary  yield.  These  three 
acres  usually  produce  fodder  enough  for  two  cows, 
a  horse,  and  four  sheep.  In  this  northern  country 
we  find  that  it  takes  two  and  a  half  or  three  tons 
of  hay,  or  its  equivalent,  to  mnter  a  cow.  About 
three-fourths  of  the  apple  trees  have  died  out,  and 
the  half  acre  of  land  near  the  buildings,  produces 
at  least  three  tons  of  hay,  as  good  as  any  grown 
in  this  county.  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  rais- 
ing from  thirty  to  fifty  bushels  of  carrots  every 
year  which  my  animals  eat,  except  a  few  which  I 
sell  for  coloring  butter.  The  past  year,  however,! 
raised  al)out  sixty-three  bushels  of  carrots  and 
mangel  wurzels,  and  feed  all  liut  ciglit  or  ten  bush- 
els. These  were  raised  in  my  garden  on  thirteen 
and  one-half  square  rods ;  the  mixed  seed  l)eing 
sown  broad  cast.  When  harvested  I  had  fortj'- 
three  bushels  of  carrots  and  twenty  of  mangel 
wurzels.  True,  this  is  not  quite  as  big  a  storj'  as 
that  in  the  Fakmeh,  April  20,  where  one  man  is 
said  to  have  raised  sixteen  hundred,  another  twelve 
hundred  bushels  per  acre,  as  mine  comes  a  little 
short  of  eight  hundred.  But  I  do  not  manure  so 
high  as  some  j^rcmium  farmers.  I  weiglicd  one 
mangel  wiirzcl  that  weighed  five  poinuls,  and  an- 
other three  pounds.  Some  of  them  will  measure 
near  two  feet  in  length.  A  Subsckiher. 

Wcstficld,  VL,  April  25,  1867. 

POTATOES   AND    CORN. 

There  are  various  and  conflicting  opinions  as  lo 
the  best  mode  of  cultivating  potatoes.  While  some 
advocate  seeding  with  small  potatoes,  a  majority 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEJklER. 


309 


condemn  the  practice  and  plant  the  largest.  Some 
say,  cutting  the  potato  injures  the  germ;  others 
say  a  Ijcttcr  yield  is  had  by  having  three  to  five 
e3'cs  in  a  cluster,  planted  in  drills  ten  to  twelve 
inches  apart. 

Judge  Baxter,  of  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont,  said 
to  me  many  years  ago,  that  he  took  a  peck  of  lady 
finger  potatoes,  and  patiently  sat  down  and  cut 
out  every  eye  separately,  and  planted  them  singly 
in  drills  four  to  six  inches  apart.  From  the  peck  j 
he  dug  twenty-six  bushels.  This  fact  upsets  the  ' 
theory,  that  cutting  injures  the  germ. 

Your  correspondent,  "E.  B.,"  of  Derry,  New 
Hampshire,  having  publicly  answered  my  private 
letter,  I  feel  constrained  to  reiterate  the  statement 
that  three  or  four  butts  to  the  -hill  was  excessive 
seeding,  and  I  think  will  not  meet  the  approbation 
of  good  farmers.  A  handful  of  corn  in  a  hill  will 
give  small  ears  and  small  stover.  All  esculents 
want  room  to  grow.  I  was  much  interested  in  the 
general  statement.  Your  cutting  otfthe  tips  is  the 
Long  Island  practice,  as  they  work  for  mavketal)le 
potatoes.  Should  it  be  economy,  plant  the  tips 
and  make  small  potatoes  for  stock.  Then  all  the 
seed  is  saved. 

Does  not  hilling  too  much,  cut  off  many  little 
rootlets,  and  in  drought  turn  the  water  from  the 
hill  into  the  ^^ollows,  away  from  the  roots  that  are 
clrawing  nourishment  through  every  eye  into  the 
tnlxn-  ?  Perhaps  flat  hills  would  be  better  adapted 
to  dry  than  moist  lands.  The  flat  fined  fork  is 
better  than  round,  for  pitching  out  potatoes  or  other 
vegetables,  especially  in  drills. 

Corn,  as  we  know  by  its  strong  diverging  roots, 
seeks  its  nourishment  like  a  tree  in  all  directions, 
to  make  "the  blade,  the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in 
the  ear."  To  meet  the  case,  spread  and  plow  in 
your  manure,  and  get  rid  of  the  tedious  process  of 
dunging  out  in  the  hill.  Raw  manure  in  the  hill 
ferments,  heats,  and  yellows  the  tender  young 
corn,  and  when  its  roots  get  away  from  it,  it  Ijcgins 
to  grow  green  and  strong.  Compost  added  in  the 
hill  would  of  course  much  merease  the  crop. 
Hill  as  little  as  possii)le,  and  cut  oflF  as  few  roots 
as  ]jossible  in  cultivating  and  hoeing.      H.  Poor. 

Brooklyn,  Long  Island,  April  20,  1867. 


out  knowing  the  particulars  in  the  above  case,  we 
should  conclude  that  their  sickness  is  occasioned 
by  dampness  and  cold. 

It  is  not  impossible,  that  diseases  in  poultry  are 
hereditary.  Why  not  as  well  as  in  cows,  horses 
and  other  animals  ? 

Hens  occasionally  lay  soft  eggs — but  wc  have 
never  known  one  to  do  so  habitually.  Will  some 
of  our  careful  poultry  raisers  come  to  the  aid  of 
our  correspondent  and  ourselves  ? 


DISEASE    IN    CHICKENS. 

Is  there  any  remedy  for  the  disease  which  this 
year  attacks  so  many  chickens,  showing  itself 
chiefly  in  weakness  of  the  legs,  and  usually  prov- 
ing fatal ? 

What  can  be  done  for  a  hen  (Sebright  Bantam) 
which  lays  soft  eggs,  though  having  plenty  of 
lime,  &c.  ? 

Information  on  these  subjects  will  very  much 
oblige  F.  M.  R. 

BrooJdine,  Mass.,  April,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  trouble  with  the  chickens  is 
not  an  Epidemic,  we  think,  but  is  owing  to  some 
local  influence,  such  as  exposure  to  dampness,  or 
cold,  or  placing  too  many  chicks  with  one  hen. 
The  latter  is  a  mistake  often  made.  The  young 
chickens  need  the  animal  warmth  of  the  mother 
quite  often,  and  nature  has  supplied  her  with  an 
unusual  amount  for  a  considerable  time  after  they 
arc  hatched  as  well  as  during  incubation. 

An  unvarying  rule  should  be,  to  keep  chickens 
dry  and  trarm,  and  keep  them  in  the  sun  as  much 
as  possible  at  the  same  time.  When  this  rule  has 
been  strictly  observed,  we  have  rarely  known 
young  chickens  or  turkeys  to  fail  in  growing  rap- 
idly and  vigorously.  It  would  be  hardly  expected, 
however,  that  there  would  be  no  exceptions.  With- 


RINOING   FRUIT   TREES. 

I  take  the  liberty  of  writing  you  in  relation  to 
an  experiment  made  by  my  neighbor,  Capt.  Joseph 
Davis,  upon  two  apple  trees  that  arc  growing  in 
front  of  his  house  in  this  village.  The  trees  in 
question  had  alwaj^s  been  barren,  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  bearing  one  j'car  a  few  inferior  apples, 
yet  they  blossomed  full  each  year.  Having  no- 
ticed that  a  barren  tree,  from  which  a  poition  of 
its  bark  was  accidentally  torn  while  in  full  blos- 
som, bore  a  good  crop  the  succeeding  fall,  he  at 
first  girdled  a  large  limb  of  one  of  his  trees  near 
the  trunk,  clear  to  the  wood,  taking  care  not  to 
cut  the  wood,  removing  about  one-half  inch  in 
width  of  bark  the  entire  circumference  of  the 
limb.  The  result  was,  the  limb  was  heavily  laden 
with  fruit,  in  fact  "hung  full,"  while  upon  the  re- 
maining branches  there  were  no  apples. 

The  following  year  he  girdled  the  trunk  of  the 
same  tree,  next  to  where  the  branches  put  out ; 
and  the  result  was  the  entire  branches  were  so 
heavily  laden  with  fruit,  that  he  was  compelled  to 
prop  them  up  to  keep  them  from  lireaking.  Last 
year  he  girdled  the  other  tree  in  the  same  manner, 
when  it  was  fully  in  blossom,  with  the  same  re- 
sult. In  all  these  cases,  the  trees,  to  all  appearance, 
are  not  at  all  injured  by  this  process  of  making 
them  productive.  Mr.  Davis  has  lieen  frequently 
urged  to  publish  the  result  of  his  experiments,  but 
has  thus  far  declined  lest  they  might  prove  fatal 
under  other  circumstances,  but  having  demon- 
strated the  beneficial  effects  of  the  process,  he  has 
consented  to  place  it  before  the  public. 

L.  H.  Chandler. 

Baldwinsville,  Mass.,  April  15,  1867. 

Remarks. — This  process  for  inducing  fruitful- 
ness,  is  well  known  to  fruit  growers,  and  is  usually 
termed  ringing.  Its  object  is  to  prevent  the  nat- 
ural downward  passage  of  the  sap,  and  to  force  it 
into  the  branches  above  the  girdle,  and  thus 
to  secure  fruit  of  greatly  increased  size  and 
amount.  Premium  specimens  are  sometimes  pro- 
duced in  this  way  for  the  tables  of  our  annual 
fairs.  But  Mr.  Downing  says  it  is  always  more  or 
less  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  branch  or  tree, 
and  he  entirely  disapproves  of  the  mode,  except 
as  a  curious  experiment.  Baker  says,  it  cannot  be 
recommended  for  general  use,  though  allowable  in 
certain  cases.  Lindley  says,  if  performed  exten- 
sively upon  a  tree,  it  is  apt,  if  not  to  kill  it,  to  ren- 
der it  incurably  unhealthy.  A  cord  tied  snugly 
around  a  limb  or  the  whole  trunk,  is  said  to  pro- 
duce an  effect  similar  to  ringing,  with  less  injury  to 
the  tree. 


cranberry  culture. 
I  notice  in  nearly  all  that  1  read  on  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  cranberry  that  a  considerable  outlay  is 
recommended  to  prepare  the  ground  for  setting 
the  vines,  which  is  discouraging  to  a  young  begin- 


310 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARIHER. 


July 


ner  with  small  means.  I  therefore  propose  to  give 
a  short  account  of  my  operations  and  success  in 
raising  this  fruit.  ♦ 

I  commenced  in  1843  by  ditching  just  to  take  off 
the  water  from  a  swamp  of  seven  or  eight  acres 
from  which  I  had  cut  a  good  growth  of  wood  and 
timber,  and  built  a  dam  to  flow  the  same  at  $25, 
on  contract,  and  left  it  for  three  years,  supposing 
the  water  would  kill  the  bushes  and  all  green  veg- 
etation. But  the  water  was  so  shallow  that  it 
evaporated  in  summer  so  as  to  show  the  ground, 
and  the  brakes  and  bushes  Uved  through  the  flood- 
ing. In  August,  1846,  I  drained  off  the  water  and 
in  October  cleared  up  the  brush  and  Ijurncd  it,  and 
set  about  one  acre  to  vines,  in  bunches  aI)out  the 
size  of  a  quart  measure,  cut  from  beds  with  a  hoe, 
three  feet  apart,  by  chance. 

I  found  a  few  patches  of  natural  vines  which 
gi'ew  finely  after  the  flooding  and  bore  well. 

I  had  nothing  to  call  a  crop  till  18o0,  when  I  had 
about  twenty  bushels.  They  increased  to  fifty 
barrels  in  18o5,  and  bi-ought  ^13  per  barrel.  Since 
then  they  have  increased,  but  are  now  on  the  de- 
cline. They  have  had  no  cultivation  except  mow- 
ing over  the  vines  to  top  the  grass  and  Inishes. 

On  another  small  swamp,  with  a  low  place  near- 
ly round  it — the  centre  higher — with  a  thick  bed  of 
peat  partly  decomposed,  I  cut  the  bushes,  covered 
the  stubs  with  water  one  summer,  cleared  the 
bushes  and  burnt  them,  and  set  the  vines  eighteen 
inches  apart ;  the  vines  to  set  were  pulled  up  by 
the  roots.  I  don't  get  a  crop  as  soon  as  some  rep- 
resent, l)ut  this  has  given  beautiful  crops. 

A  pond-hole  of  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of 
an  acre  which  held  water  so  late  in  summer  that 
no  tree,  bush  or  grass  grew  in  it,  had  six  inches  of 
rich,  black  mould,  then  four  or  five  inches  of  a  clay- 
ey substance,  then  pure  white  sand. 

I  ditched  and  set  vines  in  it,  it  being  near  my 
house.  They  were  set  at  odd  times,  and  almost 
all  times  of  the  year,  except  when  the  ground  was 
frozen.  Some  of  them  have  not  come  to  maturity 
and  bear  but  few  berries.  It  has  been  kept  clear 
of  weeds  of  all  kinds.  In  ISfio  I  gathered  lo3 
bushels,  heaped  measure,  and  three  bushels,  three 
pecks  and  six  quarts  from  one  square  rod! 

One  of  my  neighbors  who  has  gone  into  the 
business  says  it  is  as  easy  to  raise  cranberry  vines 
as  witch-grass.  I  know  a  meadow  of  three  acres, 
topped  at  two  shillings  per  rod,  which  for  want  of 
three  inches  of  sand,  has  come  up  to  gi'ass — appa- 
rently from  seed, — thick  enough  for  a  full  crop,  and 
is  now  a  meadow  of  grass  and  vines ;  the  vines 
have  been  growing  eight  or  nine  years.  Last  year 
they  gathered  about  thirty  bushels,  the  best  crop 
they  have  had.  My  best  crop,  113  Inishels,  was  in 
1865.  A  Subscriber  of  the  Farmer. 

Remarks. — We  are  greatly  obliged  to  our  cor- 
respondent for  the  above  account.  Several  years 
ago  we  visited  his  cranberry  meadows  and  found 
some  of  the  best  examples  in  cranberry  culture 
that  we  have  ever  seen.  His  statements  are  relia- 
ablc.  He  is  now  quite  advanced  in  life,  and  we 
suppose  withholds  his  name,  because  he  would  be 
scarcely  able  to  answer  inquiries  addressed  tohim 
on  the  subject.  In  a  small  quantity,  which  he 
once  sent  us,  we  easily  selected  twelve  berries, 
which,  laid  end  to  end,  measured  full  twelve  inch- 
es in  length.    They  were  of  the  bugle  variety. 


GRAPE  TRELLIS — TRANSPLANTING  EVERGREENS. 

I  have  been  a  constant  reader  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer  for  thirteen  years,  and  have  the 
numbers  on  file.  They  form  a  complete  agricul- 
tural library,  which,  for  cheapness  and  real  value, 


cannot  be  excelled.  Reading  them  is  like  visiting 
the  farmers  of  New  England  and  conversing  with 
them  upon  all  sulijects  connected  with  our  profes- 
sion. It  is  very  interesting  to  look  over  the  mar- 
ket i-eports  and  compare  past  and  present  prices. 
As  there  is  much  said  about  grapes  at  this  time,  I 
will  give  you  my  plan  for  a  trellis.  I  .^et  some 
good  posts,  about  six  feet  high,  then  take  some 
plank  twelve  feet  long  and  six  inches  wide,  spike 
one  end  to  the  top  of  the  posts,  letting  the  other 
rest  on  the  gi-ound,  then  nail  slats  across  the  plank 
and  you  will  have  an  excellent  trellis,  which  will 
support  the  vines  much  better  than  an  upright  one. 
The  vines  can  be  covered  in  winter  without  taking 
them  down,  which  is  very  injurious. 

I  wish  to  inquire,  through  the  Farmer,  the  best 
time  and  method  of  setting  cedar  and  other  ever- 
greens, c. 

Washington  Co.,  Vt.,  May,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  latter  part  of  May  and  June 
are  favorable  months  for  transplanting  evergreens. 
Just  as  the  buds  are  swelling  to  burst  is  said  by 
some  to  be  just  the  nick  of  time.  But,  whenever 
transplanted,  rememljer  that  a  tree  out  of  the  earth 
should  be  treated  much  like  a  fish  out  of  water. 
To  as  little  air  as  possible,  and  to  no  sunshine  at 
all  should  the  roots  of  evergreens  be  exposed. 
Remove  them  in  a  rainy  day,  if  you  don't  like  to 
work  nights  and  mornings. 


RAISING   POTATOES,   IN   VERMONT. 

Lest  you,  Mr.  Editor,  and  others  remote  from 
the  Green  Mountains,  should  think  that  all  Ver- 
mont farmers  raise  potatoes  as  Brother  Simonds 
tells  you,  in  your  issue  of  May  4,  that  he  does,  I 
want  to  say,  point  blank,  it  isn't  so.  His  is  the 
identical  method  my  father  and  his  neighbors  used 
when  I  was  a  boy  of  eight  years  old,  and  which 
was  continued  through  my  minority. 

I  am  now  about  to  turn  the  maiden  lady's  sec- 
ond corner, — sixty — and  my  present  method  is  to 
spread  in  the  spring  from  thirty-five  to  forty-five 
ox-cart  loads  of  green  manure  on  an  acre  of  mow- 
ing land,  that  needs  improving  from  less  than  a 
ton  to  over  two  tons  product  of  hay.  Take  a  large 
douljle  swivel  plough.  No.  85,  I  obtained  some  ten 
years  since  of  R,uggles,  Nourse  &  Mason,  two 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  plough  the  ground  from  nine  to 
ten  inches  deep.  Next  spread  on  a  moderate  coat 
of  well  rotted  manure,  and  harrow  it  in  well, — the 
rough  furrow  of  the  double  swivel  plough,  facili- 
tating its  commingling  with  the  soil.  Plant  rows 
thi-ee  feet  apart,  hills  ft-om  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches,  with  from  three  to  five  eyes  of  the  Califor- 
nia seed,  near  the  top  of  the  ground.  In  hoeing, 
hill  up  slightly,  though  it  is  with  a  vengeance  we 
keep  the  weeds  where  they  should  be,  for  the  more 
manure  the  more  weeds.  Crop,  three  Imndred 
bushels  ;  a  profitable  cattle  feed.  We  raise  table 
potatoes  after  the  same  process,  but  none  for  the 
market  as  we  live  twelve  miles  from  a  depot. 
Seed  to  grass  the  next  year — the  more  of  the  grass 
seeds  the  better, — but  in  connection  with  a  thin 
crop  of  wheat  or  oats,  keeping  the  land  up  only 
two  years. 

We  also  plough  and  manure  in  the  same  way, 
seeding  down  to  grass  in  connection  with  a  thin 
grain  crop  the  first  year,  keeping  it  up  only  one 
year,  and  find  it  tends  much  to  the  enlargement  of 
the  hay  mow. 

Some  of  my  neighbors  planted  corn  and  pota- 
toes last  year,  after  Brother  Simonds'  practice,  on 
oat  stubble,  and  had  both  entirely  destroyed  by 
the  pestiferous  wire  woriii.  Other  fields  planted 
on  what  we  tennthe  "sward,"  escaped  unmolested. 

We  have  wintered  this  season  eigiity-eight  head 


1867, 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


311 


of  cattle  and  horses,  and  have  not  been  put  to  any 
incoiivcnicnco  by  not  advevtiting  our  surplus  pro- 
duce in  the  Fakmer.  It  has  been  taken  at  the 
door;  wheat  at  $2.50,  corn  at  $1.70,  seed  oats  at 
75  cents  i)cr  I)usliel,  Califoniia  potatoes  at  40  cents, 
and  a  nuieh  larger  amount  of  hay  called  for  at 
from  $15  to  $18  per  ton,  than  we  could  supply. 
The  only  inconvenience  experienced  has  been  to 
say  no,  when  no  more  could  be  spared  to  supply 
the  present  unusual  demand  for  cattle  feed.  I 
might  add  we  are  accustomed  to  feed  out  hay  and 
coarse  grains  on  the  farm  to  the  extent  of  its  pro- 
duction, excepting  such  a  time  as  this. 

Old  Ned. 
Washington  County,  Vt.,  May,  1867. 


HUNGARIAN  GRASS. 

Can  you,  or  some  of  your  correspondents,  who 
know  from  experience,  inform  me  and  others  of  the 
value  of  Hungarian  grass,  compared  with  timothy 
and  redtop  ?  Does  it  require  heavy  manuring, 
and  what  kind  of  land  is  most  suitable  for  it  ? 

A.  W.  Greeley. 

Nashua,  N.  H.,  April,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  cannot  tell  you  of  the  exac^  value 
of  Hungarian  grass,  as  compared  with  timothy  or 
redtop.  We  should  judge,  from  an  experience  in 
feeding  it  out  to  stock,  that  it  is  not  quite  as  valu- 
able as  timothy  or  redtop.  Perhaps  contains  less 
oily  matter.  Land  that  will  produce  forty  or  fifty 
bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre,  will  bring  a  good  crop 
of  Hungarian  grass.  It  is  an  annual  plant,  and 
for  that  reason  is  much  less  used  than  it  would  be 
if  it  were  perennial.  Under  many  circumstances, 
it  is  a  valuable  crop, — as  where  it  is  desirable  to 
keep  land  up,  or  where  a  crop  of  grain  could  not 
be  got  in.  When  properly  cured,  we  have  found  it 
to  be  highly  relished  by  horses  and  cattle. 


CtLTURE    OF   CRANBERRIES. 

Please  inform  me,  through  the  Farmer,  of  the 
culture  of  cranberries.  What  soil  they  thrive  Ijcst 
in,  and  the  cost  of  setting  out  an  acre  of  plants. 
Is  it  too  cold  for  them  in  Cheshire  county.  New 
Hampshire  ?  Reader, 

Cheshire  County,  N.  H.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  cost  will  depend  upon  the  con- 
dition of  the  land  to  be  improved.  Some  acres 
will  cost  five  times  as  much  as  othei's.  See  an  ar- 
ticle elsewhere,  on  the  subject  by  A  Subscriber 
OF  THE  Farmer.  If  you  attempt  to  cultivate  the 
cranberiy  so  far  north,  we  should  advise  you  to 
select  places  that  can  be  readily  flowed,  in  order 
to  save  them  from  late  spring,  and  from  early  au- 
tumn frosts. 


GRIT   IN   maple   sugar. 

Having  been  a  subscriber  for  the  New  England 
Fai;m,er  fin*  a  few  years  past,  I  have  become  very 
deeply  interested  in  the  paper,  and  do  not  hesitate 
to  reconiniend  it  to  every  one  interested  in  farm- 
ing. Being  somewhat  interested  in  the  extracts 
and  replies,  I  beg  leave  to  make  some  inquiries. 

In  making  maple  sugar,  there  is  something 
which  is  considerable  of  a  mystery  among  us  far- 
mers, and  has  been  for  quite  a  number  of  years. 
I  find  in  the  sugar  a  fine  grit,  which*  I  separate 
from  the  sugar,  and  sometimes  find  it  in  quite  a 
large  quantity.  This  grit  is  known  among  us  far- 
mers as  "nitre,"  it  is  not  discernible  either  in  the 
sap  or  syrup ;  but  when  the  syrup  is  boiled  down 


sufficiently  for  good  molasses,  this  grit  (known  to 
us  as  "nitre"')  makes  its  appearance.  Its  origin, 
or  cause,  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained. 
Will  you  inform  "me  through  the  New  England 
Farmer,  of  the  cause  or  origin  of  this  gritty  sul)- 
stance  ?  I  would  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  any 
one  on  this  sulycct. 

Will  you  inform  me  of  the  best  time  to  set  out 
apple  trees  ?  g.  m.  b. 

IVorcester,  Vt.,  April  17,  1867. 

Remarks. — Some  experienced  sugar  makers 
will  be  kind  enough — we  cannot  doubt — to  an- 
swer the  queries  of  our  correspondent.  We  have 
no  exact  knowledge  on  the  subject.  But  why 
should  it  not  be  ascribed  to  the  same  cause  that 
produces  grit  in  ashes,  or  the  shai-p  edge  of  some 
grasses  ? 

Set  out  apple  trees  now — the  sooner  the  better. 
Those  intended  to  be  set  ought  to  be  dug  out  be- 
fore the  foliage  starts. 


"BONE  FLOUR. 

That  pulverized  bones  are  very  valuable  manure, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  although  some  of  your  cor- 
respondents deny  the  fact.  I  think  I  can  compre- 
hend the  cause  of  their  failure  to  realize  the  bene- 
fit of  its  application.  Fresh  bones  that  have  not 
been  leached  or  boiled  to  extract  the  oil  (which  is 
nearly  all  that  is  valuable  as  a  fertilizer)  are  one 
of  the  most  valuable  and  enduring  manures  that 
can  be  applied  to  any  crop.  The  reason  then,  that 
so  many  have  failed  to  realize  any  benefit  from 
the  use  of  bone  manure,  is  that  the  soap  boilers 
have  extracted  all  the  oil,  or  its  good  qualities 
have  been  dissipated  by  long  exposure,  without 
which  the  bones  are  nearly  valueless.  To  collect 
these  bones,  a  set  of  outlandish.fellows  prowl  about 
with  a  horse  and  wagon,  who  enter  our  door  yards, 
and  spy  around  our  buildings,  picking  up  all  the 
bones  they  can  find,  and  stealing  clothing  or  other 
articles  that  lie  in  their  way.  They  are  a  great  nui- 
sance, and  we  have  ordered  them  oft' our  premises 
more  than  once,  and  received  their  curses  for  our 
pains.  The  tin  peddlers  offer  the  boys  half  a  cent 
a  pound  for  bones,  and  they  scour  the  country  and 
are  about  as  bad  as  the  foreigners.  They  will 
search  the  woods  and  by  places  to  find  the  bones 
of  some  poor  old  horse  or  cow  that  has  been  dead 
twenty  years,  and  sell  them  to  be  ground  into 
bone  manure,  when  there  is  no  more  virtue  in  them 
than  in  so  much  sawdust.  This  is  the  reason  that 
your  correspondents  receive  no  benefit  from  its  use. 

North  Pembroke,  Mass.,  April  20, 1867.  C. 


"GRAFTING   WAX." 

I  hope  none:  of  your  subscribers  will  use  the  ar- 
ticle advertised  as  "Grafting  Wax."  We  have 
several  trees  nearly  ruined  by  using  it.  It  kills 
the  bark  where  applied,  and  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten,  permanently  injures  the  tree.  The  best  graft- 
ing wax  ever  used  is  made  of  clay  and  horse  ma- 
nure— there  is  no  danger  in  that.  c. 

North  Pembroke,  Mass.,  April  20th,  1867. 


TO   PREVENT   SOWS    EATING   THEIR   PIGS. 

Give  them  some  good  bright  early-cut  hay  daily, 
for  a  few  weeks  before  the  time  for  the  pigs  to 
come.  H.  B.  Howard. 

Braintree,  Vt.,  April,  1867. 


— A  Herkimer  county,  N.  Y.,  dairyman  estimates 
that  45  cows  require  100  tons  of  hay  to  winter 
them  through. 


312 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


July 


CULTUBE   OF  "WHITE   BEANS. 

There  is  scarcely  any  vegetable  that  is  more 
acceptable  or  more  economical  and  wholesome 
than  the  bean.  It  is  easily  raised,  harvested 
and  preserved,  and  may  be  prepared  for  the 
table  in  various  forms,  all  of  which  are  grate- 
ful, whether  the  bean  has  reached  maturity,  or 
is  used  in  an  unripe  state. 

We  are  not  certain  that  we  can  assign  a  sat- 
isfactory reason  why  this  crop  is  so  seldom  cul- 
tivated by  itself,  or  why  it  is  so  rarely  success- 
ful, when  it  is  so  cultivated.  In  some  sections, 
the  prejudice  against  growing  the  bean  sepa- 
rately, or  allowing  it  the  entire  use  of  the  land, 
is  universal,  and  although  large  quantities  are 
produced,  the  vegetable  is  almost  invariably 
the  product  of  grounds  devoted  to  Indian  corn, 
as  the  principal  crop — the  bean  plants  occupy- 
ing a  position  in  or  between  the  hills. 

We  find  nothing  similar  to  this  practice  in 
British  agriculture,  to  which,  indeed,  the  corn 
crop  is  unknown ;  but  we  find  that  beans  are 
there  much  more  extensively  cultivated  than  in 
this  country,  although  the  climate  of  England 
is  intensely  damp — a  circumstance  which,  with 
us,  would  no  doubt  be  regarded  as  ruinous  to 
the  crop. 

That  the  bean,  in  all  its  varieties,  is  suscep- 
tible of  being  grown  separately,  is  a  proposi- 
tion which  our  knowledge  of  vegetable  physi- 
ology, as  well  as  the  deductions  of  experience, 
forbids  us  to  doubt.  Though  we  have  rarely 
seen  it  so  cultivated,  on  an  extensive  scale,  we 
have  nevertheless  observed  its  luxuriance  and 
the  unparalleled  vigor  of  the  plants  Avhen  grow- 
ing in  small  plantations,  on  light  and  well  worked 
sands.  It  is  generally  believed  that  the  pres- 
ence of  some  other  grass-feeding  vegetable  is 
necessary  to  ensure  its  maturation,  and  that  it 
seldom  ripens  when  grown  separately,  by  itself; 
consequently,  we  rarely  find  it  so  planted ;  but 
this  practice — like  a  great  many  others  which 
have  obtained  wide  prevalence — is  to  be  at- 
tributed to  a  total  misconception  of  the  char- 
acter and  capabilities  of  the  crop. 

It  is  not  necessary,  by  any  means,  that  every 
leaf  and  pod  of  the  bean  plant  be  thorouglily 
ripe  before  pulling.  If  proper  care  be  taken 
in  stacking,  beans  that  have  not  become  hard 
in  the  pod  will  mature,  and  be  as  sound,  white 
and  valuable  in  the  market,  or  for  domestic 
use,  as  those  which  have  ripened  wholly  stand- 
ing in  the  field.    A  lot  which  we  saw  last  year, 


that  were  pulled  when  every  pod  and  stalk 
were  green — because  frost  was  anticipated — 
and  stacked  on  stakes  and  left  until  thorough- 
ly dry,  were  white,  plump  and  sound  when 
thrashed  out,  and  were  fit  for  any  market. 

We  have  tried  various  ways  of  stacking,  but 
find  placing  them  upon  stakes  set  upright  in 
the  ground,  the  best.  Birches  make  excellent 
stakes,  by  leaving  upon  them  a  portion  of  the 
branches  next  to  the  stem,  some  six  or  eight 
inches  lonjr. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
FOREST   TKEES 

TO  TAKE  THE  PLACE  OF  TREES  LOST  OR  DESTROYED. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  say  anything  about 
elms.  Every  body  is  familiar  witli  the  appear- 
ance and  value  of  the  American  elm,  and  ready 
to  assent  to  the  opinion  of  Michaux,  that  it  is 
the  most  majestic  of  trees.  But  this  elm  is 
not  suited  to  our  purpose,  which  is  to  make  up 
for  the  loss  of  trees  along  the  borders  of  by- 
roads and  lanes.  The  elm  is  a  voracious 
feeder,  and  sends  out  numerous  roots  near  the 
surface,  so  that  nothing,  not  even  grass,  grows 
perfectly  well  in  its  immediate  neighborhood, 
it  is  incomparable  for  broad,  public  ways. 
For  streets,  in  towns,  the  English  ehn  is  bet- 
ter. 

The  oak  is  the  king  of  the  woods.  We  have 
more  than  a  dozen  species  in  Massachusetts, 
all  beautiful  and  all  adapted  to  our  purpose ; 
for  the  roots  of  the  oaks  go  down  very  deep, 
and  thus  leave  the  surface  soil  for  smaller  trees, 
and  for  shrubs  and  undershrubs.  Although, 
if  we  wish  the  oak  to  succeed  perfectly  and 
show  its  unsurpassed  beauties  at  all  periods 
of  its  growth,  we  must  give  it  the  benefit  of 
all  the  soil,  from  the  surface  down. 

All  the  American  oaks  fiourish  in  our  cli- 
mate, and  the  two  varieties  of  the  English  oak 
at  least  as  well  as  any  of  our  own. 

There  are  two  groups  of  the  oaks:  1.  The 
White  oak  group — including  the  Over  cup, 
the  Post  oak,  the  Swamp  White  oak,  the 
Chestnut  oak,  the  Rock  oak,  and  the  Chin- 
quapin, the  English  oaks,  and  the  Turkey 
oak;  and,  2.  Those  that  are  like  the  Red 
oak,  with  the  Black  oak,  tiie  Scarlet  oak,  the 
Pin  oak,  and  the  little  Bear  oak.  All  these 
are  beautiful,  and  some  of  them  are  as  rare  as 
they  are  beautiful,  especially  the  Over  cup  oak, 
the  Chestnut  oak,  and  the  Rock  Chestnut  oak, 
remarkable  for  their  gracefulness,  and  the 
Scarlet  oak,  and  the  Post  oak — the  former  for 
the  extreme  beauty  of  the  Ibliage,  at  all  sea- 
sons, and  the  latter  for  the  singularity  of  its 
star-shaped  leaves.  It  would  take  many  col- 
umns to  speak  of  the  oaks  as  they  deserve. 
Any  of  your  readers  who  want  to  know  more 
about  them  must  read  the  books  in  which  they 
are  described. 

There  is  another  tree  which,  however  well 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND   FARMER. 


313 


known  now,  ought  to  be  still  better  known 
and  more  highly  valued.  It  is  a  model  of 
neatness.  The  bark  is  smooth  and  clean,  and 
of  a  cheerful  color ;  the  leaves  nice  and  bril- 
liant, in  shade  and  in  sunshine  ;  the  nuts  very 
sweet;  the  wood  very  valuable.  Literary 
people  ought  to  respect  it,  as  its  German  name 
gives  us  the  word  book  ;  indolent  or  thought- 
ful people  ought  to  like  it,  as  it  gives  a  deep, 
clean  shade  to  recline  in.  No  tree  is  fitter  to 
be  near  a  studious  or  a  luxurious  home  than 
the  beech. 

The  nut  trees  are  shamefully  undervalued 
with  us.  Trees  which,  everywhere  in  Europe, 
are  carefully  cultivated  and  furnish  an  impor- 
tant part  of  the  food  of  the  inhabitants,  are 
here  neglected  or  banished  to  distant  hills  and 
pastures.  Such  are  the  Black  Walnut  and  the 
Butternut,  to  which  might  be  added  the  tree 
which  bears  what  we  call  the  English  walnut, 
which  grows  just  as  well  here  as  it  does  in 
France.  Each  of  these  would  make  a  hand- 
some border  tree.  The  Shell-bark  hickory  is 
a  stately,  graceful  tree,  and  its  nuts  the  most 
desirable  of  all  fruits.  It  requires  care  and 
pains  to  cultivate,  but  it  amply  repays  all 
that  can  be  given  to  it.  The  chestnut  tree  is 
a  very  rapid  grower — is  easily  raised  from  the 
nut,  or  from  plants,  interferes  little  with 
other  trees,  has  all  the  elements  of  beauty  in 
large  proportions,  and  in  summer  makes  the 
forest  resplendent  with  its  blossoms.  Its  nuts 
are  singularly  sweet,  far  superior  to  the  Euro- 
pean, and  would,  with  care,  be  gradually  im- 
proved in  size.  The  only  experiment  for  this 
pm'pose  that  I  am  acquainted  with  has  been 
successful.  John  Lowell,  well  known  by  the 
fathers  and  grandfathers  of  this  generation  as 
the  "Roxbury  Farmer,"  left  growing  on  his 
little  farm  in  Roxbury,  some  chestnut  trees, 
the  fruit  of  which  is  as  sweet  as  the  common 
American,  and  almost  as  large  as  the  Euro- 
pean chestnut.  Is  there  not  some  patriotic 
farmer,  well  to  do  in  the  world,  living  con- 
tentedly on  his  paternal  acres,  and  building 
and  planting  to  make  a  pleasant  home  for  his 
great-grandchildren,  who  is  willing  to  try  the 
selection  and  care  necessary  to  improve  our 
native  chestnut,  hickory,  and  walnuts  ? 

There  are  smaller  nuts  worth  cultivating. 
The  common  hazels  are  very  easily  propagated 
by  suckers  or  layers,  or  by  sowing  the  sweet, 
delicate  nuts.  The  beaked  hazel  is  curious, 
but  probably  of  no  great  value.  The  Euro- 
pean hazel  may  be  cultivated  with  ease  and 
sure  success  ;  and  its  filberts  are  worth  raising. 

There  are  many  species  of  whortleberries, 
blueberries,  dangleberrles,  bilberries — all  na- 
tives— which  ought  to  be  retained  for  their 
beauty  and  for  their  abundant  fruits.  Neither 
ought  the  blackberries  and  raspberries,  low  or 
high,  to  be  neglected.  These  wild  fruits  are 
most  healthy,  and  the  gathering  them  is  an 
occasion  of  most  pleasant  parties  for  children. 
Whortleberrying  and  blueberrying  on  the  Pig- 
wacket  plains  in  Maine,  and  nutting  along  one 


of  Its  streams,  are  among  the  most  delightful 
memories  of  one  old  man's  happy  childhood. 
Boston,  May,  18G7.  G.  B.  E. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
DOES   PLASTER  PAY? 

This  depends  upon  three  circumstances,  to 
wit:  the  soil  to  which  It  is  applied,  the  season, 
and  the  kind  of  crop.  On  a  loam,  underlaid 
with  limestone,  and  on  that  underlaid  with  mi- 
ca slate,  we  have  found  it  very  valuable,  in- 
creasing the  amount  of  the  crop  from  twenty- 
five  to  fifty  per  cent.  On  sandy  or  gravelly 
soils,  we  have  also  seen  very  fine  effects  from 
its  application.  Perhaps  a  good  general  rule 
to  determine  Its  adaptation  to  the  soil,  will  be, 
to  know  that  the  latter  is  adapted  to  the  growth 
of  Indian  corn,  clover  and  most  broad-leaved 
plants.  On  soils  dry  enough  for  these,  we 
have  seen  its  good  results.  On  cold,  wet, 
heavy  lands  its  application  is  money  thrown 
away.  If  the  season  after  its  application  is  vrey 
dry,  its  greatest  effects  will  not  be  apparent 
that  year,  though  we  have  seen  many  Instances, 
where  a  good  rain  followed  the  sowing  and  dry 
weather  followed,  leaving  It  to  remain  dormant 
through  that  season.  In  such  cases  Its  bene- 
fits Avere  seen  the  following  year.  We  have 
also  found  it  valuable  when  sown  on  grass  land 
immediately  after  taking  off  the  crop,  when  it 
gives  the  grass  a  vigorous  start,  preparatory  to 
wintering.  When  sown  on  winter  grain,  fall 
sowing  Is  especially  beneficial.  Here  the 
method  of  application  varies.  Some  roll  their 
seed  grain  in  it  and  think  that  sufficient ;  oth- 
ers sow  it  upon  the  land  and  harrow  in  with 
the  seed,  and  another  class  wait  until  the  grain 
Is  up  and  sow  in  the  morning  when  the  dew  Is 
on.  Either  way  gives  it  to  the  soil,  where  it 
will  I'esult  to  the  ultimate  benefit  of  the  crop. 

Its  effects  are  greatest  on  plowed  crops,  and 
where  manure  has  been  recently  applied, 
though  a  less  quantity  of  the  latter  Is  necessa- 
ry than  where  It  Is  used  alone, — the  two  in 
connexion  helping  each  other.  By  mixing  it 
with  yard  or  stable  manure  during  the  winter, 
once  in  two  weeks — enough  to  whiten  the  ma- 
nure heap,  the  odor  of  the  manure  is  destroyed 
and  its  value  increased  in  greater  ratio  than 
the  cost  of  the  plaster.  It  Is  excellent  sown 
on  all  the  grains  and  upland  grasses,  and  is  a 
great  clover  maker,  and  an  almost  sure  de- 
stroyer of  strawberries. 

In  old  pastures,  we  have  seen  cases  where  it 
destroyed  the  old  moss  and  Introduced  white 
clover  in  Its  place.  White  daisies  and  Johns- 
wort  flourish  poorly  after  Its  application. 
Mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  ashes  and 
thrown  Into  the  hill  with  potatoes,  it  is  held  by 
many  to  be  just  the  aliment  they  need  for  suc- 
cessful growth. 

Such  are  some  of  the  uses  to  which  we  have 
seen  plaster  applied,  and  some  of  the  results 
that  have  followed.  In  these  cases  It  has  paid, 
and  that  in  a  rich  percentage.     We  cannot, 


314 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


July 


however,  suppose  the  results  will  be  the  same 
in  all  cases.  Soils  and  seasons  vary  and  in- 
troduce a  necessity  for  various  modes  of  prac- 
tice. Of  course  what  has  resulted  favoi-ably 
under  some  circumstances,  may  fail  under  oth- 
ers ;  therefore  we  can  only  say,  that  it  has  paid 
in  very  many  instances  by  more  than  fifty-fold, 
and  will  on  certain  soils  probably  continue  to 
pay,  while  on  other  soils  and  under  different 
circumstances  it  will  probably  fail.  Therefore 
no  positive  rule  can  be  adopted  for  its  general 
use.  The  farmer,  who  ought  to  know  his  own 
soil,  must  be  the  judge  in  the  matter  of  its 
probable  benefit.  W.  Bacon. 

Richmond,  Mass.,  May  1,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HO"W   PLANTS    GROW, 

When  plants  have  arrived  at  a  certam  stage 
of  their  growth,  sexual  development  takes 
place  under  the  influence  of  a  universal  law 
affecting  all  organized  living  beings.  This 
takes  place  in  most  cases  before  the  growth  is 
completed ;  that  is,  before  the  plants  have 
reached  their  full  size.  In  most  annuals  it 
commences  when  the  plants  are  about  half 
grown,  as  in  the  grains  and  grasses,  and  the 
growth  of  the  plant  in  size  and  vigor  goes  on 
at  the  same  time  with  the  process  of  fructifica- 
tion. In  most  fruit-bearing  trees  and  shrubs, 
the  flower  buds  are  developed  before  the 
growth  of  the  foliage  is  completed.  The  same 
thing  is  true  in  the  grape  and  the  strawberry 
and  in  many  perennial  plants.  The  process  of 
fecundation  requires  that  the  flowers  should 
receive  the  full  force  of  the  sun's  rays,  and  the 
foliage  is  not  yet  large  enough  to  intercept 
them. 

When  this  process  is  completed  and  the  sun's 
rays  become  more  direct  and  scorching,  the 
expanding  foliage  protects  the  forming  fruit  as 
well  as  elaborates  sap  for  its  nourishment. 
The  period  of  sexual  development  differs 
greatly  in  different  plants.  In  some  it  occurs 
in  a  few  weeks  after  they  spring  from  the  soil. 
In  biennials  not  until  the  second  year.  In 
most  trees  several  years  are  required.  In 
some  plants,  as  in  the  century  plant,  many 
years  are  passed  before  the  sexual  influence  is 
felt.  Most  flower  buds  assume  the  form  of  a 
cup.  The  ovum  or  ovary  is  found  imbedded 
at  the  bottom  of  this  cup.  The  cup  is  formed 
externally  of  thick  fleshy  leaves  which  enclose 
and  protect  the  ovum  and  other  delicate  and 
tender  organs.  Witliin  these  protecting  leaves 
are  the  petals,  springing  from  points  between 
the  thick  outer  covering  and  the  ovaries. 
Within  these  are  the  stamens,  each  bearing  a 
crown  of  pollen  or  fecundating  dust,  called  the 
antlu^r.  The  Greek  word  anthos,  or  flower,  is 
derived  from  this,  the  indispensable  organ  of 
all  flowers,  without  the  presence  of  which  all 
the  others  would  be  of  no  avail.  Then  the 
pistils  spring  from  the  ovaries.  They  are  so 
many  tubes  communicating  with  the  internal 


parts  of  the  ovaries.  When  these  organs  have 
arrived  at  a  certain  stage  which  may  be  called 
the  orgasm,  or  time  at  which  they  are  ready 
for  impregnation,  the  mouths  of  tliese  tubes  con- 
tain a  glutinous  fluid  by  which  the  pollen  fall- 
ing from  the  anthers  is  collected  and  conveyed 
to  the  ovaries.  When  this  has  been  accom- 
plished, the  stamens  and  pistils  wither  and  fall. 
The  petals  also  fall  away.  The  ovary  begins 
to  enlarge,  and  the  stem  upon  which  it  is  sup- 
ported begins  to  lengthen.  In  some  cases  this 
stem  becomes  quite  long,  as  in  the  strawberry 
and  cherry.  The  ovary  now  begins  to  assume 
the  shape  which  the  completed  fruit  is  to  have. 
We  then  say  the  fruit  has  set.  Just  at  this 
point  of  time,  a  large  part  of  the  forming  fruit 
usuall}'  withers  and  falls,  either  because  the 
pollen  has  not  reached  the  interior  of  the  ova- 
ry, or  from  the  injurious  effects  of  the  wind  or 
weather.  But  in  favorable  seasons  fecundation 
is  effectually  accomplished  in  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  instances  to  secure  the  great  purpose  of 
nature,  the  formation  of  seeds  for  the  continu- 
ation of  the  species.  This  is  the  ultimate  ob- 
ject of  efflorescence  and  fructification.  The 
seeds  are  formed  and  arranged  within  and 
around  the  ovaries  in  various  modes  and  fash- 
ions. Sometimes,  as  in  the  apple  and  pear,  the 
seeds  are  enclosed  in  cells  in  the  interior,  and 
the  body  of  the  ovary  is  changed  into  a  large 
fleshy  pulp.  In  others,  the  seeds  stand  out 
naked  upon  the  surface,  as  in  the  strawberry. 
In  others  the  coverings  that  enclose  the  germ 
are  converted  into  strong  fibrous  husks  which 
are  packed,  layer  within  layer,  over  the  seeds 
for  their  protection,  as  in  the  maize.  Some- 
times they  are  enclosed  in  sacs  or  capsules 
called  pods,  which  consist  usually  of  a  thin, 
soft  internal  layer,  and  a  stout,  thick  external 
one ;  sometimes  the  seeds,  as  in  corn,  are  ar- 
ranged in  long  rows  packed  closely  together, 
and  sometimes  in  circles  upon  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  ovary,  as  in  the  hollyhock  and  mal- 
lows. Sometimes  the  seeds  are  each  covered 
with  a  thick,  firm  scale,  as  in  the  pine,  which, 
like  a  roof,  protects  it.  The  seed  of  the  pine 
requires  two  years  for  its  growth  and  ripening, 
and  therefore  needs  a  protection  that  rain  and 
frost  will  not  destroy.  To  some  seeds,  a  fine 
membrane,  like  the  wing  of  a  fly,  is  attached. 
The  seeds  of  the  elm  afford  an  instance  of 
this.  These  seeds,  when  ripe,  are  shaken  off 
by  strong  winds,  which,  by  means  of  their 
membranous  wings,  transport  them  to  a  dis- 
tance from  the  parent  tree.  In  some  plants 
only  female  organs  are  developed,  while  oth- 
ers of  the  same  species,  produce  only  those  of 
the  male.  In  the  greater  number  of  plants, 
the  organs  of  both  sexes  are  found  in  the  same 
flower  and  supported  on  the  same  stem. 
These  are  called  perfect  flowers,  wliile  those 
that  have  only  the  organs  of  one  sex  are  cafled 
imperfect.  The  wind  is  the  principal  means  of 
conveying  the  pollen  from  the  anthers  to  the 
opening  pistils.  At  the  right  season,  if  the 
air  is  dry  and  clear,  the  atmosphere  is  filled 


18G7 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


315 


with  a  cloud  of  pollen  like  fine  dust,  some  of 
the  particles  of  which  fall  upon  the  mouths  of 
the  pistils,  and  are  held  by  the  glutinous  fluid 
of  which  we  have  spoken.  Around  a  staniin- 
ate,  or  male  plant,  especially  a  tree,  this  phe- 
nomenon may  often  be  witnessed  in  a  still 
warm  day.  This  cloud  of  pollen  is  carried  to 
a  great  distance  by  the  wmd,  and  if  it  falls 
upon  good  ground,  ready  to  receive  it,  it  quick- 
ens the  sperm  cells  of  pistillate  flowers,  and 
leads  to  the  production  of  fruit.  One  stamin- 
ate  flower  is  often  sufficient  to  fecundate  quite 
a  number  of  pistillate  flowers.  Thus  one  male 
strawberry  plant  will  fertilize  a  number  of  fe- 
male plants  growing  around  it.  The  cultiva- 
tors of  this  fruit  avail  themselves  of  this  fact, 
and  occupy  nearly  the  whole  ground  with  fruit 
bearing  plants.  j.  r. 

Concord,  Mass.,  May,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   GAKDEN   IN   JUNE. 

There  are  a  few  general  principles  applica- 
ble under  most  circumstances,  which  should  be 
borne  in  mind  by  every  gardener ;  such  as, 
that  hoeing  or  stirring  the  soil  when  it  is  wet 
is  not  the  time  to  do  the  greatest  amount  of 
good ;  that  hand  weeding  may  be  advanta- 
geous at  such  times,  as  any  disturbance  of  the 
roots  of  plants  then  is  sooner  remedied  than 
when  the  soil  is  dry.  Watering  plants  in  dry 
soil  is  of  little  avail,  unless  the  soil  be  well 
soaked  all  around  the  plant  and  below  the  sur- 
face ;  if  done  at  all,  it  should  be  done  at  even- 
ing and  the  soil  stirred  on  top  early  the  next 
morning,  or,  what  is  better,  a  light  covering  of 
soil  sprinkled  over  the  watered  portion. 

Asparagus. — Do  not  cut  too  close,  or  too 
late,  as  the  roots  may  be  injured  thereby. 
When  it  gets  spindling  or  stringj^  cease  cut- 
ting ;  hoe  and  clear  off  all  weeds  and  dress 
with  superphosphate,  and  let  it  grow. 

Beans. — Those  already  planted  will  need 
frequent  hoeing  when  they  are  dry  ;  never  hoe 
when  they  are  wet,  as  it  causes  rust  or  other 
disease.  Plant  bush  varieties  for  a  succession 
for  cooking  or  pickling  ;  they  are  good  when 
canned  for  winter  use.  Sometimes  pole  beans 
planted  the  first  of  June  will  mature  a  crop,  if 
forced  by  liquid  manure. 

Cabbage,  Cauliflower,  Broccoli,  «fec. — 
May  be  transplanted  the  latter  part  of  the 
month  for  fall  and  late  use.  Cauliflower  fre- 
quently fails  for  want  of  moisture. 

Cucumbers. — Plant  the  last  week  in  June 
for  pickles.  Protect  all  vines  as  far  as  possi- 
ble from  the  striped  bug,  by  dusting  with 
plaster  and  fine  soil  and  by  frequent  hand 
picking.  The  eggs  of  the  squash  bug  are  de- 
posited on  the  under  side  of  the  leaf;  hunt 
and  destroy  before  hatching. 

Egg  Plants. — Transplant  into  good  soil 
abundantly  manured  with  good  horse  manure  ; 
hoe  and  water  frequently. 

Fruit  Trees. — Dwarf  pear  and  other  fruit 


trees  should  be  trained  to  good  shape  by  pinch- 
ing out  superfluous  shoots  and  checking  the 
growth  of  too  much  wood. 

Grapes. — Tie  up  the  branches  and  pinch 
out  unnecessary  shoots.  Have  an  eye  for  the 
insects,  and  if  signs  of  the  mildew  appear, 
dust  with  flour  of  sulphur  freely.  Rose  bugs 
are  a  great  pest  when  the  vine  is  in  blossom ; 
sprinkling  plaster,  hand  picking  and  frequent 
disturbance  are  about  the  only  remedies 
known. 

Tomatoes. — Train  to  trellises  or  stakes  and 
pinch  off  the  leading  or  main  shoots  to  in- 
crease fruitfulness. 

Weeds. — Give   them   no   quarter,  but  nip 
them  in  the  bud  by  keeping  the  soil  stirred. 
W.  H.  White. 

South  Windsor,  C't.,  May,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    FUTURE   FKUIT    SUPPLY. 

The  question  of  the  future  supply  of  fruit 
for  our  markets,  both  for  home  use  and  for 
export,  is,  to  New  England,  of  great  import- 
ance. For  a  year  or  two  past,  many  single 
acres  in  this  region  have  given  a  return  as  great 
as  from  twenty-five  to  forty  acres  of  good  land 
in  wheat  have  done  in  the  States  west  or  south 
of  us.  And  the  decline  of  old,  bearing  trees 
is  so  extensive,  from  natural  causes,  that  the 
new  orchards  are  by  some  believed  to  be  un- 
equal to  balance  accounts,  with  the  decay  of 
old  ones. 

There  is  a  constant  increase  of  demand  for 
home  consumption  and  for  export,  for  fruit, 
especially  for  winter  apples.  What  is  to  be 
the  future  supply  of  apples  for  proper  use  .•' 
Good  fruit  will  be  wanted,  and  if  cider  is  not 
used  for  anything  else,  much  will  be  used  in 
manufacturing  vinegar. 

When  a  clear  profit  is  made  for  orcharding, 
of  hundreds  of  dollars  per  acre,  occasionally, 
it  becomes  all  to  inquire  if  the  probabilities  of 
such  a  return  are  not  increasing  rather  than 
the  reverse. 

It  seems  to  be  very  important  to  the  future 
interest  of  the  whole  people,  consumers  and 
producers,  that  greater  care  should  be  exer- 
cised, and  more  judicious  efibrts  be  made  to 
preserve  the  young  trees  which  have  been  and 
are  being  set.  Great  numbers  of  trees  are  set 
so  poorly  as  to  make  them  worthless.  More 
are  neglected  when  they  need  mulching,  and 
they  die.  Many  others,  still,  are  allowed  to 
be  destroyed  by  cattle.  If  they  are  worth 
buying  and  setting,  they  are  worth  taking  care 
of.  But  they  are  not  taken  care  of;  and  they, 
therefore,  give  no  future  promise. 
■  Care  of  trees  will  pay,  if  care  of  lambs  and 
pigs  will  pay.  And  old  trees  need  not  die  of 
neglect,  as  they  are  now  dying  by  thousands, 
in  New  England.  To  trim  up  suckers,  and 
trim  out  tree  tops,  and  defend  them  against 
foes,  and  feed  the  soil  for  them,  will  pay. 
There  are  old  trees  enough,  now,  in  New  Eng  • 


316 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAE^IER. 


July 


land,  which  have  never  been  grafted,  to  pro- 
duce immense  quantities  of  fruit,  if  properly 
grafted  and  cared  for. 

It  is  amazing  how  little  care  and  judgment 
has  been  shown  in  this  regard  by  many  far- 
mers among  us.  Trees  have  been  stuck  full 
of  grafts,  and  then  the  natural  shoots  left  to 
overpower  and  kill  them  all.  If  there  is  any 
one  thing  in  which  there  is  a  greater  appear- 
ance of  imbecility  than  in  anything  else  in 
farm  management  in  country  towns  remote 
from  our  large  cities,  it  is,  it  seems  to  me,  in 
relation  to  tree-culture. 

One  item  in  relating  to  manuring,  I  would 
not  omit.  I  think  I  have  many  proofs  that 
the  droppings  of  hens  or  turkeys,  even  when 
composted  with  muck,  are  a  dangerous  and  de- 
structive stimulant  for  trees.  It  may  cause 
them  to  flourish  for  a  short  time,  but  then  die. 
I  have  numerous  facts  in  mind  which  seem  to 
declare  as  above,  but  this  paper  is  too  long 
already,  and  I  will  not  narrate  them. 

Lee,  N.  H.,  May,  1867.  a.  g.  c. 


MATERIAL   FOR   COMPOSTS. 

The  truth  of  the  axiom,  that  no  man,  how 
great  soever  may  be  his  zeal  and  industry, 
can  hope  to  succeed  as  a  farmer,  without  the 
aid  of  manure,  is  probably  what  every  practi- 
cal person  will  at  once  admit. 

Want  of  maniu-e,  indeed,  is  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  annoyances  with  which  the  intelli- 
gent cultivator  is  called  to  contend.  Yet  it  is 
one  which  the  exercise  of  proper  forethought 
and  economy  in  accumulating  materials  will 
enable  him  to  obviate.  There  is  probably  not 
a  farm  in  the  land  which  does  not  contain  with- 
in its  own  limits  the  resources  for  its  fertility, 
and  which  might  not  be  rendered  productive 
without  the  application  of  a  single  particle  of 
manure  from  abroad. 

By  composting,  by  turning  in  green  crops, 
by  seeing  that  all  the  numerous  fertilizing 
agents  in  the  yai-ds,  cow,  sheep,  and  hog  cotes, 
in  the  kitchen,  privy,  and  other  places,  are 
rigidly  turned  into  the  appropriate  channel, 
the  land  would  soon  assume  a  new  character, 
and  the  richest  harvests  salute  the  hand  of  the 
proprietor,  where  only  barrenness  and  sterility 
were  seen  before. 

If  the  farmer  could  only  realize  the  advan- 
tages which  would  accrue  to  him  from  a  rigid 
economization  of  those  fecundating  substances 
which  are  too  frequently  neglected  and  turned 
to  waste  about  his  buildings,  he  would  at  once 
reform  his  practice,  and  devote  a  portion  of 
his  time  to  a  department  of  labor  which  is  to 


be  regarded  as  the  initial  employment  of  every 
one  who  is  successful  in  the  prosecution  of  ag- 
riculture as  an  art. 

Collect  all  Vegetable  Matters. 
The  woodlands  afford  an  inexhaustible  sup- 
ply of  materials  for  manure,  as  do  also  the 
pastures,  road-sides  and  commons.  Wherever 
vegetable  matter  can  be  obtained,  there  exists 
the  food  of  plants.  Not  a  particle  of  matter 
which  has  once  been  animated  with  the  vital- 
izing principle  of  life,  is  to  be  considered 
worthless.  Even  iho.  fungi — the  low  mosses, 
and  the  reeds  and  rushes  of  the  ravine  and 
the  swamp — are  all  suitable  and  valuable  mate- 
rials for  the  compost  heap,  and  may  be  re- 
solved into  a  healthy  aliment  for  plants. 


SHEEP    SHEAKIlXra   TN   VEKMOJSTT. 

About  1000  of  the  sheep  breeders  of  Rut- 
land county  were  present  at  the  first  annual 
shearing  of  their  association  at  Rutland,  on 
Wednesday,  May  1st.  The  display  of  ani- 
mals was  very  fine,  and  the  shearing  process 
was  carried  through  with  enthusiasm.  The 
animal  which  produced  the  greatest  weight  of 
fleece  in  proportion  to  weight  of  carcass  be- 
longed to  Mr.  A.  E.  Smith,  of  Clarendon ; 
live  weight,  Q)'d>k  lbs. ;  fleece  14|  lbs.  Next, 
"Matchless,"  owned  by  Gleason«&  Jones,  live 
weight  76  lbs. ;  fleece,  151  lbs.  On  the  same 
day  there  was  a  shearing  in  Shelburne,  at 
which  prizes  were  awarded  for  the  best  fleeces, 
and  16  sheep  were  sheared,  whose  average 
weight  of  cai'case  was  13  lbs.  8  oz.  The 
lightest  fleece  of  the  15  weighed  7  lbs.  14  oz. 
from  an  animal  which  weighed  58  lbs.  ;  while 
the  largest  fleece  weighed  20  lbs.  and  10  oz. 
from  an  animal  whose  weight  was  120  lbs.  3 
oz.     One  weighing  91  lbs.  yielded  a  fleece  of 

15  lbs.  12^  oz.  ;  another  which  weighed  97  lbs. 
furnished  a  fleece  of  15  lbs.  12^  oz.  ;  and  an- 
other furnished  a  fleece  of  10  lbs.  15^  oz.  from 
a  carcass  which  weighed  only  56  lbs.  Still 
another  carcass  weighing  only  63  lbs.  yielded 

16  lbs.  12  oz.  of  wool.  Premiums  were  award- 
ed to  Henry  Thorp  and  H.  II.  Newell,  Char- 
lotte, and  L.  S.  Drew,  South  Burlington. 


Snakes. — We  seldom  destroy  snakes  of  any 
kind.  There  is  a  powerful  prejudice,  howev- 
er, existing  in  the  popular  mind  against  these 
reptiles,  though  as  a  general  thing  few  are 
more  harmless.     The  common  striped  snake, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


317 


and  green  snake,  and  even  the  adders,  are  all 
useful  to  the  farmer,  as  they  feed  on  insects, 
and  are  thus  powerfully  instrumental  in  dimin- 
ishing the  innumerable  hosts  of  insectivorous 
depredations  which  prey  upon  his  crops. 

Out  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  species  of 
serpents,  only  thirty-two  are  supposed  to  be 
poisonous,  and  of  these  latter,  but  one, — the 
rattlesnake — is  an  inhabitant  of  the  North. 
The  adder, — the  most  rejiulsive  of  all  our 
snakes, — is  by  no  means  noxious,  and  pos- 
sesses neither  the  power  to  kill  or  harm. 


HO"W   TO    MAKE    THE    LAND   KICH. 

In  New  York  City  there  is  an  association  of 
a  few  wide-awake,  inquisitive,  go-ahead  gen- 
tlemen, who  come  together  in  a  pleasant  room 
and  discuss  any  and  every  subject  that  has  a 
bearing  upon  the  cultivation  of  the  earth. 
This  association  is  called  the  American  Insti- 
tute Farmers'  Club,  and  its  doings  are  reported 
weekly  in  the  Tribune.  They  meet  once  each 
week,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  their 
doors  are  open  to  all  who  wish  to  enter  and 
listen,  or  take  a  part  in  the  discussions.  They 
are  doing  just  what  ought  to  be  done, — and 
ought  to  have  been  commenced  years  ago — in 
the  office  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Discussing  the  subject  of  manures,  recently, 
Mr.  Peter  Brown,  of  Limesbury,  Conn.,  said: 
"The  great  question  with  farmers  in  this  sec- 
tion is  manure,  and  how  to  get  it  economically 
is  a  very  important  consideration;  but  that 
farmers  must  depend,  mainly,  upon  the  barn- 
yards, stables  and  hog-pens,  for  cheap  ferti- 
lizers, is  an  undeniable  fact." 

Some  one,  with  more  truth  than  courtesy, 

promptly  replied. 

No,  sir,  it  is  not.  We  dispute  it.  The  cheapest 
manure  that  you  or  any  otlier  man  can  use  is  clo- 
ver seed,  even  at  .^25  a  bushel.  Sow  clover  seed 
with  every  grain  crop,  even  with  Indian  corn,  and 
quit  that  worst  of  all  practices — sowing  oats  upon 
com  stubble.  Plow  under  a  crop  of  clover  to 
serve  as  manure  for  every  other  crop.  Mix  clover 
and  timothy  seed  together,  and  if  you  get  a  good 
timothy  sod,  do  not  be  afraid  to  break  it  up.  It  is 
equal  to  160  loads  of  pretty  good  compost  manure 
to  every  acre.  In  applying  manure  to  your  land, 
learn  by  actual  experiment  whether  it  is  more 
profitable  to  spread  it  upon  grass  sod  and  depend 
upon  that  to  make  corn,  than  it  is  to  put  the  ma- 
nure in  corn  hills. 

We  greatly  need  examples  of  turning  under 
green  crops  in  our  New  England  farming,  and 
hope  that  many  will  exist  before  the  close  of 
the  next  growing  season.    They  may  be  made 


on  a  small  scale,  and,  we  have  no  doubt,  will 
afford  more  encouragement  than  the  use  of  any 
special  fertilizer  has  yet  afforded.  Try  it  and 
report  results. 


AMEKICAN  FIRE  EXTINGUISHER. 
A  few  days  since,  (May  9,)  the  invention 
shown  in  the  accompanying  engraving  was 
practically  tested  on  the  Fair  Grounds  in  this 
city.  We  were  not  present  ourselves,  at  the 
trial,  but  a  friend  who 
witnessed  the  test,  spoke 
of  it  as  a  wonderful  suc- 
cess. A  committee  of 
leading  business  men  and 
insurance  agents  testify 
that  the  experiment  was 
perfectly  successful.  The 
fires  were  started  in  piles 
of  tar  barrels,  filled  with 
shavings  and  saturated  with  kerosene,  and  after 
being  thoroughly  ignited  the  flames  were  com- 
pletely subdued — the  fire  put  out — in  one  case, 
in  one  minute,  in  the  second,  in  one  minute 
and  seven  seconds.  A  frame  building,  erected 
for  the  purpose,  and  containing  inflammable 
articles  was  fired,  and  when  the  whole  build- 
ing was  wrapped  in  flames,  three  men,  each 
with  an  extinguisher,  played  on  the  building 
and  put  out  the  fire  in  thirty-seven  seconds  ! 
Hon.  Daniel  Needham  of  this  city,  is  Presi- 
dent of  the  Company  which  manufactures  this 
machine,  and  will  give  all  desired  information. 


BREEDS    OF    CATTLE. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Vermont  Farmer 
very  concisely  gives  his  opinions  of  the  merits 
of  the  principal  breeds  of  cattle  : — 

In  view  of  all  testimony  aiid  our  own  long 
experience,  we  are  constrained  to  believe  the 
pure  Durham  short-horn  is  the  best  blood  to 
use  to  improve  the  present  race  of  cattle  in 
New  England.  The  Devons  are  a  smaller 
and  beautiful  breed.  The  oxen  are  as  much 
alike  as  two  peas,  of  a  beautiful  mahogany  red 
color,  with  long,  handsome  horns,  but  they 
are  too  small  for  the  Brighton  market  or  beef. 
The  cows  give  rich  milk  but  a  very  small 
quantity.  The  Ayrshires  are  hybrids  from  the 
Durham  on  the  one  side  and  native  cattle  of 
Ayr  on  the  other,  and  are  about  the  size  of 
the  Devon  and  as  hardy  and  better  milkers. 
The  Herefords  are  not  fit  for  the  dairy  but  have 
good  beef  and  working  qualities,  and  make 
sprightly,  large  and  handsome  oxen.  As  for 
the  Alderneyand  Kerry  cattle,  they  are  not  fit 
for  a  grazing  region  or  general  fax'm  purposes. 


318 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAEMER. 


July 


While  the  Dutch  are  the  great  rivals  of  the 
Durhams  in  size,  but  not  in  symmetry  of  pro- 
portions, they  will  match  any  breed  iu  the 
world  at  the  pail ;  make  powerful  oxen,  l)ut 
are  said  not  to  take  on  fat,  or  mature  so  early 
as  the  improved  Durham  short  horns.  We 
should,  ihough,  prefer  the  Dutch,  next  after 
the  Durliams,   for  a  cross  with  our  best  cows. 


AGRICUIiTUBAIi   ITEMS. 

— Some  farmers  sell  two  crops  in  the  winter.  In 
the  fore  part  it  is  hay,  in  the  latter  part  hides. 

— In  Northern  Ohio  sheep  have  wintered  poorly. 
Fodder  unusually  scarce. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Maine  Farmer  thinks 
he  has  discovered  the  cause  of  smutty  corn  in  the 
use  of  muck  in  composting  manure. 

— The  death  of  Lois  Weeden,  of  England,  orig- 
inator of  the  "Lois  Weeden"  system  of  husbandry, 
is  announced. 

— The  Prairie  Farmer  says  that  Osage  hedging 
has  become  the  chief  mode  of  enclosure  on  the 
prairie  farms. 

— So  great  is  the  demand  for  the  Osage  plant  for 
fencing  purposes,  that  the  price  has  recently  risen 
from  two  and  a  half  to  four  dollars  per  thousand, 
in  the  State  of  Illinois. 

— On  a  cliargc  of  destroying  fruit,  the  city  coun- 
cil of  Madison,  Ind.,  have  passed  an  ordinance  ex- 
cluding honey  bees  from  the  limits  of  the  corpor- 
ation— guilty  or  not  guilty. 

— Radish  or  lettuce  sowed  around  the  hills  of 
cucumljcr  and  other  vines  is  said  to  be  a  protec- 
tion against  the  stripped  bug,  which  prefers  this 
food  to  the  young  vines. 

— Hon.  Josiah  Quincy  who  sells  milk  in  Boston 
from  cows  kept  on  the  soiling  system,  estimates 
the  value  of  the  manure  from  a  cow  to  be  equal  to 
the  value  of  her  milk. 

— In  Germany  sheep  are  washed  under  cover ; 
first  in  water  at  a  temperature  of  about  80°,  and 
then  exposed  to  a  shower  bath  of  about  62°,  until 
the  wool  is  of  a  snowy  whiteness. 

— A  farmer  in  Iowa  destroyed  the  grub-wonns 
that  were  destroying  his  corn,  by  catching  a  lot  of 
moles  and  putting  them  into  the  corn  field.  The 
moles  may  be  caught  by  the  use  of  cow's  horns 
with  the  pith  out. 

— The  Connecticut  River  Valley  fair  will  be  held 
at  Keene  on  the  17th,  18th,  and  19th  of  September 
next.  The  Cheshire  Co.,  Agricultural  Society,  as 
a  Society,  will  hold  no  fair,  Ijut  will  be  represented 
in  the  Connecticut  River  Association. 

— Some  farmers  never  sharpen  their  hoes.  Hoes 
for  the  boys,  in  particular,  should  l)e  kept  sha^  p  at 
all  times,  by  grinding  or  filing.  They  should  not 
be  left  in  the  open  air  at  night  but  should  be  rub- 
bed dry  and  hung  in  a  dry  place. 

— Mr.  Kendall,  formerly  of  the  New  Orleans 
Picayune,  but  for  years  a  wool  grower  of  Texas, 


writes  to  the  Rural  New  Yorker:  "On  the  13th  of 
March,  after  a  warm  growing  spell,  the  worst  sleet 
storm  ever  experienced  in  this  State  set  in ;  away 
went  the  grass ;  the  ewes  IkkI  no  milk,  and  the 
consequence  you  can  easily  judge.  I  hoped  to 
raise  1800  lambs ;  but  if  500  rul)  through,  I  shall 
be  satisfied.  The  weather  up  to  April  7,  has  con- 
tinued cold,  raw,  and  backward." 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Maine  Farmer  says 
that  on  the  Islands  which  are  the  home  of  the  Jer- 
sey cows  roses  bloom  through  December  in  the 
open  air,  and  that  in  New  England  they  need 
blanketing  as  much  as  a  fancy  race  horse. 

— New  Hampshire  has  three  million  dollars  in- 
vested in  horses,  four  and  a  half  million  in  cattle, 
two  and  a  half  million  in  milch  cows,  two  million 
in  sheep,  and  six  hundred  and  seventy-four  thou- 
sand in  swine. 

— Mr.  Nathan  Mosely,  of  Goodground,  N.  J., 
writes  to  the  New  York  Fanners'  Club  that  he  has 
shot  at  ditferent  times  four  king  birds  which  he 
thought  he  caught  in  the  very  act  of  catching 
honey  bees,  but  on  examining  their  crop  no  bees 
were  found. 

— Mr.  Chenery,  of  Belmont,  Mass.,  claims  that 
the  Dutch  cattle  are  much  superior  to  any  other 
breed  for  cheese  making,  or  for  the  production  of 
milk  for  familj'  use,  or  for  city  markets ;  that  they 
are  pre-eminently  adapted  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
general  farmer,  combining  in  a  gi'eat  degree  the 
desirable  qualities  of  dairy,  beef,  and  work  cattle. 

— To  keep  borers  and  other  insects  fi'om  fmjt 
trees,  the  following  wash  is  recommended  by  one 
who  has  tried  it.  Put  into  a  water-tight  barrel, 
one  pail  soft  soap,  four  quarts  of  sulphur,  four 
quarts  air  slacked  lime ;  four  quarts  of  wood  ashes, 
half  bushel  of  cow  or  hen  manure,  and  water 
enough  to  fill  the  barrel. 

— The  custom  of  working  horses  immediately 
after  being  fed,  and  especially  when  long  intervals 
elapse  between  hours  of  feeding,  weakens  the  di- 
gestive organs  and  pi'cdisposes  them  to  attacks 
of  colic.  Very  cold  water  given  when  the  horse's 
body  is  heated,  and  a  sudden  stoppage  of  perspira- 
tion, arc  also  exciting  causes  of  this  disorder. 

— A  large  per  cent,  of  the  lambs  in  Rutland  Co., 
Vt.,  have  died,  cither  at  birth,  or  when  Imt  a  few 
days  old.  Some  of  the  most  experienced  sheep 
raisers  arc  the  greatest  losers,  and  cannot  account 
for  this  unusual  mortality  of  the  Iambs.  The 
same  is  said  to  be  the  case  in  many  places  in  Addi- 
son county. 

— W.  B.  Merry,  of  Anson,  writes  to  the  Maine 
Farmer  that  he  has  sixty  American  Merino  ewes, 
to  which  he  commenced  feeding  one  bushel  of 
potatoes  per  day,  one  week  before  lambing.  Forty- 
eight  of  them  had  fifty  laml)S,  up  to  April  13th, 
and  all  were  smart  and  doing  as  well  as  land)S 
dropped  in  May.  He  had  not  lost  a  lamb,  and  sel- 
dom had  to  help  one  to  suck,  notwitlistanding  it 
was  quite  cold  at  times.    He  had  one  lamb  that 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


319 


weighed  twelve  and  a  half  pounds,  dropped  by  a 
yearling  ewe. 

— A  regulation  recently  adopted  in  relation  to 
the  market  in  Havana  requires  the  daily  attend- 
ance of  a  veterinaiy  surgeon  at  the  slaughter 
house,  to  inspect  evei-y  animal  bought  to  be  slaugh- 
tered. In  view  of  the  late  disclosures  in  relation 
to  the  trichinous  disease,  should  not  some  meas- 
ures be  adopted  in  this  country  for  the  safety  of 
those  who  use  pork  as  a  food  ? 

— Owners  of  horses  arc  indebted  to  the  Veterin- 
ary Department  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  for  the 
statement  that,  "Strangulation  of  the  intestines  by 
pedunculated  tumors,  or  hypertrophied  appendices 
epiploicce,  is  among  the  lesions  to  which  the  intes- 
tines are  liable."  Webster's  Unabridged  is  among 
the  premiums  offered  for  subscribers  to  the 
Monthly  Neav  England  Farmer. 

— Richard  McGraw,  of  Livonia,  Mich.,  gives  the 
following  as  a  preventive  of  gi'ixb  in  the  head : 
Take  a  feed  trough ;  put  tar  in  it ;  take  salt  and 
sulphur;  put  it  over  the  tar.  The  preparation  will 
prevent  the  CEstrus  Ovis  from  laying  its  eggs  on 
the  membrane  of  the  nose  of  the  sheep.  It  will 
also  kill  ticks,  so  that  sheep  which  use  it  will  not 
have  a  tick  on  them. 

— A  man  out  west  got  ready  to  plant  his  potatoes 
before  the  moon  showed  the  right  sign,  and  so  one 
day  he  went  very  quietly  into  the  field  and  did  up 
the  joli  in  good  order,  being  careful  to  finish  at 
night  before  the  moon  got  up  to  see  what  he  was 
about.  The  result  was  he  had  a  good  crop,  and 
now  brags  how  nicely  he  "come  it"  over  that  po- 
tential orb. 

— The  Prairie  Farmer  has  not  the  shadow  of  a 
doubt  of  the  ultimate  success  of  the  beet  sugar  en- 
terprise in  Illinois  and  other  Western  States. 
About  100,000  lbs.  of  sugar  of  an  excellent  quality 
has  been  manufactured  in  Chatsworth,  111.,  the 
past  season,  demonstrating  that  beets  grown  there 
are  as  rich  in  sugar  as  those  produced  in  the  best 
sugar  districts  of  the  Old  World. 

— The  city  of  San  Jose,  California,  is  entirely 
out  of  debt,  with  a  surplus  fund  of  $50,000 ;  a 
school  fund  interest  of  nearly  $100,000 ;  is  laying 
out  and  planting  with  trees,  &c.,  a  splendid  and 
spacious  public  square ;  has  a  "foundry"  which 
supplies  the  city  with  water,  and  farmers  with 
their  implements,  even  to  steam  engines  for  har- 
vesting, of  which  thirty  were  in  operation  last  fall 
in  the  valley;  a  large  silk  factory  has  been  com- 
menced, and  extensive  preparations  are  being 
made  for  feeding  the  worms  in  its  vicinity. 

— At  a  late  discussion  of  the  Little  Falls,  N.  Y., 
Fanners'  Club,  Mr.  Wliitman  said,  I  wish  to  raise 
a  good  crop  of  herds  grass,  and  do  not  care  to  sow 
clover.  It  is  difficult  to  cure.  But  when  I  get 
ready  to  raise  clover  I  shall  do  so,  but  that  will 
not  be  until  cotton  cloth  is  cheaper.  I  want  a  hay 
stool  standing  two  inches  from  the  ground,  and  a 
hay  cap.    Then  I  can  put  my  clover  upon  the  stool, 


and  cover  it  with  the  hay  cap,  and  let  it  cure  out. 
In  this  way  the  leaves  arc  saved  and  good  hay 
made. 

— The  Illinois  Legislature  at  its  last  session 
passed  a  laAV  providing  that  any  person  bringing 
into  the  State  seed  of  the  Canada  thistle,  in  the 
packing  of  goods,  grain  or  grass  seeds,  or  other- 
wise, and  permitting  the  same  to  be  disseminated 
and  vegetate,  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  $100;  and 
any  person  allowing  this  thistle  to  mature  and  dis- 
seminate its  seed  upon  his  lands  shall  be  subjected 
to  a  penalty  of  $15. 

— Horace  Greeley,  after  visiting  Vineland,  N.  J., 
at  his  own  expense,  made  a  speech  on  his  return 
at  the  American  Institute  Farmers'  Club,  in  which 
he  said  that  "any  acre  of  that  land  requires  forty 
tons  of  marl,  and  to  this  should  be  added  $100 
worth  of  other  manures."  He  complains  that  he 
was  reported  as  saying  that  "little  manure  is  re- 
quired." The  Club  appears  to  be  backing  down 
from  its  endorsement  of  Vineland. 

— The  editor  of  the  California  Farmer  had  the 
pleasure  recently  of  shaking  the  hand  of  an  ad- 
miring visitor  of  California,  who  had  the  pleasant 
remembrance  of  the  warm  pressure  of  the  hand 
of  Gen.  George  Washington.  The  gentleman's 
name  is  J.  Harrod,  of  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y., 
who  at  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-two  years,  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  good  health,  was  on  a  visit  to 
friends  in  California. 

— The  Iowa  Falls  Sentinel  learns  that  provisions 
are  getting  very  scarce  in  Hancock  and  Wright 
counties.  That  about  one-third  of  the  people  of 
Hancock  and  Wright  counties  now  lack  seed  wheat, 
and  a  few  of  them  are  already  living  on  short  ra- 
tions. The  unusual  amount  of  plowing  for  wheat 
done  last  fall  indicated  an  unusual  harvest  this 
season,  but  now  for  want  of  seed  it  will  scarcely 
reach  an  average.  And  the  hardship  is  still  worse 
in  view  of  the  rapid  immigration  to  that  section. 


Milk  Sickness. — The  Medical  and  Surgi- 
cal Reporter  states  that  the  affection  of  cattle 
known  as  milk  sickness,  is  caused  by  eating 
the  white  snake  root,  Eiipatoritim  Ageratoi- 
des.  This  discovery  seems  to  have  been  made 
by  three  separate  observers,  at  about  the  same 
time.  One  of  them  Mr.  William  Jerry,  of 
Edwardsville,  111.,  in  1860,  gathered  this  plant 
by  mistake  for  the  nettle,  and  ate  it  as  boiled 
greens  On  the  day  following,  he  was  sud- 
denly seized  with  violent  trembling,  prostra- 
tion, and  faintness,  and  on  the  next  day  with 
vomiting,  and  violent  retching.  He  did  not 
fully  recover  in  five  years,  and  in  the  mean 
time  tried  the  plant  on  domestic  animals  with 
similar  results.  Dr.  j\.mos  Sawyer  of  liills- 
boro,  111.,  Mr.  R.  N.  Lee  of  Nokomis,  Dr. 
McPheters  of  St.  Louis,  Botanist,  and  Mr. 
Enno,  chemist,  all  coincide  in  the  opinion  that 
milk  sickness  is  caused  by  this  hitherto  unsus- 
pected plant,  which  animals  are  said  to  like 
when  it  is  in  bloom. 


320 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


July 


■-'^^ 


A   DISTHTCT    SCHOOL   HOUSE. 


Evidences  of  a  growing  taste  for  the  pleas- 
ant and  beautiful  are  to  be  seen  in  the  archi- 
tecture and  surroundings  of  modern-built  res- 
idences throughout  New  England.  And  al- 
though the  bald,  cheerless,  and  "out-of-door" 
aspect  of  many  a  school-house  provokes  the 
remark  that  "it  is  the  worst  looking  building 
in  the  whole  neighborhood,"  there  is  now  and 
then  one  which  shows  that  a  spirit  of  improve- 
ment is  at  work  which  shall  make  these  pri- 
mary "agricultural  colleges"  attractive  rath- 
er than  repulsive  to  the  Young  America  for 
whom  they  are  provided.  Indeed  so  great 
has  been  the  change  in  the  school  house  and 
in  the  system  of  instruction  of  our  rural  dis- 
tricts, that  parents  have  found  of  late  much 
less  necessity  for  "driving"  their  children  to 
school  than  formerly.  For  the  purpose  of 
aiding  those  neigliborhaods  who  deslri'  that 
the  first  impressions  of  the  scliool  should  be 
pleasant  to  their  children,  we  publish  the  ac- 
companying plan  and  perspective  view  of  a 
school  house,  designed  by  Geo.  E.  Harney, 
for  our  columns.     The  engravings  need  lit- 


tle description.  The  perspective  view  shows 
the  style  of  tlie  exterior.  The  plan  shows  the 
position  and  relative  size  of  the  rooms. 

A  is  an  open  porch,  shielding  the  entrance  to 
the  girls'  apartment,  B  ;  C  is  the  school  room ; 
D  is  a  recitation  room ;  E,  the  boys'  entry ; 
F,  woodroom ;  PI,  wash  and  pump  room ;  K, 
the  teacher's  desk. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


321 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FAKM    OF    EBENEZER    EICHAEDSON". 

Having  been  very  much  pleased  by  what  I 
saw  and  heard  during  a  late  visit  to  the  town 
of  Pepperell,  and  especially  to  the  I'arm  of 
Ebenezer  Richardson,  I  think  the  readers  of 
the  Farmer  will  thank  me  for  a  brief  notice 
of  this  town,  of  this  farm,  and  of  this  farmer. 

Pepperell  is  naturally  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful towns  in  Middlesex  county,  Mass.  It  is 
situated  on  the  Nashua  river,  and  on  the 
Wocester  and  Nashua  railroad,  thirty-seven 
miles  north-west  of  Boston.  The  surface 
consists  of  large  swells,  and  the  soil  is  good. 
Among  its  beautiful  estates  ai'e  those  of  the 
Historian  Prescott,  now  occupied  by  his  son, 
Mr.  Farrar,  Mr.  Griffin,  Mr.  Belcher,  Mr. 
George  T.  Bancroft,  and  others. 

But  as  an  illustration  of  practical  and  prof- 
itable fanning, — of  what  may  be  done  with 
our  "worn  out"  New  England  farms  by  young 
men  with  no  other  means  than  health,  industry, 
and  an  agricultural  education — I  propose  to 
confine  my  remarks  at  this  time  to  the  farm  of 
Mr.  Ebenezer  Richardson,  which  consists  of 
some  200  acres,  and  which  he  purchased 
about  forty  years  ago. 

It  was  previousljr  owned  by  Mr.  David 
Shedd,  who  kept  for  a  time  about  40  head  of 
cattle.  After  his  death  the  farm  was  occupied 
by  his  widow,  one  son  and  two  grandsons,  and 
by  poor  management  was  run  down  so  low  as 
barely  to  yield  enough  to  keep  three  cows,  one 
yoke  of  oxen  and  a  horse.  Among  the  causes 
of  the  decline  in  the  farming  interests  of  this 
town  was  the  introduction  of  the  coopering  bu- 
siness, which  stripped  the  town  of  its  best  timber 
and  engaged  the  attention  of  its  most  active  citi- 
zens, especially  of  its  young  men,  who  seemed 
to  prefer  this  business  to  out-door  work. 
As  this  fever  subsided,  instead  of  turning  their 
attention  to  agriculture  the  young  men  were 
disposed  to  seek  their  fortune  in  manufactur- 
ing, trade,  &c.  Mr.  Richardson,  however, 
preferred  farming,  and  for  fifteen  years  worked 
on  the  farm  about  eighj:.  months  a  year ;  going 
to  school  or  teaching  during  the  winter  months, 
but  never  receiving,  in  either  capacity,  over 
thirteen  dollars  per  month. 

Mr.  Richardson  purchased  the  place  subject 
to  the  encumbrance  of  the  "widow's  thirds," 
four  years  before  he  occupied  the  house, 
though  he  cut  the  hay  and  managed  the  farm 
with  a  view  to  its  future  improvement,  so  far 
as  he  could  while  working  out  most  of  these 
four  years.  On  coming  into  full  possession 
he  began  with  four  cow's  and  one  pair  of 
oxen,  in  addition  to  the  six  head  previously 
kept  by  the  widow. 

For  the  purpose  of  increasing  his  manure 
heap,  he  kept  a  good  number  of  swine,  and 
increased  his  stock  of  cattle  as  far  as  he  could, 
until  he  was  able  to  keep  forty  head, — the 
largest  number  he  has  ever  owned — usually 


keeping  about  thirty,  with  from  eight  to  twen- 
ty-eight swine. 

He  has  tried  the  Durham,  Dutch,  Jersey 
and  native,  and  gives  the  preference  to  the 
Durhams  and  their  grades  with  the  native 
stock.  He  has  always  raised  his  own  cows  ; 
believing  this  the  cheapest  way  of  securing 
those  of  superior  quality  for  his  purpose,  which 
is  mainly  butter  making. 

A  peat  meadow  of  about  24  acres  has  been 
thoroughly  reclaimed.  Originally  it  was  so 
soft  that  a  man  would  be  lucky  to  cross  it  and 
not  sink  up  to  his  waist.  The  grass  was 
"cotton  top,"  interspersed  with  flags,  such 
as  are  used  in  coopering,  and  some  cranberry 
vines.  The  quality  of  the  mud  was  such  that 
if  a  load  of  gravel  was  carted  on  in  the  winter, 
herdsgrass  would  spring  up  the  next  year, 
wherever  it  was  spread.  On  draining  this 
swamp  it  settled  three  feet.  Twelve  acres  of 
it  have  grown  up  to  wood ;  before  it  was  drain- 
ed the  pines  would  grow  to  the  height  of  a 
man's  shoulder,  and  then  fall  down.  Twelve 
acres  have  been  cultivated,  and  year  before 
last  a  portion  of  this  produced  corn  at  the  rate 
of  about  75  bushels  to  the  acre.  In  the 
process  of  reclaiming  this  meadow  there  were 
on  three  or  four  acres  about  40  cords  to  the 
acre  of  ash,  pine  and  maple  logs  dug  out, — 
some  of  which  measured  2  ft.  in  diameter. 
The  hard  wood  logs  were  much  decayed. 
The  roots,  stumps  and  logs  at  the  surface 
were  completely  rotten.  At  the  depth  of  four 
feet  the  peat  is  red  and  hard.  Among  the 
curiosities  found  were  perfect  leaves  of  birch, 
ash  and  cranberry  vines,  and  one  perfect 
cranberry  h-is  been  preserved  that  was  found 
four  feet  fi  om  the  surface. 

The  hay  annually  cut  on  this  farm  is  about 
70  tons  and  all  of  good  quality,  none  being 
poor  meadow. 

There  are  two  and  a  half  acres  of  peach 
trees  in  one  orchard,  five  years  old ;  all  of 
which  are  now  in  fine  condition,  and  promise 
to  bear  abundantly.  There  are  also  six  acres 
more  set  among  apple  trees  in  another  orch^ 
ard.  All  the  peach  trees  on  this  farm  are 
seedlings, — being  a  large  yellow  rare  ripe, 
called  the  Pepperell  peach.  Nearly  all  the 
apple  trees  of  the  seveial  fine  orchards  on  the 
farm  were  raised  from  the  seed  by  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson. There  are  cherries,  pears  and  other 
small  fruits  and  grapes. 

The  buildings  on  this  farm  are  now  com- 
fortable and  convenient,  and  have  been  built 
and  refitted  by  Mr.  Richardson  at  an  expense 
equal  to  the  original  purchase  money  of  the 
farm.  He  has  three  barns — 56  by  40,  40  by  28, 
40  by  30 — a  corn  barn,  apple  house,  and  cart 
house,  with  cellars  under  all. 

A  State  premium  of  $100 ;  a  first  county 
premium  of  $25,  and  a  second  of  $20,  by  the 
Middlesex  Agricultural  Society,  have  been 
awarded  to  Mr,  Richardson ;  besides  a  first 
premium  of  $25  on  Reclaimed  Peat  Meadows, 


822 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


July 


one  of  $20  on  Apple  Orchards,  and  several 
smaller  ones  on  grain,  fruit,  vegetables,  &c. 

I  obtained  no  statistics  as  to  the  annual 
income  of  this  farm,  but  it  was  said  to  be 
much  larger  than  that  derived  from  most 
of  the  other  farms  in  this  neighborhood.  It 
was  remarked  by  an  observing  townsman  that 
the  clear  profit  realized  from  this  farm  was 
ten  times  as  large  as  that  from  some  carelessly 
managed  ones  in  town. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  Mr.  Richardson^s  ex- 
ample the  young  men  of  the  town  are  leaving 
their  old  homesteads,  which  are  gradually 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  more  industrious 
foreign  population.  And  even  now  it  is  said 
there  are  scarcely  more  than  a  dozen  Ameri- 
can farmers  in  this  beautiful  town  who  devote 
their  whole  attention  to  farming. 

i\Ir.  Richardson  expressed  regret  for  this 
growing  distaste  for  agricultural  life,  and 
remarked  that  comparatively  few  of  all  his 
acquaintances  who  engaged  in  other  pursuits 
had  met  with  any  marked  success.  w. 


S^O'W   TO    MAKE    GOOD    BUTTER. 

We  copy  the  following  judicious  suggestions 
from  the  Report  of  G.  Reynolds,  chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  Butter,  published  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Middlesex,  Mass.,  Agri- 
cultural Society,  for  1866  : — 

Whoever  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine 
the  "Transactions  of  the  Middlesex  Agricul- 
tural Society"  for  the  last  ten  years,  must  be 
struck  by  the  meagre  character  of  many  of 
the  reports  of  the  Butter  Committees.  As  a 
usual  thing,  beyond  the  mere  statement  of  the 
awards,  almost  nothing  has  been  hazarded 
either  in  the  way  of  criticism  or  suggestion. 
Your  present  committee  venture  to  step  out 
of  this  beaten  track,  and  to  say  that  they  do 
not  believe  that  the  premiums  are  accomplish- 
ing the  amount  and  especially  the  kind  of 
good  which  they  ought  to  accomplish.  And 
they  are  the  more  emboldened  to  do  this,  when 
they  remember  the  great  agricultural  value  of 
the  article  which  they  have  under  considera- 
tion. Butter,  with  the  exception  of  hay  and 
possibly  live  stock,  is  the  product  of  the  farm 
which  in  Massachusetts  has  the  greatest  money 
value.  In  this  respect  it  is  equal  or  superior 
to  the  corn  crop,  and  probably  worth  more 
than  the  oat,  barley,  wheat,  orchard  and  mar- 
ket-garden crop  together.  Judging  from  the 
past  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  yearly  pro- 
duct of  butter  in  Massachusetts  is  from  8,000,- 
000  to  9,000,000  lbs  ;  worth  this  year  at  the 
farmer's  door  moi'c  than  $.'3,000,000,  or  an 
average  of  about  $100  to  each  and  every  farm 
in  the  State.  It  is  evident  then  that  anytiiing 
which  tends  to  improve  the  quality  or  increase 
the  case  and  certaintj-  of  its  production  is  of 
vital  importance  to  our  farmers.  Our  system 
of  agricultural  premiums  ought  to  do  more 
than   reward  personal   skill.     It  ought  to  ac- 


quaint us  with  the  principles  and  methods 
which  are  back  of  that  skill,  and  certainly  it 
should  be  possible  to  deduce  from  the  experi- 
ence and  practice  of  some  dozen  of  the  best 
dairy-women  in  the  county  definite  ideas  and 
rules  about  butter-making.  Well,  we  have 
before  us  the  statements  of  the  methods  of 
more  than  a  dozen  of  such,  and  after  a  repeat- 
ed and  sedulous  perusal  of  them  we  are  unable 
to  say  Avhether  the  beautiful  specimens  before 
us  came  from  "a  pure  knack"  in  the  individu- 
als of  doing  about  right,  or  are  the  results  of 
wise  methods  faithfully  followed.  The  diffi- 
culty is,  the  requirement  of  the  Society,  as  in- 
terpreted by  contributors,  does  not  bring  us 
full  and  precise  statements  of  the  hows  and 
whats  and  whens  of  butter-making,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  process.  And 
they,  above  all  things,  are  what  we  need  most 
to  know.  Would  it  not  be  wiser  to  give  fewer 
and  larger  premiums  and  demand  in  return 
more  minute  accounts  ?  Or  else  to  give  an 
additional  premium  to  whoever  shouM  furnish 
at  the  same  time  excellent  butter  and  as  ex- 
cellent a  story  of  how  it  came  to  be  so  good? 

The  character  of  the  dairy-room  and  the 
temperature  maintained  in  it ;  the  number  and 
kind  of  utensils  used;  the  time  which  the  milk 
is  allowed  to  stand  before  skimming ;  how  of- 
ten the  churning  takes  place ;  whether  the 
cream  and  the  churn  are  raised  to  any  special 
and  mutually  equal  temperature  ;  whether  cold 
water  is  used  at  any  stage  of  the  work,  and  if 
so,  when  ;  how  much  salt  is  put  in,  and  how 
and  when  ;  whether  the  butter  is  worked  with 
the  hands,  or  with  a  wooden  spoon,  or  with 
both ;  the  manner  in  which  the  stock  is  kept 
and  fed ; — these  and  many  other  things,  exer- 
cise, no  doubt,  an  important  influence  upon 
the  result.  And  it  would  seem  as  though  the 
statements  of  the  contributors  ought  to  shed  a 
great  deal  more  light  on  these  points  than  they 
do  ;  and  that  good  butter-making  ought  to  be 
less  an  accidental  peculiarity,  and  more  a 
trade,  with  definite  rules  and  habits  which  can 
be  learned  and  practiced  by  any  body.  It 
would  seem  as  though  every  good  dairy-woman 
ought  to  have  on  these  points  not  only  correct 
instincts  but  intelligence,  and  that  it  is  the 
work  of  the  society  to  demand  and  to  cultivate 
this  accurate  intelligence.  It  may,  indeed,  be 
said,  that  farming  is  not  in  any  department  an 
exact  science.  That  is  true.  But  there  is  no 
department  which  so  nearly  approaches  it  as 
that  of  the  dairy.  And  though  your  commit- 
tee, at  least  the  chairman  thereof,  disclaims 
any  profound  insight  into  the  practical  details 
of  the  work,  yet  "he  guesses"  and  indeed  has 
it  "impressed  upon  liis  mind"  that  nothing 
pays  better  in  butter-making  than  to  have 
precise  methods  and  to  stick  to  them  ;  and  he 
hopes  that  the  Society  will  from  year  to  year 
grow  more  and  more  pressingly  curious  in  its 
questions  until  it  finds  out  what  these  methods 
are. 

As  to  practical  lessons   this  year ;  judging 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


823 


from  the  specimens  exhibited  and  from  the  ac- 
companying statements,  your  committee  would 
say,  with  dithdence,  that  it  would  seem,  j^?'S^, 
that  cream  which  was  not  allowed  to  stand  at 
the  most  over  thirty-six  hours  (in  the  summer 
twelve  to  eighteen  hours  in  most  dairy-rooms) 
made  sweeter  butter  than  that  which  stood 
longer ;  second,  that  it  was  better  to  churn 
twice  or  even  three  times  in  a  week  than 
once  ;  third,  that  one  ounce  of  salt  to  a  pound 
of  butter  meets  more  nearly  the  average  taste 
than  a  larger  or  smaller  quantity  ;yoMr^^,  that 
the  (}uality  of  the  butter  is  much  less  depend- 
ent upon  the  character  of  the  feed  of  the  cow 
than  is  sometimes  supposed.  In  respect  to 
this  last  point  the  statements  vary  to  this  ex- 
tent:  "fed  on  grass  entirely,"  "fed  on  grass 
and  corn-stalks,"  "feed,  besides  usual  pasture, 
a  small  quantity  of  green  corn  fodder  and  one 
quart  meal  daily,"  "has  not  had  any  grain 
since  the  1st  of  June."  Yet  there  is  scarcely 
an  appreciable  difference  in  the  butter  made 
under  these  varying  circumstances.  From 
which  we  deduce  the  conclusion  that  the  good- 
ness of  butter  depends  far  more  upon  the  care 
with  which  it  is  made,  and  very  possibly  upon 
the  original  butter-making  quality  of  the  cow, 
than  upon  the  nature  of  the  food. 


From  Harper's  New  Monthly. 
SUGAR-MAKUSTG. 

The  croons  rose  from  her  snowy  bed 

As  she  IVIt  the  spring's  caresses, 
And  the  willow  from  her  graceful  head 

Shook  out  her  yellow  tresses. 

Through  the  crumbling  walls  of  his  icy  cell 

Stole  the  brook,  a  happy  rover; 
And  he  made  a  noise  like  a  silver  bell 

In  riinning  under  and  over. 

The  earth  was  pushing  the  old  dead  grass 

With  lily  hand  from  her  bosom, 
And  the  sweet  brown  buds  of  the  sassafras 

Could  scarcely  hide  the  blossoms. 

And  breaking  nature's  solitude 
Came  the  axe  strokes  clearly  ringing, 

For  the  chopper  was  busy  in  the  wood 
Ere  the  early  birds  were  singing. 

All  day  the  hardy  settler,  now 

At  his  task,  was  toiling  steady; 
His  fields  were  cleared,  and  his  shining  plow 

Was  get  by  the  furrow  ready. 

And  down  in  the  woods,  where  the  sun  appeared 
Through  the  naked  branches  breaking, 

His  rustic  cabin  has  been  reared 
For  the  time  of  sugar-making. 

And  now,  as  about  it  he  came  and  went. 

Cheerfully  planning  and  toiling, 
His  good  child  sat  there,  with  eyes  intent 

On  the  fire  and  the  kettles  boiling. 

With  the  beauty  Nature  gave  as  her  dower, 
And  the  artless  grace  she  taught  her, 

The  woods  could  l)oast  no  fairer  flower 
Than  Kose,  the  settler's  daughter. 

She  watched  the  pleasant  fire  a-near, 

And  her  father  coming  and  going. 
And  her  thoughts  were  all  as  sweet  and  clear 

As  the  drops  from  his  pail  o'erflowing. 

For  she  scarce  had  dreamed  of  earthly  ills, 
And  love  had  never  found  her; 


She  lived  shut  in  by  pleasant  hills 
That  stood  as  a  guard  around  her. 

And  she  might  have  lived  the  self-same  way 
Through  all  the  springs  to  follow. 

But  for  a  youth,  who  came  one  day 
Across  her  in  the  hollow. 

He  did  not  look  like  a  wicked  man. 
And  yet,  when  he  snw  that  blossom. 

He  said,  "I  will  steal  this  Kose  if  I  can, 
And  hide  it  in  my  bosom." 

That  he  could  be  tired  you  had  not  guessed 
Had  you  seen  him  lightly  walking; 

But  he  must  have  been,  for  ho  stopped  to  rest 
So  long  that  they  fell  to  talking. 

Alas  I  he  was  athirst,  he  said, 
Yet  he  feared  there  was  no  slaking 

The  deep  and  quenchless  thirst  he  had 
For  a  draft  beyond  his  taking. 

Then  she  filled  the  cup  and  gave  to  him, 
The  settler's  blushing  daughter; 

And  he  looked  at  her  across  the  brim 
As  he  slowly  drank  the  water. 

And  he  sighed  as  he  put  the  cup  away, 
For  lips  and  soul  were  drinking: 

But  what  he  drew  from  her  eyes  that  day 
Was  the  sweetest,  to  his  thinking. 

I  do  not  know  if  her  love  awoke 

Before  his  words  awoke  it; 
If  she  guessed  at  his  before  he  spoke, 

Or  not  till  he  had  spoke  it. 

But  howsoe'er  she  made  it  known, 

And  howsoe'er  he  told  her. 
Each  unto  each  the  heart  had  shown 

When  the  year  was  little  older. 

For  oft  he  came  her  voice  to  hear. 
And  to  taste  of  the  sugar  w.iter; 

And  she  was  a  settler's  wife  next  year 
Who  had  been  a  settler's  daughter. 

And  now  their  days  are  fair  and  fleet 

As  the  days  of  sugar  weather, 
While  they  drink  the  water,  clear  and  sweet, 

Of  the  cup  of  life  together. 


PEVEKS  AND  PBUITS. 
Lefs  have  a  little  talk  about  orchards  and 
gardens,  as  life-preservers.  Many  a  farmer 
thinks  he  "can't  fuss  about  a  garden"  with 
vegetables  and  small  fruits  in  ample  variety, 
hardly  about  an  orchard,  especially  beyond 
apple  trees.  So  he  goes  on  to  weightier  mat- 
ters of  grain,  or  stock,  or  dairy,  and  eats  pota- 
toes, wheat  bread,  pork  and  salt  beef,  all  sum- 
mer long ;  no  fine  variety  of  vegetables,  no 
grateful  berries,  no  luscious  peaches  or  juicy 
cherries.  By  October  fever  comes,  or  bowel 
complaints  of  some  kind,  or  some  congestive 
troubles,  most  likely.  He  is  laid  up,  work 
stops  a  month,  the  doctor  comes,  and  he 
"drags  round"  all  winter,  and  the  doctor's  bill 
drags,  too.  The  poor  wife,  meanwhile,  gets 
dyspeptic,  constipated,  has  fever,  too,  perhaps, 
and  she  '  'just  crawls  round."  What's  the  mat- 
ter.'* They  don't  know,  poor  souls.  Would 
they  build  a  hot  fire  in  July  and  shut  the  doors  ? 
Of  course  not — in  their  rooms  ;  but  they  have 
done  just  that  in  their  poor  stomach.  How  so  ? 
They  have  been  eating,  all  summer,  the  heat- 
producing  food,  fit  for  a  cold  season,  but  not 
for  a  warm  one.  A  Greenlander  can  eat  can- 
dles and  whale  fat,  because  they  create  heat. 


324 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEIiIER. 


July 


In  January  we  are  up  toward  Greenland — in 
climate. 

A  Hindoo  lives  on  rice,  juicy  fruits  and  trop- 
ic vegetables,  cooling  and  opening  to  the  sys- 
tem. In  July  we  move  toward  Hindostan,  in 
a  heat  almost  tropical.     Diet  must  change,  too. 

Have  apples,  pears,  cherries,  &c.,  from  the 
orchard,  every  day,  of  early  and  late  kinds. 
Let  there  be  plenty  of  good  vegetables,  rasp- 
berries, strawberries,  &c.  It  takes  a  little 
time  and  trouble,  but  Ws  tJie  cheajjest  way  to 
pan  the  doctor''s  bills.  And,  bless  your  dear 
souls,  these  things  taste  good ! 

You  study  what  feed  is  good  for  pigs  and 
cattle.  All  right;  but  wife  and  children  are 
oi'  higher  conse(juence  ;  and  it's  a  shame  if, with 
all  our  great  gifts  of  intellect  and  intuition,  we 
do  not  obey  the  Divine  Laws  in  our  own  phy- 
sical being  so  well  that  the  doctor  shall  visit  the 
house  less  than  the  horse-doctor  goes  to  the 
barn.  Don't  fail  of  vegetables,  berries,  and 
fruits.  Try  it,  and  you'll  say  we  haven't  told 
half  the  truth. — Rural  New  Yorker. 


Feed  for  Horses. — Barley  for  horses,  I 
think,  is  about  the  poorest  feed  that  can  be 
given  them.  If  they  are  doing  nothing,  they 
will  fat  a  little  on  it ;  but  it  is  not  like  that  pro- 
duced by  corn.  If  they  are  put  into  work,  it 
will  soon  wear  off.  I  have  been  working 
horses  and  feeding  them  on  barley,  and 
changed  to  feeding  them  on  corn ;  and  after 
the  second  feed  of  corn  I  could  see  a  great 
change  in  them.  I  could  see  that  they  felt 
more  like  work ;  they  would  straighten  the 
traces  quicker  when  spoken  to,  and  they  would 
hold  out  better  through  the  day.  For  work- 
ing horses,  I  should  give  corn  ;  and  for  horses 
to  di-ive  on  the  road,  I  should  give  corn  and 
oats  mixed  together.  If  I  had  not  the  oats,  I 
should  give  the  corn  alone.  For  a  working 
horse,  four  quarts  twice  a  day  would  not  hurt 
him  ;  and  by  all  means  I  should  have  it  wet. — 
Maine  Farmer. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NATIVE    TKEES    AND    SHRUBS 

TO  TAKE  THE   PLACE   OF  THOSE   LOST  OR   DESTROYED. 

We  are  looking  for  plants  tp  make  up  for 
the  loss,  defacement  and  bare  ugliness  often 
produced  by  the  wanton  or  thoughtless  destruc- 
tion of  the  trees  and  shrubs  which  grow  natu- 
rally on  sides  of  the  country  by-roads  and  lanes, 
when  left  to  themselves.  To  the  eye  of  taste, 
nothing  is  more  beautiful  than  this  luitural 
border ;  because  nothing  else  so  well  protects 
the  road  li-om  wind,  excessive  sunshine  and 
dust,  and  gives  the  impression  of  the  highest 
intelligence  in  the  laying  out  of  these  ways, 
and  a  feeling  of  naturalness  and  retiredness  to 
a  person  who,  lor  pleasure  or  on  business,  has 
occasion  to  pass  along  them. 

This  process  of  destruction  is  still  going  on. 
I  have  just  been  told  that  a  long,  winding,  de- 
lightful road   in  a  distant  part  of  Brookline, 


which  was  formerly  most  attractive  from  the 
abundance  of  the  beautiful,  rare,  native  shrubs, 
that  lined  it  on  both  sides,  has  recently  been 
stripped  of  all  its  attractiveness  by  the  wanton 
destruction  of  the  exquisite  borders.  And  I 
lately  saw  evidence,  for  a  great  distance  along 
a  railway,  that  this  barbarous  defacement  of 
nature  had  been  practiced,  where  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive  of  any  reason  for  it.  Young  trees, 
— bii'cbes,  alders,  oaks  and  pines, — and  a  great 
variety  of  beautiful  shrubbery,  have  been  cut 
down  this  last  winter  or  spring,  and  the  ground 
where  they  grew  has  been  burnt  over.  Who- 
ever did  it  ought  to  have  belonged  to  the 
army  of  Attila  the  Hun. 

1  have  spoken,  very  briefly,  of  some  of  the 
trees  most  suitable  lor  the  purpose  of  repair- 
ing this  waste.  Many  have  been  entirely 
omitted  ;  as  a  description  of  all, — their  nature, 
economical  uses,  and  the  character  of  their 
beauty, — would  require  a  volume.  There  are 
some,  however,  not  yet  mentioned,  which  must 
not  be  omitted.  Such  are  the  birches.  Four 
distinct  species  of  this  handsome  family  belong 
to  our  woods,  and  may  be  found  growing  along 
the  streams  or  in  the  forests  of  Middlesex  ;  all 
of  them  of  exceeding  gracefialness  and  beauty  : 
the  fragrant  Black  Birch,  the  Yellow  Birch, 
with  its  brilliant  silvery  bark,  the  Canoe  Birch 
or  true  White,  and  the  Grey  Birch  or  smaller 
White.  Another,  the  Red  Birch,  also  a  native 
of  the  county,  is  less  known  and  less  beautiful. 
All  of  these,  though  extremely  delicate  in  ap- 
pearance, are  easily  transplanted  from  the  for- 
est, are  very  hardy  and  rapid  growers ;  and 
will  flourish  on  the  most  sterile  soils  in  the 
most  exposed  situations. 

Of  these,  the  common  Grey  Birch,  or  White, 
is  best  known  and  least  valued.  Many  people 
despise  it,  merely  because  it  is  common.  Yet 
in  everything  but  size,  it  is  so  much  like  the 
common  Birch  of  England  and  Scotland,  that 
none  but  a  botanist  can  point  out  the  difference. 
Every  where  in  Northern  Europe  that  tree  ia 
celebrated  lor  its  lightness  and  airiness,  and  it 
is  the  special  ornament  and  charm  of  Balmoral, 
the  British  Queen's  summer  residence  in  Scot- 
land. 

Our  little  Grey  Birch,  then,  is  very  beauti- 
ful. The  three  others  are  still  more  so.  All 
are  remarkable  for  the  rich  colors  of  their 
tassels  in  spring;  for  the  shape  and  bril- 
liancy of  their  leaves ;  for  the  airy,  delicate 
elegance  of  their  often  pensile  spray,  and  for 
tlie  graceful  sweep  and  motions  of  the  branches 
and  the  whole  tree  when  swayed  by  the  wind. 

There  are  also  several  of  the  poplars  and 
some  of  the  willows,  whose  claims  to  the  char- 
acter of  beauty  would  be  readily  admitted  if 
they  were  European  or  Asiatic,  and  very  difli- 
cult  of  cultivation. 

I  shall  reconnncnd  only  one  tree  more. 
This  is  the  Wild  Black  Cherry  Tree,  which  to 
the  excellent  qualitii^s  of  each  of  the  other 
trees,  adds  two  of  its  own.  It  often  springs 
up  of  itself,  and   grows   everywhere    readily 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


325 


and  rapidly.  It  blossoms  early,  and  bears 
abundantly  fruit  agreeable  to  the  taste,  and 
furnishing  the  best  native  remedy  known  for 
autumnal  diseases.  Itu  leaves,  the  reddish- 
brown  color  of  its  branches  and  its  shadiness, 
make  it  always  a  beautiful  tree ;  and  it  is  such 
a  favorite  with  caterpillars  that  it  attracts 
them  from  the  trees  of  the  orchard.  It  does 
nut  create  caterpillars,  it  only  draws  them 
away  from  other  trees,  and  thus  very  consid- 
erably lessens  the  labor  ol' those  who  are  care- 
ful to  destroy  the  caterpillars'  nests  when  they 
first  appear,  as  the  greater  part  of  them  will 
always  be  found  on  these  wild  cherry  trees. 

Few  persons  are  aware  of  the  great  number 
and  variet}-,  and  singular  beauty  of  the  shrubs, 
under  shrubs  and  climbers,  that  grow  naturally 
along  the  borders  or  in  the  openings  of  the 
primeval  forests  in  every  State  of  New  Eng- 
land. There  are  ten  or  eleven  whortleberry 
bushes, — huckleberries  or  blueberries, — from 
four  inches  to  ten  feet  in  height,  with  delicate, 
pearly  blossoms,  bright  handsome,  often  per- 
ennial leaves,  and,  in  most  instances,  some  of 
these  clothe  the  ground  under  the  pine  woods 
with  delicious  fruit  and  a  carpet  of  rich  colors. 
Many  of  these  would  be  worth  cultivating  if  it 
were  only  for  the  beauty  of  their  tlowers  and 
foliage.  For  their  fruit  they  have  already 
been  recommended. 

The  American  Rhododendron  ;  the  two  spe- 
cies of  Azalea  ;  the  Rhodoiva  ;  the  three  Kal- 
mias, — the  mountain  Laurel,  the  Lamb-kill  and 
the  Glaucous, — with  the  Ledum,  all  natives  of 
Massachusetts,  constitute  a  family  which,  in 
beauty  of  tlower  and  of  foliage,  does  not  yield 
to  any  family  in  the  temperate  zones.  Most  of 
them  are  known  and  cultivated,  and  are  objects 
of  admiration  in  the  "American  gardens"  in 
Europe,  as  they  are,  in  a  lower  degree,  in  this 
country.  Nobody  knows  of  more  beautiful 
lloweiing  shrubs  than  the  Kalmias  ;  why  should 
they  not  be  brought  near  the  homes  of  all  sen- 
sible people,  who  desire  that  their  children 
should  grow  up  with  a  taste  for  the  beautiful 
in  nature  ?  The  native  Spireas. — Meadow 
Sweet  and  Steeple  Bush — are  as  valuable  as 
are  any  of  the  foreign  species  which  are  much 
sought  for. 

Seven  or  eight  species  of  Viburnum, — the 
Holible  bush,  Cranberry  tree,  Arrow  wood,  of 
several  sorts,  the  Sheepberrv,  the  Mayberry 
Tree,  the  Withe-Rod,  are  all  native  and  all 
beautiful  for  their  tlowers  and  for  their  leaves. 

It  was  the  loss  of  some  tine  specimens  of  one 
or  two  of  these  plants  which  made  me  regret 
particularly  the  destruction  of  the  road-side 
beauties  on  the  AVorcester  Turnpike.  I  know 
not  now  where  to  find,  growing  wild,  within 
the  distance  of  an  afternoon's  drive,  the  Hob- 
ble bush.  Viburnum  Lantanoides,  with  its 
beautiful  flowers,  its  dark  crimson  berries,  and 
its  exceedingly  rich  leaves. 

Of  the  Cornels  or  Dogwood  Family,  much 
resembling  the  Viburnums,  there  are  six  spe- 
cies of  delicate  looking  shrubs,  from  the  Cor- 


nus  Florida, — Flowering  Dogwood, — making 
so  fine  a  show  in  flower  and  in  fruit,  and  often 
rising  to  more  than  twenty  feet  in  height, 
through  the  Round-leaved,  the  Red  Osier,  the 
Panicled,  the  Alternate  leaved,  down  to  the 
delicate  Silky  Cornel,  or  Kinnikinic,  and  the 
pretty  little  Bunch  Berry  or  Dwarf  Cornel 
Berry.  All  these  are  deserving  of  cultivation, 
and,  when  once  planted,  will  need  little  care ; 
some  of  them  propagating  themselves  rapidly 
by  suckers. 

The  Roses  commend  themselves.  We  have 
found  growing,  as  if  wild,  three  of  which  are 
natives,  the  Early  Wild  Rose,  flowering  in 
May  and  June  ;  the  Swamp  Rose,  in  August ; 
the  Shining  Rose,  remarkable  for  its  rich, 
dark  colored,  shining  leaves ;  and  the  Sweet 
Briar,  very  beautiful  both  in  tiower  and  in 
fruit,  and  extremely  well  suited  to  form  a 
hedge. 

But  for  this  purpose,  we  have,  also  grow- 
ing wild,  besides  the  Buckthorn  and  Prickly 
Ash,  four  species  of  thorn, — the  Cockspur,  the 
most  beautiful  of  all,  the  Scarlet-fruited,  the 
Pear-leaved,  and  the  Dotted-fruited,  besides 
the  Hawthorn  of  Europe,  so  extensively  intro- 
duced. All  these  make  very  handsome  little 
trees,  when  growing  singly,  and  are  particu- 
larly fit  to  be  so  treated.  IMore  beautiful  than 
them  all,  is  the  Small  jMagnolia, — the  Glauca, 
— which  may  be  cultivated  without  difficulty. 
The  Bladder-nut  is  a  handsome  native,  strik- 
ing from  its  leaves  and  curious  inflated  seed 
vessel. 

The  Mountain  Ash  is  too  well  known  to 
need  to  be  mentioned.  But  the  Shad  Bush,  or 
Wild  Sugar  Pear,  ought  to  be  pointed  out  and 
planted  tor  its  beauty  and  its  fruit,  as  ought 
the  Beach  Plum  and  the  Canada  Plum.  Three 
or  four  native  species  of  the  Sumach  are  con- 
spicuous for  the  richness  of  their  foliage  and 
their  fruit,  and  are  very  hardy.  Two  others, 
wonderfully  beautiful,  one  of  them  a  climber, 
must  be  avoided  on  account  of  their  poisonous 
qualities. 

But  we  have,  to  take  their  places,  several 
plants  originally,  like  ourselves,  foreign,  but 
now  completely  naturalized.  Such  are  the 
Privet,  the  Virginia  Fringe  Tree  and  the  two 
Lilacs,  the  coumion  and  the  Persian. 

Of  native  climliing  plants,  we  have  some  of 
the  most  beautiful  that  are  anywhere  to  be 
found ;  all  of  them  hardy  and  easily  grown. 
Among  these,  one  of  the  most  deserving  of  no- 
tice is  thelloxbury  Wax-work,  or  Staff  Tree. 
Climbing  upon  a  wall,  a  trellis,  or  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  it  has,  with  its  opening,  orange 
colored  pods  and  scarlet  seeds,  a  tine  j)ictur- 
es(]ue  effect.  The  Virginia  Creeper  is  too 
well  known  to  need  to  be  recommended.  It 
is  here  and  in  foreign  lands  very  exten- 
sively cultivated,  and  sjieaks  for  itself  on  the 
walls  of  most  of  our  churches,  and  as  an  orna- 
ment to  many  private  houses. 

We  do  not  make  sufficient  use  of  our  native 
grape  vines.     They  are  a  beautiful   co\ering 


826 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


July 


for  a  stone  wall  or  a  fence ;  take  up  no  room, 
and  are  of  great  value.  Four  species  are  found 
in  Massachusetts,  some  varieties  of  which  pro- 
duce delicious  fruit,  and  the  finest  of  all  of 
them  may  be  converted  into  excellent  jam  or 
marmalade,  a  most  agreeable  addition  to  a 
breakfast  or  a  dinner  table. 

All  the  plants, — trees,  shrubs,  undershrubs 
and  climbers — that  I  have  recommended,  grow 
from  seed.  It  is  only  necessary  to  find  out 
the  proper  time  to  sow  the  seed,  and  the 
kind  of  protection  the  seed  requires.  This  is 
to  be  discovered  in  every  case  by  studying  at- 
tentively, in  its  natural  habitation,  the  plant 
in  question,  and  finding  out  the  season  when 
the  seed  is  ripe  and  how  it  sows  itself, — on  the 
bare  earth,  or  among  bushes,  or  under  leaves, 
decayed  or  just  fallen.  G.  b.  e. 

Boston,  May,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
LITTLETON,  MIDDLESEX   CO.,  MASS. 

This  town,  situated  on  the  Fitchburg  rail- 
road, twentj'-six  miles  from  Boston  and  twelve 
from  Lowell,  is  of  small  extent  in  territory 
and  contains  but  a  little  more  than  one  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  Its  surface  is  diversified 
with  hills  and  valleys,  and  contains  some  beau- 
tiful ponds.  The  soil  is  generally  a  rich  loam, 
with  subsoil  of  gravel  and  clay,  and  produces 
excellent  crops  of  grass,  grain  and  fi-uit. 

The  business  of  the  inhabitants  is  almost 
exclusively  farming ;  and  yet,  considering  its 
extent  and  population,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
wealthy  and  flourishing  towns  in  the  State. 
The  taxable  property  amounts  to  over  six  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  or  about  one  hundred 
dollars  to  every  man,  woman  and  child.  Its 
wealth  is  very  evenly  distributed  ;  there  being 
few  who  are  worth  more  than  ten  or  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  and  few  who  have  not  a  com- 
petency. This  town  expended  money  liberal- 
ly and  furnished  men  promptly  during  the 
war,  and  in  six  months  after  its  close  it  did  not 
owe  a  dollar. 

There  are  many  young  farmers  in  this  place 
whose  public  spirit  and  improvements  are  most 
commendable.  We  think  the  estate  of  J.  A. 
Hakwood,  Esq.,  in  the  southerly  part  of  Lit- 
tleton, is  one  especially  deserving  of  notice. 
It  contains  200  acres,  lying  nearly  in  a  square, 
and  has  been  in  possession  of  the  Ilarwood 
family  for  five  generations.  The  original  pro- 
prietor, who  came  from  England,  first  settled 
in  Concord,  Mass.,  but  shortly  afterwards  re- 
moved here. 

When  the  present  owner  came  in  possession 
of  the  farm,  fourteen  years  ago,  several  of  the 
fields,  which  now  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the 
estate,  and  are  among  the  most  profitable,  pro- 
duced very  little.  Just  across  the  road  which 
passes  in  front  of  the  buildings  is  a  fine  or- 
chard containing  ten  acres.  Two  acres  of  this 
lot  nearest  \\w  road  were  set  out,  twenty  years 
ago,  by  Col.  Nahum  Ilarwood,  the  father  of 


the  present  proprietor.  The  other  eight  acres 
were  at  this  time  a  pasture,  producing  very 
little  feed ;  much  of  it  was  covered  with  brush 
and  moss  ;  and  that  part  of  it  most  conspicu- 
ous to  the  road  and  buildings,  being  a  steep  hill, 
considered  nearly  worthless  for  cultivation. 
When  Mr.  Harwood  began  to  tear  up  this  hill 
some  of  his  neighbors  thought  he  was  going  too 
fast.  But  the  result  speaks  for  itself.  The 
trees  are  in  a  very  thrifty  condition  and  bear 
evidence  of  judicious  management.  The  whole 
is  now  a  profitable  field,  and  a  beautiful  or- 
chard. Separating  the  two  acres  first  planted 
from  the  eight  planted  fourteen  years  ago,  there 
is  a  run  which  was  formerly  very  wet  throughout 
the  year.  This  has  been  drained  by  the  pres- 
ent owner  and  produces  large  crops  of  grass 
of  excellent  quality.  On  the  whole  farm  there 
are  one  thousand  apple  trees,  some  of  which 
have  been  set  over  fifty  years,  and  have  been 
very  profitable. 

By  the  roadside  is  a  fine  peach  orchard  of 
six  acres,  containing  the  best  early  and  late 
varieties,  which  are  now  just  coming  into  bear- 
ing condition.  The  land  occupied  by  this  or- 
chard was  likewise  a  pasture,  badly  worn  out, 
and  a  very  uninviting  field  for  cultivation. 
The  change  made  here  has  added  greatly  to 
the  appearance  of  the  farm.  The  cultivated 
crops  have  paid  for  the  labor,  and  there  is  ev- 
ery prospect  that  the  peach  trees  will  bring  a 
handsome  return.  IMr.  Ilarwood  has  full  faith 
in  the  profitableness  of  fruit- raising,  and  says 
that  he  would  as  soon  set  a  peach  or  an  apple- 
orchard  to-day  as  ever. 

Another  improvement  is  a  reclaimed  meadow 
of  about  eight  acres.  The  mud  is  deep  on  a 
large  part  of  it.  Before  it  was  drained,  cattle 
could  not  go  on  to  it.  The  grass  was  so  poor 
that,  for  one  or  two  years,  the  growth  on  about 
five  acres  was  sold  standing  for  five  dollars. 
A  portion  of  this  has  been  improved  yearly  by 
Mr.  Harwood,  until  now  the  last  remaining 
part  has  been  dressed.  The  method  of  re- 
claiming has  been  to  spread  on  gravel  enough 
to  cover  the  grass  thoroughly  ;  then  a  coat  of 
horse  manure  without  plowing,  or  sowing  any 
grass  seed.  A  crop  of  weeds  is  obtained  the 
first  year,  but  after  that  good  herds  grass 
comes  in ;  which,  when  ready  for  the  mowing 
machine  is  as  high  as  the  horses'  backs.  ]\Ir. 
Ilarwood  says  that  the  crop  will  average  four 
tons  strong  to  the  acre,  though  he  never  cuts  a 
second  crop.  This  meadow  is  dressed  every 
other  year  with  a  compost  of  horse-manure 
and  mud.  The  prevailing  idea,  that  mud  is 
not  a  suitable  dressing  for  a  meadow  is  re- 
garded as  erroneous  by  Mr.  Ilarwood. 

About  eight  acres  of  corn  fodder  w<!re  raised 
last  year,  mostly  in  the  apple  orchards,  requir- 
ing but  little  labor,  as  managed.  After  plant- 
ing time,  the  land  was  plowed,  tlu^  corn  sown 
broadcast  and  harrowed  in.  It  was  cut  in  the 
last  of  September,  bound,  stooked,  and  left  to 
stand  from  one  to  two  months  until  thoroughly 
dried.    It  was  then  put  in  the  barn  and  packed. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


327 


A  little  salt  does  not  hurt  it.  The  estimated 
crop,  when  dried,  was  twenty-five  tons,  for 
which  Mr.  H.  was  offered  $12  per  ton,  at  the 
barn.  Mr.  Harwood  has  some  of  this  in  his 
barn  now,  and  his  cattle  consider  it  a  luxury. 
He  ihinks  that  it  does  notexhaustthe  soil  more 
than  a  crop  of  potatoes  ;  and  believes  that  no 
man  who  will  cultivate  this  crop  need  compLtin 
that  he  cannot  fill  his  barn  or  keep  his  stock 
for  want  of  food. 

The  mansion  house  on  this  estate  is  a  commo- 
dious building,  pleasantly  situated  and  shaded 
by  beautiful  elms.  There  are  also  two  tene- 
ment houses  in  which  the  help  on  the  farm  re- 
side and  board  themselves.  The  plan  of 
having  the  employees  of  the  farm  board  them- 
selves, INIr.  Harwood  regards  as  much  the  best. 
It  is  cheaper  for  the  employer  and  more  satis- 
factory to  the  hired  hands  ;  while  it  greatly 
relieves  the  domestic  cares  and  labors.  He 
has  been  very  fortunate  in  securing  the  assist- 
ance of  good  hands  on  his  farm. 

The  present  stock  on  the  farm  is  about  thirty 
head  of  horned  cattle,  six  horses  and  several 
swine.  Forty  head  are  wintered  and  hay, 
&c.,  enough  cut  for  them.  Formerly  the  stock 
was  thirteen  cows,  one  pair  of  oxen  and  a 
horse.  The  barn  is  a  fine  building  100  by  40 
feet,  with  wing  40  feet ;  under  the  barn  there 
is  a  very  good  cellar,  nine  feet  in  depth,  and 
box  stalls  in  the  wing.  Formerly  the  bain  was 
100  by  28  feet,  with  no  cellar.  There  is  also 
good  running  water  in  the  yard.  Connected 
with  the  barn  is  a  henery,  12  by  12  feet,  two 
stories,  wi  h  yard  enclosed  by  a  high  fence. 
This  is  entirely  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Har- 
wood's  son,  tv.'clve  years  of  age,  who  purchases 
the  food,  sells  the  products,  and  keeps  an  ac- 
count of  the  expenditures  and  income.  I 
learn  from  him  that  he  has  made  $1.5  net  profit 
from  twelve  hens  (all  pure  Brahmas)  during 
the  last  eleven  months. 

A  great  (juantity  of  muck  is  used  on  this 
farm.  Six  hundred  horse  cart-loads  of  com- 
pojt  manure  have  been  carted  out  from  the 
cellar  since  August  last. 

Thoroughbred  Short  Horns. 

ISlr.  Harwood  makes  a  specialty  of  raising 
thorouglibred  Short  Horn  cattle.  He  was 
among  the  pioneers  in  this  business  in  this  vi- 
cinity, having  introiUiced,  several  years  ago, 
the  first  Short  Horn  Hull  into  his  native  town. 
He  considers  the  thoroughbred  Short-Horns 
more  docile,  greater  milkers,  finer  formed  and 
much  superior  to  any  breed  that  we  have. 
He  believes  the  Durhams  will  live  and  thrive 
where  the  native  or  any  othci  lireed  will. 

There  are  several  other  farms  in  this  town 
that  1  hope  to  have  an  opportunity  to  givfe  you 
some  account  of.  w. 

Hay  7,  18G7. 


Preatcntion  akd  Cure  of  Lice. — It  is 
well  known  that  cattle  are  not  affected  with 
lice  in  the  summer  season,  when  lying  upon  the 


ground,  and  frequently  pawingin  the  dirt ;  while 
bulls  that  are  always  pawing  in  the  ground  and 
sand  are  very  rarely  troubled  with  the  pest. 
This  fact  confirms  the  utility  of  dirt  or  sand. 
Every  farmer  or  cattle  keeper  should  piovide 
an  ample  supply  of  fine  sand  in  season  to  have  it 
thoroughly  dry  before  freezing  weather,  and 
place  it  in  some  dry  and  convenient  spot,  and 
whenever  the  stables  are  cleaned,  sprinkle  the 
floors  with  a  few  shovelfuls.  The  dry  sand 
will  work  its  way  among  the  hairs  of  the  ani- 
mals, proving  a  certain  preventive  of  vermin, 
and  even  driving  them  away,  or  destroying 
them  after  they  have  made  lodgment.  Sand 
will  also  be  valuable  for  absorbing  the  liquid, 
and  a  safeguard  against  slippery  floors.  We 
have  tried  sand,  and  know  its  efficacy.  When 
cattle  are  badly  afllicted,  it  may  be  sometimes 
necessary  for  their  speedy  removal,  to  wash  the 
animal  with  a  decoction  of  tobacco  (not  too 
strong)  boiled  in  chamber  ley  ;  or  by  applying 
lard  upon  the  affected  parts.  Unguentum,  and 
like  violent  poisons,  are  dangerous,  and  should 
be  avoided  ;  but  usually  will  etiect  a  cure.  It 
may  be  necessary  sometimes  to  sprinkle  a  lit- 
tle dry  sand  along  the  back  of  the  animal. 
Sand  is  cheap  and  safe.  Try  it. — Horace 
Thayer,  in  American  Farmer. 


Rules  for  Selling  Wool. — At  the  late 
Fair  at  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  one  evening  was  de- 
voted to  the  discussion  of  the  proper  prepara- 
tion and  rules  for  selling  wool.  The  leading 
sheep  breeders  of  Vermont  and  of  New  York 
were  present.  Resolutions  were  adopted,  ex- 
pressing a  preference  for  the  plan  of  dispos- 
ing of  wool  in  the  unwashed  state,  but  leaving 
wool  growers  to  consult  their  own  convenience 
as  to  washing ;  against  all  uniform  and  arbi- 
trary rules  of  deduction  ;  against  combinations 
of  buyers,  and  in  favor  of  a  just  discrimina- 
tion in  favor  of  superior  quality  and  condition, 
on  the  part  of  buyers. 


Cows  and  Sheep. — These  animals  should 
never  be  pastured  together.  As  the  latter  are 
astir  early  in  the  morning,  they  generally  suc- 
ceed in  appeasing  their  appetite  before  the 
cows  that  occupy  the  pasture  with  them  dur- 
ing the  daytime  are  admitted,  and  usually  de- 
stroy much  more  herbage  than  they  consume. 
No  animal  will  partake  of  grass  upon  which  a 
sheep  has  lain,  or  even  trod  ;  there  is  a  peculiar 
aroma  characteristic  of  these  animals  which  is 
offensive  to  cattle.  It  is  far  better  to  pasture 
every  description  of  animal  by  itself,  than  to 
put  them  promiscuously  together,  as  is  fre- 
quently done. 


328 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


July 


THE   GLOUT   MOECEAU  PEAB. 
(Pronounced  Gloo-mor-so.) 


The  above  cut  is  a  remarkably  exact  repre- 
sentation, as  to  size,  form  and  general  appear- 
ance, of  one  of  the  specimens  of  this  favorite 
pear,  which  were  exhibited  at  the  Cambridge 
Fruit  Preserving  House,  May  20th,  and  which 
we  have  kept  in  our  desk  till  to-day,  May  25,  as 
advised  by  Mr.  Hovey,  to  "ripen  up."  On 
testing  it  we  find  it  quite  fresh,  juicy,  and  not 
at  all  '  'bad  to  take."  A  December  pear  hardly 
ripe  enough  for  the  table  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  succeeding  May,  is  one  of  the  wonderful 
results  of  science  applied  to  the  practical  man- 
agement of  farm  and  garden  products. 

The  Glout  Morceau  is  universally  admitted 
to  be  one  of  the  most  delicious  of  foreign  win- 
ter pears ;  being  hardy  and  productive.     The 


tree  is  spreading  and  declining  in  habit,  hav- 
ing dark  olive  shoots,  with  wavy  leaves.  The 
fruit  is  in  perfection  in  December,  or  first 
of  January .  Mr.  Downing  describes  the  fruit  as 
"rather  large,  varying  in  form,  but  usually 
obtuse-oval,  and  wider  towards  the  stalk  than 
Beurre  d'Aremberg.  Skin  smooth,  thin,  pale, 
greenish-yellow,  marked  with  small  gi-een  dots, 
and  sometimes  with  thin  patches  of  greenish- 
brown.  Stalk  rather  slender  and  straiglit,  an 
inch  or  more  long,  planted  in  a  small,  regular 
cavity.  Calyx  usually  with  open  divisions,  set 
in  a  moderate  deep  basin.  Flesh  white,  fine- 
grained, and  smooth  in  texture,  buttery,  very 
melting,  with  a  rich  sugary  flavor,  with  no  ad- 
mixture of  acid.     December." 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


329 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

SPECIAL    MANURES. 

If  you  will  accept  of  the  scribblings  of  a  man 
of  foui'-score  and  three  years  old,  and  consequent- 
ly one  of  th«  past  generation,  I  will  give  some  of 
my  experience  and  observation  in  diflerent  ma- 
nures. ] 

As  to  yard  manures — the  great  staple — I  find 
that  some  of  the  present  generation  have  made 
great  improvements,  by  the  use  of  barn  cellars 
and  composting,  while  others  lose  all  of  one-half 
in  the  swamps  and  the  air.  1  am  of  the  ojjinion 
that  it  is  better  to  put  green  manure  into  the 
ground  than  on  it. 

Having  been  a  manufacturer  of  ivory,  I  have  fre- 
quently used  its  dust  during  the  past  sixty  years. 
It  is  equal  to  bone  dust  or  superphosphate.  Cas- 
tor pomace,  I  find,  is  a  strong,  quick  and  excellent 
manure  for  a  present  crop.  As  to  bone  dust,  I 
have  used  it  frequently  for  thirty  years.  It  is  an 
excellent  and  lasting  manure,  if  rightly  managed, 
and  if  it  contains  the  original  matter  of  the  bone. 
Bone  is  nearly  half  lime,  the  rest  gelatine  or  an 
oily,  gummy  matter,  producing  ammonia,  which 
is  indispensable  for  the  dissolving  of  the  bone.  If 
the  gelatine  and  ammonia  are  extracted,  the  rest 
is  no  better  than  oyster  shells,  and  must  be  treated 
in  the  same  way.  I  consider  phosphating  or  pow- 
dering needless.  I  have  never  found  any  difflcul- 
cultyin  dissolving  bones  ground  in  the  common 
way,  if  the  original  matter  is  in  them.  I  pour 
them  down  in  a  heap,  with  or  without  anything 
with  them,  in  the  hot  sun,  wet  them  thoroughly, 
and  then  cover  them  with  loam  or  earth  two  or 
more  inches  thick,  and  let  them  heat,  but  not  to  a 
dry  heat.  The  whole  pile  will  become  a  rich  ma- 
nure. I  then  mix  all  together  and  plow  or  harrow 
them  in.  Judge  Buel,  who  in  his  day  was  one  of 
most  skilful  and  successful  farmers  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  sard  in  his  Albamj  Cultivator  that  he 
wanted  the  coarse  part  of  ground  bone  no  finer 
than  half  inch  pieces.  The  fine  part  would  take 
immediate  effect,  while  the  coarse  would  retain 
and  continue  to  give  out  fertility  for  years.  I 
have  found  it  so  myself.  Bones,  when  wliole,  have 
a  scale  on  the  outiside  which  protects  them  from 
decay;  but  when  broken  in  pieces  are  excellent 
for  young  trees.  How  such  bone  flour  as  will  not 
ferment  will  answer  for  diseased  cows  I  cannot 
say.  I  have  a  better  remedy;  one  that  I  have 
tried.  It  improves  the  flesh,  the  bone,  the  milk, 
the  butter,  the  hair,  and  saves  consideral)le  hay. 
It  is  merely  to  feed  them  all  the  spare  skim  milk, 
thickened  with  t)ran  (not  grains  from  the 
stills,)  or  the  meal  from  corn  and  oats ;  all  of  which 
contain  bone  timl)cr.  It  is  as  natural  for  cattle  to 
gnaw  bones  and  other  things, as  it  is  for  ahorse  to 
gnaw  a  post  that  he  stands  by,  or  for  a  man  to  be 
gnawing  tobacco.  A  bushel  of  ashes  on  our  old 
worn  out  lands,  I  find  will  do  as  much  good  as  the 
same  quantity  of  l)one  dust  or  superphosphate,  but 
I  want  something  besides  ashes  in  the  soil. 

Some  fifty  years  ago  I  bought  a  tract  of  land,  of 
which  four  acres  was  sown  with  rye  the  previous 
year.  The  former  owner  took  otf  only  two  t)ushels 
to  the  acre !  I  put  on  400  bushels  leached  ashes, 
costing  twelve  dollars  per  acre,  sowed  it  again 
with  rye  and  clover  in  November.  The  next  July 
I  harvested  twelve  bushels  per  acre — not  a  large 
crop  to  be  sure,  but  six  times  as  much  as  the  year 
before.  The  next  year  I  had  a  fine  crop  of  clover 
liay.  The  third,  with  some  yard  manure,  a  good 
crop  of  corn.  I  could  long  see  the  good  eft'eets  of 
those  ashes. 

I  slKJuld  delight  to  hear  the  opinion  of  some  of 
your  sticntitic  men  as  to  the  use  of  ammonia  in 
manure  and  in  the  soil.  Is  it  not  the  Frenchman's 
yeast?  the  New  Jcrscyman's  secret?  or  the  one 
thing  indispensable  to  prepare  manure  and  other 


matter  for  the  food  of  plants  ?  Docs  it  not  pene- 
trate the  earth  like  water,  and  cause  the  roots  of 
plants  to  penetrate  to  the  place  from  whence  it 
came  ?  Neither  bone  nor  plaster  of  Paris  does  any 
good  here  spread  on  grass  land,  but  both  are  good 
in  compost. 

If  bone  dust  does  not  smell  strong  of  bone ;  if 
plaster  of  Paris,  when  put  in  water  settles  to  the 
bottom ;  if  ashes  change  the  color  of  water ;  if  lime 
bites  the  tongue,  or  if  ground  oyster  shells  settle 
to  the  bottom,  I  reject  them.  I  consider  myself 
responsil)le  for  what  I  write  and  give  my  name. 

Deep  River,  Ct.,  1867.  Phineas  Pratt. 


DRESSING   LAND   AVITH   CLAY, 

It  is  very  seldom  I  see  anything  in  your  columns 
relative  to  the  use  of  clay  as  a  dressing  for  various 
soils.  Having  had  some  experience  during  the 
past  half  dozen  years,  I  would  say  that  I  consider 
it  valuable  on  all  soils,  except  those  which  are  very 
wet  and  heavy,  or  those  that  already  contain 
enough  of  the  article.  To  those  who  can  get  it  by 
drawing  not  more  than  half  a  mile,  I  would  say, 
procure  a  few  loads  and  note  the  results  for  two, 
three  and  four  years  after  the  application. 

As  the  best  method  of  ajtplying  clay,  I  recom- 
mend to  draw  it  in  the  fall  and  drop  it  in  heaps,  as 
you  would  manure,  the  more  the  better.  By  the 
action  of  frost  through  the  winter  it  is  pulverized 
so  as  to  be  easily  spread.  Or  if  drawn  in  the 
spring  or  summer,  the  sun  and  rains  for  a  few 
months  will  produce  nearly  the  same  etfect.  In 
either  case,  spread  and  harrow  well. 

If  this  meets  the  eye  of  any  one  who  has  had 
any  experience  in  this  direction,  I  would  be  happy 
to  hear  of  that  experience  through  the  columns  of 
the  Farmer,  as  I  understand  the  "exchange  of 
ideas,"  &c.,  to  be  a  leading  object  of  an  agricultu- 
ral paper.  He  who  keeps  his  experience  to  him- 
self violates  the  spirit  of  the  injunction  to  "Do 
unto  others  as  ye  would  that  they  should  do  to 
you."  Still  it  is  almost  impossible  for  us,  unedu- 
cated farmers,  who  work  so  hard  six  days  in  every 
seven,  to  do  our  duty  to  each  other  by  communi- 
cating the  results  of  our  practice,  by  our  ungram- 
matic-al,  laborious  and  unsatisfactory  style  of 
writing.  f.  a.  c,  n, 

Plymouth,  N.  H.,  Feb.  11,  1867. 

DISEASE   AMONG   LAMBS. 

We  have  experienced  in  this  vicinity  for  the  last 
twenty  years  or  more,  at  times,  among  our  best 
shepherds,  and  also  among  ordinary  shepherds, 
great  difficulty  in  raising  our  young  lambs. 
Twenty  years  ago  the  present  season  I  had  a  select 
flock  of  thirty  ewes  that  I  had  collected  from  such 
flocks  as  those  of  Caleb  Dyer  of  Enfield,  N.  H.,  Hon. 
Wm.  Jarvisof  Weathcrsfield,  Gibbs  Wait  of  Wind- 
sor, Alford  Hall  of  Wallingtbrd  and  Maj.  North  of 
Shoreham,  Vt.,  all  blood  sheep. 

The  second  season  after  I  purchased  them,  they 
were  sheltered  in  a  temporary  shed,  fed  at  all  times 
in  the  open  air,  in  I'ain,  snow  or  sunshine,  had  a 
plenty  of  room  for  exercise,  were  in  good  condi- 
tion, but  not  excessively  fat.  They  dropped  their 
lambs  in  the  month  of  April,  some  had  large 
bunches  in  their  throats,  could  hardly  stand  or 
breathe,  would  live  a  day  or  two  and  die.  Others 
were  dropped  with  large  fleshy  bodies,  and  their 
limits  not  half  matured ;  were  as  clestittite  of 
strength  as  a  rag,  and  all  such  died  soon.  Out  of 
the  thirty  ewes  I  kept  nine  lambs  alive,  but  proved 
worthless  in  the  end,  I  had  other  flocks  of  ewes 
at  other  barns  that  experieiu-ed  none  of  the  diffi- 
culties above  mentioned.  I  am  told  that  several 
shepherds  in  Addison  county  are  visited  with  the 
same  calamity  this  spring.  And  now,  Mr.  Editor, 
and  brother  shepherds,  what  is  the  cause  of  it  ? 


330 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


I  have  seen  enough  of  its  workings  among  dif- 
ferent flocks,  and  the  flocks  so  variously  treated, 
that  I  am  satisfied  that  housing,  feeding  and  pet- 
ting has  nothing  to  do  in  causing  this  diflScuIty. 
Here  is  a  question  for  the  learned  and  scientific  to 
meditate  upon.  What  is  it  that  causes  this  dis- 
arangcment  in  the  natural  production  of  the  ewe, 
and  not  in  other  female  animals  ?  Brother  shep- 
herds, that  have  experienced  losses  of  this  kind, 
pleaic  communicate  your  ideas  to  the  public,  and 
perhaps  you  w^ill  spare  me  tne  troul)le  of  writing 
again.  J.  N.  Smith. 

Oak  Forest,  West  Addison,  Vt.,  May  7,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  warmly  sympathize  with  broth- 
er Smith  in  his  trials.  Have  had  no  experience  in 
raising  full  blood  merinos,  but  have  had  no  simi- 
lar difficulty  with  high  grades.  The  subject  you  in 
troduce  is  important  and  we  trust  will  be  well- 
ccnsidcrcd  and  light  thrown  upon  it  by  breeders. 

With  Mr.  Smith's  letter,  came  two  samples  of 
wool ;  one  from  a  full  blood  Leicester  buck,  not 
yet  shorn,  who  is  one  year  old.  The  wool  is  eight 
and  one-half  inches  long,  soft  and  silky.  The 
other  is  from  a  merino  buck,  three  years  old,  the 
growth  of  one  year,  and  from  a  fleece  which 
weighed  twenty-two  lbs.  It  is  three  inches  long, 
and  has  a  beautiful  curl. 


TROrBLE  WITH    COWS  AFTER   CALVING. 

Many  cows  are  rendered  nearly  worthless  by 
not  cleaning  well.  This  they  seldom  fail  to  do 
when  at  pasture.  My  practice,  therefore,  is  to 
feed  potatoes,  and  as  much  salt  as  they  will  eat  fur 
three  or  four  weeks  before  calving,  when  they  are 
kept  up  to  dry  fodder.  I  also  apply  some  of  the 
first  milk  to  the  small  of  their  backs,  well  rubbed 
down.  With  these  precautions  I  seldom  have  a 
cow  fail  to  do  well.  V.  M.  Hubbard. 

Rochester,  Vt.,  May  12,  1867. 

Remarks. — Another  correspondent,  "M.  Q.,"  of 
Warwick,  Mass.,  writes  that  although  some  of  his 
neighbors  have  been  much  troubled  in  this  way. 
he  has  never  had  a  cow  that  did  not  do  well,  nor 
does  he  remember  that  his  father  ever  had  one. 
A  neighbor  of  his  who  fed  a  good  deal  of  poor 
meadow  hay  but  no  roots,  had  eight  cows  one 
spring  which  had  to  be  doctored,  and  all  of  them 
were  found  to  be  very  costive,  and  feverish  with 
chills.  Tl'.e  members  of  the  Irasburg,  Vt.,  Farm- 
ers' Club,  and  other  readers  of  the  Farmer  will 
thank  our  correspondent  for  the  following  detail 
of  the  management  of  his  dairy  : — 

I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  feeding  oat,  barley, 
•and  wheat  straw  to  cows  when  dry,  with  one  peck 
of  turniiis  or  beets  daily,  which  keeps  them  in  a 
Uealthy  condition.  About  three  weeks  before 
calving  I  give  them  good  hay  with  one  quart  of 
oat  and  corn  meal,  daily.  At  the  time  of  calving 
I  give  them  warm  mush  of  oat  and  r3'e  meal  with 
half  an  ounce  of  saltpetre,  one  teaspoonful  cayenne, 
and  my  cows  never  have  any  chills  or  milk  fever, 
which  are  so  common. 

curculio. 
Is  there  any  way  to  stop  the  most  fatal  depreda- 
tions of  these  insects  ?  They  have  become  so  numer- 
ous, that  I  seriously  contemplate  cutting  down  my 
orchard  unless  sonic  remedy  can  be  found.  I  be- 
lieve there  is  no  hope  of  his  leaving  our  orchards, 
like  the  canker  worm,  and  most  other  insects,  even 


for  a  short  period.  They  have  been  steadily  in- 
creasing in  my  orchard  for  twenty  years,  till  not 
one  apple  escapes  their  sting,  and  I  have  seen  a 
dozen  marks  on  a  single  fruit.  I  shall  try  the 
sawdust  this  j'car  and  keep  oflf  all  the  creeping 
things,  but  as  the  curculio  can  readily  fly,  I  have 
but  little  hope  of  success.  Who  can  tell  how  to 
stop  or  destroy  the  curculio  in  any  way  or  manner 
possible  ?  Thomas  Ellis. 

Rochester,  Mass.  Feb.  2.5,  1867. 

Remarks. — Catching  them  by  jarring  upon  a 
sheet  and  grinding  them  to  powder  between  the 
fingers,  we  believe  is  the  best  prescription  within 
the  knowledge  of  our  scientific  educators.  Not- 
withstanding the  wide  scope  of  the  investigations 
of  our  entomologists  we  are  still  wofully  ignorant 
of  the  tactics  of  this  band  of  guerrillas.  Who  will 
track  them  to  their  winter  quarters  ?  Perhaps  they 
may  be  caught  napping.  Wide  awake,  they  are 
hard  customers. 

keeping  off  the  crows. 

One  or  two  articles  have  appeared  in  the  Farm- 
Er  within  the  past  year  conmiending  very  highly 
the  tarring  of  seed  corn,  in  which  opinion  we  should 
have  fully  concurred  from  the  occasional  use  we 
have  made  of  it  previous  to  the  last  season. 

We  planted  a  three  acre  lot  in  an  out  of 
the  way  place,  a  favorite  haunt  of  these  black 
pests,  and  thinking  to  make  about  a  sure  thing  of 
it  had  the  seed  tarred  l)eforc  planting.  We  expect- 
ed the  crows  would  try  the  corn,  but  were  disap- 
pointed to  find  that  the  black  varmints  did  not 
leave  off  trying  it.  Some  one  also  recommended 
deep  covering.  Now  as  if  to  have  revenge  on  us 
for  spoiling  the  corn  for  their  eating,  these  scamps 
wcTit  through  a  large  jiart  of  the  field  occasionally 
boring  down  with  their  lulls,  as  they  are  wont  to 
do,  but  in  most  cases  only  puljing  up  the  young 
blades  of  corn.  We  replanted  the  lot  after  be- 
ing thus  badly  damaged,  and  used  lines,  which 
the  crows,  though  very  numerous,  seemed  to  re- 
spect. We  have  used  lines  many  years  as  a  pro- 
tection, and  always  so  far  with  success.  Though 
we  should  scarcely  credit  the  fact,  if  we  had  not 
proved  it  by  experiment.  it. 

Stoiighton,  Mass.,  May,  1867. 


RAISING   LAMBS. 

I  ^Tote  to  the  Farmer  last  year,  in  relation  to 
my  poor  luck  in  raising  lambs,  and  promised  to 
do  the  same  this  year.  Last  year,  and  two  years 
ago,  I  used  the  same  buck,  and  lost  one  half  or 
more  of  my  lambs.  The  first  year  1  fed  no  grain ; 
the  second  year  I  fed  grain,  and  my  ewes  had 
milk  enough  and  owneil  their  lambs"  well.  This 
year  I  used  a  dirtercut  liuck.  My  sheep  look  well, 
ami  now  I  have  forty-five  lambs  and  have  lost  six. 
1  thought  my  better  success  was  inconseciuencc  of 
the  change  of  the  buck,  but  some  of  my  neighbors 
ascribed  it  to  one  thing,  and  some  to  another. 
The  man  who  is  raising  lambs  from  the  buck- that 
I  used  the  two  first  years,  is  having  even  better 
success  than  I  am.  I  \vould  like  to  know  where 
the  fault  was  last  year. 

What  is  it  that  ails  lambs  that  apjjcar  lame  in 
their  legs,  or  back,  and  finally  all  over,  and  in  two 
days  time  get  so  they  cannot  get  up  ?  The  largest 
and  fattest  ones  in  tlie  (lock  are  thus  atlected. 

Roxbury,  Vt.,  May  II,  IHC)7.      Young  Farmer. 

UWAUF   apple    trees. 

Some  fifteen  years  ago  I  became  convinced  that 
grafting  upon  the  natural  Ijrnnch  was  very  injuri- 
ous to  the  slock,  as  the  heart  becomes  dead,  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


331 


consequently  short-lived.  I  then  commenced  a 
new  mode  of  culture  by  taking  trees  of  two  or 
three  years'  growth  and  grafting  at  the  root.  Cut 
off  the  trunk  about  an  inch  from  the  root  and  when 
the  scion  becomes  well  started  cover  with  loam 
and  composted  manure  just  above  the  cleft.  The 
small  roots  will  soon  start  from  the  scion  and  you 
have  a  perfect  tree  of  the  kind  grafted.  If  you 
wish  to  train  it  as  a  dwarf,  cut  back  so  as  to  keep 
the  tree  well  balanced.  In  this  way  I  have  traiiied 
some  as  handsome  trees  as  I  ever  saw,  which 
prove  good  bearers  with  handsome  tops,  and  trunks 
from  two  to  three  feet  high.  G.  L.  Hibbard. 
West  Randolph,  Vt.,  May,  1867. 


COCKS   AND    HENS — KEEPING   EGGS. 

Will  you  or  some  of  your  correspondents  inform 
me  whether  one  cock  is  sufficient  for  fifty  hens  ? 
How  long  can  eggs  be  kept  safely  before  setting  ? 

I  have  kept  fifty  hens  (Brahraas)  during  the  past 
winter.  They  have  averaged  from  twenty-four  to 
twenty-five  eggs  per  day.  As  the  wann  weather 
comes  on  the  yield  will  be  increased.  It  has  cost 
$4.00  per  month  to  keep  the  tifty  hens.  During 
the  past  two  months  I  have  sold  125  dozen  eggs  at 
twenty-eight  to  thirty  cts.  per  dozen. 

Although  young,  I  have  faith  in  Mother  Earth, 
and  believe  she  will  richly  reward  those  who  earn- 
estly and  sensibly  seek  her  favor. 

Subscriber. 

North  Thetford,  Vt.,  1867. 

Remarks. — It  is  generally  supposed  that  there 
should  be  one  cock  to  twelve  or  fifteen  hens.  Eggs 
will  keep  almost  any  length  of  time  if  they  are  set 
on  end,  in  an  auger  hole,  and  changed  once  in  six 
or  seven  days.  We  have  known  them  to  kept  per- 
fectly sound  for  an  entire  year  in  this  way. 

MAPLE    SUGAR   AND    GRIT. 

In  reply  to  your  correspondent,  "G.  M.  B.,"  of 
Worcester,  Vt.,  whose  remarks  and  inquiries  in 
reference  to  the  grit  in  maple  sugar,  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Farmer  of  the  18th  inst.,  I  would 
state,  tliat  several  years  ago,  some  of  this  gritty 
matter,  precipitated  from  concentrated  maple  syr- 
up, was  submitted  to  Dr.  Chester  Dewey,  tlicn 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Medical  College,  at 
Woodf-tock,  Vt.,  and  was  found  to  be,  mainly, 
phosphate  of  lime. 

Wliethcr  the  potash,  sulphur,  and  other  mineral 
matter,  as  well  as  the  phosphates,  composing  the 
ash  of  mai)le  wood,  are  also  present  in  the  saccha- 
rine sap,  in  like  proportions ;  or  wLy  the  phos- 
phates alone  are  precipitated  from  the  molasses  or 
concentrated  syrup,  are  questions  for  the  analyti- 
cal chcmi,-t.  "Evidently  all  the  ash  or  mineral 
matter  of  the  wood,  (excepting,  of  course,  the 
large  proportion  of  carbon  and  the  small  quantity 
of  ammonia,  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere,)  is 
derived  from  the  earth.  Not  the  sugary  fluid,  but 
only  water,  and  such  minerals  as  water  holds  in 
solution,  are  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  the  maple ; 
while  the  true  sap,  containing  at  first  sugar,  and 
at  length  produc  ing  woody  fibre,  is  elaborated  by 
the  leaves  and  other  organs  of  the  tree  during  the 
year  previous  to  that  in  which  it  is  drawn  from  the 
all)urnum  or  sap-wood  by  the  sugar  maker. 

In  regard  to  the  circulation  of  the  sap,  we  are 
sometimes  told  that  it  is  analogous  to  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood  in  animals ;  that  it  ascends  in 
the  all)urnum  and  descends  between  the  bark  and 
wood.  This  statement,  in  some  sense  true,  is,  as 
an  explanation,  meagre  and  defective,  and  leads  to 
erroneous  conclusions.  There  are  no  tubes  or 
channels  in  trees  analogous  to  the  arteries  and 
veins  of  animals,  but  the  vegetable  fluids  pass 


from  one  cell  to  another  which  is  in  contact  ver- 
tically and  horizontally ;  the  fluids  of  different 
densities  of  any  two  cells  in  contact  passing 
through  the  poi-ous  partitions  simultaneously  in 
opposite  directions,  and  commingling  in  obedience 
to  a  law  well  understood  by  chemists  and  physiol- 
ogists, and  which  they  call  osmose.  According  to 
this  theory  it  is  easily  understood  why  the  true 
and  denser  sap,  as  well  as  the  weak  mineral  solu- 
tion taken  up  by  the  roots,  is  found  in  the  albur- 
num, and  not  exclusively  between  the  bark  and 
the  wood.  Only  a  slight  mechanical  circulation 
takes  place  in  tiic  duramen  or  heart-wood,  it  hav- 
ing ceased  to  perform  vegetable  functions. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  that  while  pure 
sugar  requires  only  water,  or  its  two  elements,  and 
carbon  for  its  formation,  the  mineral  matters  found 
in  the  sap  and  sugar,  and  destined  to  become 
ashes  in  the  maple  wood,  are  invariably  present, 
with  varying  proportions,  in  the  formation  of  all 
wood,  and  are  essential,  even  if  they  do  not  enter 
into  such  formation  as  constituent  elements,  as 
they  do  in  the  formation  of  other  vegetable  pro- 
ductions. I.  B.  Hartwell. 

Wilksonville,  Mass.,  May  20,  1867. 


RAISING   POTATOES. — WEEDS. 

I  am  greatly  obliged  to  brother  "Ned"  for  in- 
forming yourself  and  others  that  his  method  of 
raising  potatoes  differs  from  mine.  It  is  just  as  I 
expected.  Experience  brings  wisdom,  and  I  am 
very  glad  if  he  is  wiser  than  his  father  was.  It 
would  not  be  strange  if  there  were  still  other 
methods  just  as  good  as  his  or  mine.  In  regard  to 
planting  on  stubble,  I  will  say,  I  have  never  suf- 
fered from  wire  worms,  but  came  very  near  hav- 
ing a  crop  of  corn  ruined  by  cut  worms  on  what 
he  terms  "sward."  We  may  learn  from  this  that 
though  we  are  both  located  in  one  county,  we  have 
to  contend  with  different  enemies.  But  my  object 
in  noticing  his  article  is,  to  suggest  that  if  I  wanted 
a  few  roots  to  feed  so  many  cattle  and  horses,  I 
would,  after  my  land  was  as  nicely  prepared  as 
his  is  for  California  potatoes,  sow  an  acre  or  two 
to  carrots,  with  the  expectation  of  harvesting 
twenty-live  or  thirty  hundred  bushels,  and  sow  the 
rest  with  oats  or  wheat. 

One  word  about  weeds,  and  I  am  done.  He  says, 
the  more  manure  the  more  weeds.  This  is  not 
necessarily  the  case.  It  is  true,  weeds  or  anything 
else,  will  grow  better  on  rich  land  than  on  poor. 
It  is  also  too  often  true  that  such  well- rotted  ma- 
nure as  he  speaks  of  haiTOwing  in,  is  filled  with 
seeds  of  weeds  that  grew  on  it  while  it  was  rotting 
about  the  barn.  Now  I  venture  the  assertion  that 
if  he,  or  any  one,  will  wage  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  every  variety  of  weeds,  in  all  places 
on  the  farm,  for  ten  years,  he  will  find  them  scarce 
at  the  end  of  that  tinfe.  W.  I.  Simonds. 

Roxhury,  Vt.,  May  20,  1867. 

potato    RAISING — AMOUNT   OF   SEED. 

I  am  pleased  to  note  that  opinion  and  practice 
are  nearly  settled,  that  potatoes  yield  most  when 
planted  from  butt-ends,  and  no  more  than  four 
stalks  in' a  hill;  the  hills  two  feet  one  way,  and 
wide  enough  for  a  cultivator  the  other.  My  father 
and  myself  have  raised  on  this  farm,  in  forty 
j'ears,  forty  thousand  bushels  of  potatoes, — a  yield 
of  seven  hundi-ed  bushels  per  acre  being  not  un- 
common during  the  first  ten  years.  We  found  out 
that  we  were  using  too  much  seed  in  the  following 
way.  My  brother  and  mj'self,  when  we  were  boys, 
were  left  one  afternoon  to  finish  planting.  Find- 
ing that  we  had  not  seed  enough  to  finish,  with- 
out going  to  the  house  for  more,  we  concluded 
to  "extend"  what  we  had.  So  we  cut  up  what  we 
had  in  the  field  twice  as  fine  as  usual,  and  finished 


332 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


JUX,Y 


out  with  about  half  the  accustomed  amount,  and 
kept  our  own  counsels.  When  we  approached 
this  part  of  the  field  at  harvest,  my  brother  and 
myself  supposed  the  yield  would  be  in  proportion 
to  the  seed.  When  the  potatoes  were  laid  out  to 
the  sun  to  dry,  by  the  side  of  those  from  the  other 
rows,  my  fatlier's  eyes  stared  about  in  wonder  at 
seeing  a  much  larger  and  finer  yield  here,  than 
elsewhere.  Our  confession  disclosed  a  double  se- 
cret,— the  special  fact,  and  what  we  regarded  ever 
after  as  the  general  law  as  to  this  vegetable. 

By  the  way,  I  planted  a  single  peach  blow  from 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  last  year,  and  raised  eighty— only 
three  large  enough  to  cook.  The  vines  grew  to  the 
length  of  twelve  feet,  and  were  there  stopped  by  a 
frost. 

The  old  Carters,  in  their  prime,  were  the  heaviest 
and  most  nutritious  for  man  or  beast  that  we  have 
ever  raised.  C.  N.  Andeus. 

Chelsea,  Vt.,  May  20,  1867. 


TROUBLE    WITH    COWS. 

I  had  a  cow  that  did  not  clean  after  calving, — 
she  lost  her  appetite,  and  in  a  short  time  she 
got  so  weak  she  could  not  get  up.  After  trying 
various  things,  I  took  a  tablespoonful  of  rosin, 
pounded  fine,  and  mixing  it  with  a  little  rye  dough, 
formed  it  into  a  ball  or  pill.  I  made  three  such, 
and  put  tliem  down  her  throat  with  my  hand ;  the 
next  day,  as  many  more.  The  following  day  she 
was  on  "her  feet,  with  quite  a  good  appetite.  After 
regaining  her  flesh,  she  did  as  well  that  season  as 
usual.  Give  a  cow  what  oats  she  will  eat;  it  is 
about  a  sure  cure.  A  Subscriber. 

Stcanzey,  N.  H..  May  21,  1867. 

Remarks.— A  Maine  correspondent  thinks  the 
majority  of  the  Irasburg  Club  were  con-ect  in  the 
idea  of  the  importance  of  the  cows  being  in  a 
thrifty  condition  at  the  time  of  calving.  He  feeds 
meal  for  three  weeks,  and  has  no  trouble. 


KILLING   BUSHES. 

Salt  won't  do  it.  Something  might  be  done  in 
the  way  of  reducing  them  l)y  mowing  them  off  in 
"the  old  of  the  moon  in  August."  We  say  this  at 
the  risk,  perhaps,  of  appearing  extremely  stupid,  as 
?omeofour  agricultural  editors  know  the  moon 
has  nothing  to  with  the  weather  nor  anything  else 
in  particular; — one  of  whom  once  proved  the  fact 
to  a  demonstration,  by  citing  its  great  distance  from 
the  eartli.  We  have  tried  cutting,  as  here  recom- 
mended—and without  trouljlingto  inquire  whether 
the  crescent  had  or  had  not  anything  to  do  with  it ; 
we  believe  it  to  Ijc  the  best  time  to  cut  bushes.  If 
not  too  large,  gather  them  with  a  stout  rake  into 
piles  for  the  barn-yard  and  hog-house.  You  will 
lind  nu  trouble  in  working  tlicm  in  the  spring. 
They  are  worth  much  more  than  the  cost  of  cutting 
and  gathering.  After  tliis,  where  there  is  not  too 
many  stones,  afield  is  easily  subdued  with  a  plow 
and  four  cattle.  Sow  to  rye,  or  plant  with  pota- 
toes. ^' 

Stoughton,  Mass.,  May,  1867. 


APPLE    TREE    BORERS. 

Will  .you  please  remind  your  readers  of  the 
method  recommended  by  yoii  last  year  to  protect 
trees  from  the  attacks  of  the  borer,  viz  :  heap  up 
earth  around  the  trunks  to  the  lieight  of  about  a 
foot,  any  time  before  the  first  of  July,  and  let  it 
remain  "until  after  the  Hy  has  ceased  to  work  in 
August.  When  the  hurry  of  hay  time  is  over, 
brush  away  the  earth.  If  tiieliorcr  fly  has  laid  any 
eggs  or  if  any  eggs  are  hatched,  they  can  be  read- 
ily seen  and  removed  from  the  bark  without  the 


least  injury  to  the  tree.    This  process  will  not  take 
over  five  minutes'  time  to  a  tree ;  and,  by  prevent- 
ing the  borers  from  entering  so  low  that  they  can- 
not be  found,  will  afford  a  certain  protection. 
Ashby,  Mass.,  May  18,  1867.      A  Subscriber. 

CABBAGE   AND    CUT-WORMS. 

A  very  simple  process  recommended  in  your 
paper  last  year,  for  the  protection  of  cabbage  plants 
after  they  are  set  out,  has  done  so  much  good 
among  those  of  my  acquaintance  who  have  prac- 
ticed it,  and  there  are  yet  so  many  more  who 
either  do  not  read  the  Farmer  or  have  over- 
looked this  remedy,  and  still  suffer  by  the  de- 
struction of  their  plants  by  cut-worms,  that  I 
think  it  would  be  a  public  benefit  if  you  would  in- 
sert it  again.  It  is  simply  to  wrap  a  piece  of  paper 
or  bark  around  the  stem  when  it  is  set  out. 

Boxboro',  Mass.,  May,  1867.      A  Subscriber. 


RAISING   cranberries   IN    NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 

I  see  in  your  last  paper  the  inquiry,  whether 
cranlierries  can  be  raised  in  Cheshire  County,  suc- 
cessfully, and  j'our  reply  that  flowage  is  necessary. 
Six  years  ago  Mr.  Nathaniel  Narramore,  of  this 
village,  fenced  a  part  of  the  side  of  a  road  near  his 
house,  by  setting  some  posts  about  three  feet  high 
and  putting  on  one  rail  on  the  top.  The  land  so 
fenced  is  live  rods  and  nine  links  long,  and  nine 
and  a  half  links  wide.  He  set  this  out  to  cranber- 
ries, which  he  got  in  his  wheelbarrow  from  beside  a 
pond  about  a  mile  off.  He  then  covered  them 
with  waste  tan  bark,  about  three  inches  deep,  and 
on  the  third  year  he  picked  three  and  a  half  bush- 
els of  cranberries  from  the  lot,  and  has  picked 
from  three  to  four  bushels  each  year  since.  I 
think  the  appearance  of  the  road  is  improved  by 
substituting  the  cranberry  patch  for  the  bushes 
usually  allowed  to  grow  in  such  places,  and  cer- 
tainly the  profit  from  labor  spent  on  it,  is  more  than 
farmers  usually  realize  in  this  town.  The  same 
gentleman  hasabout  two  acres  of  land  about  his 
house  from  which  he  sells  more  in  value  than 
many  of  our  farmers  get  from  twenty-five. 

Daniel  R.  Spaulding. 

Richmond,  N.  H.,  May  20,  1867. 


BUGS    ON   APPLE    BUDS. 

Some  days  since  we  received  a  letter  enclosing 
a  twig  of  an  apple  tree,  the  buds  of  which  were 
nearly  covered  by  a  small  bug.  We  put  the  letter 
in  our  pocket  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  our 
Natural  History  adviser,  and  lost  it.  We  could 
not  well  satisfy  ourselves  from  an  observation  with 
the  naked  eye,  but  we  think  they  are  the  Aphis,  of 
which  a  correspondent  furnishes  some  account  in 
another  column.  Still  it  may  be  a  new  pest.  We 
find  in  the  Iowa  Homestead  the  following  notice  of 
an  insect  that  was  lately  discovered  on  the  blos- 
som buds  of  apple  trees  in  Des  Moines  and  other 
places  in  Iowa : — 

We  have  a  new  pest  for  the  apple  trees  this 
spring;  l)lossoni  buds  ai'e  overspread  with  black 
lice.  They  are  smaller  than  the  hen  louse,  but 
what  their  mission  is  no  one  seems  to  know,  and 
time  will  have  to  solve  the  question.  A  niicro- 
sc()i)ic  examination  makes  them  about  the  size  of  a 
common  house-fly,  and  about  the  same  shape. 
The  bark  of  the  branches  is  overspread  with  what 
appears  to  the  unaided  eye,  a  fuzzy,  dark  brown 
net-work,  holding  in  its  meshes  iunnnu'ral)lc  black 
specks,  whicli,  on  examination  under  the  glass,  are 
found  to  be  the  abode  of  the  unhatclied  insect.  To 
the  casual  observer,  this    covering  of  the  bark 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


333 


would  scarcely  be  noticed.  We  have  never  seen 
the  like  before.  We  would  advise  dusting  the  trees 
with  wood  ashes  when  wet  with  rain  or  dew.  We 
propo:^e  to  Ivcep  an  eye  on  this  new  visitor  and  see 
what  comes  of  it. 


TO   PREVENT   BEE-KOBBING. 

Can  you  or  any  of  your  subscribers  inform  me 
the  best  method  to  protect  bees  from  being  robbed, 
and  to  stop  it  when  commenced.  My  neighbors' 
bees  commenced  rolibing  mine  last  fall ;  and  be- 
fore I  discovered  it  they  had  totally  destroyed 
three  swarms.  I  then  stopped  up  my  hives,  Avhich 
proved  the  means  of  smothering  three  more 
swarms.  By  these  means  my  number  was  re- 
duced to  one-half  of  what  I  intended  to  winter. 

I  winter  my  bees  in  my  cellar,  which  is  a  very 
dry  OTIC,  and  my  hives  come  out  nearly  as  heavy 
as  when  put  in.  I  never  lose  any,  nor  have  the 
coml)  get  mouldy.  H.  T.  Berry. 

South  Bombay,  N.  Y.,  May  10,  1867. 

Remarks. — Bees  are  sometimes  excited  to  rob- 
bery by  careless  feeding,  or  by  exposing  a  dish  or 
a  comb  of  honcj' ;  but  generally  they  resort  to  this 
means  of  supplying  their  storehouses  by  their 
inability  of  finding  flowers  in  early  spring  or  late 
fall — often  at  the  close  of  the  buckwheat  season. 
On  discovering  signs  of  robbery,  it  is  usual  to  re- 
duce the  entrances  to  the  hives,  that  the  occupants 
may  more  readily  defend  their  premises  and  prop- 
erty. Mr.  Quimby  says,  "A  great  many  remedies 
for  this  evil  have  been  recommended,  which  are  as 
bad  as  the  evil  itself,  and  often  the  cause  of  it. 
The  most  fatal  is  to  move  the  hive  a  few  rods  ;  an- 
other, to  entirely  close  it,  which  may  smother  the 
bees.  I  would  recommend  removing  the  weak 
hive,  on  the  morning  after  the  attack,  to  the  cel- 
lar, or  tome  dark,  cool  place,  until  two  or  three 
warm  days  have  passed,  and  the  search  has  been 
abandoned.  When  a  hive  has  been  removed,  if 
the  one  on  the  next  stand  is  weak,  it  is  better  to 
take  that  in  also,  to  be  retui-ned  as  soon  as  the 
robbers  will  allow  it.  If  a  second  attack  is  made, 
put  them  in  again,  or  if  practicalile,  remove  them 
a  mile  or  two,  out  of  their  knowledge  of  country  ; 
they  would  then  lose  no  time  from  labor.  An- 
other method  is,  when  yoi^are  sure  a  stock  is  be 
ing  robbed,  to  close  the  hive  at  a  time  when  there 
are  as  many  plunderers  inside  as  possible,  (wire- 
cloth,  or  something  that  will  admit  air,  and  con- 
fine the  bees,  is  necessary,)  and  carry  in  as  before 
directed,  for  two  or  three  days,  when  they  may  be 
set  out  again.  The  strange  bees  thus  enclosed  will 
join  tlic  weak  family,  and  will  be  as  eager  to  de- 
fend what  is  now  their  treasure,  as  they  were  be- 
fore to  carry  it  off." 

PRUNING   APPLE   TREES. 

A  correspondent  who  signs  "Down  in  Maine," 
inquires,  when  is  the  best  time  to  trim  apple  trees, 
spring  or  fail ;  and  if  spring,  is  it  too  late  ? 

Remarks. — Any  time  when  the  tree  is  not  grow- 
ing vigorously.  The  best  time  in  the  year  is  tin- 
doubtedly  the  middle  of  June.  The  tree  has  then 
got  through  what  is  called  "the  first  gi'owth,"  the 
thin  sap  has  been  elaborated  into  a  thick,  gummy 
Bubstance,  and  is  returning  down  the  outside  of 


the  branches  and  stem  of  the  tree  to  increase  their 
diameter.  If  the  tree  is  cut  when  this  is  the  case 
sap  will  not  flow  out  in  ten  cases  in  a  thousand. 
When  the  tree  commences  growing  again,  the 
edges  of  the  wound  will  soon  be  surrounded  by  a 
healthy  rim  of  green  bark,  which  will  cover  the 
cut  place  entirely  in  two  years,  if  it  is  not  more 
than  a  half  inch  to  one  inch  across  it. 

There  are  some  disadvantages  in  pruning  in 
June,  such  as  much  work  to  be  done,  and  crops 
covering  the  ground.  The  autumn,  soon  after 
the  leaves  have  fallen  from  the  trees,  is  also  a 
proper  time  to  prune  apple  trees. 

HORSE   HOE. — boiler. — OX   SCRAPER. 

I  have  bought  three  useful  articles  the  past  year, 
and  am  so  well  pleased  that  I  regret  that  I  did 
so  long  without  them. 

Your  advertisement  and  endorsement  of 
"Nourse's  Horse  Hoe"  led  me  to  send  for  one  last 
June.  It  is  all  tliat  can  be  asked  for,  and  will  soon 
pay  for  itself,  if  kept  going.  I  would  not  part  with 
mine  for  a  good  sum,  if  1  could  not  get  another. 

My  next  purchase  was  a  Mott's  Agricultural 
Boiler.  I  cook  food  for  my  SAvine  right  by  their 
pens,  and  plague  the  "folks  in  the  house"  no  more, 
by  using  the  house  boiler  and  spilling  swill  on  the 
floor.  At  this  time  my  Mott  boiler  is  filled  with 
coal  tar  and  slate  flour,  ready  to  be  put  on  a  roof 
to-morrow. 

My  last  purchase  is  a  cast-iron  ox  or  horse  scraper. 
It  works  first  rate.  I  have  dug  a  cellar  with  it.  I 
use  it  several  times  a  week.  It  is  handy  to  level 
a  rough  spot  or  ridge  of  land.  It  will  speedily, 
gather  the  remnants  of  manure  in  the  yard  into  a 
snug  heap,  and  move  into  it  fres-h  material  near. 
My  labor  is  more  efiective  for  these  additions  to 
my  tools.  Wm.  D.  Brown. 

Concord,  Mass.,  May  22,  1867. 


TRANSPLANTING    EVERGREENS. 

What  is  the  best  time  for  transplanting  ever- 
greens, cedar,  balsam,  spruce,  &c.  ?  g.  h.  t. 
AscutneyviUe,  Vt.,  1867. 

Remarks. — June  is  considered  a  good  time,  just 
as  a  new  growth  is  starting  on  the  tips  of  the 
branches.  Great  care  should  be  used  to  keep  the 
surface  of  the  ground  around  the  stem  of  the  tree 
attached  to  the  roots,  and  not  allow  the  sun  or 
wind  to  strike  them.  The  roots  of  evergreens  are 
succulent  and  tender,  and  are  easily  wilted  by  ex- 
posure to  sun  and  wind.  Cover  the  roots  with 
matting  or  earth,  as  they  are  placed  in  the  wagon 
to  be  hauled  away. 

A   SICK    SHEEP. 

Please  inform  me  what  is  the  matter  with  a  val- 
uable sheep  that  I  have.  About  the  time  that  I 
turned  her  to  pasture,  her  head  commenced  swell- 
ing. In  the  day  time  her  head  swells  and  in  the 
night  it  goes  down;  the  swelling  begins  on  her 
under  jaw;  she  appears  well,  and  cats  well.  If 
you  can  inform  me  through  the  Farmer  what  is 
the  matter  with  her,  and  what  to  do  for  her,  you 
will  greatly  oblige  a  subscriber.  h.  g.  w. 

Enfield,  May,  1867. 

Remarks. — "Swelled  head"  is  not  uncommon 
among  sheep,  we  believe,  but  rarely,  if  ever,  as- 
sumes the  epidemic  form.  Dr.  Randall  does  not 
prescribe  for  it  as  a  distinct  disease,  but  thinks  it 


334 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAE^IER. 


July 


one  form  of  catarrh.  You  would  do  well  to  sepa- 
rate the  affected  animal  from  the  flock,  and  con- 
sult the  Doctor's  book  on  Sheep  Husbandry  for  a 
mode  of  treatment. 


HEALTHY   LAMBS. 

I  have  thirty-one  blood  lambs,  dropped  since 
the  tirst  of  February,  all  smart  and  healthy.  I 
feed  my  ewes  roots  every  day  throuj^h  the  winter, 
and  a  feed  of  straw  every  week.  I  keep  salt  by 
them,  and  part  of  the  time  I  mix  ashes  with  it.  I 
give  them  a  little  hemlock  once  a  month  through 
the  winter,  and  a  plenty  of  exercij^e  in  the  open 
air.  I  think  that  the  great  secret  of  success  is  to 
keep  the  ewes  healthy.  v.  m.  h. 

Rochester,  Vt.,  May  24,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  regret  that  the  26.J  lbs.  which 
the  fleece  of  Mr.  Hubbard's  ram  "Romeo"  weigh- 
ed, was  printed  21^  lbs.  The  figure  6  was  imper- 
fectly made  and  mistaken  for  1. 

a  YEAHLING   bull. — CROPS,  &c. 

Wm.  T.  Fiske,  of  Welister,  N.  H.,  has  a  grade 
bull  that  weighed  when  13  months  and  5  days  old, 
938  lbs.  after  he  was  driven  three  miles  to  the 
scales.  The  calf  was  weaned  from  the  cow  when 
less  than  one  week  old,  and  was  fed  three  times  a 
day  with  what  milk  the  cow  gave,  after  being 
skimmed,  with  shorts  and  green  feed,  and  kept  in 
the  barn.  As  yet  but  little  corn  has  been  planted 
in  this  vicinity.  Hay  is  very  scarce,  and  more 
than  was  raised  last  year  will  be  necessary  to  carry 
present  stock  through  next  winter.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  high  price  of  flour,  there  has  been 
more  wheat  sown  in  this  town  this  year  than  usual. 
•    Mast  Yard,  N.  H.,  May  23,  1867.  f. 


GRAFTING    WAX. 

In  your  valuable  paper  of  May  11,  the  public  are 
cautioned  by  a  Mr.  "C."  against  using  an  adver- 
tised article,  called  grafting  wax,  stating  that  it 
Isills  the  liark  and  permanently  injures  the  tree. 
We  would  respectfully  request  him  to  inform  the 
public,  if  he  can,  of  what  it  is  composed,  so  that 
it  may  be  avoided.  The  grafting  wax  used  in  this 
region,  for  the  last  fifty  years,  with  good  success,  is 
composed  of  four  parts  rosin,  two  parts  beeswax, 
and  one  of  tallow.  This  is  of  a  very  different  na- 
ture from  that  which  Mr.  "C."  warns  us  against, 
because  it  is  of  a  very  healing  nature,  when  close- 
ly and  property  applied,  and  never  injures  a  tree. 

Johx  King. 

Eagle  Bridge,  N.  T.,  May  16,  1867. 


TO  PREVENT  BIRDS  Pl'LLING  CORN. 

Take  a  quantity  of  corn,  soak  it  until  it  becomes 
soft,  then  string  it  on  horse  hair  or  thread,  one 
kernel  to  each  thread  or  hair.  When  your  corn 
is  coming  up  throw  this  on  j'our  field.  The 
birds  will  pick  it  up  and  swallow  the  corn.  The 
thread  or  hair  will  stick  in  their  throats,  and 
in  trying  to  get  it  out,  they  will  scratch  out  their 
eyes.    Be  careful  that  your  hens  do  not  get  at  it. 

Che2}achct,  R.  I.,  May  11, 1867.         H.  Rounds. 


arbor  vitae,  rose,  blackberry,  raspberry,  or  grape 
vines,  and  you  will  have  not  only  a  fence,  but  an 
ornamental,  fruitful  and  flowery  hedge. 
April'2.2,  1867.  o.  h.  p. 

Remarks.— If  friend  "0.  H.  P."  will  report  a 
fair  trial  of  his  plan,  we  will  promise  not  to  prune 
his  communication  quite  as  severely  as  we  have  in 
this  case. 

GRIT   IN    MAPLE   SUGAR. 

I  notice  in  the  Farmer  of  May  18,  an  inquiry 
from  "G.  M.  B.,"  of  Worcester,  Vt.,  as  to  the  cause 
of  grit  in  maple  sngar.  If  he  will  strain  his  syr- 
up (warm)  through  a  flannel  strainer,  he  will  find 
all  the  grit  left  in  the  strainer.  What  tliis  grit  is 
I  do  not  know,  but  if  washed  it  becomes  as  white 
as  chalk.  W.  H.  Lyon. 

North  Craftsbury,  Vt.,  May  22,  1867. 


THOUGHTS   ON    FENCING. 

Having  been  a  reader  of  the  Farmer  for  twelve 
years,  I  have  seen  much  on  the  subject  of  fencing, 
and  would  suggest  the  following  plan.  On  the 
line  of  the  proposed  ience  set  maple  trees  about 
twenty  five  feet  apart,  or  standard  pear  trees  fifteen 
feet.  Then  drive  or  screw  good  staples  into  the 
trees,  and  stretch  your  wires  from  tree  to  tree.  If 
you  wish  for  a  hedge,  set  out  your  thorn,  cedar. 


SHOEING   sheep. 

Can  you,  or  any  of  your  correspondents,  give 
me  a  plain,  easy  mode  of  fastening  small  pieces  of 
wood  on  the  bottom  of  sheep's  feet  ?  One  of  my 
neighbors  once  saw  some  sheep  feeding  in  a  pas- 
ture, with  little  paddles  of  wood  fastened  to  the 
bottoms  of  their  feet,  Init  don't  remember  how  they 
were  fastened  on.  With  such  shoes  as  he  describes 
they  can't  jump  or  climb  a  wall. 

Mandaville  Campbell. 

North  Tur7ier,  Me.,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  cannot,  but  some  of  our  corres- 
pondents probably  can,  and  undoubtedly  will. 


PROLIFIC    sheep. — TWIN   GOSLINS. 

Mr.  Daniel  B.  Smith  of  this  town  has  seven 
sheep  that  dropped  fourteen  lambs,  and  one  that 
dropped  three.  Another  neighbor,  Mr.  W.  H. 
Burleigh,  has  a  sheep  that  dropped  four  ram  lambs. 
From  the  gosling  egg  noticed  in  the  Farmer,  May 
4,  as  weighing  ten  ounces,  two  goslings  have  been 
hatched,  both  of  which  are  doing  well. 

Charles  C.  Tinkham. 

Grafton,  N.  H.,  May  20,  1867. 


SOAP-SI'DS. 

The  value  of  soap-suds  is  known  to  every  garden- 
er, but  the  supply  is  not  always  equal  to  the  demand. 
Cannot  a  composition  or  soap  be  made  of  cheap 
materials,  which,  when  mixed  with  water,  will  be 
profitable  and  useful  for  all  the  purposes  for  which 
suds  are  now  used  ?  Why  does  plaster  kill  straw- 
berries, as  is  spoken  of  in  your  paper  ? 

A  Subscriber. 

Deep  River,  Ct.,  May  20,  1867. 

sheep  manure. 
Not  having  seen  any  answer  to  a  late  inquiry  in 
your  valuable  i>aper,  for  directions  for  the  manage- 
irent  of  sheep  muinire,  I  will  give  my  method  :  For 
some  time  after  commencing  to  keep  sheep,  I  lost 
much  of  my  manure,  although  I  tried  various  ex- 
periments. I  now  turn  it  on  the  ground  wliere  it 
is  made,  taking  care  not  to  have  it  more  than  from 
four  to  six  inches  deep,  and  wlien  it  begins  to  heat 
I  turn  it  again,  and  I  have  a  fine  lot  of  manure  for 
the  hill,  the  next  year,  as  you  ever  saw 

Down  in  Maine. 


SOFT   SHELL   EGGS. 

The  favorite  remedy,  at  our  house,  for  this 
trouble  auiong  the  poultry  has  been  the  "chop- 
axe."  Take  off  their  heads  and  put  them  into  the 
pot.    This  is  warranted  sure  cure ;  never  known 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


335 


to  fail.  But  if  thought  too  harsh  a  remedy,  a  grass 
and  gravel  diet  might  be  found  to  work  a  cure  in 
a  s;hoit  time.  n. 

Stoughton,  Mass.,  May,  1867. 


POKE  ROOT  FOR  LICE  ON  CATTLE. 

Where  this  weed  grows  on  the  low  wet  parts  of 
the  farm,  there  is  no  excuse  but  laziness  for  lousy 
cattle.  Boil  four  quarts  of  poke  roots  so  as  to 
leave  a  pailful  of  liquor,  with  which  wash  the  an- 
imals thoroughly.    It  is  a  sure  cure. 

St.  Johmbury',  Vt.,  May,  1867.  0.  Brown. 


A   good   FLEECE. 

My  buck  "Romeo,"  was  sheared  April  27th,  ten 
days  less  than  two  years  old.  The  fleece  was  the 
gi'owth  of  seven  days  less  than  one  year,  and 
weighed  2U  lbs.  He  was  sired  by  C.  0.  Stowell's 
old  "Golden  Fleece,"  out  of  a  Victor  Wright  ewe. 
V.  M.  Hubbard. 

Rochester,  Vt.,  May  12,  1867. 


REMEDY   FOR   THE    BORER. 

Scrape  away  the  eai'th  from  the  trunk  down  to 
where  the  roots  branch  out,  and  apply  with  a  brush 
a  very  thin  coat  of  warm  petroleum  tar,  to  about 
six  inches  of  the  trunk  and  to  the  exposed  roots. 
One  quart  is  sufficient  for  fifty  trees. 

Marion,  Mass.,  1867.  C.  C.  Allen. 


MY   REMEDY   FOR   COWS    SUCKING   THEMSELVES. 

Besmear  the  bags  and  teats  with  the  most  offen- 
sive grease  that  can  be  found  about  the  premises. 
Do  this  every  morning  for  a  few  days,  and  the  cure 
is  eti'cctcd.  w.  s. 

Athol,  Mass.,  May,  1867. 


SALVE   FOR   SORE    TEATS   ON    COWS. 

Take  one  pound  the  bark  of  the  bitter-sweet  or 
yellow-root,  and  half  a  pound  of  lard ;  simmer  fif- 
teen minutes ;  strain  and  let  it  cool.  Bathe  twice 
a  day.  H.  Rounds. 

Ciiepachet,  R.  I.,  May  11,  1867. 


AGRICULTUBAL   ITEMS, 
— The  Rural  World  says  that  until  the  4th  of 
May  there  was  no  rain  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  Louis 
during  the  entire  spring. 

— The  Fair  of  the  New  Hampshire  State  Agri- 
cultural Society  is  to  be  held  at  Nashua,  Sept.  10, 
11,  and  12. 

— If  you  intend  to  fight  the  curculios  at  all  this 
year,  don't  delay  your  operations  until  they  have 
stung  nearly  eveiy  fruit. 

— The  annual  fair  of  the  Indiana  State  Agricul- 
tural Society,  will  be  held  at  Terre  Haute,  com- 
mencing September  30th. 

— Every  seed  contains  three  principles,  the  or- 
gan of  nourishment,  the  nascent  plant  or  plumule, 
and  the  nascent  root  or  radicle. 

— In  an  article  on  docking  lambs,  in  the  Mirror 
and  Farmer,  Dr.  Boynton  recommends  searing  the 
bleeding  arteries,  not  the  whole  stump,  with  a  red 
hot  iron.  • 

— J.  HaiTis  says,  in  his  "Walks  and  Talks," 
that  while  it  is  true  that  improved  breeds  of  cattle 
will  not  do  so  well  on  very  little  food  as  will  the 


"natives,"  it  is  also  true  that  the  "natives"  will 
not  stand  high  feeding  as  well  as  the  improved 
breeds.  Those  who  want  to  feed  high  so  as  to  get 
a  large  quantity  of  rich  milk  must  get  cows  with  a 
good  share  of  improved  blood. 

— A  farm  with  shade  and  fruit  trees  set  around 
the  house,  will  sell  from  $200  to  $1000  more  than 
if  there  were  none ;  while  the  girls  will  have  more 
beaux,  and  the  boys  be  less  likely  to  get  the  mitten. 

— For  spring  wheat,  fanners  in  Minnesota  plow 
the  land  in  the  fall,  harrow  in  the  seed  in  the. 
spring,  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre,  and 
generally  harvest  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
bushels  per  acre. 

— A  Wisconsin  fai-mer  writes  to  the  New  York 
Fanners'  Club,  that  if  the  spread  of  the  Canada 
thistle  is  not  checked  in  its  progress  it  will  be  but 
a  short  time  before  the  producers  of  wheat  will  be 
driven  from  the  great  wheat  fields  of  the  West  as 
Adam  was  driven  from  the  garden  in  the  East. 

— At  a  sheep  shearing  in  Hyde  Park,  Lamoille 
county,  Vt.,  Messrs.  R.  R.  Wait,  of  Stowe,  L. 
Grout,  of  Elmore,  O.  H.  Cook,  S.  Stone,  H.  Dodge, 
and  E.  V.  Hadley,  of  Morristown,  were  among 
the  owners  of  sheep  to  whom  premiums  were 
awarded. 

— In  the  Sciota  Valley,  Ohio,  the  land  is  so  rich 
that  for  40  years  corn  has  been  grown  on  the  same 
ground,  and  yet  they  who  do  the  work  are  tenants, 
and  poor.  In  Northern  Ohio,  the  land  is  so  poor 
it  is  constantly  kept  in  grass,  and  yet  they  who  do 
the  work  are  the  owners,  and  are  rich. 

— While  admitting  the  success  of  pear  raising 
in  city  and  village  gardens  and  other  sheltered 
locations,  the  iliame  i^arme?- speaks  discouragingly 
of  attempts  that  have  been  made  in  that  State  to 
raise  this  delicious  fruit  by  ordinary  orchard  cul- 
tivation. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Rural  American  re- 
commends the  following  as  a  sure  cure  for  lice  on 
cattle  :  Take  one  dozen  or  more  good-sized  Irish 
potatoes,  pound  them  fine,  then  put  them  into  two 
gallons  and  a  half  of  water,  boil  thoroughly,  then 
let  it  cool,  and  apply  as  a  wash,  to  cows,  calves, 
mares  and  colts,  and  all  other  creatures  that  have 
lice. 

— By  planting  15  or  20  common  beans  in  each 
hill  of  his  vines,  a  correspondent  of  the  Country 
Gentleman  says  he  protects  his  plants  from  the 
striped  bug,  which  seems  to  know  beans  well 
enough  to  keep  away  from  them.  The  beans  must 
be  pulled  up  or  broken  off  as  they  begin  to  shade 
the  vines. 

— On  his  return  from  a  late  trip  through  Vu:- 
ginia,  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
&c.,  Mr.  Moore,  of  the  Rural  Neio  Yorker,  says,  the 
crops  throughout  the  South  are  generally  promis- 
ing, and  the  people  of  all  classes  seem  earnestly 
endeavoring  to  reconstruct  and  augment  the  in- 
dustry and  productiveness  of  the  country. 


336 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJ^IER. 


July 


Fig.  9.    Elevation  of  Double  Kiln. 

E,  room.  G,  press-room.  H,  press.  J,  store-room,  m,  drying  floor.  0,  platform  from  which  to  charge  the 
kiln  through  the  doors  P.  Q,  ventilators  or  cowls.  R,  lower  ventilators.  S,  conductor  of  cloth  to  convey  hops 
to  press. 


ClTLTrVATIOW    OF    HOPS. 

Having  considered  the  planting,  growth,  and 
harvesting  of  hops,  we  now  give  some  direc- 
tions in  regard  to 

Kiln  Drying. 

As  fast  as  hops  are  picked  they  must  be 
dried.  This  is  an  important  and  delicate  pro- 
cess. They  may  be  full  grown  and  well  picked, 
but  if  poorly  dried  will  prove  of  little  value. 
There  is  danger  of  over-drying  and  scorching. 
We  saw  a  specimen  of  a  scorched  lot  last  year 
which  was  received  on  a  contract  for  mer- 
chantable hops,  and  on  which  a  comfortable — 
to  the  lawyers — little  law-suit  was  pending. 
There  is  also  danger  of  insufficient  drying,  in 
consequence  of  which  the  hops  are  liable  to  be 
damaged  or  utterly  spoiled.  Hence  the  ne- 
cessity of  nice  judgment  and  practical  skill  in 
deciding  as  to  the  amount  to  be  applied  at 
once  to  the  dryer,  in  graduating  the  heat  of 
the  fire,  the  ventilation  of  the  room,  and  the 
exposure  of  the  hops  during  the  whole  process 
of  manufacturing  the  green  into  the  baling 
article.  Mr.  Z.  E.  Jameson,  Secretary  of  the 
Irasburg  Farmer's  Club,  says  that  his  test  of 
the  proper  dryness  is,  when  the  stem  in  the 
middle  of  the  hops  will  break  easily ;  if  it  can 
be   twisted  and  bent,  it  is   not  dry  enough. 


Some  old  wooden  building  may  answer  for  the 
hop-house  or  kiln,  but  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
principles  which  should  be  introduced  into 
whatever  structure  may  be  used,  we  copy  from 
Mr.  Judd's  Practical  Hop  Culture  the  an- 
nexed cuts  and  description  of  a  somewhat 
elaborate  structure  of  a  double  kiln  which  may 
be  simplified  to  suit  the  means  and  wants  of 
each  individual  hop-grower. 

The  kiln  should  be  built  prior  to  the  tenth 
of  September,  when,  in  ordinary  seasons,  the 


Fig.  10.    Ground  Plan  of  Double  Kiln. 

A,  stove  rooms.  B,  stoves.  C,  pipes,  D,  doors  to 
wood-room.  *i^,  stall's.  O,  press-room.  £^,  press.  K, 
chimney. 

hops  will  be  in  condition  to  begin  harvest. 
The  size  will  depend  upon  the  number  of  hops 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


337 


grown.  For  a  five-acre  field,  two  hundred 
square  feet  of  surface  of  drying  room  will  an- 
swer. For  yards  of  ten  or  more  acres,  two 
drying-rooms  will  be  found  convenient.  The 
hops  picked  in  the  forenoon  should  be  put  on 
to  dry  at  noon,  and  those  picked  in  the  after- 
noon are  placed  in  the  kiln  at  evening.  Figs. 
9,  (at  the  head  of  the  column,)  and  10,  with 
the  descriptions,  will  give  an  idea  of  what  is 
needed  lor  a  large  yard. 

The  kilns  are  round  in  form,  and  may  be 
constructed  of  wood  or  stone.  If  of  wood,  a 
balloon  frame  will  be  found  most  convenient. 
The  floor  shown  at  m,  Fig.  9,  should  be  fifteen 
or  sixteen  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is  gener- 
ally made  of  one  by  one  and  a  half  inch  strips 
of  boards,  set  on  edge.  Over  this  floor  is  a 
cloth,  somewhat  resembling  that  used  for 
strainers,  hard  twisted  with  small  meshes.  On 
the  cloth  the  green  hops  are  deposited  to  be 
dried.  The  kiln,  if  constructed  of  wood, 
should  be  lathed  and  plastered,  above  as  well 
as  below  the  floor.  Air-holes  are  shown  at  R, 
which  should  have  a  door,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
close  down  at  pleasure.  There  are  large  doors, 
P,  P,  into  which  the  hops  are  thrown  from  the 
platform  O.  A  ventilator,  Q,  is  placed  at  the 
top  of  ^ach  kiln.  The  other  parts  will  be  un- 
derstood from  the  references  below  the  figures. 
The  stoves  should  be  large  enough  to  receive 
three-foot  wood,  and  the  stove-pipe  not  less 
than  ten  inches  in  diameter,  so  arranged  as  to 
equalize  the  heat,  and  dry  the  hops  evenly. 
The  horizontal  pipe  should  be  six  or  eight  feet 
from  the  kiln-cloth,  and  extend  slightly  up- 
ward. All  dust  is  to  be  removed  from  the 
cloth  daily,  and  before  starting  a  fire.  The 
pipe  should  be  supported  upon  standards,  with 
forked  iron  tops.  The  utmost  precaution 
should  be  taken  against  fire,  as  the  building, 
during  the  drying  season,  will  be  like  a  "tin- 
der-box," and  it  should  not  be  entrusted  to  a 
careless  hand.  The  time  required  for  dry- 
ing a  kiln,  Avith  the  hops  say  twelve  to  fif- 
teen inches  deep,  will  be  twelve  to  fourteen 
hours.  To  determine  when  the  hop  is  dr}', 
examine  the  inside.  Three-fourths  of  all 
should  break  or  crumble  when  pressed  by  the 
hand.  During  the  drying,  it  is  customary  to 
burn  brimstone  three  or  four  times ;  first, 
when  the  hops  are  warmed  one-third  of  the 
way  through,  and  last  when  the  heat  has 
reached  the  surface.  The  amount  of  sulphur 
requii-ed  will  depend  upon  the  condition  of  the 
hops.  If  they  are  rusty,  more  will  be  required 
than  at  the  beginning  of  picking.  The  person 
having  charge  must  determine  this  matter ; 
from  two  to  three  ounces  are  generally  used. 
Two  or  three  hours  before  allowing  the  fire  to 
go  down,  the  hops  should  be  stirred.  This  is 
generally  done  by  going  through  them,  taking 
care  to  keep  the  feet  under  them ;  then  level 
them  off.  During  this  operation  the  air-holes 
should  be  closed.  Some  turn  them  over  with 
a  shovel,  when  two-thirds  dried.  The  hops 
are  now  ready  to  be  removed  from  the  kiln, 


but  there  is  no  objection  to  allowing  them  to 
remain  on  the  kiln  until  it  is  wanted  for  another 
lot  of  green  hops.  Care  should  be  taken  not 
to  break  them. 

In  the  same  treatise,  Mr.  Jameson  gives  di- 
rections for  building  a  press  for  baling ;  but 
as  ready-made  presses,  with  full  directions  for 
using,  may  be  purchased,  we  omit  the  details. 
Hop-Sacking  can  be  procured  from  merchants, 
and  is  known  as  "Dundee  bagging."  The  size 
of  the  bales  will  be  regulated  by  that  of  the 
press  ;  they  generally  weigh  from  two  hundred 
to  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

For  several  years  past  the  hop  crop  has  been 
very  much  injured,  and  in  some  cases  nearly' 
destroyed  by  the  Hop  Louse  and  other  insects. 
The  louse  comes  early  in  July,  and  if  not 
checked  increases  until  it  ruins  the  crop. 


CUTTrNG  HAY  EARLY. 

It  is  now  better  understood  than  formerly 
that  some  kinds  of  hay  should  be  cut  early, 
especially  for  cows.  But  in  the  declaration  of 
new  doctrines  we  are  disposed  to  go  to  the 
extreme.  Because  some  grass  cut  in  June  or 
early  July,  makes  better  hay,  it  is  not  to  be 
assumed  that  all  grass  will.  Clover,  orchard 
grass  and  timothy  attain  their  growth  and  ma- 
turity rapidly  and  early,  and  very  soon,  if  not 
cut,  lose  their  good  quality ;  and  this  is  so  also 
of  some  other  kinds  of  grass  growing  on  rich 
and  warm  uplands,  and  on  any  highly  culti- 
vated land.  But  there  is  a  great  deal  of  mead- 
ow which  affords  a  very  superior  quality  of  hay, 
though  cut  late  in  August.  This  is  the  case 
with  much  of  the  bottom  lands,  or  river  mead- 
ows, where  the  grass  does  not  attain  half  its 
growth  by  the  fourth  of  July,  and,  if  cut  so 
early,  would  want  its  superior  quality.  It 
dries  up  rapidly,  the  juices  being  only  par- 
tially developed,  and  it  lacks  nutriment.  Any 
one  who  has  had  occasion  to  mow  a  strip  of 
such  grass  in  the  early  part  of  July,  and  to  cut 
the  grass  adjoining  this  strip  four  weeks  later, 
will  be  struck  with  observing  the  difference, 
not  only  in  quantity,  but  in  the  quality  of  the 
two  cuttings.  There  is  also  a  great  deal  of 
upland  natural  meadow,  where  the  grass  is  of 
slow  growth  and  late,  and  where  the  quality  of 
it  for  hay  improves  nearly  as  long  as  it  con- 
tinues to  grow,  retaining  its  good  color  and 
rich  aroma  quite  late  in  the  season.  In  seasons 
of  low  temperature,  such  meadows  will  furnish 
an  excellent  cjuality  of  hay,  cut  as  late  as  the 
first  of  September. — Comitry  Gentleman. 


Heavy  Merino  Fleeces. — C.  N.  Hay- 
ward  of  Bridport,  Vt.,  recently  sold  to  L.  J. 
Wright  of  Weybridge,  five  ewe  tegs  which 
sheared  76^  lbs  of  wool — the  heaviest  fleece 
weighing  17^  lbs. 


338 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


WHAT 


TOOLS    HAVE    DONE 
AQRICUIiTURE. 


FOR 


EW  farmers,  perhaps,  have 
'given  this  matter  that  careful 
thought  and  comparison  with 
past  ages,  which  will  enable  them  to 
appreciate  the  immense  advantage 
we  possess  in  the  excellent  tools  that 
are  now  used  in  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil.  Tools  and  machines  are, 
in  principle,  the  same.  When  we  use  an  iron 
bar  to  move  a  rock,  it  is  gaining  in  one  way, 
a  power  which  we  gain  in  another  by  the  use 
of  the  derrick.  A  tool  is  usually  more  simple 
than  a  machine ;  it  is  generally  used  with  the 
hand,  while  a  machine  is  frequently  moved  by 
animal  or  steam  power.  The  simpler  machines 
are  often  merely  one  or  more  tools,  placed  in 
a  frame,  and  acted  upon  by  a  moving  power. 
But  neither  the  tool  nor  the  machine  has  any 
force  of  itself.  In  one  case  the  force  is  in  the 
arm,  in  the  other,  in  the  water,  the  steam, 
or  the  animal  that  turns  the  wheel. 

It  is  by  a  combination  of  different  principles 
that  we  gain  the  greatest  power,  as  for  instance, 
in  the  cider  mill,  where  the  use  of  the  lever  en- 
ables us  to  gain  an  immense  power ;  or  the  screw, 
which  is  an  inclined  plane,  winding  round  the 
surface  of  a  cylinder,  or  when  the  screw  is 
combined  with  the  wheel  and  axle. 

Every  farmer  who  has  used  a  good  hay- 
eutter  that  has  a  revolving  motion,  can  appre- 
ciate its  value  when  he  contrasts  it  with  the  te- 
dious labor  of  chopping  hay  with  a  hatchet,  on 
a  block,  or  using  a  machine  with  an  up  and 
down  motion ;  ami  so  in  regard  to  nearly  every 
tool  or  machine  he  uses  on  the  farm. 

It  would  be  a  source  of  pleasure  and  encour- 
agement to  any  farmer  to  become  more  famil- 
iar with  what  science  and  art  has  done  for 
him  and  the  world,  and  especially  within  the 
last  fifty  years.  By  science  we  mean  this, — the 
discovering  how  a  good  seed-sower,  or  mowing- 
machine  may  be  constructed,  and  by  art,  how 
to  manufacture  the  parts  and  put  them  together. 
The  first  is  ascertaining  a  truth,  and  the  second 
making  that  truth  available  to  the  world. 
These  terms,  therefore,  are  plain  terms,  and 
may  be  understood  by  all. 

In  order,  however,  that  the  farmer  of  the 
present  day  may  realize  the  advantages  which 
he  possesses  over  those  of  any  former  period 
in  the  world's  history,  he  must  know  something 
of  the  condition  of  those  who  have  preceded 


him.  Let  us  briefly  refer  to  a  few  plain  facts : 
Adam  Smith,  in  his  great  work,  "The 
Wealth  of  Nations,"  says.  The  property  which 
every  man  has  in  his  own  labor,  as  it  is  the 
original  foundation  of  all  other  property,  so  it 
is  the  most  sacred  and  inviolable.  The  patri- 
mony of  a  poor  man  lies  in  the  strength  and 
dexterity  of  his  hands  ;  and  to  hinder  him  from 
employing  this  strength  and  dexterity  in  what 
manner  he  thinks  proper,  without  injury  to  his 
neighbor,  is  a  plain  violation  of  this  most  sacred 
property." 

A  vast  number  of  the  cultivators  of  the  soil 
in  Europe,  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  and  among  them  our  English  ancestry, 
not  only  were  obliged  to  work  without  the  aid 
of  machines,  and  with  heavy,  clumsy  and  awk- 
ward tools,  but  were  continually  plundered 
and  oppressed  by  the  government  and  the  land- 
holders. 

Before  the  great  charter.  King  Henry  used 
to  seize  upon  whatever  suited  his  pleasure, — 
horses,  implements,  food,  any  thing  that  pre- 
sented itself  in  the  shape  of  accumulated  labor. 
The  husbandry  was  so  imperfect  that  an  un- 
favorable season  for  crops  was  followed  by 
famine.  When  the  ground  was  too  hard,  the 
seed  could  not  be  sown  for  want  of  the  suffi- 
cient machine-power  of  plow  and  harrow ;  and 
when  they  got  a  crop,  it  was  thrashed  out  by 
cattle  at  a  ruinous  loss. 

Education  was  so  low,  and  the  principles 
and  relations  of  things  so  little  understood, 
that  there  was  the  most  decided  hostility  to  the 
introduction  of  machinery  upon  the  farm  or  in 
the  work  shops.  Even  as  late  as  1830,  the 
newspapers  of  England  gave  accounts  of  the 
desti'uction  of  machinery  by  her  agricultural 
laborers.  It  was  stated  that  in  one  district  a 
band  of  men  destroyed  all  the  machinery  of 
many  farms,  down  even  to  the  common  drills. 
They  could  not  make  up  their  minds  as  to  the 
propriety  of  destroying  a  horse-churn,  and 
therefore,  that  machine  was  passed  over. 

Historians  state  that  in  the  reigns  of  Henry 
IV.  and  V.  of  England,  there  was  plenty  of 
labor  to  be  performed,  but  the  tools  were  so 
bad,  and  the  want  of  agricultural  knowledge 
so  universal,  that  the  land  was  never  half  culti- 
vated, and  therefore  all  classes  were  poorly  off. 
They  had  little  produce  to  exchange  for  manu- 
factures, and  in  consequence  the  laborer  was 
badly  clothed,  badly  lodged,  and  had  a  very 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


339 


indifferent  share  of  the  scanty  crop  which  he 
raised. 

The  condition  of  the  people  must  have  been 
poor  indeed,  in  the  14th  and  15th  centuries. 
Then  there  were  few  glass  windows,  "for  at 
Alnwick  castle,  in  1567,  the  glass  was  ordered 
to  be  taken  out  and  laid  up  in  safety,  when 
the  lord  was  absent !"  The  people  lived  mainly 
upon  salt  meat,  none  but  the  clergy  and  nobility 
wore  linen,  and  so  careful  were  those  who  had 
it,  that  night-clothes  were  never  worn !  The 
household  furniture  among  the  wealthy  families 
of  Colchester,  consisted  of  an  occasional  bed, 
a  brass  pot,  a  brass  cup,  a  gridiron,  and  a 
mg  or  two,  and  perhaps  a  towel.  Of  chairs 
and  tables  we  hear  nothing.  That  was  in  1301. 
Queen  Elizabeth's  palace,  had  few,  if  any, 
glass  windows.  As  late  as  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.  it  was  said  that  "the  nastiness  of  the  peo- 
ple was  the  cause  of  the  frequent  plagues  that 
destroyed  them ;  that  their  floors  were  com- 
monly of  clay,  strewed  with  rushes,  under 
which  lay  unmolested  a  collection  of  beer, 
grease,  fragments,  bones,  spittle,  excrements 
of  dogs  and  cats,  and  of  everything  that  is  nau- 
seous !" 

Now,  brother  farmers,  contrast,  fii'st,  the 
laws  under  which  they  lived,  and  these  under 
which  we  live,  and  then  their  tools  and  ma- 
chinery with  ours,  and  their  cabins  and  wretch- 
ed clothing  and  furniture,  with  those  common 
among  us,  and  you  cannot  fail  to  be  more  con- 
tented and  happy  than  ever  with  your  New 
England  homes  and  farms. 


MARKETING-  "WOOL. 
After  a  preamble  which  sets  forth  certain 
"rules"  which  have  been  adopted  by  "Wool 
Buyers'  Conventions,"  some  of  which  have  gone 
so  far  as  to  require  an  effort  to  be  made  to  ob- 
tain a  list  of  such  purchasing  agents  as  disregard 
them,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  discounte- 
nanced, and  thus  thrown  out  of  business, — the 
following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  New 
York  State  Sheep  Breeders'  and  Wool  Grow- 
ers' Association,  at  their  Fair  at  Auburn,  May 
10th.  They  were  adopted  unanimously,  after 
a  full  discussion,  by  an  assemblage  of  men  ex- 
hibiting, as  the  Utica  Herald  remarks,  in  its 
appearance  and  evincing  in  its  action,  more 
intelligence  and  practical  wisdom,  greater 
frankness  and  honesty  of  purpose,  than  is  of- 
ten gathered  together.     Among  the  gentlemen 


present  were  Mr.  Edwin  Hammond,  the 
famous  Vermont  sheep  breeder,  Mr.  Sanford, 
of  the  same  State,  Mr.  King,  of  Dutchess 
county,  the  breeder  of  Cotswolds,  Mr.  Holmes, 
of  Washington,  Hon.  Mr.  Pottle,  of  Ontario, 
Judge  Ketchum,  of  Wayne,  and  others,  repre- 
senting about  every  section  of  the  State  of 
New  York. 

Our  own  recollection  of  the  coldness  of  the 
mountain  streams  in  which  we  washed  sheep 
in  our  younger  days,  and  of  the  colds,  rheu- 
matism and  fevers  which  were  clearly  tracea- 
ble to  such  exposure,  often  incurred  when  in 
a  profuse  perspiration  from  the  chasing  neces- 
sary to  drive  the  sheep  from  the  pasture  to  the 
brook,  leads  us  to  wonder  that  in  discussions 
of  the  expediency  of  washing,  so  little  is  said 
of  the  injurious  effect  of  this  practice  on  the 
health  and  life  of  the  men  who  perform  the  op- 
eration. 

Resolved,  That  sheep  should  be  guarded  as  far  as 
practicable  from  an  admixture  of  hay,  straw,  this- 
tles, burs,  or  other  like  extraneous  substances, 
with  their  wool. 

Resolved.  That  washing  sheep  in  running  streams, 
in  season  to  shear  them  at  the  proper  time  in  the 
spring,  is  often  dangerous  by  reason  of  the  cold- 
ness of  the  water,  especially  in  regions  where  the 
streams  descend  from  mountains  or  highlands ; 
thiit  it  is  not  conveniently  practicaltic  in  other  re- 
gions, on  account  of  the  remoteness  of  running 
streams ;  that  in  many  localities  the  prevalence  of 
contageous  diseases,  like  scab  and  hoof  rot,  ren- 
der it  unsafe  to  take  a  sound  sheep  to  any  of  the 
convenient  washing  places ;  that  the  natural  yolk 
or  "gi-ease"  if  left  in  the  sheared  wool  docs  not  in- 
jure it  in  any  respect  for  keeping  or  manufactur- 
ing ;  that  the  greatest  portion  of  the  wool  grown 
in  the  world  is  and  always  has  been  shorn  and  sold 
unwashed,  without  objection  from  any  quarter; 
that  we  possess  certain  information  that  many  of 
the  largest  wool  manufacturers  in  the  United 
States  are  willing,  and  a  large  number  of  them 
prefer,  to  have  American  wool  lirought  to  market 
unwashed;  and  that  accordingly  wc  recommend 
the  wool  growers  of  the  country  to  consult  their 
own  convenience  and  inclinations  in  this  matter. 

Resolved,  That  the  length  of  time  which  should 
elapse  between  washing  and  shearing  cannot  be 
determined  properly  by  the  number  of  days,  but 
it  should  also  be  regulated  by  the  state  of  the 
weather ;  that  wool  should  not  be  shorn  after  wash- 
ing until  it  has  acquired  its  characteristic  glossy 
look  and  soft  feeling. 

Resolved,  That  wool  is  not  injured  in  the  least 
degree  for  n manufacturing  by  being  done  up  as 
tightly  as  practicable ;  that,  however,  wlicn  done 
up  extremely  tight  and  then  pressed  together  by 
its  own  weight  in  large  masses,  the  difficulty  of 
separating  it  by  the  sorter  is  increased  ;  that  there 
is  no  danger  of  producing  this  effect  by  any  ordi- 
nary application  of  strength,  when  the  fleece  is 
folded  and  tied  by  hand,  but  that  it  may  be 
prot-Uiccd,  especially  in  the  case  of  greasy  wools, 
in  wool  presses ;  that  the  twine  used  for  tying 
should  not  be  unnecessarily  large,  or  used  in  un- 
necessary quantities,  and  should  be  of  such  tex- 
ture that  particles  of  it  will  not  become  incorpo- 
rated with  the  wool. 


340 


NEW   ENGLA^T)   FARMER. 


July 


Resolved,  That  dead  wool,  or  any  other  wool  of 
inferior  quality  or  condition,  should  not  be  put 
within  fleeces ;  hut  that  such  being  the  prevailing 
and  well  understood  custom  in  this  State,  it  is 
proper,  in  the  absence  of  any  contrary  understand- 
ing, to  put  the  tags  of  every  fleece  within  it,  if  in 
equal  condition. 

Resolved,  That  any  unifonn  and  arbitrary  rate  of 
deduction  on  unwashed  fleeces  operates  unequally 
and  unjustly  on  growers,  because  some  breeds  and 
varieties  of  sheep  have  far  more  yolk  or  "grease" 
in  their  wool  than  others,  because  the  proportion 
of  yolk  or  "grease"  which  is  retained  in  the  un- 
washed fleeces  of  even  the  same  sheep,  depends  in 
a  great  degree  upon  the  care  with  which  they  are 
housed  from  rain  and  snow,  because  some  flocks 
arc  kept  where  their  wool  becomes  mixed  with 
dirt  and  other  heavy  substances,  while  others  are 
not;  that  such  arliitrary  rate  of  deduction  for  im- 
purities is  not  tolerated  in  the  sale  of  other  farm 
products ;  that  no  excuse  can  be  set  up  for  it  in  the 
case  of  wool,  but  the  inability  of  the  buyer  to 
determine  the  relative  amounts  of  the  impurity — in 
other  words,  his  ignorance  of  his  business ;  that 
wool  growers  are  not  required  to  submit  to  loss  and 
injustice  to  enable  wool  dealers  or  wool  manufac- 
turers to  employ  cheap  and  unqualified  agents. 

Resolved,  That  the  practice  which  has  obtained 
among  buyers  of  establishing  a  maximum  price  to 
off'er  for  the  Ijcst  wools  of  a  ncighhorhood,  which 
is  sufficiently  low  to  enable  them  to  offer  nearly 
the  same  price  for  all  the  wools  of  that  neiglilior- 
hood,  thus,  in  effect,  sacrificing  the  interests  of  the 
gi-ower  who  aims  at  high  quality  and  condition, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  grower  of  inferior  and  dirty 
wools ;  directly  encourages  the  production  of  the 
latter,  and  otters  a  premium  on  those  l)ad  modes 
of  preparing  wools  for  market,  of  which  the  buyer 
60  loudly  complains ;  that  it  has  tended,  more  than 
all  other  causes  put  together,  to  the  debasement  of 
American  wools ;  that  when  the  buyer  will  make 
a  just  discrimination  in  favor  of  superior  quality 
and  condition,  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing them. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  no  proscriptive  combi- 
nations, and  that  we  utter  no  menaces  to  those  of 
our  number  who  do  not  carry  out  our  recommen- 
dations ;  nor  do  we  propose  to  be  in  the  least  de- 
gree influenced  by  such  action  on  the  part  of  oth- 
ers towards  the  persons  who  buy  of  us. 


■WOOL  SAMPLES  APPKOVED, 
We  learn  by  the  Boston  Cultivator  that  the 
committees  appointed  by  the  National  Wool 
Growers'  Association  and  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Wool  Manufacturers,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  examining  the  Samples  of  Wool  pre- 
pared by  Geo.  W.  Bond,  in  compliance  with 
a  provision  in  the  late  taritF  law,  met  at  the 
office  of  Mr.  Bond,  in  Congress  street,  Boston, 
May  23. 

These  committees  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen :  fr-om  the  Wool  Growers''  Asso- 
ciation, Henry  S.  Randall  of  N.  Y.,  Chair- 
man, with  N.  S.  Townshend  of  Ohio,  Ed. 
Hammond  of  Vt.,  A.  M.  Garland  of  111.,  and 
Burdett  Loomis  of  Ct.  ;  from  the  Wool  Manu- 
facturers'' Asssociation,  J.  Wiley  Edmunds  of 
Mass.,  Nelson  Kingsbury  of  Ct.,  and  John  L. 
Hayes,  of  Boston,  Secretary. 


Each  of  the  eight) -four  samples  were  thor- 
oughly and  critically  examined.  The  Cultiva- 
tor understands  that  but  one  of  the  samples 
was  changed,  and  one  omitted,  subject  to  the 
decision  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Having   completed   their   examination,    the 

following  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted 

and  signed  by  the  committee  and  transmitted 

to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  : — 

Resolved,  By  the  Committee  of  the  "National 
Wool  Growers'  Association,"  and  the  "National 
Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers,"  convened  in 
Boston,  May  2'2d,  1867,  under  the  authority  of  the 
Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  examine  the 
samjiles  of  wool,  hair,  &c.,  collected  and  prepared 
liy  Mr.  George  Wm.  Bond,  to  be  used  as  a  stamhird 
of'  cdiuparit^on  in  the  Custom  Houses  of  the  United 
States,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  March  2d, 
1867,  that  they  have  carefully  examined  and  com- 
pared all  the  said  samples  now  prepared,  and  that, 
as  finally  agreed  on,  they  are  suitable  for  the  ob- 
jects for  which  they  are  intended. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS     ANIMALS,    INCLUDING    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.  VI. 
Plant  Lice. 

The  insects  which  we  have  had  under  con- 
sideration in  previous  numbers  are  the  Agroti- 
dians,  cut  worms,  of  the  order  Lepidoptera — 
the  perfected  insects  of  which  are  moths  or 
millers,  having  four  wings  covered  with  branny 
scales.  Our  present  examples — the  Aphides, 
plant  lice,  belong  to  the  order  Hemiptera  and 
sub  order  Homoptera. 

Although  the  ditierent  orders  of  insects  have, 
very  properly,  received  their  names  from  some 
peculiarity  of  their  wings  in  the  adult  state,  as 
sheath  wings,  scaly  wings,  half  wings,  net 
wings,  &c.,  yet  they  have  other  distinguishing 
characteristics  ;  and  the  order  in  which  is  found 
the  plant  louse,  unlike  the  insects  with  jaws, 
take  their  nourishment  by  suction,  through  a 
horny  beak  provided  for  that  purpose.  Their 
transformations,  also,  are  only  partial,  the 
larva  and  pupa,  though  wingless,  resembling 
the  adult.  To  this  order  belong  various  bugs, 
as  the  squash  bug,  the  yellow  stripped  bug, 
the  chinch  bug  of  the  West,  the  bed  bug,  &c. 
A  perfect  plant  louse  has  four  wings,  perfect 
and  similar,  as  the  term  Homoptera  implies, 
although  the  posterior  pair  is  smaller. 

We  have  now  a  genus  of  very  small  animals 
under  consideration, — some  of  the  Aphidians 
being  so  minute  as  to  escape  common  observa- 
tion ;  yet  their  injuries  are  far  from  insignifi- 
cant. Indeed,  the  difficulty  of  repelling  the 
attacks  of  noxious  animals  is  nearly  in  an  in- 
verse ratio  to  their  size  ;  for  what  they  lack  in 
magnitude  is  more  than  made  up  in  number, 
while  their  minuteness  shields  them  from  our 
ordinary  means  of  destruction. 

The  genus  Aphis  embraces  a  vast  number 
of  species  of  various  sizes  and  colors ;  and 
there  is  scarcely  a  plant  that  grows,  that  on 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   EAEMER. 


341 


its  roots,  stem,  or  leaves,  is  not  occasionally 
infested  by  some  one  of  these  species.  The 
most  common  color  is  a  light  green,  nearly 
correspsnding  with  the  color  of  the  plant  on 
which  they  are  found  ;  though  the  Aphis  Cerasi 
— cherry  louse — is  nearly  black,  and  the  Aphis 
Avence — oat  louse — is  of  a  reddish  brown 
color. 

The  most  careless  observer  of  apple  trees 
must  have  frequently  noticed  the  Aphides  Mali 
— apple  tree  lice — and  their  effects,  the  curled 
leaves,  on  the  previously  rapidly  growing  twigs. 
He  must  have  noticed,  also,  that  such  twigs 
are  frequented  by  a  host  of  busy  ants,  passing 
up  and  down  the  tree.  The  almost  invariable 
association  of  these  two  very  different  insects 
on  the  apple  tree,  has  furnished  proof  positive 
to  some,  that  the  lice,  so  called,  were  the  off- 
spring of  the  ants ;  but  a  closer  examination 
of  the  louse,  especially  with  a  magnifier,  will 
disclose  two  processes  projecting  obliquely  up- 
ward, one  from  each  side  of  the  upper  half  of 
the  abdomen.  These  projections  are  called 
honey  tubes,  because  from  them  the  little  ani- 
mal at  short  intervals  excretes  a  sugary  fluid, 
in  taste  and  consistence  not  unlike  honey.  We 
suppose  that  this  excretion  is  not  true  fecal 
matter ;  for  the  like  appendages  on  the  grain 
louse,  according  to  Dr.  Fitch,  excrete  no  honey, 
and  as  we  infer,  nothing  else.  Again,  these 
abdominal  appendages  are  said  by  entomolo- 
gists to  secrete  the  sugary  fluid ;  and  this  would 
be  an  improper  expression  if  these  tubes  were 
mere  outlets  of  ordure  ;  and  it  would  also  be 
strange  indeed,  to  find  in  any  animal,  two  or 
three  such  outlets.  We  are  told  that  Aphides 
sometimes  colonize  on  the  leaves  of  high  trees, 
or  in  other  situations,  undiscovered  by  ants, 
where  the  accumulation  of  their  saccharine  ex- 
cretions takes  the  name  of  honey-dew ;  but 
this  should  not  be  confounded  with  another 
honey-dew  which  was  such  a  mystery  to  the 
ancients,  but  is  now  believed  to  be  an  extra- 
vasation of  sap,  condensed  by  the  air  and  heat 
of  summer. 

But  to  return  to  the  apple  tree  lice.  The 
organism  for  secreting  this  sugary  fluid  is  prob- 
ably in  the  honey  tube  itself  or  near  its  base. 
The  common  small  black  ants  of  the  fields, 
which  have  a  large  sugar-tooth  development, 
are  careful  that  none  of  that  insect  honey  dew 
shall  be  left  on  the  apple  trees  to  puzzle  mod- 
ern observers. 

We  are  not  surprised  at  the  remark  of  Reau- 
mur that,  "It  appears  that  nature  rears  Aphi- 
des on  plants  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  other 
insects,  which  without  them,  would  perish  with 
hunger,"  for  this  in  accordance  with  an  obvi- 
ous law  of  nature  ;  nor  are  we  surprised  that 
an  animal  should  have  an  organism  for  secret- 
ing irom  the  fluids  of  its  own  body  nourish- 
ment for  its  young,  for  such  an  organism  per- 
tains to  all  the  mammalia ;  but  that  an  animal 
should  have  an  organism  for  no  other  assign- 
able use  but  that  of  secreting  nourishment  for 
other  animals,  ia  most  strange  and  anomalous. 


Other  anomalies  pertaining    to  this  insect 
will  be  noticed  in  our  next  number. 

I.  B.  Hart  WELL,. 
Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   SALT    HAY   CROP    OF   ESSEX   CO. 

Essex  county,  Mass.,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
ocean,  is  somewhat  noted  for  the  crop  of  salt 
hay  which  it  produces  naturally  and  without 
cultivation.  It  is  an  interesting  subject  of  in- 
quiry whether  this  spontaneous  production  is, 
in  reality,  a  source  of  much  profit  and  wealth 
to  the  county. 

All  other  kinds  of  grasses,  except  fresh 
meadow,  or  what  is  called  swale,  require  some 
outlay  and  labor  in  their  cultivation  ;  and  un- 
less something  is  continually  added  to  the  land 
as  well  as  taken  away,  it  will  eventually  run 
out  and  hardly  pay  for  the  labor  of  getting  the 
the  crop.  But  the  salt  marsh  needs  no  ma- 
nuring or  working.  The  deposits  from  the  salt 
water  by  the  tides  being  suflicient  to  enrich  it, 
and  keep  it  in  the  same  condition  from  year  to 
year.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  be  incapable  of  im- 
provement to  any  great  extent.  All  that  has  ever 
been  done  to  improve  its  condition,  that  I  know 
of,  being  to  dig  ditches  about  one  foot  wide, 
and  two  or  three  feet  deep,  to  take  off  the 
water  quicker,  both  salt  and  fresh.  This  is  a 
great  unprovement  on  such  marshes  as  are  in- 
tersected by  creeks,  and  where  the  hay  is  re- 
moved by  boats.  It  takes  off  the  water  from 
low  places  and  "salt-ponds,"  where  it  would 
otherwise  remain  all  the  time  during  a  course 
of  high  tides.  It  also  prevents  the  formation 
in  low  places  of  a  sort  of  crust,  something  like 
hard  leather,  which,  when  dry,  completely  kills 
out  the  grass.  On  shore  marsh  it  has  been 
doubted  by  some  whether  ditching,  on  the 
whole,  was  productive  of  any  good  results. 
Although  it  increases  the  crop  frequently  two- 
fold, it  causes  the  marsh  to  produce  another 
kind  of  grass  which  is  lighter,  less  salt,  and 
inferior  in  value  to  what  it  bears  naturally. 
It  is  said  further,  that  while  it  increases  the 
quantity  for  a  few  years,  it  does  not  hold  out, 
but  grows  less  again. 

The  towns  of  Essex,  Ipswich,  Rowley,  New- 
buryport,  Gloucester  and  Lynn,  are  the  most 
distinguished  localities  for  this  kind  of  land ; 
but  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  adjoining  towns, 
to  the  distance  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  own 
perhaps  nearly  one-half  of  the  land,  and  make 
a  business  of  getting  the  hay  annually.  The 
harvest  commences  about  the  middle  or  last  of 
July  ;  and  holds  out  till  the  frosts  render  the 
hay  worthless.  As  the  land  will  not  admit  of 
ordinary  carting,  various  ways  are  practiced 
to  get  the  hay  ashore  from  the  marsh.  On 
shore-marsh,  where  the  distance  is  not  great, 
it  is  generally  carried  off  on  hay  poles.  Where 
the  distance  is  greater,  it  is  carted  off  by 
horses,  furnished  with  a  peculiar  kind  of  broad 
shoes  made  for  the  purpose,  on  racks  with  wide- 


342 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


July 


rimmed  wheels.  This  mode  injures  the  land 
considerably,  making  the  track  where  it  is  car- 
ried off  nearly  unproductive.  Large  quanti- 
ties are  annually  stacked  on  the  mart^h  on 
stakes  driven  into  the  ground,  and  projecting 
high  enough  to  keep  the  hay  out  of  the  way  ol' 
ordinary  tides,  to  be  removed  in  the  winter  by 
teams  when  the  creeks  are  frozen  over.  But 
probably  more  is  removed  by  boats  than  in  any 
other  way.  This  is  done  both  when  the  hay  is 
in  a  dry  and  green  state.  On  the  theory  that 
the  Salter  the  hay  the  better  it  is,  many 
think  that  the  quality  of  the  fodder  is  better 
when  it  can  be  cured  on  the  marsh,  rather 
than  be  moved  and  dried  on  the  upland. 
This  is  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  but  there 
is  much  difference  in  the  minds  of  farmers 
about  this ;  and  still  more  in  their  prac- 
tice, as  most  are  obliged  to  consult  their  neces- 
sities and  convenience,  as  the  business  must  be 
attended  to  frequently  on  such  a  day,  and  at 
such  hours,  or  run  the  risk  of  losing  the  labor 
and  the  hay. 

The  salt  hay  harvest,  under  any  circumstan- 
ces, but  especially  for  those  living  at  a  dis- 
tance, is  very  hard  and  laborious.  As  stated 
above,  on  account  of  the  weather  and  tides, 
and  tlie  distance,  it  is  always  necessary  to  at- 
tend to  the  work  in  good  earnest  when  we  get 
there.  Drones  and  lazy  persons,  though  thej' 
may  be  endured  at  home,  cannot  be  tolerated 
at  all  here.  Even  those  of  delicate  constitu- 
tions, or  slightly  indisposed,  however  good 
their  intentions,  are  generally  advised  to  stay 
at  home.  Employers  and  laborers,  too,  in  this 
work  must  not  be  over  nice  as  regards  refined 
and  literary  associates  in  labor ;  nor  too  exact 
as  to  set  hours  of  work.  The  advocates  of 
the  eight  hour  system  will,  I  think,  find  it  very 
difficult  to  make  a  rule  that  will  work  well  in 
the  salt  hay  harvest.  Twelve,  fifteen,  and  even 
eighteen  hours,  owing  to  high  ■"'inds,  tides  and 
disappointments,  are  sometimes  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  day's  Avork,  and  attain  the  ob- 
ject contemplated  in  the  morning ;  and  this, 
when  it  cannot  be  helped,  ought  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  by  laborers  without  complaining. 
But  the  exposure,  hard  work,  and  long  days 
necessary  iii  this  employment,  are  partly  bal- 
anced by  the  excitement,  hilarity  and  good  liv- 
ing which  very  often  go  with  it ;  so  that  labor- 
ers, as  a  general  thing,  of  robust  health  are  not 
averse  to  engaging  in  it.  The  business  is  re- 
garded as  healthy  for  most  people. 

Thirty  years  ago  salt  hay  was  worth  from 
eight  to  twelve  dollars  per  ton  in  the  market, 
and  the  price  of  labor  was  $1  to  $1.25  per 
day.  At  j)resent  it  is  worth  from  $20  to  $25 
per  ton,  and  the  price  of  labor  is  $2  or  $2.50 
per  day,  and  board. 

INIarsh  land,  for  the  purposes  of  taxation,  is 
vahunl  by  the  assessors  at  about  thirty  dollars 
per  acr(!.  When  sold  at  auction  or  private 
sail',  the  price  varies  according  to  quality  and 
location;  but  the  above  may  be  considered  a 
fair  average  price.    We  think  one  ton  to  an  acre 


may  be  considered  an  average  crop.  Some 
acres  will  produce  two  tons. 

When  the  hay  has  to  be  freighted  an  ordin- 
ary distance,  one  man  is  reckoned  to  perform 
the  labor  of  getting  one-h;df  acre,  or  about 
twelve  cwt.  of  hay,  in  a  day.  'Ihe  hay  is  then 
landed  and  spread  on  the  upland,  or  loaded 
on  wagons  to  be  carted  to  ihe  owner,  in  a 
green  state  ;  making  the  expense  of  getting  it 
in  this  way,  including  wharfage  and  boat  and 
other  incidental  items,  in  round  numbers,  about 
seven  dollars  per  ton.  It  then  has  to  be  cured  ; 
the  only  labor  required  in  good  weather  being 
to  turn  it  once,  and  rake  it  up.  The  expense 
of  carting  it  five  miles  is  about  $2.50  per  ton. 
Thus  making  the  whole  cost  of  getting  and 
hauling  five  miles,  about  $12  per  ton. 

Of  course  these  statistics  will  be  varied  very 
much  by  the  weather,  tides,  &c.  ;  but  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  I  think  it  will  be  seen 
that  a  fair  profit  is  left  for  the  owner.  Those 
who  live  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  marsh 
can  doubtless  secure  the  crop  some  cheaper 
and  easier  than  those  who  live  more  remote. 
And  the  shore  marsh  yields  less  burden,  but 
of  a  better  quality  than  the  broad  marsh  ;  and 
tlie  expense  of  getting  it  is  less.  The  hay  that 
Is  freighted  varies  much  In  quality  ;  some  kinds 
of  coarse  thatch  being  worth  but  little  except 
for  manure.  It  is  excellent  for  that,  and  is 
largely  used  by  some  farmers  for  litter,  &c., 
after  being  picked  over  by  the  cattle. 

This  kind  of  fodder  appears  to  be  growing 
in  favor  with  the  community.  It  is  more  ex- 
tensively teamed  to  Boston  and  other  places 
remote  from  its  locality,  than  formerly,  and 
finds  a  ready  market.  In  the  immediate  vicinity 
where  it  grows,  it  is  fed  out  to  all  kinds  of 
stock.  It  was  formerly  thought  not  to  be  good 
for  horses ;  but  the  writer  has  been  informed 
that  some  horses  have  been  wintered  entirely 
on  the  coarser  kinds,  with  the  addition  ol  some 
meal  daily,  and  were  very  strong  and  In  good 
condition  all  the  time.  .It  is  frequently  mixed 
with  swale  hay,  and  fed  out  to  oxen  and  cows, 
which  will  thus  consume  both  kinds,  when  the 
meadow  hay  would  not  be  eaten  at  all  alone. 

Its  nature  is  to  Impart  flesh  and  strength  to 
animals  rather  than  fat.  AVorking  oxen  kept 
chiefly  on  the  better  kinds  have  been  noted 
for  their  sleek  appearance,  and  their  strength 
and  ability  to  labor ;  but  it  is  never  used  for 
the  purpose  of  fattening.  It  should  not  be 
fed  out  extensively  to  cows  giving  milk. 
They  will  eat  it  ulth  great  avidity  alter  being 
confmed  to  fresh  fodder ;  and  a  small  (juantlty 
Is  beneficial  and  even  necessary  for  them.  But 
the  milk  I'rom  cows  kept  principally  on  salt  hay, 
though  of  the  better  kinds.  Is  n\)t  to  be  blue 
and  thin,  and  of  a  disagreeable  taste. 

I  think  the  liicts  fairly  warrant  me  in  saying 
that  a  certain  amount  of  this  kind  of  Ibdder, 
though  it  may  not  be  absolutely  necessary  for 
stock.  Is  very  beneficial,  and  that  Ihe  statistics 
show  that  farmers  get  ordinarily  a  fair  compen- 
sation  for  their   labor   and   capital   invested. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


343 


Like  almost  everything  else,  the  business  may 
be  carried  to  excess  and  overdone.  I  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  the  salt  hay  crop  is  a  bene- 
fitto  the  farmers  of"  Essex  county  ;  and  I  submit 
that  all  farmers  who  do  not  have  to  go  more 
than  seven  or  eight  miles  are  better  off  for  hav- 
ing a  share  in  it.  N.  B.  Butler. 
Hamilton,  Mass.,  March  28,  1867. 


coming  season  for  harvesting  acrop  of  "dried 

grass.'''' 

UP   IN   THE    BARN. 


Remarks. — We  have  sometimes  doubted 
whether  the  salt  hay  crop  of  Essex  county, 
has  been  profitable  to  the  farmers  who  harvest 
it ;  but  the  facts  so  clearly  and  minutely  stated 
in  the  above  well  drawn  article,  make  us  agree 
with  the  writer  in  the  result  to  which  he  has 
arrived,  viz  : — that  farmers  who  do  not  have 
to  go  more  than  seven  or  eight  miles  for  it 
may  be  better  off  for  having  a  share  in  it. 


FEEDING  EAJILT  CUT  GRASS. 
In  some  notes  on  the  farm  of  Hon.  Harris 
Lewis  of  Frankfort,  N.  Y.,  President  of  the 
Little  Falls  Farmers'  Club,  by  Mr.  X.  A. 
Willard,  in  the  Corintry  Gentleman,  we  find 
the  following  remarks  on  his  use  of  early  cut 
hay  :— 

Mr.  Lewis  holds  that  grass,  all  things  con- 
sidered, is  the  best  food  for  milch  cows  ;  and 
that  dried  grass  is  cheaper  and  better  for  cows 
in  the  spring,  than  hay  and  grain.  He  usually 
commences  cutting  his  grass  in  June — cures  it, 
if  possible,  without  rain,  and  so  that  it  will 
come  out  of  the  mow  with  a  bright  green  col- 
or, and  with  the  fragrance  of  newly  mown  hay. 
This  he  uses  for  cows  giving  milk  in  spring, 
before  turning  out  to  pasture. 

He  used  to  feed  his  cows  in  spring  with 
grains,  ship-stuffs,  &c. — often  what  would  be 
called  "high  feeding" — but  found  it  to  result 
in  various  troubles  and  serious  losses  ;  garget 
attacked  the  udder,  ill-health  prevailed  in  va- 
rious ways,  and  his  cows  gave  out  sooner  than 
they  ought.  He  then  changed  to  his  present 
system  of  feeding,  and  with  the  most  happy 
results.  His  cows  are  healthy,  they  keep 
in  flesh,  they  yield  a  good  supply  of  milk,  and 
it  is  all  done  with  much  less  expense  than  the 
grain  feeding.  His  cows  to-day  (May  13th,) 
are  in  good  flesh,  thrifty,  healthy  and  strong, 
and  yet  they  have  not  had  a  mouthful  of  gram 
or  any  other  feed  than  "dried  grass.''"' 

We  have  given  the  facts,  and  they  may  per- 
haps be  suggestive  to  those  who  have  been 
paying  out  large  sums  for  grain  to  feed,  and 
who  perhaps  have  troubles  in  their  herds  for 
which  they  are  unable  to  account.  If  the  sys- 
tem adopted  by  Mr.  Lewis  is  the  true  one, 
(and  he  contends  that  it  is,)  then  it  should  be 
generally  introduced.  To  say  the  least,  it  is 
worth  the  testing,  and  our  stockmen  and  dai- 
rymen will  do  well  to  make  some  provision  the 


BT   THOMA9  LACKLAND. 


Old  Farmer  Joe  steps  through  the  doors 

As  wide  to  him  as  gates  of  Thebes ; 
And  thoughtful  walks  about  the  tioorfl 
Whereon  are  piled  his  winter  stores, 
And  counts  the  profits  of  his  glebes. 

Ten  tons  of  timothy  up  there, 

And  four  of  clover  in  the  bay; 
Red-top  that's  cut,  well,  middlin'  fair, 
And  bins  of  roots,  oblong  and  gquare, 

To  help  eke  out  the  crops  of  hay. 

A  dozen  head  of  cattle  stand 
Reflective  in  the  leaf-strewn  yard; 

Axid  stalks  are  stacked  on  every  hand, 

The  latest  offering  of  the  land 
To  labor  long  maintained  and  hard. 

Cart-loads  of  pumpkins  yonder  lie — 

The  horse  is  feeding  in  his  stall. 
The  oats  arc  bundled  scaflbld  high, 
And  peas  and  beans  are  heaped  hard  by, 
As  if  there  were  some  festival. 

At  length  Old  Farmer  Joe  sits  down — 

A  patch  across  each  of  his  knees ; 
He  crowds  his  hat  back  on  his  crown, 
Then  clasps  his  hands — so  hard  and  brown— 
And,  like  a  farmer,  takes  his  ease. 

"How  fast  the  years  do  go  I" 

"It  seems,  in  fact,  but  yesterday. 
That  in  this  very  barn,  we  three- 
David,  Ezekiel  and  me — 
Pitched  in  the  summer  loads  of  hay  I 

David — he  sails  his  clipper  now; 

And  'Zekiel  died  in  Mexico— 
Some  one  must  stay  and  ride  to  plow, 
Get  up  the  horse  and  milk  the  cow — 

And  who,  of  course,  but  little  Joe. 

I  might  have  been — I  can't  tell  what  I 
Who  knows  about  it  till  he  tries? 

I  might  have  settled  in  some  spot, 

Where  money  is  more  easy  got; 
Perhaps  beneath  Pacific's  skies. 

I  might  have  preached,  like  Parson  Jones; 

Or  got  a  living  at  the  law  ; 
I  might  have  gone  to  Congress,  sure} 
I  might  have  kept  a  Water  Cure ; 

I  might  have  gone  and  been — oh,  pshaw  I 

Far  better  is  it  as  it  is ; 

What  future  waits  him,  no  man  knows: 
What  he  has  got,  that  stire,  is  hisj 
It  makes  no  odds  if  stocks  have  riz, 

Or  politicians  come  to  blows  I 

Content  is  rich  and  somethin'  more— 
I  think  I've  heard  somebody  say; 

If  it  rains,  it's  apt  to  pour; 

And  I  am  rich  on  the  barn  floor, 
Where  all  is  mine  that  I  can  raise. 

I've  plowed  and  mowed  this  dear  old  farm. 

Till  not  a  rod  but  what  I  know; 
I've  kept  the  old  folks  snug  and  warm — 
And  lived  without  a  twinge  of  harm — 
I  don't  care  how  the  storm  might  blow. 

And  on  this  same  old  farm  I'll  stay, 
And  raise  my  cattle  and  my  corn ; 

Here  shall  these  hairs  turn  wholly  gray; 

These  feet  shall  never  learn  to  stray; 
But  I  will  die  where  I  was  born.'' 

And  Farmer  Joe  pulled  down  his  hat. 
And  stood  upon  his  feet  once  more; 

He  would  not  argue,  after  that. 

But,  like  a  born  aristocrat, 
Kept  on  bis  walk  about  the  floor. 


844 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


July 


CIESIITM  (CARDDTJS)    ARVENSE. 

"Vitium  agrorum  apud  nos  primarium  est.''"' 
This  will  be  readily  translated  by  many  a  far- 
mer's boy  who  never  studied  Latin  at  all. 
Just  look  at  the  picture  ! — "Canada  Thistle — 
it  is  the  greatest  pest  of  our  fields."  Right, 
first  time. 

But  why  call  it  Canada  Thistle?  If  you 
look  in  Webster's  large  Dictionary,  you  will 
see  what  it  is  called  in  some  half  a  dozen  Eu- 
ropean languages,  where  it  is  execrated  as 
heartily  by  barefooted  children,  and  bare- 
handed boys  and  men — by  the-  Latins,  the 
French,  Germans,  English,  &c., — as  it  is  by 
us  here  in  America.  It  is  supposed  that  it 
emigrated  to  this  continent  with  the  Canadian 
French,  who  came  from  Normandy,  where  it 
was  known  to  abound.  From  Canada  it  might 
have  been  smuggled  into  the  States,  or  possi- 
bly it  crossed  the  Line  under  sonae  "reciprocity 
treaty"  of  old.  At  any  rate,  it  is  here,  to  our 
sorrow,  and  the  question  now  is  what  shall  we 
do  with  it?  Is  it  to  go  wherever  we  go,  bud- 
ding and  Ijlossoining  on  every  acre  wc  culti- 
vate, and  extending  the  germs  of  its  pernicious 


existence  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  over  the 
broad  prairies  and  fertile  valleys  of  the  West, 
as  it  has  over  so  large  a  portion  of  our  New 
England  farms  ? 


Soiling  and  Wheat  in  Massachusetts. 
— Mr.  Jas.  L.  Humphrey  of  New  Bedford  in- 
forms the  New  York  Farmers'  Club  that  he 
tried  spring  vetches  for  soiling  last  summer, 
and  likes  them  much.  He  sowed  them  on 
ground  which  was  prepared  for  barley,  and 
obtained  a  large  crop,  which  his  cows  relished 
highly.  He  fed  it  alternately  with  sweet  com. 
He  had  always  found  one  difficulty  in  feeding 
largely  on  sweet  com, — it  has  a  tendency  to  in- 
duce garget ;  but  as  he  fed  it  last  year,  there 
was  no  trouble  in  that  direction.  After  clear- 
ing the  ground  from  the  vetches,  which  it  left 
very  mellow,  plowed  and  sowed  to  white  win- 
ter wheat  and  grass  seed,  giving  an  application 
of  ashes  at  the  last  harrowing,  and  now  the 
wlieat  looks  finely.  He  has  never  had  trouble 
in  raising  good  wheat  on  rich  ground,  early 
sown  and  fed  off  once  during  the  fall ;  having 
once  raised  32  bushels  Southern  white  wheat 
to  the  acre. 


Caterpillars. — Thanks,  that  we  have  a 
partial  deliverance  from  the  pest.  We  have 
visited  some  hundreds  of  trees,  and  among 
them  all  have  not  yet  found  half  so  many  cater- 
pillars as  we  found  last  year  on  two  dozen  trees. 
Who  can  tell  us  what  has  arrested  them  so 
suddenly  ?  We  have  been  told,  June  2,  that  the 
canker  worm  has  not  made  his  appearance  in 
any  large  numbers.  How  utterly  beyond  the 
power  of  man  the  progress  of  these  minute 
creatures  has  been,  and  yet  how  silently  and 
effectually  their  march  has  been  stayed  by  Him 
who  ruleth  all  things.  "Thus  far  shalt  thou 
go,"  is  the  fiat  which  they  must  obey,  as  well  as 
the  proud  waves  of  the  sea.  How  well  it  be- 
comes us  to  be  humble,  trusting  and  hqpeful, 
in  a  position  where  we  know  so  little  of  the 
operation  of  natural  laws  about  us. 


Heavy  Fleece. — We  are  informed  by  a 
correspondent  that  O.  C.  Burton,  of  Wind- 
ham, Vt.,  sheared  a  fleece  of  thirteen  months' 
growth,  that  weighed  25  lbs.  2  oz.,  from  a 
ram  four  years  old  in  June,  that  weighed  133 
lbs.  after  being  shorn.  He  was  sired  by  the 
famous  Ilotchkiss  buck,  Hampton,  N.  Y.,  and 
was  bought  by  Eli  Ray,  of  East  Foultney,  Vt. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


345 


HAKVESTLRTG  THE  SMALL  GBAXNS. 
ERY  little  critical  observa- 
tion has  been  given  by  our 
people  as  to  the  particu- 
lar period  in  the  growth  of  wheat, 
barley,  rye,  and  oats,  when  it  is 
best  to  cut  them,  to  secure  the  larg- 
est amount  and  best  quality  of  the 
nutriment  which  they  severally  con- 
tain. A  few  careful  experiments  have  been 
made  by  American  farmers,  and  many  in  Eng- 
land and  other  European  countries.  Where- 
ever  they  have  occurred,  the  testimony  is  uni- 
form that  in,  order  to  secure  the  best  results, 
grain  should  be  cut  some  days  before  it  is  fully 
ripe. 

In  the  harvest  which  will  soon  take  place, 
there  will  be  opportunity  for  every  farmer  to 
test  the  question  for  himself,  by  cutting  a  por- 
tion of  his  grain  at  that  moment  when  the  ker- 
nel or  berry  is  fully  formed,  but  so  soft  that 
when  he  squeezes  it  between  his  thumb  nails 
he  can  reduce  it  to  a  pulp,  and  notice  a  slightly 
milky  juice  in  the  mashed  mass.  Then  leave 
a  portion  of  the  grain  standing  ten  or  twelve 
days  later,  and  upon  threshing,  cleaning  up, 
grinding  and  using,  carefully  compare  the  re- 
sults. 

If  this  course  were  adopted  by  three  or  four 
intelligent  farmers  in  every  neighborhood,  and 
reported  to  the  agricultural  papers,  it  would 
do  much  to  settle  the  question  and  introduce  a 
practice  which,  in  the  aggregate,  would  save 
many  thousands  of  dollars  to  the  farmers  of 
New  England.  In  the  West  it  might  be  mil- 
lions. 

According  to  an  experiment  by  Mr.  John 
Hannam,  of  North  Deighton,  England,  it  was 
evident  that  the  wheat  reaped  a  fortnight  be- 
fore it  was  ripe,  had  the  advantage  of  the  ripe 
in  every  point. 

1.  In  weight  of  gross  produce,  13  1-5  per 
cent. 

2.  In  weight  of  equal  measures,  nearly  1-2 
per  cent. 

3.  In  weight  of  equal  number  of  grains, 
nearly  2  1-5  per  cent. 

4.  In  quality  and  value,  3  1-4  per  cent. 

5.  In  weight  of  straw,  more  than  5  per  cent. 
Some  of  the  advantages,  then,  in  cutting 

grain  before  it  is  fully  ripe,  besides  the  better 
quality  and  the  intrinsic  value  of  nfiore  than 
three  and  one-fourth  per  cent,  are : 


1.  That  the  straw  is  of  a  better  quality, 
which  is  an  item  of  importance,  now  that  all 
kinds  of  fodder  for  horses  and  cattle  are  sell- 
ing at  prices  entirely  unprecedented,  we  be- 
lieve, in  this  or  any  other  country.  Sir  H. 
Davy  says  that  in  the  sap  of  wheat,  the  straw, 
and  in  all  succulent  plants,  there  is  naturally 
a  great  proportion  of  mucilaginous  and  sac- 
charine matter,  and  the  greatest  proportion  of 
this  is  present  before  the  flower  is  dead  ripe. 
So  in  wheat,  when  we  allow  the  straw  to  re- 
main till  thoroughly  ripe,  a  portion  of  the  sugar 
is  converted,  by  the  action  of  light,  heat,  &c., 
into  mucilage,  and  a  great  proportion  of  the 
nutritive  powers  are  absorbed  by  the  atmos- 
phere, or  lost  in  some  manner;  for,  as  Mr. 
Sinclair  observes,  there  is  a  great  difference 
between  straws  or  leaves  that  have  been  dried 
after  they  were  cut  in  a  succulent  state,  and 
those  which  are  dried  by  nature  while  growing. 
The  former  retain&W  their  nutritive  powers,  but 
the  latter  i£  completely  dry,  very  little,  if  any. 
2.  We  have  a  better  chance  of  securing  the 
crop.  All  grasses  and  grains  are  more  readily 
and  cheaply  harvested  in  July  than  in  August. 
The  days  are  long,  the  sun  hot,  the  atmos- 
phere more  clear  and  with  more  air  than  later 
in  the  season.  So  that,  if  we  cut  grain  ten 
days  or  a  fortnight  before  it  thoroughly  ripens, 
we  shall  be  quite  likely  to  have  secured  the 
whole  harvest  at  about  the  time  when  we  have 
heretofore  just  commenced  it. 


THE    CUKCULIO. 

The  Prairie  Farmer  of  June  1  closes  some 

remarks  upon  the  ravages  of  this  insect  on  the 

peach  crop  in  Southern  Illinois,  and  of  the 

means  adopted  for  its  destruction,  with  the 

following  paragraph : 

The  Editor  of  the  New  England  Farmer  as- 
serts in  his  last  issue  that,  in  spite  of  this  insect's 
numbers  and  depredations,  entomologists  are  ig- 
norant of  its  manner  of  passing  the  winter,  or 
what  becomes  of  it  at  that  time.  This  is  a  mis- 
take. Entomologists  know,  and  most  fniit  men 
know,  said  editor  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding, 
that  the  curculio  hibernates  in  the  perfect  or  beetle 
state,  and  its  natural  history  is  as  well  known  as 
that  of  the  cow. 

This  we  regard  as  a  rather  strong  represen- 
tation of  our  language,  and  as  a  pretty  strong 
statement  of  the  knowledge  claimed  by  ento- 
mologists of  the  history  of  the  curculio  from 
the  time  it  assumes  the  perfect  state  in  July  or 
August,  to  its  appearance  on  the  young  fruit 
the  succeeding  spring. 


346 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAEMER. 


July 


In  another  column  of  the  same  paper,  the 
following  commendatory  sentence  is  quoted  in 
an  editorial  notice  of  Dr.  Warder's  new  work 
on  the  apple:  "To  say  that  we  are  pleased 
with  this  book  is  but  a  tame  expression ;  we 
are  delighted,  for  it  gives  us  new  facts — it 
places  Western  pomology  on  a  firm  basis." 

Now,  does  Dr.  Warder  claim  to  be  as 
familiar  with  the  natural  history  of  the  cur- 
culio,  as  with  that  of  the  cow  ?  On  the  con- 
trary, he  speaks  of  it  as  "the  noted  and  noto- 
rious, and  yet  little  known.  Plum  Weevil." 
This,  surely,  is  a  rather  "tame"  confession  for 
the  author  of  a  practical  book  on  pomology, 
intended,  specially  with  all  its  "new  facts,"  for 
a  section  in  which  the  ravages  of  this  insect 
are  as  serious  as  they  appear  to  be,  from  the 
statements  of  some  of  the  most  careful  ob- 
servers in  the  '  'favored  northwest."  Dr.  Walsh, 
of  Rock  Island,  Illinois,  says:  "Out  of  the 
choicest  apples  selected  for  exhibition  at  our 
State  Fairs,  a  large  proportion  will  be  found, 
on  close  inspection,  to  be  more  or  less  blem- 
ished from  this  cause."  Dr.  Hall,  of  Alton, 
111.,  "does  not  recollect  to  have  seen  a  single 
apple  the  past  season,  grown  at  that  point,  that 
did  not  contain  from  one  to  twenty  or  more 
punctures  made  by  this  insect."  If  these  are 
facts,  is  Western  pomology  placed  on  a  firm 
basis  by  a  work  which  devotes  less  than  a  page 
to  this  "noted  and  notorious,  and  yet  little 
known"  pest? 

The  most  complete  history  of  the  curculio 
that  we  have  ever  seen,  is  that.by  Dr.  Walsh, 
occupying  thirteen  columns  in  the  April  num- 
ber of  the  Practical  Entomologist.  He  de- 
scribes, particularly,  three  distinct  snout-beetles 
of  the  curculio  family — the  "True  Curculio;" 
the  "Plum  Gouger,"  and  the  "Four-humped 
Curculio." 

The  True  Curculio,  (Conotrachelus  Nen- 
upliar,  Herbst,)  he  says  may  be  distinguished 
from  all  other  North  American  snout-beetles, 
by  having  on  the  middle  of  each  of  his  wings 
an  elongate,  knife-edged  hump,  which  is  black 
and  shining,  so  as  to  resemble  a  piece  of  black 
sealing  wax.  Behind  these  two  humps  there 
is  usually  placed  a  broad  clay-yellow  band, 
marked  in  the  middle  with  white ;  but  some- 
times this  entire  band  is  white. 

The  Plum  Gouger,  {Anthonomus  pruni- 
c\da,  Walsh,)  though  often  confounded  with 
tUc  curculio,  and  sometimes  supposed  to  be  the 
male  of  that  insect,  bore^.  a  round  bole  like 


the  puncture  of  a  pin,  wherein  to  deposit  its 
egg,  instead  of  the  crescent  of  the  curculio, 
making  five  or  six  such  holes  in  the  plum, 
from  which  the  gum  exudes.  The  larva?  bore 
directly  into  the  kernel,  on  which  they  exclu- 
sively feed. 

The  Four-Humped  Cxtrculio,  (Anthono- 
mus  A-gibbus,  Say,)  is  of  a  dull  brown  color, 
shading  into  red-rust  behind,  with  four  pro- 
jecting humps  on  its  wing-cases,  none  of  which 
are  shinging  black?  as  in  the  case  of  the  com- 
mon "curculio." 

Dr.  Walsh  gives  the  following  characteris- 
tics of  these  three  curculios,  by  which  one 
may  be  distinguished  from  the  other. 

The  common  "Curculio"  has  a  snout  which 
hangs  down  like  the  trunk  of  an  elephant,  and 
which  he  can,  whenever  he  chooses,  fold  back- 
wards between  his  legs,  although  he  has  no  power 
to  project  it«straight  forwards.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Plum-gouger  and  the  Four-humped  Curculio 
usually  carry  their  snouts  projected  horizontally 
or  nearly  so,  in  front  of  them  ;  but  upon  occasion 
can  depress  them  vertically,  although  they  have 
no  power  to  fold  them  backwards  between  their 
legs.  Of  these  two,  thus  agreeing  as  to  the  struc- 
ture of  their  snouts,  the  Plum-gouger  is  at  once 
distinguishable  by  having  a  smooth  l)ack,  without 
any  humps  on  it,  whereas  the  Four-humped  Cur- 
culio, as  its  name  indicates,  has  two  very  conspic- 
uous humps  on  eaeh  of  his  wing  cases.  As  re- 
gards their  habits,  the  common  Curculio  infests 
stone  fruit  more  especially,  but  not  unfrequently 
has  been  known  to  attack  pip-fruit;  while,  so  far 
as  is  at  present  known,  the  Plum-gouger  is  exclu- 
sively confined  to  stoue  fruit,  and  the  Four-humped 
Curculio  to  pip-ft-uit. 

We  are  tempted  to  extend  these  extracts, 
but  must  confine  ourselves  to  what  the  writer 
says  of  the  history  of  the  curculio  after  reach- 
ing its  perfect  state — of  how  and  where,  in 
fact,  it  passes  some  ten  months  in  each  year, 
and  what  it  does  for  a  living  from  July  to  May. 

In  relation  to  the  true  curculio,  Mr.  Walsh 

says : 

Some  of  these  perfect  beetles  come  out  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  July — some  in  August — some  as 
late  as  the  latter  end  of  September.  Hence,  as  it 
seemed  incredible  that  a  beetle  coming  out  in  July 
should  live  all  through  the  winter,  and  until  the 
next  season's  crop  of  plums  were  set,  and  as  no 
one  had  as  yet  ascertained  that  any  "Curculio" 
hybeniated  in  the  beetle  state.  Dr.  Fitch,  and,  in 
the  earlier  edition  of  his  work.  Dr.  Harris,  have 
suggested  the  lij'pothcsis  that  the  species  is  double- 
brooded  ;  the  second  brood  l)cing  supposed  from 
the  analogy  of  a  very  distinct  snout-bectle  which 
attacks  the  plum  in  Europe  (Rlii/n'ckitcs  ctiprcus,) 
to  lay  its  eggs  in  the  twigs  of  the  infested  trees, 
the  iarvie  jiroeceding  from  which  eggs  pass  the 
winter  in  the  twig,  and  afterwards  produce  the 
beetles  that  sting  the  fruit  in  the  following  sum- 
mer. (xV.  Y.  Rep.  11  §  52,  and  Inj.  Ins.  edit.  1841, 
p.  68.)  But,  in  the  first  place,  there  is  no  proof  of 
any  such  fact ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  I  have 
already  shown  that  Dr.  Trimble  actually  found 
specimens  of  the  "Curculio"  hybcrnating  under 
the  shingles  of  a  roof,  in  the  chinks  of  stono  walU, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


347 


and  under  the  bark  of  an  apple  tree;  {Frutf  In- 
sects, p.  99;)  and  since  then  I  have  been  informed 
by  Mr.  Rathvon,  that  he  has  himself  found  speci- 
mens hybcrnating  under  the  bark  of  the  clierry 
and  the  wild  c  herry  in  the  months  of  March  and 
November.  Dr.  Harris  has  also  recorded  the  fact, 
that  he  has  "found  these  beetles  as  early  as  the 
30th  of  March,"  {InJ.  Ins.  p.  75,)  apparently  in  the 
latitude  of  Massachusetts — a  fact  which  is  quite 
irreconcilable  with  the  hypothesis  of  their  having 
come  out  from  the  pupa  state  at  so  early  a  date 
in  so  cold  a  climate,  and  evidently  implies  that 
they  must  have  passed  the  winter  in  the  perfect 
state,  and  been  tempted,  as  often  happens  in  such 
cases,  by  some  peculiarly  tine  and  warm  day,  to 
come  forth  temporarily  from  their  winter  quiirters 
into  the  open  air.  The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  that 
most  authors  have  been  disponed  to  underrate  the 
duration  of  insect  life  during  the  perfect  or  winged 
state,  putting  the  average  period  at  a  few  days  or 
weeks,  when  perhaps  a  few  months  would  be  near- 
er the  mark.  There  is  little  doubt  now,  in  my 
mind,  that  the  "Curculios"  bred  from  the  fruit  of 
one  year  are  the  same  individuals  that  puncture 
the  fruit  of  the  following  year." 

Of  the  Plum-gouger  he  says  : 

Occasionally,  at  all  events,  and  probably  as  a 
general  rule,  the  larva  of  this  snout-beetle,  instead 
of  going  underground  to  transform  into  the  pupa 
state,  as  that  of  the  common  "Curculio"  almost 
always  docs,  transfonns  inside  the  stone  of  the 
fruit  which  it  inhabits,  the  perfect  beetle  emerging 
as  usual,  through  a  round  hole  which  the  larva 
had  previously  cut  for  that  express  purpose. 

His  knowledge,  or  rather  his  want  of  knowl- 
edge, of  the  history  of  the  Four-humped  Cur- 
culio, is  stated  with  that  frankness  and  mod- 
esty which  ever  characterize  the  truly  scientific 
investigator : 

I  have  never  traced  this  insect  through  its  trans- 
formations, and  do  not  know  how  long  the  larva 
remains  in  the  infested  fruit — whetner  it  retires 
underground  to  transform  or  transforms  wiihiu 
the  apple — or  whether  the  perfect  beetle  makes  its 
appearance  the  same  season  or  in  the  following 
spring.  Neither  do  I  know  whether  apples  con- 
taining these  larva;  fall  prematurely  from  the  tree. 
Mr.  Cutter  observes,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to 
jar  thete  snout-beetles  ofi'thc  tree  on  to  ihe  sheets. 
I  have  always  myself  succeeded  in  dislodging  any 
number  of  them  from  crab  and  thorn  trees,  by 
beating  the  boughs  into  an  inverted  umbrella. 
But  no  doubt,  as  it  belongs  to  the  same  genus,  and 
has  the  same  structural  peculiarities  as  the  Plum- 
gouger,  it  will  require  equally  severe  jarring  to 
bring  it  to  the  ground.  Whether  it  can  be  effectu- 
ally counterworked  in  any  other  manner,  can  only 
be  told  atter  we  become  more  fully  acquainted 
with  its  habits. 

He  then  adds : 

There  are  several  other  snout-beetles  which  in- 
fest fruit  trees,  either  cultivated  or  wild ;  but  their 
history  and  habits  yet  remain  to  be  fully  investi- 
gated, and  I  hope  to  be  able  to  devote  some  con- 
siderable attention  to  this  subject  during  the  com- 
ing season. 

We  cannot  close  this  article  without  remark- 
ing that  this  one  paper  on  the  curculio  is  richly 
worth  the  price  of  a  year's  subscription  to  the 
Practical  Entomologist,  published  at  Philadel- 
phia, at  50c  per  year,  nor  without  expressing 


the  hope  that  the  natural  history  of  this  insect 
will  soon  be,  if  it  is  not  now,  "as  well  known 
as  that  of  the  cow." 

Although  some  four  columns  of  this  article 
are  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  the  means 
of  destroying  the  curculio,  we  find  nothing 
new  in  the  suggestions  of  Dr.  Walsh.  Gath- 
ering up  and  destroying  the  fruit  by  children 
or  pigs  ;  jarring  the  insects  upon  sheets  ;  and 
dusting  the  tree  thoroughly  with  air-slaked 
lime,  are  the  only  remedies  which  are  not  pro- 
nounced "moonshine."  He  does,  however, 
recommend  an  improved  sheet  apparatus,  con- 
sisting of  a  light  frame,  on  a  wheel,  or  a  sort 
of  extended  wheel  barrow,  of  some  11  feet 
wide  by  13  long,  covered  with  cloth,  with  an 
opening  to  admit  the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  near 
the  centre  of  the  platform,  where  a  suitable 
bunter  is  placed,  by  which  the  tree  is  jarred. 
As  the  insects  fall  they  roll  into  depressed 
places  in  the  sheet,  and  from  thence  into  pock- 
ets or  sacks,  from  which  they  may  be  taken 
and  destroyed' 


HIS  CO-W^S  Ali-WAYS  DO  WELL. 
In  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club, 
Mr.  J.  L.  Humphrey  of  New  Bedford,  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  management  by 
which  his  cows  are  exempt  from  caked  bag, 
and  other  diseases  which  afflict  many  dairies  : — 

I  never  have  any  trouble  in  that  direction, 
no  matter  how  fat  the  cow  may  be  at  the  time 
of  calving.  I  keep  the  best  cows  that  1  can 
get,  and  find  it  the  most  profitable  for  my  pur- 
pose to  have  them  calve  only  once  in  eighteen 
months.  I  feed  moderately  on  grain — gener- 
ally oats  and  corn  mixed,  with  the  addition  of 
roots  during  the  winter — so  that  my  cows, 
though  they  may  milk  down  thin  during  the 
first  six  or  eight  months,  will  always  come  up 
again  in  flesh  before  I  dry  them  off.  I  never 
let  them  go  dry  less  than  ttoo  months  ;  three  is 
better  if  it  occurs  in  summer,  and  I  always 
take  away  the  grain  as  soon  as  they  are  dry, 
and  sometimes  before,  if  too  much  inclined  to 
milk.  P"or  two  or  three  weeks  before  calving 
1  keep  them  on  a  spare  but  laxative  diet — if  in 
winter  early  cut  hay  or  corn  fodder  and  hay 
with  a  few  roots  but  no  straw.  After  calving 
give  one  pound  of  Epsom  salts,  and  a  few  hours 
after  a  warm  brari  mash — scalding  the  bran 
with  boiling  water — commencing  to  feed  a 
little  hay  in  twelve  hours  from  calving,  and 
gradually  increasing  to  full  feed  after  two  or 
three  days.  Since  I  have  adopted  this  course 
I  have  had  no  trouble  with  the  bag  but  what 
would  readily  jield  to  a  few  applications  of 
hot  water  followed  hy  dry  rubbing. 


348 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARaiER. 


JULT 


PBUfCIPLES   nsrVOIiVED    IN   HOEINO 
CORN. 

HE  popular  opinion  is,  that  hoeing  is 

_  done  merely  to  kill  weeds.     It  will 

E^  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  faithful 

hoeing  does   much  more  than  this, 

even  to  warming,  moistening,   and  manuring 

the  soil  while  hoeing  up  the  weeds. 

The  air  about  us  is  always  moist.  The 
hotter  the  day  the  more  moist  it  is.  It  has 
been  ascertained  that  in  a  hot  day  in  July, 
more  than  thirteen  hundred  gallons  of  water 
have  been  found  to  evaporate  from  a  single 
acre  of  land.  The  soil  has  a  strong  attraction 
for  water,  and  it  is  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
atmosphere  to  penetrate  the  soil,  and  moisten 
it,  as  well  as  to  give  us  the  breath  of  life. 
But  the  soil,  on  its  part,  must  be  in  a  suitable 
condition  to  receive  it.  If  the  surface  is  com- 
pact the  air  cannot  readily  enter  it.  When 
the  weeds  are  destroyed  by  the  hoe,  the  sur- 
face is  made  loose,  the  air  penetrates  it  freely, 
and  carries  along  the  moisture  it  contains,  and 
tlitis  waters  tliejield. 

It  follows,  then,  that  a  field  often  hoed, 
whether  there  are  weeds  or  not,  will  withstand 
a  drought  better  than  one  that  is  not  hoed. 

The  soil  is  as  active  as  the  air,  for  the  mo- 
ment the  air  enters,  the  soil  robs  it  of  its 
moisture  and  passes  it  along  to  the  roots  of 
the  plants.  Thus  a  carefully  cultivated  field 
may  be  covered  with  luxuriant  crops  during  a 
drought,  while  those  on  the  hard  surface  of  an- 
other may  be  perishing  for  want  of  moisture. 

The  air  also  contains  other  elements  besides 
moisture.  One  of  them  is  ammonia,  which  is 
exceedingly  valuable  to  crops,  and  it  is  sifted 
from  the  atmosphere  by  the  falling  rain. 
When  the  surface  of  the  field  is  fine,  showers 
readily  penetrate  it,  carry  the  ammonia  down 
into  the  soil,  and  thus  manure  it  by  every 
rain  that  falls.  The  water  passes  along, — the 
ammonia  it  contains  touches  minerals  that  are 
in  the  soil,  and  dissolving  portions  of  them, 
supplies  the,  roots  of  plants  with  the  food  they 
need. 

Were  it  not  for  the  agency  of  ammonia, 
soils  might  abound  in  valuable  minerals  which 
would  remain  inactive,  and  crops  upon  them 
would  fail  to  come  to  perfection.  Thus,  it 
seems  clear,  that  keeping  soils  in  a  porous 
condition,  results  in  an  actual  manuring  of 
them. 

Water  thus  admitted  to  the  soil  contains  a 


sensible  amount  of  Jieat,  which  is  arrested  by 
it,  and  kept  there  to  warm  and  stimulate  the 
roots  of  plants. 

Is  it  not  clear,  then,  attentive  reader,  that 
frequently  stirring  the  soil  does  actually  de- 
stroy weeds,  moisten  the  soil,  warm  the  soil 
and  manure  it  ?  The  theory  is  rational  and 
sustained  by  often-repeated  experiments. 
Every  farmer  may  satisfy  himself  by  a  little 
care  and  considerable  observation,  that  the 
operation  of  hoeing  has  an  eflacacy  entirely 
beyond  that  of  merely  destroying  the  weeds. 

We  are  not  yet  sufficiently  systematic  and 
pains- taking  in  our  farm  work.  We  do  not 
generally  realize  the  fact,  that  thorough  tillage 
is  almost  as  good  for  the  crop  as  a  light  appli- 
cation of  manure  to  lands  cultivated  in  a  slov- 
enly manner. 

We  must  feel  assured  of  the  fact  that  tillage 
has  the  same  effect  as  manure ;  that  the  literal 
meaning  of  the  word  manure  is  hand  labor,  as 
well  as  of  a  dressing.  To  manure  the  land  is 
to  hoe,  to  stir  the  soil,  to  expose  it  to  the  at- 
mosphere, to  plow,  to  harrow,  to  cultivate,  in 
addition  to  all  we  can  get  from  the  stalls,  or 
in  any  other  way,  as  manure. 

The  ancient  Romans  made  Sterculius  a  god 
because  he  discovered  that  the  droppings  of 
animals  had  the  same  effect  upon  the  soil  as  to 
hoe  it ! 

Keep  these  facts  in  mind,  and  hoe,  hoe,  hoe, 
until  harvests  are  ready  to  be  gathered  if  a 
weed  is  to  be  found  among  them. 


QBOWTH   OF   INDIA.N   CORM". 

There  are  various  opinions  among  farmers, 
as  to  the  best  time  for  planting  Indian  corn. 
Some  contend  that  the  seed  must  be  put  in 
the  10th  of  May,  others  prefer  the  20th,  while 
a  third  class  are  governed  more  by  the  season 
and  the  condition  of  the  soil,  than  by  any  dates. 

AVe  have  before  us  an  old  "table  of  the 
growth  of  Indian  corn,  showing  the  number  of 
days  from  planting,  for  each  period  of  growth. '' 
From  this  it  appears  that  the  principal  circum- 
stance which  caused  any  difference  of  growth 
was  in  the  time  of  planting.  What  was 
planted  about  the  beginning  of  May,  appears 
to  have  required  from  eighty-six  to  eighty-nine 
days  to  be  fit  for  eating.  What  was  planted 
earlier  look  a  longer  time  to  come  forward 
and  did  not  ripen  at  so  early  a  date  as  that  at 
the  beginning  of  May.  That  planted  in  July 
lost  in  the  fall  the  time  it  gained  in  summer, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAOT)   FARMER. 


349 


and  furnished  green  com  for  the  beginning  of 
October.  That  planted  about  the  middle  of 
June,  kept  its  growth  the  whole  summer,  and 
became  fit  for  eating  in  seventy-two  days. 

In  our  own  practice,  we  have  found  corn 
that  was  planted  during  the  first  five  days  in 
June,  to  do  just  as  well  as  that  planted  on  the 
the  20th  May.  If  planted  early  it  has  the 
recommendation  of  being  done  and  out  of  the 
way.  Corn  that  is  planted  too  early,  however, 
comes  up  in  a  sickly  condition,  and  has  a  feeble 
habit  which  it  takes  a  long  time  to  recover  from. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
VARIOUS    MATTERS. 

Mr.  Editor  : — What  has  become  of  the  cat- 
erpillars this  year?  In  our  neighborhood  we 
have  not  a  tenth  part  of  the  usual  "crop." 
They  hatched  well,  about  the  23d  of  April, 
then  came  the  cold  and  rainy  week  which 
seemed  to  finish  the  young  broods.  Can  your 
readers  in  other  localities  make  a  similar  re- 
port ?  Certain  it  is  that,  around  our  diggings, 
there  is  a  most  extraordinary  scarcity  of  these 
annuals. 

One  of  your  correspondents  recently  in- 
quired how  he  could  best  preserve  eggs.  Let 
him  pack  them  ends  upward,  in  a  cask,  or  bar- 
rel, with  oats,  rice  shucks,  or  sawdust ;  head 
them  up  and  place  them  in  a  cool  place,  tak- 
ing care  to  ttun  the  barrel  over,  end  for  end, 
every  two  or  three  days.  Eggs  thus  packed 
can  be  easily  kept  for  many  weeks,  if  not  ex- 
posed to  extreme  heat  or  cold. 

In  regard  to  raising  plums,  I  have  been 
quite  successful,  though  living  where  the  cur- 
culio  feels  quite  at  home.  I  depended  mostly 
upon  the  trees  when  quite  small.  A  plum  tree 
soon  comes  into  bearing.  I  have  gathered 
heavy  crops  from  trees  of  two  or  three  inches  in 
diameter.  Of  course  the  curculio  is  the  only 
hindrance.  I  used  to  have  a  sheet  tacked  to 
a  couple  of  poles,  spread  it  under  each  tree 
morning  and  evening  from  the  time  fruit  was 
the  size  of  a  pea  until  the  pits  were  formed,  and 
then  jar  the  tree  with  my  hand.  The  "little 
turks"  fell  as  though  they  were  lifeless,  as  in- 
deed they  very  soon  became  in  consequence  of 
a  smart  pinch  between  my  thumb  and  fingers. 
On  a  white  sheet  the  eye  soon  detects  them, 
lying  curled  up,  shamming  dead,  and  very  much 
resembling  raisin  seeds.  It  is  not  much  trouble 
to  attend  to  a  dozen  trees  for  a  month  or  so. 
By  the  time  my  trees  were  too  large  to  jar  with 
the  hands,  they  were  pretty  well  overrun  with 
the  black  knot,  so  I  removed  them  altogether, 
and  put  young  trees  in  their  places,  which 
came  into  bearing  in  about  three  years. 

As  for  the  Black  Knot,  I  know  not  what  it 
is,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  any  satisfactory  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  its  cause.  There  is  but 
just  one  remedy  for  it,  and  that  not  effectual ; 


the  KNIFE.  Spare  not.  The  moment  the  ex- 
crescence pushes  out  in  the  bark,  cut  it  off,  and 
cut  deep.  Regard  not  the  scar  left  behind.  If 
a  limb  be  badly  affected,  even  though  it  be  a 
large  one,  cut  it  entirely  away  and  burn  it.  If 
the  difficulty  is  in  the  main  trunk,  cut  the 
bark  quite  down  to  the  wood,  without  fear.  A 
little  spirits  of  turpentine  applied  to  the  wound 
does  no  harm,  and  if  there  be  insects,  as  some 
contend  there  are,  they  will  be  surely  killed. 
In  this  way  only  can  the  plum  tree  be  kept  in 
good  condition.  And  as  soon  as  the  disease 
has  spread  quite  over  the  main  stems  and 
branches,  as  it  generally  will  in  time,  it  is 
much  better  to  remove  the  old  and  plant  a 
young  tree  in  its  place.  Although  you  cannot 
expect  so  large  crops,  the  fruit  will  be  fairer 
and  better,  while  it  will  be  much  easier  raised. 

Canker  worms  are  now  busy  at  their  work 
of  destruction.  They  are  not  as  plenty  as 
usual,  many  of  them,  as  I  think,  having  been 
killed  by  the  cold  spell  before  mentioned.  But 
there  are  a  plenty  left.  By  and  by,  when  the 
green  leaves  have  given  place  to  the  inevitable 
"sere  and  yellow"  which  marks  their  track,  I 
want  you  to  go  with  me  some  afternoon  and  I 
will  show  you  the  result — not  of  speculation — 
but  of  determination.  I  want  you  to  look 
upon  an  orchard  of  over  six  hundred  trees,  in 
which  you  would  become  poor  at  hunting  can- 
ker worms  at  a  shilling  apiece,  while  upon 
three  sides  adjacent,  it  is,  as  Captain  Cuttle 
would  say,  "quite  the  reverse."  The  trees 
have  been  protected,  in  truth  as  well  as  in 
theory.  And,  having  used  your  eyes,  I  want 
you  to  use  your  pen,  and  tell  anybody  and 
everybody  that  whosoever  will  can  escape  the 
periodical  picture  of  desolation  which  we  are 
so  accustomed  to  see  around  us.  Idex. 

Newton,  Mass.,  June  6,  1867. 


SHEEP   DISEASES. 
We  copy  the  following  report  of  a  talk  upon 
this  suljject  at  a  late  meeting  of  wool  growers 
in  Michigan,  from  the  Prairie  Farmer. 

Mr.  C.  E.  Stewart  being  called  upon,  stated 
that  he  had  lost  quite  a  number  of  sheep  for 
two  years  past,  mostly  ram  lambs.  Last  year 
paid  but  little  attention  to  it ;  this  spring  had 
paid  much  attenlion  to  examining  the  cases, 
and  practicing  upon  them.  Last  year  his  sheep 
commenced  dying  after  they  had  ber  n  on  grass 
about  four  weeks.  Thought  at  the  time  the 
trouble  was  with  their  kidneys.  The  symptoms 
observed,  were  falling  out  of  the  fiock,  stop- 
ping by  a  fence  in  a  drooping  weak  condition ; 
would  revive  and  then  be  worse.  They  were 
inclined  to  drink  heartily  just  before  death 
took  place.  Examinations  showed  the  vital 
organs  healthy ;  but  found  in  the  small  intes- 
tines innumerable  small  worms,  resembling 
hair  in  plastering  mortar.  Found  linseed  oil 
and  turpentine  in  doses  of  two  ounces  recom- 
mended for  worms ;  gave  it  to  four  sheep,  and 


350 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


JUI,T 


they  died  in  twenty  minutes ;  reduced  the 
dose  one-half,  and  gave  it  to  more  of  the  flock 
— no  more  died. 

This  year  the  same  symptoms  appeared,  be- 
fore I  turned  them  out ;  got  the  preparation 
again,  gave  it  to  one,  it  died  in  five  minutes  ; 
found  very  few  worms,  but  the  liver  was  seri- 
ously affected ;  very  rotten  and  brittle  ;  little 
blood  in  the  animal,  and  that  of  poor  quality. 
Consulted  family  physician,  and  concluded  the 
trouble  was  what  is  known  in  England  as  the 
"rot,"  but  did  not  in  all  respects  answer  the 
description ;  gave  tonics,  also  whiskey,  gen- 
tian, &c  ;  they  had  no  effect  except  for  a  short 
time.  Found  salt  recommended,  tried  it  vig- 
orously— a  tablespoonful  at  a  dose — have  now 
lost  none  since  commencing  to  give  it.  Have 
noticed  the  following  symptoms :  Ears  and 
nose  cold,  eyes  and  skin  pale  white,  like  a 
dead  animaFs  skin.  Wool  does  not  seem  to 
be  affected,  as  it  is  bright  and  oily  when  re- 
moved from  a  dead  sheep.  Would  caution  every 
body  against  the  turpentine  and  oil  remedy. 

Mr.  Martin  had  noticed  the  attacks  in  his 
flock  among  the  yearlings ;  tried  to  keep  them 
up,  by  high  feeding,  but  they  commenced  dy- 
ing April  1st,  lost  all  the  two-year-olds.  Found 
a  swelling  under  the  lower  jaw,  a  spongy,  wa- 
tery mass,  that  when  lanced  discharged  a  clear 
liquid,  freely.  On  examining  sheep  that  died, 
found  this  watery  substance  extending  over 
the  whole  body,  between  the  skin  and  flesh ; 
examined  brain,  found  nothing  unnatural. 

Mr.  Thompson  of  Ohio  was  one  of  the  un- 
fortunates ;  had  lost  valuable  sheep,  found  the 
presence  of  grubs  in  the  head,  thought  that 
was  the  trouble.  By  the  advice  of  a  neigh- 
bor, tried  tobacco  juice  and  turpentine,  (in- 
jected into  the  nose  a  tablespoonful  each,)  on 
the  balance  of  flock ;  lost  no  more. 


PRUNING   DWARF   PEARS. 

This  subject  was  pretty  freely  discussed  by 
the  horticulturists  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  at  a  late 
meeting. 

Mr.  Marshall  said  that  some  kinds  of  pears 
needed  more  pruning  than  others,  but  gener- 
ally the  neglect  of  pruning  would  soon  result 
in  the  death  of  the  tree,  as  the  tree,  if  left  to 
grow  without  check,  would  kill  itself. 

Mr.  Elliot  said  that  the  public  generally 
wanted  tall,  straight  trees,  and  in  conformity  to 
this,  the  nurserymen  had  got  to  trimming  up 
the  stems,  leaving  a  few  lateral  branches  so  as 
to  form  a  little  top.  And  again,  they  grow 
them  so  thick  in  the  rows  that  they  had  but 
little  chance  to  form  that  bushy  head  which 
was  desirable.  However,  taking  the  tree  as 
it  came  from  the  nursery,  getting  thrifty  one- 
year-old  trees,  if  possible,  he  would  cut  back 
severel) — that  is,  cut  back  all  the  laterals  to 
one  or  two  buds,  and  cut  the  top  down  enough 
to  make  the  dormant  buds  in  the  stem  near  the 
ground,  start ;  this  would  leave  nearly  a  naked 


stem  about  two  feet  high.  The  first  year,  he 
would  do  no  more  to  it ;  the  second  spring  he 
would  cut  back  the  last  year's  growth  to  two 
or  three  buds,  leaving  the  tree  in  a  round, 
bushy  shape,  getting  the  head  as  low  and  near 
the  ground  as  possible.  This  process  of  spring 
pruning  was  to  be  continued  until  the  head  was 
formed,  with  perhaps  some  exceptions,  to  wit, 
as  one  of  them,  if  a  tree  grow  very  strong,  as 
was  sometimes  the  case,  throwing  up  shoots 
four,  six  or  seven  feet  long,  he  would  leave  them 
until  about  the  20th  of  July,  and  then  cut  away 
about  two-thirds  of  the  previous  year's  growth. 
The  reason  for  this  is,  that  if  cut  in  the  spring, 
the  vigor  of  the  tree  would  cause  a  new  growth 
of  strong,  thrifty  shoots;  while,  if  left  until 
the  20th  July,  the  growth  would  be  checked, 
and  the  formation  of^  fruit  spurs  induced.  For 
the  same  reason,  he  would  do  much  of  his 
pruning  by  pinching  in  the  ends  of  the   limbs. 


From  Once  a  Week. 


JULY. 


BY  JULIA  GODDARD. 


Throughout  the  house  a  dreamy  stillness  stole. 
The  watchdog  slept,  scarce  buzzed  the  lazy  fly; 
The  clock  ticked  on  with  solemn  measured  toue, 
Counting  the  drowsy  moments  of  July. 

Through  quaint-shaped  panes  the  mellow  light  crept  in, 
And  traced  lare  brown-gold  shadows  on  the  floor; 
The  air  was  heavy  with  the  scent  that  hung 
Around  the  clematis  that  framed  the  door. 

Through  the  clipped  arches  of  the  olden  yew 
I  passed,  and  very  silence  reigned  around; 
As  though  the  earth  by  some  enchanter's  spell 
In  magic  sleep  were  bound. 

The  peaches  slumbered  on  the  garden  wall, 
The  dew  upon  their  crimson  cheeks  was  wet; 
The  red  ripe  strawberries  gleamed  amid  their  leaves 
Like  rubies  in  a  ducal  coronet. 

The  feathery  wheat  stood  still  as  fairy  spears, 
Borne  by  a  million  transfixed  sentinels; 
The  harebell  was  asleep,  nor  woke  to  ring, 
In  honor  of  July,  her  tiny  bells. 

The  flame-tongued  nightshade  drooped  her  purple  pride, 
Yet  held  entranced  the  hedges  where  she  clung; 
And  wearied  theri'  her  trails  of  blossoms  white 
The  wild  couvolvolvus  flung. 

The  river  with  its  wavcless  waters  lay 
All  motionless  as  a  pure  crystal  sea; 
Another  landscape  painted  on  its  tide, 
With  spire,  and  siiil,  and  tree. 

Close  by  the  rush  grown  bank  a  boat  was  moored, 
8o still,  it  slirred  not  on  the  river's  breast; 
The  world  was  hushed,  and  Nature  at  my  feet 
Lay  wrapped  in  perfect  rest. 

Like  to  the  princess  in  the  story  old, 
She  in  her  beauty  slept, — oh,  sight  of  bliss  I 
Waiting  until  some  poet  heart  should  come 
And  wake  her  with  his  kiss. 

O  wake  1  O  wake  I  and  breathe  into  my  soul 
Thy  soul,  that  rightly  I  of  thee  may  sing; 
Or — sleep  for  ever,  in  thy  beauty  veiled, 
'Neath  July's  wing. 


—  Prof.  Nycc  admits  that  neither  strawberries 
nor  peaches  can  bo  preserved  in  his  fruit  bouses. 
Catawaba  grapes  have  been  kept  till  the  next  crop. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


351 


^itbks'    fetpitrtmcnt. 


DOMESTIC    ECONOMY; 


HOW    TO    MAKE    HOME   PLEASANT. 


BY      ANNE      O.      HALE. 


[Entered  according  to  Act  of  CongreBS,  in  the  year 
18G6,  by  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co.,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the 
District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts.] 


CHAPTER  V. 
HOUSE  PLANTS  AND  THEIR  CULTURE. 
Violet. — The  name  of  this  pretty  little  flower 
is  of  Latin  derivation,  and  refers  to  the  ordinary 
home  of  the  plant,  by  the  waj'side,  whenec  it  is 
frequently  gathered  in  the  country.  It  is  found  in 
all  countries  of  the  temperates  zones,  and  on  the 
mountains  of  the  tropics.  It  has  always  been  ad- 
mired for  its  simple  beauty  and  its  fragrance.  A 
wine  was  made  from  the  blossoms  by  the  ancient 
Homans ;  and  sherbet,  the  favorite  beverage  of  the 
Turks,  is  composed  of  a  syrup  of  violets  mingled 
with  water,  and  is  said  to  be  very  delicious.  A 
Mohammedan  tradition  declares  that  "the  excel- 
lence of  the  violet  is  as  the  excellence  of  El  Islam 
above  all  other  religions."  The  flower  grows  in 
great  beauty  on  the  islands  of  the  Mediterranean ; 
and  Pa^stum  of  the  old  time  boasted  of  its  violets, 
which,  according  to  Rogers,  the  English  poet, 
were  as  proverbial  as  their  roses. 

The  violet  is  one  of  our  commonest,  as  well  as 
prettiest,  wild  flowers, — more  than  twenty  differ- 
ent species  have  been  recognized  in  the  flora  of 
North  America.  It  is  perhaps  better  known,  and 
more  universally  admired,  than  any  other  native 
production ;  and  our  poets  have  not  been  back- 
ward in  singing  its  praises.  Alice  Carey,  in  re- 
counting "The  verdurous  season's  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses," includes  "The  buds  that  ease  hearts  love- 
lorn ;"  and  compares  the  setting  sun  amid  clouds 
to 

"Yellow  violets  springing  bright 

From  furrows  newly  turned." 

Mrs.  Sigourney  speaks  of 

"Tlie  healthful  odor 
Of  the  bright  eyed  violets;" 
and  of 

"The  bowed  violet,  that  through  chilling  scenes 
Turns  to  the  sun  that  cheered  it." 
Street  says — 

"The  violet,  nestling  low. 

Casts  back  the  white  lid  of  its  urn. 

Its  purple  streaks  to  show. 

Bryant  calls  it,  as  do  many  of  the  English,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  heart's-ease,  "the  May  vio- 
let." He  also  terms  it  "That  delicate  forest  flow- 
er with  scented  breath,  and  look  so  like  a  smile." 
And  Whittier  sings  of  "The  violet  sprinkled  sod," 


and  of  "The  amber  violet's  leaves."  But,  by  far 
the  most  beautiful  tribute  has  been  paid  to  the 
flower  in  the  verses  of  J.  Russell  Lowell,  from 
which  I  cannot  forbear  making  the  following  ex- 
tract : 

Violet  I  sweet  violet  I 
Thine  eyes  are  full  of  tears. 
Are  they  wet 
Even  yet. 
With  the  thought  of  other  years  ? 
Or  with  gladness  are  they  full, 
For  the  night  so  beautiful, 
And  longing  for  those  far-oflf  spheres  ? 

Thy  little  heart,  that  hath  with  love 
Grown  colored  like  the  sky  above, — 
On  which  thou  lookest  ever, — 
Can  it  know 
All  the  woe 
Of  hope  for  what  returneth  never  ? 
All  the  sorrow  and  the  longing 
To  these  hearts  of  ours  belonging? 

Out  on  it  I  no  foolish  pining 
For  the  sky. 
Dims  thine  eye. 
Or  for  the  stars  so  dimly  shining. 
Violet,  dear  violat, 
Thy  blue  eyes  are  only  wet 
With  joy  and  love  of  Him  who  sent  thee. 
Which  make  thee  all  that  nature  meant  thee." 
Anyof  our  violets— white,  blue,  or  yellow— repay 
transplanting  to  the  garden,  or  cultivation  in  the 
house,  if  set  in  soil  of  loam  and  leaf  mould,  and 
kept  cool  and  shady,  except  when  near  Ijlooming. 
But  the  dark,  purple  English  violet,  which  has 
been  frequently  made  to  bear  double  flowers,  is 
most  generally  seen  among  parlor  plants ;  or  the 
Neapolitan  violet,  whose  flowers  are  larger  and 
exceedingly    fragrant,  though  of  a  light  color. 
These  foreign  flowers  are  raised  from  division  of 
the  root,  or  cuttings  taken  in  June,  and  covered 
with  a  tumbler,  and  afterward  set  in  a  soil  of  sand, 
loam,  and  decayed  leaves  or  other  vegetable  mould. 
The  pots   should  be  well  drained  with  sherds. 
They  need  water  often,  usually  twice  a  day;  but 
very  little  at  a  time ;  if  the  water  is  allowed  to  re- 
main about  their  roots  they  will  die.    Our  native 
violets  should  be  kept  damp,  always,  also,  but  not 
wet. 

Wall-flower,  called  also  gilliflower,  a  connip- 
tion of  July  flower,  because  the  plant  is  generally 
ready  to  bloom  in  that  month  when  cultivated  out- 
of-doors.  It  gi-ows  wild  on  the  old  ivied  walls  of 
ruined  castles,  and  on  the  chalky  cliffs  by  the  sea- 
coast,  in  England,— hence  it  is  called  wall-flower, 
and  clifi-flower.  In  ancient  times  the  English  la- 
dies, or  dames,  as  they  were  then  styled,  took  such 
pleasure  in  cultivating  this  plant  and  in  wearing 
its  blossoms  as  decorations,  that  the  title  of  dame's 
violet  was  given  it.  It  was  regarded  by  the  trou- 
badours as  an  emblem  of  faithfulness  in  its  habit 
of  clinging  amid  ruin  and  desolation  to  the  spot 
that  first  tenderly  cherished  it,  and  it  is  often 
mentioned  in  their  madrigals  and  ballads.  It  also 
grows  wild  in  Arabia,  and  is  greatly  admired  there. 


852 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


July 


The  blossom  of  the  wall-flower  is  craeifonn— 
shaped  like  the  Maltese  cross— having  only  four 
petals  in  its  natural  state.  By  cultivation  the 
stamens  have  been  changed  to  petals— thus  mak- 
ing it  double ;  as  is  often  the  case  in  plants— the 
violet,  for  example.  But  from  being  raised  in  un- 
suitable soil,  or  by  neglect,  they  are  apt  to  return 
to  their  original  habit  of  bearing  single  flowers. 
The  wall-flower,  when  raised  from  seed,  seldom 
blooms  till  the  second  year  in  the  garden;  but 
plants  can  be  potted  in  September,  and,  with  prop- 
er care,  will  bloom  in  the  house  as  winter  flowers, 
and  then  be  transplanted  to  the  garden  in  May, 
when  cuttings  should  be  taken  to  form  other 
plants  for  the  next  winter.  These  cuttings  will  l)e 
obtained  by  pruning  the  parent  plant,  which  it  will 
then  need ;  and  care  must  be  taken  that  both  the 
old  plants  and  the  new  cuttings  are  set  in  very  rich, 
light  soil,  or  they  will  become  single.  A  bed  of 
rich  loam  and  decayed  vcgetalile  matter,  or  leaf- 
mould,  with  the  addition  of  sand— to  make  it  light 
— will  be  the  most  suitable  arrangement  for  them 
till  the  M\.  Then  take  what  you  wish  for  the 
winter,  and  .fill  pots  one-quarter  full  with  cinders, 
and  upon-this  an  inch  of  compost  made  like  that 
which  formed  the  bed,  and  remove  to  this  the 
plants,  with  a  ball  of  soil  about  their  roots.  Fill 
in  the  compost  lightly,  and  press  it  gently  with  the 
potting-stick,  to  make  it  firm.  Water  them  often, 
but  little  at  a  time,  and  keep  them  in  the  shade  a 
week  or  ten  days ;  then  let  them  have  the  sun- 
shine. In  October  bring  them  to  the  parlor,  and 
give  them  liquid  manure,  as  you  do  pansies,  and 
verbenas,  and  petunias.  Those  bearing  dark-col- 
ored flowers  are  the  most  hardy,  as  also  the  most 
fragrant;  and  are  more  flagrant  at  night  than 
through  the  day.  With  proper  care  a  wall-flower 
will  live  sevei-al  years  and  bear  an  abundance  of 
beautiful  flowers.  Stocks,  sometimes  called  stock 
gilliflowcrs,  are  often  confounded  with  the  wall- 
flower, which  they  resemble  in  some  respects  ;  but 
they  belong  to  a  different  genus,  and  are  only  an- 
nual plants,— very  seldom  living  beyond  their  first 
summer. 

We  have  now  gone  through  our  list.  It  was  not 
intended  to  include  all  plants  that  are  cultivated 
in  the  house,  but  I  trust  that  the  selection  presents 
sufficient  variety,  both  of  form  and  color,  to  suit 
the  most  fastidious.  If  any  of  my  renders  have 
parlor  plants  which  have  not  l^een  mentioned  here, 
I  hope  tlicy  will  try  to  acquaint  themselves  with 
the  propensities  and  habits  of  each  one,  individual- 
ly ;  and,  by  comparing  these  observations  with  the 
descriptions  and  directions  furnislied  above,  l)e 
enabled  to  give  every  plant  its  proper  nourishment 
and  care. 

When  you  have  decided  what  plants  to  cultivate, 
and  have  arranged  them  so  that  they  may  receive 
light,  air,  heat,  and  water  to  the  best  advantage, 
don't  ibrgct  that  regularity  in  supplying  these  re- 
quisites is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Set  apart  a 
particular  portion  of  each  day  to  attend  to  them, 


and  let  that  time  be  as  early  as  possible  after  your 
morning  duties  to  your  family  have  been  per- 
formed. Once  a  week  a  double  portion  of  time 
will  be  needed,  to  give  both  pots  and  plants  a 
thorough  cleansing ;  and  that  is  all  that  they  will 
require  besides  these  few  minutes  in  the  morning 
of  every  day ; — unless  you  have  among  your  num- 
ber those  whose  full-blown  flowers  need  a  change 
of  position  before  the  sun  reaches  its  noonday 
height,  or  others  that  must  have  a  second  water- 
ing just  before  it  sets. 

In  the  cultivation  of  plants  you  wish  not  only  to 
gratify  your  own  taste,  but  to  encourage  in  your 
children  a  love  of  beauty  and  order,  and  to  fur- 
nish them  with  subjects  for  profitable  conversation 
and  high  and  holy  thought.  So  you  will  endeavor 
to  gather  from  every  source,  personal  observa- 
tion, intercourse  with  friends,  and  reading  of 
books  and  papers  relating  to  the  matter,  all  infor- 
mation that  can  add  interest  to  your  plants  or  to 
their  culture.  Let  the  boys  and  girls,  themselves, 
when  they  are  old  enough,  help  you  in  caring  for 
the  flowers.  As  an  especial  favor,  allow  them  to 
claim  ownership  of  one  or  more  plants  ;  it  is  such 
a  proud  day  for  a  child  when  he,  or  she,  can  say 
of  anything  living  or  growing,  "It  is  my  veiy  own 
— to  use  as  I  please,"  that  I  wonder  parents  do  not 
earlier  and  more  frequently  grant  them  this  hann- 
less  indulgence.  They  are  always  glad  of  the  means 
thus  furnished  them  for  being  generous  and  benev 
olent ;  and  find  nuich  happiness  in  bestowing  apret- 
ty  flower  on  a  poor  child  who  has  looked  with  covet- 
ous eyes  upon  the  temptingdisplay  in  the  window; 
and  in  preparing  little  sui-prises  of  floral  gifts  for 
father  and  mother,  or  other  members  of  the  fami- 
ly, on  birthdays  and  other  festivals.  With  what 
delight,  too,  they  make  tiny  bouquets,  or  gather  a 
few  geranium  leaves  for  a  beloved  teacher,  or  a 
sick  friend.  And,  then,  if  death  comes,  and  their 
bright  faces  are  shadowed  by  solemn  thoughts, 
how  many  beautiful  lessons  of  love  and  hope  and 
trusting  faith  the  flowers  can  teach  them,  as  their 
trembling  fingers  weave  them  into  emljlems  of 
sorrowing  affection.  And  as  they  lay  these  gifts 
upon  the  last  resting-place  of  loved  ones,  will  they 
not  be  reminded  of  the  gi-eat  mystery  of  the  re- 
sm-reetion ;  and  calling  to  mind  the  insignificant 
seed  from  which  so  much  loveliness  has  arisen, 
can  they  not  more  clearly  comprehend  the  mean- 
ing of  the  blessed  words,  "God  giveth  it  a  body  as 
it  hath  pleased  Him.  It  is  sown  in  corrui)tion,  it 
is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness, 
it  is  raised  in  strength  ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  body, 
it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  For  this  corruptible 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must 
put  on  immortality." 

If  the  children  thus  share  in  owning  your  plants, 
they  will  be  quick  to  render  assistance  in  promot- 
ing their  welfare,— and  this  will  not  be  slight,  nor 
of  small  importance.  A  girl  of  seven  years  old 
can  take  as  good  care  in  watering  plants,  and  in 
clearing  them  of  insects,  as  a  grown  person,  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


353 


this  is  the  usual  daily  work.  And  a  boy,  as  soon 
as  he  can  use  a  jack-knife,  will  find  that  he  also 
can  render  important  service.  First,  he  can  make 
straight,  smooth  rods — which  may  be  stained  some 
dark  color — to  A\hich  his  mother  will  want  to  tie 
her  geranium  branches,  or  petunias,  or  fuchsias. 
When  he  has  made  himself  perfect  in  these  he  can 
tiy  his  hand  at  making  trellises,  or  frames,  for 
calceolarias  or  heliotropes.  If  he  cannot  smoothly 
cut  a  square,  straight  strip  of  wood,  almost  any 
house-carpenter  will  give  him  such,  which  he  has 
thrown  aside  with  his  refuse  trimmings.  It  should 
be  about  an  inch  wide,  and  from  two  to  three  feet 
long,  according  to  the  height  the  plant  is  expected 
to  attain.  Bore  in  this  a  row  of  holes  about  an 
inch  and  a  half  apart.  Then  get  a  long,  slim  cane 
of  rattan, — such  as  was  once  used  in  making  bon- 
nets,— or  a  wire,  and  draw  it  through  the  holes  so 
as  to  have  loops  of  the  cane  or  wire  on  each  side  of 
the  wood.  Whittle  the  end  of  the  wood  to  a  point, 
that  it  may  enter  the  soil  easily ;  and  then  stain 
the  frame  and  it  is  finished.  An  older  boy  will  be 
proud  to  make  his  mother  a  flower-stand.  Of 
these  she  will  need  two,  if  not  more ;  one  like  that 
mentioned  in  Chapter  II,  and  another,  on  which  to 
place  a  camellia,  a  calla  lily,  or  a  rosebush  when 
in  bloom.  For  this  last,  which  is  intended  to  ac- 
commodate but  one  flower-pot,  a  very  pretty  plan 
is  the  following : — Saw  from  a  round  log  of  wood 
two  smooth  slices,  about  one  inch  thick, — they 
should  also  be  one  foot  in  diameter.  Then  from  a 
slender  pole — an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  in 
diameter — a  piece  about  twenty-seven  inches  long. 
These  materials  should  be  of  the  heaviest  wood 
you  can  get.  Nail  the  centre  of  each  circular 
piece  to  an  end  of  the  piece  sawed  from  the  pole. 
Get,  then,  smooth  hoops  from  a  flower  barrel.  Un- 
clasp one  and  cut  an  end  squarely  and  nail  it  with 
small  nails  to  the  edge  of  one  circular  so  that  the 
hoop  shall  curve  inward,  and  be  nailed  to  the  cen- 
tre of  the  pole,  and  then  curve  outward ;  having  cut 
it  just  long  enough  to  reach  the  other  circular,  to 
which  that  last  end  must  Ije  nailed.  Six  strips,  at 
equal  distances,  should  thus  be  nailed  to  the  round 
top  and  bottom ;  and  thus  be  cuiwed  in  and  nailed 
to  the  centre  of  the  supporting  pole.  There  should 
then  be  a  strip  of  the  hoop  nailed  around  the  top 
and  bottom,  to  cover  the  ends  of  those  strips,  and 
the  form  of  the  stand  is  made. 

It  should  be  stained  to  look  like  black  walnut. 
For  this,  get  red  ochre  and  lamp-black,  and  mix 
them  with  water — to  which  a  little  glue  may  be 
added.  Cover  the  stand  thinly  with  this  staining. 
You  can  add  to  its  beauty  by  laying  along  the 
edge  of  the  circulars,  and  upon  the  curving  strips, 
imitations  of  carved  work.  For  this  make  putty 
of  whiting  and  oil,  with  which  lamp-black  and 
red-ochre  must  be  mixed,  to  give  it  the  dark 
bro-\vn  color  of  the  staining  used.  Work  the  putty 
thoroughly,  and  let  it  be  quite  stiff.  Now  your 
sisters  can  help  you  ;  in  fact,  will  want  to  do  all 
the  rest  till  the  stand  is  finished,  for  the  putty 
must  be  rolled  out  thin,  like  pie-cmst,  and  cut  into 


shapes.  Your  mother  will  let  you  take  a  few  ivy 
or  geranium  leaves  for  patterns.  These  must  be 
laid  upon  the  sheet  of  putty,  and  gently  pressed 
upon  it,  so  that  the  veins  and  indented  edge  of  the 
leaf  is  plainly  imprinted.  Then,  with  a  sharp 
knife,  cut  out  this  impression,  and  you  will  have  a 
perfect  copy  of  the  leaf.  Cut  a  number  of  them, 
and  then  roll  bits  of  putty,  for  stems,  in  long  slen- 
der rolls ;  and  place  these  upon  the  stand  to  repre- 
sent the  branches  and  stems  of  vines  creeping 
around  it  and  up  the  strips  of  the  centre  ;  make  a 
few  coils  of  the  smallest  rolls,  to  imitate  tendrils, 
and  intersperse  them  with  the  stems.  Then  bend 
and  cui-ve  the  leaves  to  look  natural,  and  lay  them 
along  tlie  vine,  occasionally  putting  among  them 
clusters  of  small  balls  of  putty,  in  imitation  of 
berries.  The  sheet  of  putty  from  which  the  leaves 
are  cut  should  be  twice  as  thick  as  if  rolled  for 
pastry ;  and  when  rolling  it,  in  order  to  keep  it 
from  clinging  to  the  hands,  or  to  the  roller,  a  little 
of  the  dry  materials  of  which  the  putty  is  made 
should  be  sprinkled  upon  it.  When  you  have  fin- 
ished, set  the  stand  in  a  cool,  dry  place  till  the 
work  is  hardened. 

A  shelf  for  the  comer  of  a  room,  on  which  to 
set  a  lai-ge  plant,  or  a  pot  of  ivy  when  you  wish  to 
trail  its  branches  over  the  walls,,  can  be  made 
from  a  three-cornered  piece  of  board ;  having  a 
boi'der  of  this  imitation  of  carving  arranged  on 
the  edge  of  its  longest  side,  and  fastened  up  by 
screwing  the  other  two  sides  to  cleats,  which  are 
themselves  screwed  to  the  two  walls.  The  small 
bracket-shelves,  that  are  cut  in  open  figures  of 
scroll  and  leaf-work,  from  cigar-boxes  and  other 
thin  wood,  answer  very  well  for  small  light  pots, 
and  have  a  very  pretty  effect  when  used  for  that 
purpose. 

And  here  is  another  design  for  a  stand  to  hold  a 
large  pot.  Take  a  piece  of  board  fourteen  inches 
square ;  upon  this,  nail  another  twelve  inches  square 
and  on  this  one  ten  inches  square.  These  nail  to 
a  stick  of  wood  six  inches  in  diameter  and  two 
feet  long,  for  its  pedestal.  On  the  top  of  this 
wooden  pillar  nail  a  block — two  inches  thick — of 
octagon  shape ;  or,  two  pieces  of  board,  one  upon 
the  other,  of  the  same  foim,  and  one  foot  in  diam- 
eter. Then  from  each  side  of  this  head-piece 
should  pass  narrow  strips — fence  pickets  are  of  the 
right  size,  to  the  upper  layer  that  forms  the  foot- 
piece  ;  these  give  the  structure  the  appearance  of 
an  eight-sided  column.  You  wish  it  to  resemble 
stone,  so  you  must  get — some  day  after  it  has 
rained — the  gi'cy  and  greenish  lichens  from  rocks 
and  old  fences  ;  these  are  easily  scraped  off  when 
they  are  damp.  At  the  same  time  gather  some  red- 
cup,  and  white  coral,  and  star  moss;  as  well  as 
the  soft,  green,  velvet  kinds ;  and  a  few  alder 
cones,  and  acorns  in  their  cups.  These  are  to  lie 
upon  the  base  of  column.  Then  make  a  paste  of 
rye-meal  and  glue  water.  Boil  it  well,  and  when 
it  is  cool  spread  a  coating  of  it  upon  the  wood,  and 
arrange  your  lichens  according  to  your  taste ;  and 
in  the  same  way,  the  mosses  and  other  little  things. 


854 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAKMER. 


July 


if  you  can  find  any  of  the  hanging,  gray-beard 
moss  on  dead  trees,  or  decaying  branches,  place  a 
little  of  it  here  and  there  about  the  edge  of  the  top 
of  your  column.  A  stand  made  in  this  way  is 
quite  pretty. 

For  holding  most  of  your  plants,  the  larger  stand 
and  tray,  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  will 
suffice,  and  these,  too,  can  be  of  domestic  manu- 
facture, by  exercising  a  little  ingenuity.  If  you 
have  more  than  eight  pots,  the  tray  should  lie  two 
and  one  half  feet  long  and  two  feet  wide.  Around 
the  sides  of  the  tray  the  smaller  pots  should  be 
placed ;  and  a  small  wooden  form,  six  or  eight 
inches  high  and  eighteen  inches  long,  should  oc- 
cupy the  vacant  space  in  the  centre,  on  which  the 
larger  pots  arc  to  be  set.  All  these  things  can  be 
done  by  the  boys.  They  can  also  get  the  peat,  or 
bog  soil ;  and  spread  it  for  drying ;  and  then  the 
sand  to  mix  with  it  after  it  becomes  dry— for  the 
bog-earth,  or  peat,  always  needs  sand  with  it  to 
make  it  light  and  fertile.  And  the  leaf-mould 
they  can  make  by  gathering  the  leaves  that  fall 
from  the  trees,  and  any  other  decaying  vegetable 
matter,  and  stirring  them  over  occasionally  ;  mix- 
ing with  the  heap  a  little  lime,  in  the  fall,  and 
then  in  the  spring  stirring  it  again,  and  sifting  out 
the  most  decayed  to  put  with  the  other  materials 
when  the  plants  have  new  soil  given  them.  And 
they,  and  the  girls  too,  can  make  themselves  very 
handy  at  that  time;  the  old  saying  is— "Many 
hands  make  light  work:"  it  ought  to  be  "pleasant" 
work,  for  the  most  disagreeable  occupation  be- 
comes delightful  if  those  we  love  share  it  with  us. 

A  few  words  more  ought  to  be  said  about  in- 
sects. If  you  find  that,  with  all  your  care,  they 
still  trouble  your  plants,  just  give  them  a  dose  of 
bitters.  Buy  an  ounce  of  quassia  wood  at  the 
dnxggist's,  and  lioil  it  in  three  pints  of  water  till 
there  remains  but  one  quart  of  the  liquid.  Dip 
the  tender  shoots  of  your  plants  in  this,  after  it  has 
become  cool,  and  wash  the  I'cst  with  a  small  mop 
made  of  a  bit  of  sponge ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
wash  them  over  again  with  clear  water, — it  injures 
plants  to  allow  this  liquid  to  remain  upon  them. 
If  this  does  not  remove  them,  try  tobacco  in  the 
same  way — let  them  see  that  yon  are  determined 
to  fight  it  out  on  that  line.  I  should  like  to  tell 
yon  of  a  battle  I  had  once  with  the  Aphides,  when, 
as  the  history-books  say,  "the  enemy  was  repulsed 
with  gi-eat  slaughter,"  and  all  the  "weapons  and 
munitions  of  war"  that  I  possessed,  were  an  old 
squirt-gun  and  a  bowl  of  tobacco  tea.  But  I  found 
that  prevention  was  far  better  than  cure ;  for  my 
poor  plants  for  the  remainder  of  the  winter  looked  as 
miserable  as  any  refugees  from  Rebeldom  ;  .and  I 
have  been  careful  to  keep  a  plenty  of  ti-usty  spies 
and  scouts  on  the  track  of  the  enemy  ever  since,— 
and  believe  that,  in  case  of  invasion,  the  gueiTilla 
method  of  warfare  is  the  surest  and  safest  for 
flowers. 

The  treatment  of  plants  that  had  been  frozen 
was  spoken  of  in  a  former  chapter,  but  one  impor- 


tant point  was  accidentally  omitted.  All  plants 
that  are  frozen  should  not  only  have  their  pots 
placed  in  cold  water,  but  the  plants  themselves 
should  be  sprinkled  with  the  same,  and  kept  from 
the  sunshine  until  the  leaves  resume  their  natural 
appearance.  Ferneries,  that  are  now  so  fashion- 
able, deserve  a  more  extended  notice  than  I  have 
been  able  to  give  them — at  some  future  time  they 
shall  receive  attention.  And  the  preparation  and 
arrangement  of  several  articles  of  floral  decora- 
tion, ought  properly  to  be  considered  under  this 
head ;  but  the  length  of  this  chapter  has,  I  fear, 
already  taxed  the  patience  of  my  readers  too 
much, — so  these  also  must  wait  till  a  more  con- 
venient season. 


Note. — Althoiigh  the  author  has  cultivated  House 
Plants  successfully  during  the  past  twelve  years,  she 
has  not  relied  solely  upon  lier  own  experience  in  the 
preparation  of  tliese  papers,  and  bhe  takes  this  oppor- 
tunity gratefully  to  acknowledge  her  indebtedness  to 
several  sources  for  much  valuable  information  upon  im- 
portant points. 


HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  FOR  THE   NEW  ENGI.AND  FARMER. 


Messrs.  Editors. — The  two  following  receipts 
for  making  hard  soap  were  given  me  some  eight 
years  ago,  and  as  I  have  never  seen  them  in  your 
paper,  I  send  them  to  you  to  use  as  you  think 
best : — 

Hard  or  Chemical  Soap. 

Six  pounds  of  clean  fat  or  tallow ;  six  pounds 
sal  soda ;  three  pounds  of  lime  and  four  gallons  of 
water.  Melt  the  fat,  dissolve  the  lime  and  soda  in 
boiling  water,  and  let  it  remain  over  night  to  settle ; 
then  strain  the  water  into  the  grease,  not  disturbing 
the  sediments,  and  let  boil  until  done  or  until 
thick ;  take  it  out  to  cool.  When  cold,  cut  in  bars. 
Poor  Man's  Hard  Soap. 

Put  in  an  iron  kettle  five  pounds  un'slacked  lime ; 
five  pounds  sal  soda;  three  gallons  soft  water;  let 
it  soak  over  night ;  in  the  morning  pour  off  the 
water ;  then  add  to  the  water  three  and  a  half 
pounds  of  grease ;  boil  till  thick  ;  turn  in  a  pan  to 
cool  and  then  cut  in  bars. 

These  receipts  will  make  a  large  quantity  of 
good  hard  soap,  but  not  equal  to  that  made  with 
the  Saponifier  or  concentrated  lye.  I  have  used 
that  for  making  hard  soap  for  six  years,  and 
should  not  know  how  to  get  along  without  it. 
Have  tried  all  four  of  the  receipts  given  for  using 
it,  jjut  like  the  third  one  best  for  washing  clothes, 
but  it  shrinks  more  in  drying  than  others. 
"Washing  Soap. 

Two  pounds  bar  soap,  (made  from  the  Saponifier) ; 
one  ounce  liorax.  Shave  the  soap  fine.  Put  that 
and  the  borax  in  one  quart  of  water  and  simmer 
until  well  mixed.  One-fourth  of  a  pound  of  this 
is  suflicient  to  do  a  ■n-ashing  for  six  persons. 

I  have  used  this  soap  with  the  Union  Washing 
Machine  and  Wringer,  for  several  months,  and 
can  do  a  washing  in  one  half  the  time  with  less 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


355 


soap,  less  water  and  less  wood,  than  any  other 
way  I  ever  tried,  and  think  no  one  who  has  given 
them  a  thorongh  trial  would  part  with  them  for 
twice  their  cost,  if  they  could  not  get  more  like 
them.  A  Farmer's  Wife. 

Dudley,  Mass.,  1867. 


Brown  Bread. 

A  pint  basin  twice  heaping  full  of  corn  meal, 
which  is  ground  very  coarse,  scald  with  boiling 
water,  using  as  little  water  as  you  can,  with  much 
stiiTing,  get  the  meal  all  wet ;  when  cool  add  a 
pint  dish  not  quite  even  full  of  rye  meal ;  one  tea- 
cup of  hop,  or  hop  and  potato  yeast;  one  cup  and 
a  half  of  molasses.  Mix  very  soft,  with  tepid  water. 
Rise  about  two  hours  or  till  it  cracks,  then  bake 
four  or  live  hours,  very  slowly  at  the  last.        o. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  1867. 


Bice  Pudding. 

Four  tablespoons  of  rice ;  one  quart  of  sweet 
milk ;  boil  until  tender,  and  the  milk  is 
absorbed ;  then  stir  in  the  j'olks  of  four  eggs, 
well  beaten,  and  three  tablespoons  of  sugar,  with 
the  grated  rind  of  one  lemon.  To  the  whites 
of  the  eggs,  well  beaten,  add  eight  tablespoons  of 
powdered  sugar,  with  the  juice  of  the  lemon;  lay 
it  over  the  pudding  and  return  to  the  oven  until 
slightly  browned ;  cat  cold. 

Queen  of  Puddings. 

One  pint  of  bread  crumbs  ;  one  quart  of  milk ; 
teacup  of  sugar ;  yolks  of  four  eggs  ;  a  little  salt ; 
a  small  piece  of  butter.  Lemon  improves  it.  When 
baked,  spread  over  this  a  layer  of  jelly,  or  any 
sweetmeat.  Beat  the  whites  to  a  froth ;  add  a 
little  white  sugar ;  spread  over  the  pudding,  and 
return  to  the  oven  until  slightly  brown.  To  bo 
eaten  cold,  with  sweet  cream. 

"White  Cake. 

One  and  one-half  cups  of  sugar ;  three  of  flour ; 

one-half  cup  of  butter;  one  cup  of  milk;    two 

teaspoons  of  cream  tartar ;  one  of  soda ;  three  eggs ; 

beat  the  whites  separate,  sugar  and  yolks  together. 

Sponge  Cake. 

Seven  eggs ;  beat  the  whites  and  yolks  separate ; 
one  half  pound  of  flour ;  three-fourths  pounds  of 
sugar ;  one  tumbler  of  cold  water ;  boil  the  sugar 
and  water  together  until  it  boils  clear ;  let  it  cool 
before  puttmg  it  with  the  eggs.  This  is  suflScient 
for  two  loaves. 

Feather  Cake. 

One  cup  of  sugar;  one-half  cup  of  sweet  milk; 
two  eggs ;  not  quite  half  a  cup  of  butter ;  one  tea- 
spoon of  cream  tartar ;  one  half  teaspoon  of  soda ; 
two  cups  of  flour ;  nutmeg ;  bake  in  shallow  tins. 
Soft  Cookies. 

Two  cups  thin  cream ;  two  cups  of  sugar ;  three 
eggs;  caraway;  flour,  sufficient  to  make  it  as 
thick  as  pan-cakes ;  two  even  teaspoons  of  salera- 
tus ;  drop  with  a  spoon  on  buttered  tins,  and  bake 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes. 


Cookies, 

One  cup  of  butter,  well  mixed  with  two  cups  of 
sugar ;  three  eggs ;  one  cup  of  milk  ;  one  teaspoon 
of  salcratus ;  salt  and  spice  to  your  taste ;  flour 
enough  to  mould  it.  Nellie. 

Hardwick,  Mass.,  Feb.  17,  1867. 


Rejiarks. — Several  other  correspondents  have 
our  thanks  for  favors  which  will  soon  find  a  place. 
Ed. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
KHUBAKB. 
The  season  has  nearly  come  for  the  general  use 
of  this  delicious  article,  and  perhaps  a  few  hints  to 
young  housekeepers,  about  its  preparation  may 
not  come  amiss. 

Most  people  like  rhubarb,  and  it  is  very  exten- 
sively used ;  and  still  but  few  know  how  to  prepare 
it  properly. 

Sauce. 

Wipe  the  stalks  very  carefully  with  a  damp 
cloth,  and  then  with  a  dry  one.  Never  peel  it.  It 
destroys  the  flavor  to  remove  the  peeling,  and 
spoils  the  color.  Cut  into  pieces  about  half  or 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  long.  Put  into  a  por- 
celain lined  kettle  or  a  new,  bright  tin,  not  an  old 
black  one ;  add  as  much  white  sugar  as  your  judg- 
ment dictates ;  cover  with  boiling  water ;  put  a 
plate  tightly  over  the  dish  and  cook  until  quite 
soft,  never  touching  it,  as  stirring  it  mashes  it  all 
up.  When  done  (if  cooked  in  a  porcelain-lined 
kettle) ;  set  in  a  cool  place,  undisturbed,  till  tea 
time,  then  slide  it  carefully  into  your  glass  dish, 
and  you  will  have  a  nice  looking  sauce  with  a 
clear  pink  jelly-like  syrup,  making  it  look  very 
diflfcrent  from  the  mass  of  little  strings,  usually 
called  rhubarb  sauce.  If  cooked  in  a  new  tin,  it 
must  be  slid  out  into  a  bowl  or  pudding-dish  as 
carefully  as  possible  and  not  transferred  to  your 
glass  dish  until  cold. 

Pies. 

Wipe  as  for  sauce,  line  a  deep  plate  with  good 
crust,  rolled  very  thin,  and  cut  the  rhubarb  in  as 
you  sometimes  do  apples.  Add  one  cup  of  white 
sugar  to  a  pie ;  three  tablespoons  full  of  water,  two 
of  flour,  sprinkled  over  the  top ;  cover  very  tight 
— tucking  in  the  edges  to  keep  in  the— juice  and 
bake  brown.  Eat  for  tea  or  the  next  morning.  Rhu- 
barb pie  over  one  day  old  is  poor  eating.  White 
sugar  is  very  much  better  to  use  with  rhubarb 
than  bi-own,  as  it  makes  a  richer  syrup  and  gives 
a  very  different  flavor.  By  cutting  your  rhubarb 
and  putting  boiling  water  to  it,  and  letting  it  cook 
about  five  minutes,  and  then  pouring  off"  the  water 
and  filling  your  pie  with  the  rhubarb  thus  de- 
prived of  half  its  acidity  you  need  use  only  a  large 
half  cup  of  sugar.  Many  prepare  it  so,  but  I 
think  it  makes  the  pie  flat  and  takes  away  the 
good  flavor. 

Bhubarb  Dumpling. 

Wipe  your  rhubarb  and  cut  as  for  sauce.  Make, 
up  a  soft  dough  as  for  cream  tartar  biscuit ;  one 


356 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


July 


qnart  of  flour,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda  two  of 
cream  tartar,  a  little  salt ;  mix  with  water  or  milk, 
just  which  you  have  the  most  of,  and  into  the 
dough  stir  the  rhubarb  as  you  would  plums  into 
cake ;  steam  one  hour  and  a  half.  Eat  hot  with 
sweet  sauce.  A  pint  boAVl  full  of  cut  rhubarb  is 
enough  for  a  quart  of  flour. 

Mrs.  S.B.  Sawyer. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
DODSra   WITHOUT  "HELP." 

I  have  no  need  to  infonn  you  that  writing  for 
papers  is  not  my  forte,  but  there  is  one  subject 
that  is  of  importance  to  housekeepers,  and  it  is  with 
them  I  wish  to  have  a  little  discourse,  and  1  know 
of  no  more  ready  mode  of  communication  than 
through  the  columns  of  our  favorite  paper,  the 
New  England  Farmer. 

For  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  there  has  ex- 
isted a  growing  evil,  until  it  has  become  one  of  the 
most  annoying  trials  incident  to  housekeeping.  I 
speak  of  ohtaming  and  retaining  good  help.  Since 
the  custom  has  become  so  general  of  delegating  to 
others  the  power  and  oft  times  the  right  of  the 
kitchen,  we  have  been  subjected  to  much  inconve- 
nience in  procuring  trusty ,  faithful  persons,  who 
were  reliable.  If,  peradvcnture,  an  acceptable  one 
is  found,  it  is  at  an  exorbitant  price  for  wages, 
so  that  with  breakage,  waste  and  losses,  the  ex- 
pense is  not  much  short  of  from  seven  to  eight  dol- 
lars each  week.  Now,  sir,  to  obviate,  as  far  as 
possible,  this  difficulty,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
preserve  the  placid  tempers  of  our  husbands,  a 
few  families  are  trying  an  experiment  of  running 
our  own  train  (so  to  speak).  Three  families  of  us 
have  dismissed  our  Kathainnes  and  Marys,  and 
have  rolled  up  our  sleeves  and  we  make  things 
hum  again, — and  it  is  a  wonder  to  ourselves  how 
admirablj'  we  succeed.  Our  little  fancied  troubles 
recede  as  we  approach  them,  and  often  do  we 
break  out  in  a  hearty  laugh  at  our  success.  And 
then,  too,  our  health  is  much  improved,  and  al- 
though at  times  a  little  fatigued,  yet  the  necessary 
exercise  has  repainted  our  sallow  cheeks  (so  they 
say),  and  entiui  is  banished  from  our  midst.  And 
more  than  all,  the  approving  smile  of  our  husbands 


well  pays  us,  for  trying  to  do  without  help.  We 
have  made  arrangements  with  a  faithful  person  to 
come  occasionally  to  wash,  iron  and  clean  house, 
but  aside  from  that  we  attend  to  the  wants  of  our 
families.  It  is  now  over  a  twelve-month  and  I 
pronounce  it  a  success.  We  feel  competent  to 
judge,  as  the  four  seasons  have  passed  with  their 
sequent  labors,  and  the  abatement  of  the  tax  on  our 
nerves  and  purse  renders  it  an  experiment  -worthy 
the  trial. 

I  venture  to  say,  if  any  of  our  lady  friends  could 
be  induced  to  do  their  own  work  six  months,  they 
would  hai"dly  be  persuaded  to  have  so  annoying 
and  expensive  an  appendage  in  the  house  as  what 
is  called  help.  Fannie. 

Elmtoood  District,  Middlesex  Co.,  Mass. 

P.  S.  It  was  not  my  intention  to  have  added  a 
postscript  to  this  note,  but  woman-like  I  have  a 
last  word,  which  is  that  much  depends  on  the  co- 
operation of  the  family  to  have  the  experiment 
succeed.  If  any  other  of  your  readers  have  made 
the  trial  I  wish  they  would  relate  their  experience 
for  the  benefit  and  encouragement  of  others,     f. 


Remarks. — Bravo!    Our  fau*  correspondent  is 
entitled  to  a  hearing,  for  she  practices  what  she 
preaches.    She  has  found  the  secret  of  independence 
in  her  household  matters,  and  so  long  as  health  is 
spared  her  and  her  household  cares  are  not  rnulti- 
j  plied  beyond  a  reasonable  extent,  need  have  no 
'  reason  to  repent  her  "strike"  against  incompeten- 
cy and  wastefulness  on  the  part  of  her  "help." 
Of  course  there  is  a  limit  to  her  ability,  and  of 
j  course  there  is  something  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
1  "help,"  but,  as  the  majority  of  families,  and  espe- 
cially those  who  reside  in  the  country,  are  situated, 
j  Fannie's    course    is  praiseworthy,  and  has  our 
cordial   commendation.    Be  it  understood,  how- 
I  ever,  that  we  consider  no  husband  deserving  of 
j  such  a  wife,  (or  of  any  wife  at  all,)  who  will  not 
do  his  full  share  of  the  multiplicity  of  chores  and 
errands  willingly  and  seasonably.     This,  alone, 
I  will  lighten  housework  of  nearly  one-half  its  cares, 
I  and   leave   the  wife  time  for  attention  to  some- 
I  thing  besides  the  routine  of  the  kitchen  and  cham- 
ber, and  give  her  opportunity  for  recreation,  with- 
out which  body  and  mind  will  suffer.  Ed. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGRICUIiTURE,  HORTICULTURE,  AND  KINDRED  ARTS. 


M¥  SERIES. 


Boston,  August,   1867.         VOL.  I.—NO.  8. 


E.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Meechants'  How. 


MONTHLY. 


SmON"  BROWN, 
S.  FLETCHER, 


Editors, 


FARM   "WORK   FOR  AUGUST. 
"Nay,  tell  me  not  of  lordly  halls  ! 

My  miDstrels  are  the  trees. 
The  moss  and  the  rock  are  my  tapestried  walls, 

Earth's  sounds  my  fcymphonies." 

N  Englaxd,  -where  the 
small  grains,  such  as  rye, 
barley,  oats,  but  princi- 
pally wheat,  are  the  staple 
crops,  August  is  the  great 
Harvest  month  of  the  year. 
Our  great  harvests  com- 
mence in  June,  when 
we  begin  to  secure  the  hay 
crop,  which  is  even  then 
lying  down  on  rich  grounds. 
The  gathering  of  this  impor- 
tant crop  continues  through 
J^lly,  August  and  even  into  September,  in  some 
parts  of  New  England,,  where  some  of  the 
late  meadows  are  left  uncut  up  to  this  late 
season.  We  have  seen  good  fodder  taken  from 
them  during  the  first  week  of  the  latter  month. 
August  is  the  time  when  most  of  our  cereals 
are  harvested — the  rye,  barley,  oats  and  wheat. 
In  securing  the  grains,  the  practice  used  to  be 
to  let  the  straw  stand  until  the  berry  became 
ripe,  hard,  and  changed  from  its  milky  appear- 
ance to  a  dark  brown  color.  In  this  condition 
some  portion  of  the  grain — too  much  to  be  lost 
• — would  be  shaken  out  every  time  the  straw 
was  handled,  in  cutting  it,  gathering,  tying  up, 
loading  and  unloading, — and  what  renders 
such  an  operation  more  objectionable,  is  the 


fact,  that  when  the  grain  is  left  to  harden  on 
the  stalk,  it  is  not  so  good  as  when  cut  from 
seven  to  fourteen  days  before  it  is  thoroughly 
ripened.  It  is  lighter,  per  bushel,  is  not  so 
nutritious,  and  if  ground,  the  flour  is  not  so 
"handsome"  and  will  not  make  so  good  bread, 
as  flour  will  from  grain  cut  earlier.  This  fact 
has  been  well  settled  by  most  careful  experi- 
ments. 

But  our  prime  and  splendid  harvest  is  that 
of  Indian  corn,  which  is  begun  in  September, 
and  frequently  does  not  end  until  some  time  in 
November.  When  allowed  to  stand  so  late, 
the  grain  receives  no  injury  unless  the  stalks 
are  broken  down  and  the  grain  lies  upon  the 
ground,  but  the  fodder  is  considerably  reduced 
in  value.  This  crop  is  not  only  exceedingly 
valuable  in  itself,  but  is  valuable  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  sod  lands  to  receive  the  smaller  grains, 
— for  it  flourishes  best  on  new,  or  sward  lands. 
Plowing  and  hoeing  the  crop  three  or  four 
times  during  the  summer,  pulverizes,  enriches, 
and  admirably  prepares  it  for  wheat  or  any  of 
the  smaller  grains  the  following  season. 

The  meal  from  Indian  com  is  a  universal 
food.  All  animals  like  it — biped  and  quadru- 
ped ;  horses,  oxen,  cows,  calves,  colts,  swine, 
poultry,  dogs,  even  packs  of  hounds  that  are 
kept  for  the  chase,  are  frequently  fed  on  a 
warm,  Indian  bannock,  morning  and  night.  It 
is  wonderful  how  many  ways  it  can  be  pre- 
pared so  as  to  be  not  only  nutritious  but  ex- 
ceedingly agreeable  to  the  taste.     In  "corn 


358 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


dodgers,"  brown  bread,  "Indian  puddings," 
com  cake  of  a  dozen  different  patterns,  corn 
fritters,  corn  starch,  and  many  others  which 
the  "cook  book"  would  tell  us  about  if  we  had 
time  to  turn  to  it.  The  stems  and  leaves,  also, 
of  the  corn  plant  are  largely  used  in  a  gi-een 
state  for  feeding  to  milch  cows,  and  when 
dried  they  are  our  best  fodder,  next  to  English 
hay.  A  crop  every  way  so  valuable  should 
not  be  checked  by  a  growth  of  weeds,  or  by 
neglect  of  hoeing  and  otherwise  stirring  the 
soil,  and  especially  if  the  season  is  a  dry  one. 
Laying  Lajo)  to  Grass.  As  the  grass  crop 
is  an  important  one,  it  should  be  a  matter  of 
constant  care  to  see  that  the  land  devoted  to 
it  is  in  a  proper  condition  for  its  growth,  by 
drainage  and  depth  and  richness.  A  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  lands  which  are  mowed 
are  suffered  to  remain  until  they  are  so  much  ex- 
hausted that  the  crops  they  produce  will 
scarcely  pay  for  going  over  the  ground.  This 
may  be  prevented  by  a  light  annual  top- 
dressing  of  fine  manure,  but  it  must  be  com- 
menced while  the  roots  are  in  a  vigorous  con- 
dition. There  is  no  better  time,  perhaps,  to 
renew  old  grass  land,  or  to  reclaim  low  lands, 
than  the  month  of  August.  If  properly  man- 
aged, it  requires  but  a  single  year  to  change  a 
hard  and  unproductive  field  into  a  productive 
one. 

In  order  to  accomplish  this  no  more  must  be 
undertaken  at  once  than  there  is  team  and 
time  sufficient  for  the  work,  and  manure  enough 
to  give  the  grass  a  vigorous  start  and  sustain 
it  well  until  the  field  gets  a  top-dressing.  The 
work  is  often  attempted  with  teams  too  weak 
and  plows  too  light.  In  trying  to  get  a  suffi- 
cient depth,  one  gets  broken  and  the  other 
tired,  and  then  come  the  doubts  Avhether  it  will 
ever  pay  to  reclaim  an  old  meadow,  or  plow 
deep  and  subsoil  upland. 

Plow  eight  to  twelve  inches,  harrow  thor- 
oughly, level  with  great  care  with  hoe  and 
spade,  then  enrich  with  fine  manure,  sow  seed 
plentifully,  say  eight  quarts  of  herds  grass, 
one  bushel  of  redtop,  and  early  next  April 
eight  pounds  of  clover  per  acre.  In  a  soil 
thus  prepared,  the  seeds  find  all  things  neces- 
sary for  a  quick  and  healthy  germination  and 
rapid  growth.  The  air,  light,  heat  and  mois- 
ture are  admitted  in  such  proportions  as  the 
seeds  n'quire  to  give  them  a  sure  and  early 
start.     Thus  by  deep  plowing,  fine  manure, 


and  thorough  preparation,  little  or  no  loss  is 
sustained  in  seed,  while  a  good  crop  is  quite 
certain,  let  the  succeeding  season  be  wet  or 
dry. 

Seeds.  Gather  seeds  as  they  ripen,  and 
save  only  those  that  are  plump  and  perfect 
for  your  next  year's  use.  They  will  require 
attention  every  day.  If  you  do  not  give  it 
the  birds  will. 

Army  Worm.  You  will  probably  find  them 
on  the  apple  trees,  side  by  side,  like  a  platoon 
of  soldiers,  eating  clean  as  they  go — ugly 
looking,  repulsive  customers.  Cut  off  the 
twig  that  holds  them  and  put  your  heel  on  it. 
They  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  multiply. 

Milch  Cows.  In  dry  seasons,  in  many 
pastures,  cows  lack  water,  and  during  the  hot, 
sultry  days,  they  suffer,  and  in  consequence 
the  milk  pails  are  not  filled  at  night.  When 
you  are  exceedingly  thirsty  think  of  this,  pro- 
cure a  refreshing  drink,  and  then  go  directly 
and  ascertain  if  the  cattle  in  their  pastures  are 
abundantly  supplied  with  pure,  cool  water. 

Budding.  August  is  a  suitable  time  for 
this  work.  Put  the  boys  to  practice  in  bud- 
ding apples,  peaches,  pears,  plums,  and  any 
thing  that  requires  it. 

Weeds.  Do  not  allow  one  in  the  garden, 
and  none  around  the  outside  rows  of  the  corn 
or  potato  fields. 


PAGE'S  PUMP  AND  SPRINKLER. 

This  is  a  new  pumping  and  sprinkling  appa- 
ratus, that,  in  our  opinion,  excels  anything  of 
the  kind  heretofore  invented.  We  have  now 
four  or  five  different  pumps  or  sprinklers,  in- 
tended for  house,  garden  and  hot-house  use, 
but  none  of  them  equal  to  this  in  ease  of  opera- 
tion or  efficiency  of  work.  It  is  small,  light 
to  carry,  easy  to  operate,  and  adapted  to  al- 
most every  use,  from  that  of  sprinkling  the 
most  delicate  plant,  to  dashing  the  water  forci- 
bly against  dirty  windows  or  carriages. 

Water  can  be  spread  with  it  so  as  to  fall  in 
a  fine  mist  over  a  space  from  two  inches  to  ten 
feet  square,  or  changed  instantly  to  a  "coarse 
spray"  or  a  "single  jet,"  and  thrown  thirty  or 
forty  feet. 

It  requires  no  change  of  nozzle,  and  in  our 
experience  with  it,  it  has  never  clogged  or 
needed  cleaning  out.  It  is  a  beautiful  and 
useful  invention. 

Nothing  that  we  have  seen  is  so  admirably 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


359 


adapted  to  sprinkling  plants  that  are  infested 
with  insects,  to  sprinkle  floors,  grass  plats  and 
borders,  flower  beds,  strawberry  patches,  &c., 
&c.,  and  in  case  of  fire  inside  of  the  building 
it  would  be  of  great  service. 


Prices  of  Farm  Produce. — The  New 
York  Journal  of  Commerce  gives  the  follow- 
ing table  of  prices  of  farm  products  at  New 
York  on  the  first  day  of  May  in  each  year, 
for  the  past  twelve  years  : — 


a," 

1^ 

j<3 

1^ 

1856. 

.10c 

.20c 

$15.50 

.48c 

.09 

$0.80 

$0.62 

$5.50 

1857  . 

.13 

.'27 

18.90 

.56 

.10 

.75 

.80 

6. 00 

1858  . 

.081 

.25 

15.35 

.37 

.08 

.45 

.73 

4  25 

1859  . 

.10 

.22i^ 

12.75 

.56 

.13 

.75 

.86 

6.50 

1860. 

.10 

.U 

14.25 

.55 

.10 

.95 

.82 

5.50 

1861. 

.07 

.16 

13.25 

.47 

.16 

.80 

.67 

5.20 

1862. 

.08^ 

.18 

10.00 

.49 

.15 

.65 

.58 

6.00 

1863. 

.12 

.19 

13.00 

.78 

.20 

.8J 

.94 

6.C0 

1864 

.171 

.31 

23  87 

.77 

.28 

1.60 

1.38 

7.10 

1865. 

.20 

.35 

25  00 

.70 

.35 

.90 

1.48 

6.90 

1866. 

.20 

.50 

24  00 

.62 

.65 

.60 

.86 

7.10 

1867 

.19 

.28 

19.00 

.65 

.60 

1.90 

1.40 

10.79 

For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
"WORN   OUT    SOIL. 

Much  is  said  of  the  worn  out  and  exhausted 
soil  of  New  England,  of  our  pastures  covered 
with  wild  juniper,  of  our  scanty  crops  of  grass 
in  the  fields,  of  our  short  crops  of  corn,  wheat 
and  general  field  crops ;  and  the  cry  comes  up 
on  every  side  that  farming  in  New  England  will 
not  pay. 

Our  fiithers  took  possession  of  a  soil  rich  in 
vegetable  humus,  formed  by  the  primeval  for- 
ests which  had  nourished  and  protected  the 
soil  for  long  ages  in  the  past.  The  forest 
gave  way  to  the  woodman's  ax ;  the  fire  passed 
over  and  consumed  the  wood  and  all  surface 
vegetation,  and  the  result  was  the  ash  was  left. 
This  the  rains  quickly  dissolved  and  washed 
deep  into  the  soil,  or  it  was  taken  off  in  crops 
and  no  fertilizing  material  returned  ;  leaving, 
as  a  consequence,  an  exhausted  soil. 

Our  ancestors  did  not  understand  the  mod- 
em usages  of  composting,  manufacturing,  and 
saving  manures.  Neither  did  they  require  It, 
for  land  was  cheap.  If  one  field  was  exhaust- 
ed. It  only  required  to  move  a  short  distance 
to  another,  to  go  through  the  same  system 
again. 

Many  times,  in  contemplating  the  subject,  I 
have  almost  been  struck  with  wonder  that  our 
soil  has  held  out  as  well  as  It  has,  and  that  as 
a  general  thing  it  produces  as  much  as  it  does, 
at  the  present  day.  When  I  have  thought  of 
the  amount  of  flesh  and  bones  that  have  been 
taken  from  our  fields  and  pastures  with  the 
grain  and  roots  and  the  little  return  that  has 
been  made,  I  have  been  ready  to  exclaim,  our 
soil  was  rich,  and  is  rich  still !  Man,  by  his 
short-sightedness  and  ignorance  cannot  exhaust 


it  so  that  nature  and  judicious  cultivation  can- 
not restore  it  to  its  primitive  fertility. 

My  motto  is,  that  each  farm  and  each  acre 
has  the  material  within  itself,  with  tbe  aid  of 
air,  rain,  and  sunshine,  and  man's  labor  judi- 
ciously laid  out,  to  produce,  in  a  few  years, 
fair  and  paying  crops,  and  to  continue  such 
production  for  an  indefinite  peinod. 

When  man  Is  willing  to  become  the  student 
of  nature,  and  to  be  governed  by  nature's  sure 
and  perfect  laws,  then  agricnlture  will  flour- 
ish. We  see  that  an  exhaused  field  or  pasture, 
if  let  alone,  will  quickly  set  with  the  young 
saplings,  which  soon  spread  out  their  branches, 
and  shade  and  protect  the  soil.  The  leaves 
fall  and  decay,  the  earth  becomes  mellow,  the 
leaves  yearly  absorb  from  the  atmosphere,  and 
their  fertilizing  materials  are  deposited  In  the 
soil ;  while  the  roots,  by  their  extension,  break 
up  and  pulverize  the  earth  to  a  good  depth. 
After  ten  years,  examine  this  soil.  It  is  not 
the  hard,  thin  earth  that  It  was  ten  years  be- 
fore, but  is  a  mellow,  rich  mould.  Let  these 
trees  grow  ten  years  more,  and  then  remove  and 
cultivate  the  soil  as  we  should,  and  we  shall  hear 
no  more  of  an  exhausted  soil,  and  unprofitable 
crops.  H. 

Epping,  N.  E.,  1867. 


Grains. — According  to  the  analysis  of  Cin- 
hof  of  the  different  quantities  of  nutritious 
and  succulent  properties — starch,  gluten  and 
mucilaginous  sugar  In  the  various  kinds  of 
grain — the  following  appears  to  be  the  relative 
proportions : — 

In  Wheat,  per  centum, 78 

"  Rye, 70 

"  Barley,  as  to  quantity  and  species, .   .   .  65  to  70 

"  Oats, 58 

"  Peas, 75J^ 

"  Beans,  (French,) 85 

"  Windsor  Beans,  .   , 68J^ 

"  Horse  Beans, 73 


Placenta — Retention. — Sometimes  cows 
cause  trouble  to  their  owners,  occasionally  loss 
also,  by  the  retention  of  the  placenta  after 
calving.  It  was  the  custom  among  Yankee 
farmers  in  old  times,  and  Is  now  among  dairy- 
men in  Herkimer  Co.,  as  we  learn  from  Mr. 
Willard,  through  the  Utica  Herald,  to  feed 
cows  a  mash  of  bran  and  water  as-warm  as  they 
will  take  it,  as  a  means  of  removing  the  ob- 
struction. This  usually  proves  effective  with- 
out aid  from  anything  else.  Another  cure  is 
mentioned,  consisting  of  sharp  cider  vinegar, 
heated  nearly  to  the  boiling  point,  and  poured 
upon  the  bran  and  fed  warm  to  the  cow. 


— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
says  that  he  has  had  several  twin  calves  of  oppo- 
site sexes,  and  he  has  known  of  several  born  to 
other  breeders,  and  that  he  knows  of  no  instances 
where  the  heifers  bred  or  where  the  bull  failed  to 
be  a  good  breeder. 


360 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR^DER. 


Aug. 


COMPLETE    FAKM   HOUSE    AND    STABLE. 


In  connection  ■with  the  remarks  in  another 
column,  of  our  correspondent  "K.  O."  upon 
the  subject  of  the  proper  construction  of  farm 
houses,  and  especially  as  illustrative  of  what 
he  says  of  the  economy  and  conveniences  of 
the  square»form,  we  present  the  accompanying 
plans,  designed  by  Geo.  E.  Harney,  and  en- 
graved for  the  New  England  Farmek.  The 
connection  of  the  house  with  the  barns  and 
other  outbuildings  is  not  at  all  essential  to  the 
plan  of  the  house ;  neither  are  the  porch  or 
dormer-window.  We  prefer  a  plain  roof,  and 
believe  that  the  garret  should  be  used  as  a 
sleeping  room  only  from  absolute  necessity, 
especially  during  our  hot  summer  seasons. 

The  following  explanations  of  the  plan  are 
furnished  by  the  artist : — 

No.  1,  the  veranda,  is  8  feet  wide,  and  ex- 
tends across  the  whole  front  of  the  house  ;  it 
opens  into  the  main  hall.  No.  2,  which  is  11 
feet  wide  and  24  feet  long ;  No.  3  is  the  parlor, 
16  feet  square ;  No.  4,  living  room,  16  feet  by 


is  a  large  store-room,  8  feet  by  9,  opening 
directly  into  the  kitchen ;  No.  7  is  a  bed- 
room, 15  feet  by  16.  At  No.  10  is  an- 
other entry,  3  feet  wide,  leading  to  the  yard ; 
here  are  also  stairs  to  the  chambers  and  cel- 
lar ;  No.  11  is  a  scullery  or  wash-room,  8  feet 
square,  with  a  chimney  in  the  corner ;  No.  12 
is  a  tool-room  and  shop,  8  feet  by  13 ;  No.  13 
is  a  pantry,  fitted  up  with  sink  and  shelves  ; 
No.  14  is  a  dairy,  6  feet  by  13.  From  the 
work-shop  a  door  opens  into  the  wood-house. 
No.  15 ;  this  is  13  feet  by  16,  and  connects 
with  the  open  carriage-shed,  No.  16,  13  feet 
by  24. 

The  barn  is  planned  as  follows:  No.  17, 
passage  leading  to  the  privy  and  to  the  covered 
portion  of  the  pig-sty,  No.  18.  No.  19  is  the 
yard  connected ;  No.  20  is  a  hen-coop,  9  feet 
by  18,  fitted  up  with  a  couple  of  rows  of  nests, 
and  opening  upon  the  hen  and  stable  manure 
yard,  No.  21 ;  No.  22  contains  stalls  for  three 
horses,  with  feeding  troughs  in  front ;  No.  23 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


361 


20,  furnished  with  a 
large  closet,  No.  9,  un- 
der front  stairs.  Cross- 
ing a  small  passage, 
No.  8,  where  is  also  a 
door  leading  to  the 
yard,  we  reach  the 
kitchen.  No.  5,  meas- 
uring 16  feet  by  18,  and 
containing  a  large  oven 
and  fireplace ;    No.    C 


is  a  carriage-shed  and  harness-room,  18  feet 
square  ;  at  No.  24,  — in  the  yard, — is  a  pump, 
with  a  horse-trough  attached. 

The  second  floor  contains  six  bed-rooms, 
besides  bathing- rooms  and  closets.  The  attic 
may  be  left  unfinished,  and  used  for  storage. 


IMPORTANCE    OF    MANURE. 

]\Ianure  is  the  farmer's  gold  mine — the  true 
source  of  the  cultivator's  wealth.  Every  one, 
therefore,  Avho  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits should  tax  his  wits  and  his  energies  to  the 
utmost  to  secure  a  sufficiency  of  the  article, 
and  to  apply  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure 
the  best  and  most  affluent  results. 

The  stock  kept  on  the  farm  will,  of  course, 
produce  the  usual  quantity  every  season ;  but 
the  supply  from  this  source  is  often  wholly  in- 
adequate to  the  demands  ;  and  they  who  rely 
exclusively  upon  it,  will  often  fail  in  conse- 
quence of  not  having  enough  to  render  their 
business  profitable,  even  with  the  greatest  ex- 
ertions they  can  put  forth. 

When  a  regular  manure  shed  or  barn  cel- 
lar does  not  constitute  a  portion  of  the  fixtures 
of  the  farm  establishment,  the  business  of 
forming  or  compounding  manure  may  often 
be  economically  prosecuted  in  the  barn,  or 
even  in  the  yard.  The  latter  should  be  located 
on  level  ground,  and  have  a  solid  bottom  to 
prevent  the  escape  of  the  urinous  and  rich  car- 
bonaceous matter  from  escaping  or  soaking  into 
the  soil. 

As  no  part  of  the  actual  food  of  vegetables 


is  insoluble,  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
richest  constituents  of  manure — whether  ani- 
mal or  vegetable — is  too  often  lost  by  allow- 
ing it  to  be  leached  and  run  off  into  the  high- 
way, or,  as  we  have  many  times  seen  it,  into 
brooks  or  rivers  ;  or  by  excessive  evaporation 
or  sinking  into  soil  where  it  is  not  needed. 

If  the  yard  be  on  a  sandy  foundation,  the 
centre  of  the  enclosure  should  be  scooped  out 
so  as  to  present  a  central  depression  of  at  least 
two  feet,  in  a  yard  of  fifty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  the  entire  surface  covered  with  clay,  in 
which  a  sufficiency  of  coarse,  sharp  gravel, — 
free  of  loam  or  vegetable  matter  of  any  kind, 
— has  been  mixed  to  bring  it  to  the  consis- 
tency of  firm,  hard  mortar.  A  covering  of 
three  or  four  inches  in  depth,  well  worked  and 
finiily  compacted  by  ramming,  will,  if  suffered 
to  dry  properly,  last  for  many  years,  and  prove 
an  effectual  barrier  against  the  loss  of  the  fer- 
tilizing liquids  by  infiltration ;  while  the  ele- 
vated edges  of  the  yard  will  prove  equally  effi- 
cient in  preventing  loss  by  washing. 

Into  a  yard  so  constructed,  all  the  materials 
ordinarily  used  in  composting  may  be  con- 
veyed as  convenience  allows,  and  when  mixed 
with  the  liquid  and  solid  voidings  of  the  ani- 


362 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Aug. 


mals,  will,  in  a  short  time,  and  without  oppres- 
sive care  or  labor,  become  valuable  manure. 
Good  muck  should  be  the  chief  ingredient, — 
then  old  straw,  haulm  of  every  description, 
refuse  hay  and  fodder,  leaves  from  the  forest, 
loam  and  sods  from  the  road  side  and  ditches, 
weeds  from  the  fields  and  garden,  ferns  from 
the  runs  in  pastures,  scraps  of  leather,  apple 
pomace,  the  refuse  of  the  comb,  or  almost  any 
other  factory,  old  woolen  rags,  soot,  charcoal 
dust,  the  wash  from  the  sink  and  laundry,  old 
feathers,  bristles,  spent  tan,  saw  dust,  are  all 
valuable  ingredients  in  the  compost  heap,  and 
if  mixed  with  some  alkalescent  substance,  such 
as  lime  or  unleached  ashes,  will  be  speedily 
resolved  into  an  efficient  aliment  of  vegetable 
Ufe. 

Upon  this  mass,  the  slops  and  dish  water 
made  about  the  house,  as  well  as  the  other 
liquids,  should  be  conveyed,  and  the  whole 
thoroughly  mixed  by  plowing  or  shovelling 
over,  as  often  as  once  a  month.  Even  large 
shrubs  will  decompose,  if  care  be  taken  to 
keep  up  a  due  degree  of  fermenting  energy  in 
the  mass.  Rich  loam  from  those  low  places 
that  may  be  seen  by  the  side  of  every  highway, 
which  are  constantly  catching  the  wash  from 
the  road,  is  a  good  ingredient,  as  it  possesses 
in  an  eminent  degree,  the  power  of  absorbing 
the  rich  juices  which  emanate  from  the  other 
materials  ;  but  cai'e  should  be  had  not  to  let  it 
preponderate  too  largely  over  the  putrescent 
constituents,  as  in  that  case  it  would  produce 
more  harm  than  good. 

Copperas  water  sprinkled  weekly  over  the 
surface,  with  a  few  bushels  of  gypsum  and 
salt  will  be  very  beneficial. 

Where  such  a  process  as  this  is  constantly 
going  on,  the  farmer  is  never  at  a  loss  what  to 
do  with  the  waste  matter  that  is  accumulating 
day  by  day  on  every  farm.  There  is  the  place 
for  the  potato,  pumpkin  and  squash  vines,  the 
pea  and  bean  haulm  at  harvest  time,  and  the 
rubbish  that  is  collected  from  the  garden  and 
fields  in  the  spring.  An  incidental  good  is 
also  secured  in  the  neater  appearance  about 
the  buildings,  by  picking  up  the  bones,  bits  of 
leather,  and  Avhatever  gives  the  surroundings 
of  the  buildings  a  careless  and  slovenly  ap- 
pearance. 

A  yard,  such  as  we  have  described,  regu- 
larly filled  and  jcared  for,  will  be  worth  more 
to  the  fiirmer,  than  one  thousand  dollars  at 
interest. 


CHARCOAL,  AND  THE  VOLATILB 
FOOD  OP  PLANTS. 

When  vegetables  decay,  upon  the  cessation 
of  the  vital  principle,  no  inconsiderable  portion 
of  their  fertilizing  particles  is  set  free  in  the 
form  of  gases.  These  are  of  the  first  impor- 
tance in  vegetable  development  and  matura- 
tion, and  their  loss  is  an  actual  diminution  of 
the  value  of  the  nianurial  mass. 

Carbon  is  one  of  the  elements  of  vegetable 
nutrition  to  which  we  attach  great  importance, 
being  indispensably  necessary  to  the  perfection 
of  the  vegetable  system,  and  without  which  no 
plant  can  be  perfected.  It  is  of  little  impor- 
tance whether  this  element  is  applied  in  the 
form  of  solid  carbon,  as  in  the  case  of  coal 
produced  by  charring  wood,  or  by  the  slower 
decay  of  plants  when  subjected,  after  their  de- 
mise, to  the  play  of  chemical  affinities — the 
substance  is  essentially  the  same  in  both  cases, 
as  far  as  practical  value  is  involved,  and  in 
both,  gives  rise  to  precisely  the  same  results. 

The  power  of  charcoal — the  most  tangible 
form  in  which  carbon  exists — to  absorb  the 
gases  produced  by  putrefaction,  is  well  known 
to  be  great ;  hence,  as  an  economizing  agent, 
its  use  in  agriculture  cannot  be  too  f.equently 
urged .  De  Saussure  ascertaine  d ,  by  actual  ex- 
periment, that  charcoal  (formed  of  box  wood) 
absorbed,  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  retained 
within  its  structure,  the  following  volumes  of 
gases : — 

Hydrogen, 1.75  volume. 

Nitrogen, 7.(5  " 

Oxygen, 9.25  " 

Carb'inic  acid 9.42  " 

Oletiant  gas, 35.  " 

Carbonic  acid  gas, 35.  " 

Nitrons  oxide, 40.  •' 

Sulphuretted  hydrogen, 55.  " 

Sulphurous  acid, 65.  " 

Muriatic  acid, 85.  " 

Ammoniacal  gas, 90.  " 

Charred  peat  is  also  a  very  excellent  appli- 
cation for  this  purpose.  It  has  been  found  to 
possess  the  following  chemical  composition : — 

Combustible. 

Carbon, 79.24 

Hydrogen 2.20 

Nitrogen, 54 

Oxygen, 6  41,    88.42 

Incovibustible. 

Clay  and  silica, 2.48 

Oxide  of  iron, 1.60 

I'liosphoric  acid, 34 

Silicate  of  potanh, 98 

Chloride  of  sodium, 2  53 

Carbonate  of  lime 1.85 

Sulphate  of  lime, 1.44 

Lobs 30    11.58 

100.00 

The  gaseous  compounds  of  phosphorus  arc 
amenable  to  the  same  general  law,  being  ex- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


363 


tremely  volatile,  and  exhibiting  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  escape  into  the  atmosphere  unless 
arrested  by  some  substance  capable  of  absorb- 
ing and  fixing  it. 


KENTINQ  FARMS, 
The  idea  of  going  to  the  poor-house  is 
scarcely  more  repulsive  to  young  American 
farmers  than  that  of  cultivating  a  hired  farm. 
While  we  respect  the  ambition  that  prompts 
the  desire  to  become  a  land  owner,  we  believe 
that  young  men  and  even  those  more  advanced 
in  life  are  frequently  placed  in  circumstances 
which  make  it  advisable  to  hire  for  a  few 
years,  at  least,  instead  of  purchasing  at  once. 
We  have  recently  published  some  suggestive 
articles  on  this  subject.  A  friend  and  relative 
of  ours,  who  now  owns  many  broad  acres  and 
pays  a  round  income  tax,  commenced  life  on 
leased  land  in  an  old  town  in  New  England. 
We  allude  to  this  subject  at  this  time,  however, 
from  having  noticed  a  statement  made  to  the 
New  York  Farmers'  Club  by  J.  T.  Donavan 
of  Otranto,  Iowa.  He  writes  that  for  three 
years  the  State  has  levied  taxes  on  his  home- 
stead to  the  amount  of  $70.  He  was  short  of 
means  when  he  began,  and  has  been  able  to  put 
only  seventeen  acres  in  cultivation.  For  this 
sum  he  says  he  might  have  rented  as  much  or 
more  improved  land,  and  estimates  that  he 
might  have  lived  more  comfortably  and  made 
more  money  by  doing  so. 


THE   MANGE 

Is  a  cutaneous  disease,  and  contagious.  If 
in  a  large  herd,  a  single  animal  is  attacked,  it 
is  seldom  that  any  escape.  The  diseased  cat- 
tle should  be  removed  to  some  distant  stable 
at  once,  where  there  can  be  no  possible  com- 
munication with  the  others. 

The  symptoms  are  a  dry  dandruf  or  scurf 
about  the  roots  of  the  hair,  attended  with 
severe  itching  and  inflammation,  inducing  a 
violent  rubbing.  It  is  first  seen  about  the  tail, 
and  thence  spreads  in  every  direction. 

The  causes  are  various.  Over-feeding,  or 
under- feeding  will  produce  it.  A  sudden 
change  from  the  lowest  diet  to  the  richest  will 
bring  it  on  in  its  worst  form.  Filthy  stables, 
and  want  of  cleanliness  about  the  animals 
themselves  will  produce  it, — but  not  so  readily 
as  improper  feeding.  The  treatment  to  effect 
a  cure  is  simple.  Prepare  an  ointment  of 
three  gills  of  spirits  of  turpentine,  three-fourths 


of  a  pound  of  flour  of  sulphur,  and  oil  enough 
to  reduce  the  whole  to  a  thin  plastic  unguent. 
Rub  this  in  gently,  but  thoroughly,  with  the 
hand  or  a  soft  brush — the  hand  is  best,  and 
there  is  no  danger  in  doing  it.  Whale  oil  is 
disagreeable  to  use  on  account  of  its  smell,  and 
linseed  oil  is  of  too  drying  a  nature.  The  best 
oil,  perhaps,  would  be  new  butter,  before  being 
salted ;  this  would  be  sweet,  soft  and  penetrat- 
ing. This  mixture  may  be  kept  in  a  tight  ves- 
sel for  years,  and  would  prove  an  excellent 
remedy  for  the  "mange,"  as  well  as  for  several 
other  cutaneous  and  contagious  diseases  to 
which  cattle  are  subject. 


THE   GOLDEN   GRAIN". 


The  grain  !  the  grain  !  the  beautiful  grain  I 
How  it  laughs  to  the  breeze  with  a  glad  refrain, 
Blessing  the 


.  .._  ^ I  the  grain  l  ine  oeauiuui  grain  i 

How  it  laughs  to  the  breeze  with  a  glad  r< 
Blessing  the  famishing  earth  in  her  pain, 
Making  her  smile  with  glee ; 

Lifting  in  praise  each  bright  golden  crown, 
As  it  drinks  the  dew  that  the  Father  sends  down, 
Courting  the  sun's  warm  lover-like  frown, 
Returning  it  smilingly. 

The  grain  I  the  grain  1  the  beautiful  sheaves  t 
A  song  of  joy  their  rustling  weaves, 
For  the  gracious  gift  that  the  earth  receives, 
Given  most  royally. 

From  every  hill  side,  every  plain 
(  omes  thef  irmer's  song  as  he  reaps  the  grain; 
And  the  summer  breeze  wafts  on  the  strain, 
lu  wildest  harmony; 

A  grateful  song  of  rejoicing  to  greet 
The  Master,  who  sendeth  the  seasons  sweet, 
Giving  the  grain,  the  golden  wheat, 
A  blessing  for  all  to  be. 

He  pour*  o'er  the  earth  his  brimming  horn, 
That  the  valleys  may  laugh  and  sing  with  corn, 
While  hope,  with  her  death  trance,  rises  new  bom. 
The  brighter  days  to  see. 

Our  Father,  we  thank  Thee  I  the  beautiful  grain. 
Brings  a  blessing  like  that,  when  the  soft  summer  rain 
Comes  down  on  the  parched  earth,  nor  bids  it  in  vain, 
Ktjoice  and  hope  ever  in  Thee. 

Hope  ever,  and  trust  I  Thy  thoughts,  not  like  ours; 
Thou  sendest  the  drougth.then  bringest  the  flowers, 
Withholdeth  the  jjrain,  then,  with  magical  showers, 
A  glorious  harvest  we  see. 

And  so  for  the  grain  I  the  beautiful  grain  I 
The  golden,  the  laughing,  with  glad  refrain, 
Blessing  the  famishing  earth,  in  her  pain, — 
We  ofl'er  our  worship  to  Thee. 

— Mrs.  T.  F.,  in  Rome,  Geo  ,  Courier. 


Welding  Iron. — M.  Lietar,  of  Brussels, 
has  described  a  new  method  of  welding  iron 
or  steel,  or  iron  with  steel.  He  calcines  and 
reduces  to  a  fine  powder,  1  kilogr«nime  of 
iron  or  steel  fillings,  100  grammes  of  sal  am- 
moniac, 60  grammes  of  borax,  and  50  grammes 
of  balsam  of  copaiva.  One  of  the  pieces  of 
iron  or  steel  to  be  soldered  is  brought  to  a  red 
heat,  and  after  being  cleaned  with  a  wire 
brush,  the  powder  is  spread  upon  it,  and  the 
other  piece  of  metal,  at  a  white  heat,  is  brought 
in  contact  with  it ;  thus  a  perfect  welding  is 
effected. 


364 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARINIER. 


Aug. 


*«'^^c:^w^ 


BOCOOIOA. 


This  is  a  greenhouse  plant  which  is  culti- 
vated for  its  beautiful  foliage.  It  is  used  for 
the  decorations  of  beds  and  lawns  in  summer, 
but  must  be  housed  in  winter.  It  can  be  had 
of  Washburn  &  Co.,  Boston,  and  of  other 
dealers  in  flowers,  &c.  The  variety  shown 
in  our  engraving  is  that  known  as  Bocconia 
frutescens. 


liETTEB,   FKOM  THE   FARM. 

Concord,  June  13,  1867. 

Gents  : — I  have  just  returned  from  a  very 
pleasant  visit  into  Worcester  county.  Last 
August,  business  called  me  to  the  town  of 
Barre  and  some  of  the  neighboring  towns, 
and  I  then  improved  the  opportunity  to  visit 
several  farms,  look  carefully  at  their  stock, 
and  observe  modes  of  husbandry.  I  was  then 
so  much  pleased  with  what  I  heard  and  saw, 
that  I  suggested  to  several  of  the  farmers  of 
this  town  that  it  might  be  profitable  to  them, 
and  espcicially  to  those  raising  milk  for  market, 
to  go  and  see  the  dairy  stock  of  that  portion 
of  Worcester  county. 

In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  some 
dozen  of  them  turned  out  their  teams,  and  at 
7  A.M.,  Monday,  June  10,  the  "cavalcade" 
was  on  its  way.  Passing  through  a  portion  of 
Acton,  Stow,  Bolton,  Lancaster,  and  Sterling, 
the  party  paused  at  Princeton  five  hours  for 
dinner,  and  for  opportunity  to  look  at  the  farm 
of  John  Buooks,  Esq.,  of  that  town.  Mr. 
B,  was  busily  employed  in  one  of  his  orchards, 


pruning,  and  in  reply  to  a  question,  stated 
that  about  the  middle  of  Juna,  was  the  most 
appropriate  season  for  that  operation.  A  long 
experience  convinces  me  that  he  is  right.  He 
very  kindly  left  his  interesting  work  and  ac- 
companied us  over  his  large,  and  fine  farm, 
nearly  every  portion  of  which,  buildings,  fen- 
ces, fields  and  stock,  were  carefully  observed. 
Numerous  questions  were  answered  with  a 
clearness  and  affability  that  gave  the  interview 
a  charm,  while  the  replies  were  instructive  or 
suggestive,  on  very  many  points.  Some  of  his 
grass  fields  were  already  covered  with  a  crop 
that  surprised  every  beholder ;  indeed,  it  did 
not  seem  to  me,  that  such  a  crop  could  stand 
until  in  blossom  without  injury  to  its  quality. 
The  grass  seemed  to  stand  as  close  together  as 
the  fur  on  the  back  of  a  fox  !  The  question 
occurred,  whether  the  dampness  near  the 
ground  would  not  be  so  great  as  to  rot  the 
lower  portions  of  the  leaves,  and  thus  create  a 
mould  which  would  affect  the  whole  crop? 
But  Mr.  B.  will  undoubtedly  have  an  eye  to 
that.  The  stock  in  his  pastures  were  literally 
"up  to  their  eyes  in  white  clover," — were  ac- 
tually feeding  upon  fragrant  flowers  and  wild 
honey.  I  doubt  whether  that  oft-quoted  strip 
between  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  could 
boast  of  more  than  this.  He  has  a  meadow 
in  process  of  reclamation,  first  by  drainage, 
and  then  by  surfiice  working,  which  afforded 
us  an  excellent  example  of  what  fine  grass 
fields  can  be  made  from  our  low  and  cold  lands, 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


365 


that  are  usually  covered  with  brakes,  bushes 
and  unprofitable  water  grasses. 

A  portion  of  Mr.  B.'s  men  were  preparing 
the  ground  for  a  crop  of  carrots.  It  had  prob- 
ably been  plowed  once  or  twice  before,  this 
spring.  The  team  plowed  several  furrows, 
which  the  men  would  immediately  follow  and 
rake,  leaving  it  in  condition  for  the  seed-sower 
without  further  labor, — so  that  when  the  plot 
is  finished,  it  is  smooth,  and  not  a  foot-print 
upon  it. 

The  farm  is  a  very  stony  one,  and  has  prob- 
ably required  more  cost  to  remove  them  out  of 
the  way  than  it  has  cost,  aside  from  that,  to 
reclaim  all  the  land  now  under  cultivation. 
To  remove  them  so  effectually  as  has  been 
done  from  the  broad,  clean  fields  which  we 
saw,  must  have  been  a  work  requiring  long 
and  persistent  effort,  and  attended  with  great 
cost. 

When  the  rocky  farms  of  New  England 
were  entered  upon  some  generations  ago,  the 
question  undoubtedly  arose  every  day — "what 
shall  ice  do  with  these  stones  V  and  the  thou- 
sands of  acres  which  are  now  cramped  and  di- 
vided by  them,  show  the  answer  to  have  been, 
"TFe  IV ill  put  them  ttp  into  walls.''''  And  they 
did  put  them  into  walls,  in  some  instances  di- 
viding the  fields  into  lots  of  one  acre,  up  to 
three,  four,  and  rarely  more  than  five.  This 
was  an  expensive  job  to  begin  with,  and  has 
made  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  inconvenient 
and  expensive  ever  since.  In  some  neighbor- 
hoods, a  vigorous  reform  has  been  commenced 
in  this  respect,  and  I  noticed  splendid  fields  of 
ten  to  twenty  acres  now,  which  were  for- 
merly encumbered  with  a  labyrinth  of  cross- 
walls. 

In  the  instance  before  me,  as  in  many  others, 
Mr.  Brooks  succeeded  his  honored  father, 
upon  an  estate  where  the  work  of  reclamation 
had  been  greatly  advanced  under  the  old  sys- 
tem, and  where  it  will  require  half  as  much 
labor  to  remove  obstructions  to  improved 
modes  of  husbandry,  as  it  did  to  erect  them. 
But  I  think  he  has  commenced  that  work,  as  I 
noticed  upon  his  farm,  and  upon  others  near 
him,  large  and  beautiful  fields  without  any  ap- 
pearances that  they  were  once  ancient  fortifi- 
cations. 

It  seems  to  me  a  waste  of  human  energy 
and  skill,  to  enter  upon  the  hard  and  rocky 
soils  of  New  England,  to  work  them  out  into 
profitable  farms,  and  fit  them  for  the  homes  of 


a  people  so  far  advanced  in  civilization  and  the 
refinements  of  life.  Such  a  course  leaves  little 
or  no  time  for  the  cultivation  of  the  intellect 
and  affections.  It  becomes  a  life  "under  the 
harrow."  It  is  a  stubborn  effort  to  overcome 
the  still  more  stubborn  obstacles  of  nature. 
Let  such  lands  be  covered  with  forests,  and 
when  they  are  required,  let  a  portion  of  the 
soil  which  they  occupied  be  burnt  over,  cropped 
once  with  rye,  laid  to  pasture  for  a  series  of 
years,  and  then  return  again  to  forest. 

But  if  some  young  men,  with  unconquera- 
ble will,  and  with  muscular  power  which  seems 
to  them  equal  to  a  forty-horse-power  steam 
engine,  will  enter  upon  such  lands,  I  advise 
them  to  build  no  more  stone  walls  than  are 
absolutely  necessary  to  confine  their  stock 
within  the  limits  of  their  pastures  ;  no  others, 
not  even  on  the  road-side.  Let  the  laws  pro- 
tect them  there.  Let  them  begin  on  the  land 
nearest  to  the  buildings,  tear  up  the  surface 
and  place  a  foot  below  it  all  the  stones  that 
can  be  crowded  together.  If  there  are  large 
ones,  too  large  for  the  team,  split  or  blast 
them,  and  then  plunge  them  into  some  valley 
of  Hinnom,  or  cover  some  bald  ledge  with 
them  that  mars  the  beauty  of  the  landscape, 
where  they  may  remain  undisturbed  through  all 
periods  of  time.  An  acre  of  land  treated  in 
this  way,  will  feel  the  effects  of  such  a  trench- 
ing for  half  a  century,  and  will  probably  yield 
more  actual  projit  to  the  proprietor,  than  any 
other  j^ve  acres  on  the  farm,  treated  as  rocky 
land  usually  is. 

It  costs  something  to  travel  over  and  around 
fifty  large  rocks  ten  or  a  dozen  times  annually, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  tools  and  machines 
smashed  to  pieces  against  them,  and  the  laming 
of  teams,  which  not  unfrequently  takes  place. 

Thanks  to  Mr.  Beman,  the  landlord  at 
Princeton — besides  the  cash  left  with  him — for 
making  his  house  a  real  home  to  us  when  he 
took  us  in,  somcAvhat  tired  and  hungry. 

The  early  evening  ride  over  the'  hills  from 
Princeton  to  Barre  was  delicious,  and  afforded 
fine  opportunities  to  observe  the  condition  of 
farming,  from  the  elevated  positions  which 
were  frequently  passed  over.  The  world  had 
on  its  holiday  attire.  We  were  exhilarated  by 
the  cool,  refreshing  breeze,  and  freedom  in  the 
open  air.  The  brooks  sang,  as  well  as  the 
birds,  as  they  coursed  their  way  down  the 
hill-sides,  or  leaped  in  miniature  falls  from 


366 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Aug. 


rock  to  rock.  The  inspiration  of  the  Psalmist 
did  not  seem  extravagant  to  us,  when  he  said, 
"the  little  hills  rejoice  on  every  side.  The 
pastures  are  clothed  with  flocks  ;  and  the  val- 
leys are  covered  over  with  corn ;  they  shout 
for  joy,  they  also,  sing.''''  So  did  we  ;  and  our 
steeds  seemed  to  catch  the  spirit,  too,  and  bore 
us  gaily  along,  as  though  they  were  the  winged 
Mercurys  of  old. 

One  of  the  party,  now  a  farmer,  but  long 
accustomed  to  the  harrassing  responsibilities 
of  public  office,  which  he  discharged  with  signal 
promptness  and  ability,  exclaimed,  "Isn't  this 
real  enjoyment !  There  is  nothing  fictitious 
about  it.  The  cares  of  the  past  and  the  duties 
of  the  future  shall  not  cast  a  shadow  upon  to- 
day. This  is  real  enjoyment ! — this  flush  of 
health,  these  forest  or  grass-covered  hills,  fer- 
tile valleys,  running  brooks,  singing  birds  and 
rampant  horses  !  Now, — as  we  wind  through 
this  sweeping  valley,  with  the  bending  alders 
over  our  heads, — this  is  enjoyment,  pure,  ra- 
tional, and  entering  into  the  very  soul,  to  be- 
come there  a  permanent  fountain  of  pleasing  and 
grateful  recollection."  So  we  had  our  little 
episodes  of  criticism  upon  the  works  of  the 
craft,  or  a  flourish  of  rhetoric,  or  a  tall  brag  of 
what  certam  steeds  in  the  party  could  do  when 
put  to  their  mettle.  It  was  enjoyment,  and 
would  have  been  almost  without  alloy,  had  our 
sometimes  boisterous  mirth  been  attempered 
and  graced  by  the  presence  of  some  of  the 
gentler  sex. 

Many  of  the  excellent  farmers  of  Barre,  to- 
gether with  some  gentlemen  of  other  profes- 
sions, met  us  at  the  Hotel  in  the  evening, 
■where  many  mooted  points  in  agriculture  were 
pleasantly  discussed,  and  many  acquaintances 
formed  which  I  trust  will  be  continued  for 
years. 

The  first  visit  of  Tuesday  morning  was  at 
the  cheese  factory ,  situated  quite  near  the  cen- 
tre of  the  village.  About  14,000  pounds  of 
milk  were  received  that  morning,  the  result  of 
which,  the  next  morning,  would  be  about  1,400 
pounds  of  cheese.  We  were  too  early  to  wit- 
ness many  of  the  steps  required  in  the  process 
of  making,  but  as  you  have  occasionally  referred 
to  them  in  the  Faijmer  they  are  unnecessary 
here. 

The  next  call  was  to  examine  Mr.  Dullard's 
Hay  Tedder,  and  two  or  three  horse  rakes  of 
different  patterns  ;  one  of  which  he  stated  he 


raked  eighty  acres  with,  last  summer,  with  ra- 
pidity and  correctness.  His  Tedder  is  well 
known  among  progressive  farmers,  and  ought 
to  be  very  generally  introduced.  Where  fifty 
tons  of  hay  are  cut  upon  a  farm,  I  think  the 
use  of  it  would  pay  its  cost  in  a  very  few 
years.  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  would  in  two 
years. 

The  party  then  passed  along  to  look  at  one 
of  the  Improved  Buckeye  Mowing  Machines, 
manufactured  by  A.  B.  Barnard  &  Co.,  of 
West  Fitchburg.  It  was  examined  with  criti- 
cul  care,  and  was  pronounced  to  have  superior 
merits,  and  probably  to  stand  at  the  head  of 
all  contrivances  for  mowing,  by  those  who  had 
seen  it  used,  but  who  had  purchased  other  ma- 
chines before  they  were  aware  of  the  superior 
excellence  of  the  Buckeye.  At  the  same  place, 
a  new  pattern  of  what  was  known  last  year  as 
the  Bay  State  Horse  Rake,  was  shown  us  by 
the  inventor,  Mr.  S.  R.  Nye,  who  resides  in 
Barre.  This  was  also  examined  with  great 
care,  and  much  confidence  was  expressed  in  its 
becoming  an  important  labor-saving  machine — 
one  of  scarcely  less  value  than  the  mower 
itself. 

The  party,  attended  by  several  of  the  Barre 
farmers,  then  called  at  the  farm  of  D.  B.  Der- 
RY.  They  saw  only  a  portion  of  his  stock, 
which  was  excellent,  and  did  not  go  over  his 
farm. 

On  the  farm  of  A.  H.  Holland  were  found 
seventeen  cows,  which  as  a  herd,  were  excel- 
lent ;  the  breed  of  nearly  all  we  saw  being  grade 
Durhams.  He  is  introducing  the  Ayrshire 
blood,  and  had  a  very  fine  bull  of  that  breed, 
one  of  Mr.  Peters'  stock.  Mr.  H.  thinks  a 
cow  that  will  dress  700  lbs.,  when  in  good 
flesh,  is  the  right  size  for  the  dairy.  A  por- 
tion of  his  pasture  was  thinly  covered  with 
brush,  such  as  apple  tree  trimmings,  and  waste 
bushes  from  under  walls,  &c.  He  stated  that 
it  was  worth  far  more,  spread  in  that  way, 
than  the  ashes  would  be  if  the  brush  were 
burnt ;  .  that  it  partially  shaded  the  ground ; 
that  the  feed  about  it  was  more  abundant,  and 
that  it  did  not  obstruct  the  cattle  in  feeding. 
Both  theory  and  practice  were  new  to  us. 

INlr.  Wm.  R.  Baruktt  had  twenty-seven 
cows,  all  beyond  an  ordinary  quality,  and  some 
of  them  of  great  beauty  and  excellence.  They 
ought  to  be  productive  on  such  pasture  as  they 
were  grazing.     We  found  them  at  12  o'clock, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


367 


in  a  park  of  lofty  trees,  where  there  was  little 
or  no  underbrush,  lying  down  and  quietly 
chewing  the  cud  of  contentment  on  the  green 
sward  beneath  them. 

From  this  farm  we  passed  to  what  I  believe 
is  called  the  South  Cheese  Factory,  where  we 
saw  some  parts  of  the  process  of  cheese-making 
that  we  could  not  see  in  our  morning  visit. 
The  curd  was  now  ready  to  go  to  the  presses, 
and  its  quality  was  liberally  tested  by  most  of 
the  party.  It  certainly  was  inviting  both  in 
taste  and  smell.  As  in  the  other,  every  thing 
here  was  the  perfection  of  neatness  and  order. 

Thence  to  the  house  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Ells- 
worth, where  some  fifteen  to  twenty  sat  down 
to  an  excellent  dinner,  and  proved  that  they 
were  as  accomplished  as  trencher-men  as  they 
were  in  any  other  duties  of  the  farm.  After 
the  heroic  exercises  had  been  gone  through 
with  at  the  table,  including  a  glass  of  pure, 
home-made  wine,  JSIr.  E.  showed  us  his  stock 
of  dairy  cows,  some  thirty  in  all.  As  a  whole, 
they  were  superior  to  any  herd  we  had  seen. 
Some  of  them  were  beyond  criticism  in  symme- 
try. One  of  the  party  pointed  out  a  two-year  old 
heifer,  and  offered  $100  for  her,  and  to  incur 
the  cost  of  getting  her  home.  The  same  sum 
was  offered  for  another  of  the  same  age,  a  half 
blood  Jersey,  but  he  declined  both.  He  had 
recently  received  nearly  $500  for  a  pair  of 
beef  cattle,  and  the  cow  alluded  to  in  my  letter 
last  summer,  dressed  nearly  1,300  pounds! 
His  barn  is  132  feet  by  46 ;  and  is  annually 
filled  with  hay  and  gi-ain  from  about  forty  acres 
of  land,  which  is  all  he  has  under  cultivation. 
His  buildings,  fences,  roads,  &c.,  are  in  excel- 
lent condition.  His  whole  stock  amounts  to 
about  fifty  head. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  has  great  faith  in  the  land  ; 
thinks  it  a  good  place  for  the  investment  of 
capital,  and  finds  a  reasonable  profit  from  it. 
Believes  in  progress,  in  entertaining  visitors 
and  going  a  visiting ;  in  purchasing  the  best 
stock,  even  at  high  prices,  and  in  the  applica- 
tion of  science  to  the  operations  of  the  farm. 
The  only  evidence  of  sticking  to  old  notions 
I  discovered  about  his  place,  was  a  decrepit 
Manny  Mowing  machine,  which  I  suppose  he 
preserved  on  the  principle  of  speaking  well 
of  a  bridge  that  carries  us  safely  over, — that  is, 
he  has  never  got  killed  on  it,  and,  therefore,  it 
is  a  very  good  machine.  Mr.  E.  is  evenly 
yoked  to  a  charming  person  who  presides  in 


the  house,  and  who  takes  an  intelligent  interest 
in  all  the  affairs  of  the  farm ;  who  once  assisted 
her  dairy-maids  in  making  one  or  two  hundred 
pounds  of  cheese  each  day,  but  who  finds  great 
relief  and  comfort  now  in  seeing  the  milk  start- 
ed off  for  the  cheese-factory.  Under  this  easy- 
going system  of  order  and  harmony,  farm  life 
is  relieved  from  many  of  the  almost  intolerable 
burdens  which  once  oppressed  and  shortened 
the  lives  of  so  many  women.  "Worcester 
county  cheese,"  said  Mr.  Ellsworth  to  me, 
"has  sent  more  Worcester  county  women  to 
untimely  graves,  than  all  other  causes  com- 
bined !" 

The  next  and  last  call  was  at  the  farm  of 
Mr.  S.  E.  Bates,  and  we  had  time  to  look 
only  at  his  herd  of  cows,  which  was  worthy  the 
highest  praise.  Two  or  three  of  them  sur- 
passed in  form  and  product  any  we  had  seen. 
He  had  recently  paid  $221  for  a  two-year  old 
heifer,  a  short-horn  grade.  One  of  the  older 
cows  gave  63i  pounds  of  milk  per  day,  for  ten 
consecutive  days.     He  has  thirty-one  cows. 

At  dinner,  and  during  a  portion  of  the  time 
of  our  perambulations,  we  had  the  company  of 
J.  H.  GoDDARD,  Esq.,  the  editor  of  the 
Barre  Gazette,  who,  though  speaking  through 
type  and  quill,  is  decidedly  interested  in  pro- 
gressive farming,  and  informs  his  readers  of 
advances  in  the  art,  and  frequently  places  be- 
fore them  suggestions  for  still  greater  improve- 
ments. 

At  5  P.  M.,  we  took  leave  of  Barre,  sensi- 
bly impressed  with  the  beauty  and  fertility  of 
the  town,  and  with  the  cordial  attentions  of  its 
intelligent  and  agreeable  people. 

Ambling  along  at  a  pleasant  pace,  the  party 
reached  the  Wachuseit  ^fountain  House,  in 
Princeton,  at  7,  now  rounded  and  perfected  by 
the  presence  of  Barre  friends  with  their  ladies. 
Late  as  it  was,  one  of  our  number  scaled  the 
mountain  and  returned  before  9,  laden  with 
wild  flowers.  In  the  neat  and  commodious 
parlor  of  the  bouse,  various  topics  were  dis- 
cussed, anecdotes  related,  music  attempted 
by  some  of  the  gentlemen,  but  with  exceed- 
ingly poor  results.  The  evening  waned  into 
night,  and  night  into  morning,  before  the  party 
became  prone  and  quiet. 

At  9,  on  Wednesday,  the  whole  party  ascend- 
ed the  mountain  and  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
surrounding  country.  Having  descended,  the 
Barreans  departed  to  their  pleasant  town,  and 


368 


NEW   ENGLAOT)    FAKMER. 


Aug. 


our  party  to  Fitchburg,  where  we  dined.  A 
pleasant  ride  of  thirty  miles  after  dinner, 
brought  us  to  our  respective  homes,  grateful 
for  the  opportunity  of  seeing  more  of  the 
country  at  this  beautiful  season,  of  learning  val- 
uable facts  relating  to  our  business  of  life,  and 
forming  an  acquaintance  with  enterprising  and 
intelligent  people.     Truly  yours, 

Simon  Brown. 
Messes.  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co. 


DIFFERENT   FLAVORS   IW   CHEESE. 

Two  or  three  years  ago,  while  acting  as  one 
of  the  committee  on  agricultural  matters  at  the 
Mechanics'  Fair,  in  Boston,  we  were  called 
upon  to  examine  several  parcels  of  cheese, 
and  to  award  premiums  to  those  which  were 
considered  the  best. 

All  the  samples  presented  were  as  near  per- 
fection, to  the  eye,  as  possible.  Nothing  could 
be  suggested  by  any  member  of  the  commit- 
tee, that  would  make  them  more  attractive  in 
appearance.  They  were  all  excellent  in  form, 
color  and  density,  and  they  appeared  as  if  the 
art  of  the  manufacturer  had  been  exhaust- 
ed in  producing  them. 

When,  however,  the  several  cheeses  were 
probed  and  tasted,  it  was  clear  that  they  were 
alike  only  in  their  outward  appearance.  Some 
of  them  were  mild,  and  had  that  exquisite 
cheesy  sweetness  which  recommends  them  to 
all,  while  others  had  a  shai-p,  almost  rancid 
flavor,  which  made  the  tongue  and  mouth  smart 
upon  tasting  them. 

The  '.'statements"  pKesented  by  the  contrib- 
utors were  carefully  examined  and  compared 
by  the  committee,  and  were  found  to  give  the 
manner  of  making  the  different  lots  of  cheese 
so  much  alike  that  they  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  cause  of  difference  must  be  imputed, 

X.  To  the  amount  and  manner  of  using  the 
tremaet  employed,  or, 

2.  To  the  qualities  of  grass  on  different 
farms. 

They  were  not  satisfied,  however,  that  either 
of  these  was  the  cause  of  the  great  differ- 
ence which  they  found  existing  in  the  cheese 
before  them ;  and  they  separated  without  com- 
ing to  any  conclusion  as  to  the  cause. 

It  was  the  practice  among  dairy-women — 
many  years  ago,  perhaps  it  is  now, — to  put 
about  a  table  spoonful  of  salt,  to  each  f/allon 
of  the  evening'' s  milk.  Tliis  was  sprinkled  on 
the  bottom  of  the  pan,  the  milk  strained  upon 


it,  and  it  then  stood  until  morning,  when  it 
was  mingled  with  the  morning's  milk. 

It  was  found  that  this  practice  enabled  dai- 
ry-women to  produce  finely-flavored  cheese  on 
farms  that  had  been  pronounced  totally  unfit 
for  dairy  purposes. 

The  effects  attributed  to  the  salt,  were. 

Preventing  the  milk  from  souring,  in  the 
hottest  nights, — and 

Encouraging  coagulation,  and  promoting  the 
separation  of  the  curd  from  the  whey. 

If  the  practice  has  not  been  adopted  by 
cheese-makers,  would  it  not  be  well  to  make 
the  experiment  ? 


NETV   PUBLICATIONS. 

The  Farmer's  Accol'nta>t,  a  Comprehensive  and 
Systematic  Application  of  Accounts,  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  the  Practical  Farmer.  By  C.  O.  and  F.  Per- 
kins, Chester,  Mass. 

This  is  a  blank  book,  or  rather  three  blank  books 
bound  together,  each  one  neatly  ruled,  with 
printed  headings,  and  intended  for  a  year,  with 
blank  plan  for  farm,  farming  inventory,  cash,  farm, 
family  and  incidental  accounts,  expenses,  stock 
and  crop  accounts,  blank  agreement  with  hired 
help,  experiments,  improvements,  &c.,  &c.  Mr. 
F.  Perkins  informs  us  that  his  father,  who  is  a 
practical  farmer,  has  alwaj^s  kept  a  close  account 
of  all  his  farm  and  business  transactions,  and  that 
the  present  work  is  the  result  of  his  own  and  of 
his  father's  experience  in  practical  farm  book-keep- 
ing, and  not  the  mere  fancy  sketch  of  a  retired 
merchant.  With  this  book  the  farmer  has  little 
more  to  do  than  to  till  up  the  blanks,  which  are  so 
neatly  arranged  as  to  make  the  clumsiest  fingers 
itch  to  be  using  the  pen. 

From  our  own  observation  and  experience  upon 
the  farm,  we  do  not  regard  book-keeping,  as  essen- 
tial to  pecuniary  success.  A  particular  course,  or 
a  particular  crop,  may  succeed  this  year,  and  fail 
the  next,  on  the  same  soil,  with  or  without  a  debt 
and  credit  account.  Farmers  are  suliject  to 
droughts  and  floods,  to  the  ravages  of  insects  and 
disease,  which  cannot  be  counteracted  or  explained 
by  the  most  carefully  kept  balance  sheet.  Still, 
we  believe  that  every  farmer  should  practice  some 
system  of  book-keeping,  and  make  some  record 
of  events  upon  the  farm,  in  the  family  and  neigh- 
borhood. 

Students  and  professional  men  often  injure  their 
bodilj"  health  by  excessive  devotion  to  head  work ; 
and  farmers,  in  like  manner,  arc  liable  to  neglect 
the  proiicr  exercise  of  their  mental  faculties  in 
consequence  of  severe  bodily  labor.  To  guard 
against  this  tendency  of  his  occupation,  we  would 
recommend  book-keeping  to  every  hard  working 
farmer,  lie  should  ta/o;  time  to  write,  to  add  and 
sul)tract,  to  "keep  his  hand  in,"  if  for  no  other 
purpose.    By  doing  so,  both  himself  and  his  boys 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


369 


will  take  an  interest  in  their  business,  and  form  an 
attachment  to  the  farm,  which  they  might  not  do, 
if  no  account  were  kept  with  the  several  fields, 
crops  and  animals  which  they  cultivate  or  produce. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS     ANIMALS,    INCLUDING    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.    VII. 
Plant  Lice.  —  Continued. 

Another  anomaly  of  the  Aphidians  is,  that 
they  are  both  oviparous  and  viviparous.  The 
perfect  winged  insects  appear  in  the  spring  or 
early  summer,  and  again  in  autumn ;  the  fe- 
males, sometimes  wingless,  then  laying  eggs, 
from  which  is  hatched  a  generation  of  wingless 
lice,  apparently  of  one  sex  only,  and  generally 
called  females,  which  are  viviparous  without 
the  interposition  of  males,  bringing  forth  a 
numerous  progeny  like  themselves,  which  in 
turn  bring  forth  another  like  progeny,  and  so 
on,  to  the  seventh  or  eighth  generation  before 
the  winged  males  and  egg-laying  females  again 
appear. 

In  regard  to  this  singular  manner  of  repro- 
duction, Prof.  Walsh,  of  the  Practical  Ento- 
mologist, says:  "How  under  these  circum- 
stances the  process  of  generation  is  accom- 
plished, is  a  curious,  and  at  present,  an  un- 
settled problem.  Some  distinguished  German 
Entomologists  maintain  that  these  so  called 
females  are  neuter  {Ammen,)  without  any 
regular  ovaries  developed,  and  that  it  is  by  a 
sort  of  budding  process,  analogous  to  that  of 
the  Polyps,  that  the  young  plant  lice  are  de- 
veloped within  the  parent  stock.  I  have  just 
heard  from  Mr.  Darwin  that  it  has  been  de- 
monstrated by  Balbiani,  in  a  paper  recently 
published,  that  these  individuals  at  first  are 
neither  females  nor  neuter,  but  hermaphrodites. 
If  this  be  so,  it  is  the  only  known  instance  of 
an  animal,  so  high  in  the  scale  of  creation  as 
an  insect,  being  of  the  hermaphrodite  sex." 

In  the  zoology  of  Agassiz  and  Gould  another 
theory  is  noticed, — that  the  so-called  interme- 
diate females  are  not  parents,  by  budding  or 
otherwise,  but  nurses,  preserving  in  their  own 
bodies,  and  committing  to  the  bodies  of  their 
successors  the  offspring  of  their  ancestors. 

The  well  known  fecundity  of  plant  lice  has 
been  the  basis  of  some  curious  calculations  in 
regard  to  their  possible  increase  in  a  given 
time,  and  under  favorable  circumstances. 
Fortunately  for  us,  such  circumstances  do  not 
often  concur,  so  as  to  make  their  theoretical 
increase  pi-actical ;  yet  their  actual  increase  is 
sometimes  astonishing.  The  year  1861  must 
have  been  highl}-  favorable  to  the  oat  louse — 
before  described  as  of  a  reddish  brown  color, 
called  also  the  grain  louse,  because  it  is  found 
on  wheat,  rye,  oats,  barley  and  to  some  extent 
on  Indian  corn.  In  that  year  they  appeared 
in  multitudes  which  no  man  could  number, 
simultaneously  throughout  New  England  and 
some  of  the  Middle  States,  damaging  more 
especially  late  spring  grain.     Just  before  an 


acre  of  wheat,  belonging  to  the  writer,  began 
to  ripen  in  that  year,  it  was  estimated  from  a 
careful  examination  and  several  countings, 
that  the  number  of  plant  lice  infesting  that 
crop  was  equal  at  least  to  one-half  of  the 
number  of  grains  of  wheat.  The  product  of 
the  acre  was  eighteen  bushels,  and  allowing 
seven  hundred  and  sixty-eight  thousand  grains 
to  the  bushel,  there  were  nearly  seven  million 
of  lice.  Yet  this  large  number  is  not  one- 
eight-hundredth  part  of  the  possible  theoreti- 
cal number  of  the  fifth  generation  from  a  single 
progenitor,  according  to  Reaumur.  Or,  in 
other  words,  a  single  female  Ajjliis,  on  this 
theory,  might  be  the  parent  of  a  iifth  genera- 
tion sufficiently  numerous  to  stock  more  than 
eight  hundred  acres,  with  one  louse  to  every 
two  grains  of  wheat.  And  as  this  species  ma- 
tures very  rapidly,  and  the  generations  succeed 
each  other  at  short  intervals,  all  this  vast  in- 
crease might  take  place  in  a  few  weeks.  Prac- 
tically no  such  increase  ever  takes  place,  yet 
the  progenitors  of  the  myriads  of  lice  that  in- 
fested the  grain  of  1861  were  so  few  that 
neither  they  nor  their  offspring  were  generally 
noticed  until  after  the  heading  of  the  grain. 

Among  these  grain  lice  no  winged  or  per- 
fect insects  were  discovered,  although  such  are 
always  found  on  the  apple  tree  in  the  early 
part  of  the  season.  This  absence  of  the  per- 
fect insect  I  supposed  to  be  due  to  the  time  of 
observation — it  being  too  late  for  the  winged 
lice  of  spring,  and  too  early  for  the  winged 
lice  of  autumn.  But  it  is  stated  in  the  Janu- 
ary number  of  the  Practical  Entomologist  that 
Dr.  Fitch,  who  carefully  watched  this  Aphis 
the  year  round,  failed  to  find  any  eggs,  or  egg- 
laying  lice.  So  that  this  species  not  only  ex- 
cels in  fecundity,  but  is  even  more  mysterious 
than  other  species  in  its  manner  of  reproduc- 
tion. It  was  also  noticeable  that  these  lice 
were  not  attended  by  their  usual  friend,  the 
ant.  The  reason  for  this  non-appearance,  I 
now  learn  from  the  same  authority,  is  that  this 
species  excretes  no  sugar  or  sugary  fluid. 

The  vast  number  of  grain  lice  in  1861,  and 
their  paucity  in  previous  and  succeeding  years, 
cannot  be  accounted  for  on  any  theory  of  the 
presence  or  absence  of  pai'asitic  insects,  or  any 
other  theory  that  has  as  yet  been  suggested. 

Being  curious  to  know  what  would  become 
of  this  host  of  little  animals  when  the  grain 
reached  maturity,  I  closely  watched  them  from 
day  to  day,  and  brought  several  stalks  into  the 
house,  from  which  stalks,  as  soon  as  dry,  every 
louse  dropped  and  perished,  without  making 
any  provision  for  a  future  race  ;  and  apparently, 
so  did  it  happen  in  the  field ;  for  when  the 
grain  matured  not  a  louse  or  egg  could  be 
found. 

Mysterious  creatures — they  came — they  per- 
ished, and  left  no  record  from  which  to  unfold 
the  secret  of  their  mission.  They  did  not 
seem  to  be  sent,  like  the  locust  or  army  worm, 
as  a  rebuke  for  man's  transgressions,  nor  like 
quails  to  rebellious  Israel,  to  be  food  for 


370 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


Aug. 


Reaumur's  hungry  parasites,  for  they  were  not 
there  to  eat  them.  Like  many  individuals  of 
the  human  race,  unless  we  take  into  the  ac- 
count their  own  enjoyment  of  life,  they  seem 
to  our  imperfect  mental  vision  to  have  been 
made  in  vain.  LB.  Hartwell. 

Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
TALK   WITH    AN"    ILLIJSTOIS    FAKMER. 

Potatoes. — I  think  you  use  too  much  seed. 
I  find  two  eyes  better  than  more.  I  cut  my 
potatoes  into  t^mall  pieces  generally  containing 
one  eye  ;  I  put  two  in  the  hill.  After  they  are 
cut,  let  them  lay  and  dry  a  week  or  more  be- 
fore planting.  The  cut  surface  will  become 
dry  and  the  moisture  from  the  pieces  will  not 
be  absorbed  by  the  soil,  but  will  goto  nourish 
the  shoots.  \V'^hen  the  potatoes  begin  to  show 
themselves  in  the  rows,  take  one  horse  and  a 
small  plow,  and  throw  the  s-oil  on  one  side  on 
to  the  row,  then  come  back  on  the  other  side 
doing  the  same,  and  cover  the  young  shoots 
from  one  to  two  inches  deep.  They  will  grow 
up  through  the  soil  strong  and  stocky.  Then 
go  through  the  rows  the  other  way.  throwing 
up  the  soil  in  the  same  way.  If  there  should 
he  need,  go  through  the  row  with  a  horse  hoe 
or  cultivator.  We  never  use  a  hand  hoe  in 
field  culture  of  potatoes. 

Corn. — With  the  machinery  we  now  have,  I 
can  cultivate  eighty  acres  as  easily  as  I  could 
fifteen  acres  when  I  went  there,  thirty  years 
ago.  With  four  good  horses  and  a  gang  plow, 
which  turns  two  furrows  at  one  time,  1  mount 
my  seat  and  go  around  an  eighty  acre  lot.  A 
skilful  hand  will  drive  the  team,  and  manage 
the  levers  that  throw  out  or  in  the  plows.  If 
the  land  is  full  of  roots,  it  is  be?t  to  have  one 
man  to  guide  the  team  and  one  to  work  the 
plows.  Such  a  team  will  plow  from  four  to 
five  acres  a  day.  This  is  as  much  as  two  teams 
with  two  men  and  single  plows,  will  do,  thus 
saving  tlie  labor  of  one  man  ;  and  then,  having 
rode  all  day  instead  of  walking  l)ehind  the  plow, 
I  am  not  used  up,  but  can  take  care  of  my 
team  and  do  my  chores,  and  am  ready  for  the 
work  to-morrow.  Thus  with  about  si,\teen 
days  of  good  weather,  1  have  my  lot  plowed. 
Then  if  1  wish  to  make  a  nice  job  of  it,  1  take 
two  harrows  and  set  them  abreast,  and  three 
and  sometimes  lour  horses  abreast,  and  harrow 
ten  or  twelve  acres  a  day.  This  takes  si.\  or 
eeven  days.  The  next  machine  is  the  go[)her. 
This  is  a  plank  a  foot  wide,  with  three  pieces 
of  wood  like  sled-runners,  four  feet  apart,  at- 
tached to  one  edge,  and  a  pole  to  die  other. 
This  pole  goes  between  a  pair  of  horses.  With 
this  machine  1  mark  out  the  rows  one  way  as 
straight  as  possible ;  then  1  take  the  corn 
planter,  fill  the  hopper,  take  on  a  bag  of  seed 
corn  for  ballast,  hit^h  on  a  pair  of  horses,  and 
take  one  man  to  drive  and  one  to  work  the 
planter,  and  we  can  plant  ten  or  twelve  acres 
a  day.     The  marking  and  planting  will  occupy 


about  twelve  days.  Then  my  eighty  acre  lot 
is  planted.  This,  taking  out  the  Sundays  and 
rainy  days,  will  take  about  si.x  weeks  ;  so  if  a 
man  has  but  one  four  horse  team,  he  must  be- 
gin in  season — and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  rainy 
weather  and  long  storms  put  us  back  in  culti- 
vating large  fields.  When  the  corn  begins  to 
show  itself,  I  take  my  harrow  and  a  pair  of 
horses,  and  harrow  the  field  again.  It  does 
not  injure  the  corn,  and  is  the  best  way  of 
keeping  down  the  weeds.  The  work  after  this 
is  done  with  the  plow  or  cultivator.  When  the 
corn  is  ripe,  we  take  a  wagon  and  pair  of 
horses,  and  go  through  the  field,  taking  five 
rows  at  a  time,  and  pick  the  ears  ;  then  with 
another  machine  we  cut  the  stalks  and  throw 
them  into  rows,  ready  to  be  burned.  Thus 
the  whole  work  of  cultivation  is  done  by  ma- 
chinery. 

Follow  the  com  with  spring  wheat,  and  sow 
a  part,  or  the  whole  field  with  clover  and  feed 
it  off"  in  the  fall.  Cattle  will  thrive  on  this  till 
December.  The  next  year  you  may  cut  a  large 
crop  of  clover,  and  when  you  plow  it,  the  clo- 
ver roots  will  be  equal  to  a  dressing  of  manure. 

Rye. — I  raise  more  rye  than  formerly.  I 
think  there  is  more  raised  in  the  State.  Have 
raised  four  hundred  bushels  in  a  year.  I  have 
two  reasons  for  it :  First,  it  makes  good  pas- 
ture in  the  late  fall  and  winter.  Sow  it  early 
and  let  it  get  a  good  start,  and  it  makes  fine 
pasture.  1  sow  three  pecks  to  the  acre.  Sec- 
ond, grass  seed  is  more  sure  to  catch  well  with 
rye  than  with  any  other  grain.  We  sow  two 
bushels  of  wheat  and  three  of  oats,  and  they 
are  apt  to  smother  the  grass,  but  with  three 
pecks  of  rye  the  blades  come  up  so  far  apart 
that  the  grass  has  a  chance  to  get  rooted,  so 
that  when  the  rye  tillers  out,  it  will  not  kill  it. 
When  it  is  ripe,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the 
grain  will  shell  out,  to  bring  up  quite  a  crop  of 
rye,  which  is  valuable  in  the  fall  and  the  next 
spring  for  pasture.  I  sow  clover  with  rye  and 
wheat,  expressly  for  pasture  in  the  fall  and 
winter.  Cattle  will  eat  blue  grass  in  the  field 
all  winter  in  preference  to  corn  fodder  and 
oat  straw,  and  will  thrive  on  it.  Colts  will 
paw  off  the  snow  and  eat  clover  and  blue 
grass,  in  preference  to  fodder  from  the  stack. 
Clover  is  the  most  profitable  crop  of  grass.  It 
yields  two  crops.  I  p.asture  the  second  crop, 
unless  I  wish  to  save  the  seed.  I  seldom  cut 
a  crop  of  hay  when  I  can  manage  to  make  the 
cattle  or  horses  mow  it  for  themselves.  By  a 
little  management,  so  as  to  have  a  crop  of  grass 
or  rye  lor  winter  pasture,  our  cattle  re(]uire 
feeding  only  from  four  to  six  weeks.  Some- 
times a  few  ears  of  corn  a  day  is  all  they  need. 

Concord,  Mass.,  June,  1867.  R. 


CUTTING   GRASS   EARLY. 

As  the  haying  season  will  soon  be  at  hand, 
there  is,  1  think,  one  point  which  was  not  no- 
ticed last  season  in  the  discussion  in  the  Coun- 
try Uenileman,  in  favor  of  cutting  grass  early, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEJUER. 


37i 


and  I  think  it  is  now  time  that  the  subject 
might  be  introduced  again.  The  various 
grasses  which  grow  in  our  meadows  are  pe- 
rennial, and  when  we  seed  down  a  piece  of 
ground  for  meadow  with  the  kind  of  grass  we 
wish  to  grow  there,  or  even  if  good  grasses 
come  in  without  seeding,  it  is  very  important 
that  the  same  plants  should  continue  to  grow 
healthy  and  vigorously  year  after  year,  and 
produce  thick  and  heavy  crops,  free  from 
weeds  or  thin  and  almost  barren  places. 

Now  it  is  self-e\identthat  if  weeds  and  other 
plants  can  be  exterminated  by  mowing,  that 
there  are  especially  some  stages  in  the  growth 
of  grass  in  which  meadows  may  be  injured  by 
mowing.  At  what  time,  then,  can  it  be  cut 
with  the  least  injury  to  the  plant  itself?  In 
cutting  timber  it  is  usually  observed  that  young 
and  thrifty  trees  throw  up  sprouts  from  their 
stumps  much  more  vigorously  than  larger  and 
older  ones ;  also  when  cut  in  the  winter  pre- 
ceding, or  during  the  growing  season,  than  in 
the  autumn  when  it  is  just  over  with.  Farmers 
usually  take  advantage  of  this  fact  in  cutting 
bushes,  and  wait  until  the  season's  growth  is 
completed.  It  then  gives  the  vitality  of  the 
root  such  a  shock,  it  being  at  this  time  in  an 
exhausted  state  after  its  utmost  exertions  are 
fairly  over  with,  that  its  constitution  is  irrepar- 
ably ruined.  Not  only  in  cutting  bushes,  but 
in  cutting  weeds,  is  the  same  principle  found 
by  practice  to  be  true ;  and  by  cutting  them 
at  this  season  great  headway  is  made  in  their 
extermination. 

Why  can  we  not  apply  the  same  principle  to 
our  faithful  grass  plants  in  the  meadow?  Why 
should  we  let  them  become  grown  up,  and 
their  forces  all  expended,  and  then  ruthlessly 
cut  down  all,  trusting  to  luck  to  retain  even 
one  spark  of  life  in  them?  Would  it  not  be 
better  to  prune  them  graciously  and  in  season  ? 
Why  should  we  wait  till  our  grass  is  all  what 
is  styled  "Mt  to  cut,"  (that  is,  its  greatest  de- 
gree of  perfection  for  fodder  attained)  before 
a  single  stroixe  is  cut.  and  more  than  half  can 
not  be  harvested  until  it  gets  too  ripe  ?  It  is 
true  perhaps,  that  more  weight  is  attained  then 
than  when  cut  when  two-thirds  or  three-quar- 
ters grown,  but  is  it  really  worth  so  much  for 
milk  or  lor  fat?  and  besides  do  we  not  get  it 
all  in  a  second  crop  or  aftermath  ?  Then  again 
are  we  not  much  safer  against  a  drouth  just 
after  ha}  ing,  M-hich  has  ruined  irreparablv  mil- 
lions of  these  little  roots  in  a  late  cut  meadow  ? 
and  further  ar<;  we  not  better  prepared  for  a 
vigorous  and  healthy  growth  the  next  season  ? 
— S.  N.  Beers,  in  Country  Gent. 


WORKING   BULLS. 

I  have  one  of  Emery's  endless  chain  pow- 
ers to  drive  my  hay  cutter.  My  bull  is  an  Al- 
derney,  two  jears  old,  weighing  a  little  over 
900  pounds.  I  put  on  the  brake  and  had  him 
led  into  the  power,  where  he  had  a  small  leed 
of  oats  given  him.     While  he  ate  these  he  was 


groomed  and  caressed.  Then,  while  he  was 
eating,  the  break  was  slacked  a  little,  and  as 
the  Hoor  moved  down,  (slowly,  so  as  not  to 
alarm  him,)  he  stepped  up  to  keep  his  muzzle 
at  the  oats.  At  the  fourth  lesson,  he  walked 
an  hour,  and  cut  hay  enough  to  last  my  stock 
— some  eighteen  head  in  all — two  or  three 
days. 

We  have  not  had  the  slightest  trouble,  and 
so  much  does  he  appear  to  like  the  exercise, 
and  the  pleasant  remembrance  of  the  reward 
of  good  behavior,  that  I  shall  not  be  surprised 
if,  when  he  happens  to  find  the  door  open,  he 
should  go  in  and  "run  the  machine"  on  his 
own  account.  I  intend  to  put  up  a  circular 
saw  and  let  him  cut  my  fire-wood. 

Now  for  the  advantages.  The  pampering 
and  confinement  which  makes  a  horse  run  away, 
will,  in  time,  make  a  bull  devilish.  The  work 
I  give  him  re(iuires  no  harnessing ;  it  is  only 
an  hour's  walk  up  a  hill  of  13°  elevation.  It 
gives  him  an  outlet  for  his  superfluous  spirits, 
It  keeps  him  "in  hand"  and  gentle,  it  wears 
away  the  growth  of  his  hoofs,  develops  his 
muscle  and  improves  his  health.  Have  I  not 
a  right  to  expect  my  herd  to  be  benefited  by 
such  management?  I  thought  so  before  1 
knew  Prof.  Agassiz's  opinion. — Cor.  Country 
Gentleman. 


Prevention  of  Second  Sw.vrms. — "A 
Beginner"  inquires  the  best  way  to  prevent 
second  swarms  or  after-swarming. 

He  will  find  that  if  he  removes  the  hive  which 
has  swarmed,  or  from  which  he  has  taken  a 
swarm,  to  a  new  location,  some  distance  off, 
say  a  dozen  yards,  he  will  not  be  troubled 
with  after-swarms  from  it,  because  it  will  lose 
so  many  of  its  old  bees  that  few  remain  who 
have  the  "swarming  fever." 

I  advise  this  way  with  all  confidence,  for 
Italian  colonies.  I  have  tried  it  for  several 
seasons,  with  them,  and  never  had  it  fail.  I 
have  an  impression  that  the  common  bees  may 
sometimes  lose  too  many  bees  if  removed  so 
flir,  though  a  correspondent  informs  me  that 
he  has,  by  my  advice,  so  moved  his  common 
bees,  and  they  did  not  lose  too  man3\  I  have 
noticed  that  the  Italians  are  quicker  to  find 
their  old  home  when  it  is  removed,  if  it  has 
any  distinctive  color  or  marking  about  it,  than 
the  black  bees. — Mrs.  Tupper,  in  Frairie 
Farmer. 


— Hiram  Bartlett,  in  a  late  address  before  the 
Ohio  Dairymen's  Association,  made  the  following 
statement :  The  amount  of  capital  invested  in  the 
dairy  business  of  Ohio,  is  estimated  at  .^264,628,- 
850,  of  which  the  cows,  at  ^50  each,  amount  to 
#34,516,750 ;  the  land  at  $50  per  acre,  #207,101,100 ; 
teams  and  implements,  #23,011,000.  In  1865,  the 
number  of  milch  cows  in  Ohio  was  695,337 ;  the 
butter  product,  32,554,835  pounds,  and  the  cheese 
product,  16,940,213  pounds. 


372 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


TRAINING  OF  THE  TOMATO. 
We  have  laid  aside  for  publication  an  arti- 
cle on  the  "Waste  of  Force  in  Vegetation," 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan,  editor  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Oardcner'' s  Monthly,  which  suggests  a 
philosophical  theory  to  account  for  the  practice 
of  old  grape  growers  who  cut  off  the  tendrils 
of  the  grape  vine.  The  theory  is,  that  these 
tendrils  exhaust  the  vital  force  of  the  plant  in 
their  efforts  to  discover  or  reach  something  to 
cling  to.  Here,  perhaps,  is  the  philosophy  of 
trellising  grape  vines,  of  bushing  peas,  of 
poling  hops  and  beans,  and  of  supporting 
tomatoes.  Now,  boys,  try  the  experiment 
illustrated  by  the  cut.  You  all  know  how  the 
"support"  of  a  good  bed  saves  or  recuperates 
your  vital  force,  and  increases  your  ability  to 
labor.  Perhaps  a  tomato  plant  may  in  like 
manner  enjoy  the  stakes  and  hoops  on  which 
it  rests,  and  may  possibly  express  its  gratitude 
by  expending  the  "force"  thus  saved  in  the 
production  of  superior  fruits. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOXIOUS     ANIMALS,    INCLUDING    IN- 
SECTS.—NO.  VUI. 
Plant  Lice.  —Concluded. 

It  appears  that  tlie  grain-lice  of  18G1,  came 
and  perished,  regardless  of  the  presence  or  ab- 
sence of  these  brave  and  renowned  enemies, 
the    Coccindla  and    Chrysopa — the   lady-bii'd 


and  golden-eyed,  lace-wing  fly,  or  other  in- 
sect parasites.  The  lady-bird  may  be  known 
by  a  quaint  and  unscientific  description  of  the 
man  who  called  it  "a  miniature  spotted  mud- 
turtle"  (tortoise).  The  golden-eyed  fly  whi(!h  is 
about  one-half  an  inch  in  length,  Harris  de- 
scribes as  "of  a  pale-green  color,  having  four 
wings,  resembling  delicate  lace,  and  eyes  of 
the  brilliancy  of  polished  gold,  as  its  genume 
name  Chrysopa  implies." 

Having  read  that  the  first  mentioned,  both 
in  the  young  and  adult  state,  and  the  larvce 
of  the  last  mentioned,  were  wont  to  prey  in- 
cessantly and  voraciously  upon  plant-lice,  I 
made  diligent  search  for  them  in  the  wheat 
field  mentioned  in  our  last  article,  and  became 
satisfied  that  their  number  was  wholly  inade- 
quate to  diminish  the  lice  in  any  sensible  de- 
gree. Writers  on  injurious  insects  are  par- 
ticular in  their  descriptions  and  commendations 
of  these  and  other  beneficial  insects,  that  they 
may  become  known  and  appreciated  by  the  cul- 
tivator. We  do  not  doubt  or  undervalue  their 
services,  but  until  they  become  more  numerous, 
they  will  be  wholly  Inadequate  to  the  suppres- 
sion of  plant-lice.  We  have  seen  how  little 
they  accomplished  in  checking  the  increase 
of  the  grain-louse  in  1861,  and  I  have  never 
had  an  apple  tree,  when  once  infested  with 
lice,  cleared  of  the  pests  by  the  services  of  the 
parasitic  insect  or  birds.  We  have  abundant 
means  of  repelling  plant-lice  on  a  small  scale, 
but  their  possible  increase  In  any  year  renders 
them  a  power  for  mischief,  entirely  beyond  our 
control. 

One  valuable  fact  was  established  by  inqui- 
ries and  investigation  in  1861, — that  while  late 
sowed  spring  grain  was  much  injured,  winter 
and  early  sowed  spring  grain  suffered  very 
little.  Our  acre  of  wheat,  that  year,  was  an 
average  crop  In  quantity  and  quality. 

Tlie  sum  of  our  protracted  remarks  in  regard 
to  these  Aphldians  of  tbe  grain,  is  that  judging 
from  the  past,  they  may  not  often  be  expected 
to  visit  us  in  large  numbers ;  that  their  advent 
cannot  be  prevented,  nor  their  attacks  repelled 
by  ourselves  and  our  Insect  and  bird  allies, 
when  they  do  come ;  and  that  their  injuries 
may  be  mainly  avoided  by  early  sowing. 

In  regard  to  spring  wheat,  of  which  I  have 
not  failed  to  have  a  i'air  crop  in  any  of  the  last 
seven  years,  1  consider  early  sowing,  irrespec- 
tive of  lice.  Indispensable.  My  practice  is'to 
sow  on  dry  land,  after  corn;  ploughing  in  the 
fall,  and  harrowing  In  the  seed  the  spring  fol- 
lowing, as  soon  as  the  ground  Is  in  a  condition 
to  be  stirred.  If  it  can  be  done  in  March  a 
good  crop  is  almost  sure  ;  If  neglected  till  May, 
a  failure  is  as  sure.  1  have  tried  only  two  va- 
rieties of  wheat,  Java  and  Scotch  File — prefer 
the  Java. 

The  only  plant-lice  with  which  I  have  serious- 
ly to  contend,  aretho  Aphides  Mali,  or])Iant-lice 
of  the  ai)ple-tree.  Their  attacks,  with  us,  have 
been  chielly  on  young  and  rapidly  growing 
trees   and  grafted  scions.      yometlmes   they 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


873 


are  found  on  a  luxuriant  sprout  or  sucker  of  a 
mature  tree ;  which  sprout  or  sucker  we  are 
very  wilUng  to  see  checked,  but  are  rarely  on 
the  mature  and  bearing  branches. 

Even  where  they  are  unwelcome,  they  are 
sometimes  of  some  service  in  checking  a  too 
rapid  growth  late  in  the  season,  and  in  causing 
the  young  twigs  to  harden  before  the  approach 
of  winter. 

Fumigation  with  tobacco  is  a  common  and 
effectual  method  of  removing  lice  from  house- 
Dlants ;  and  a  decoction  of  tobacco  or  solution 
of  whale  oil  soap  is  frequently  used  in  nurse- 
ries and  fruit  yards.  Strong  soap-suds,  made 
from  common  soft  soap  is  death  to  lice.  The 
only'  difficulty  in  regard  to  these  last  reme- 
dies is  in  the  application.  If  a  syringe  or 
garden  engine  is  used,  too  much  of  the 
liquid  will  be  wasted.  When  the  twigs  and  small 
branches  can  be  safely  bent  over  and  dipped 
in  a  dish  of  the  louse-killing  liquid,  the  work  is 
effectually  and  cheaply  accomplished.  When 
this  method  cannot  be  used  with  safety,  a  sat- 
urated sponge  or  soft  rag  carefully  applied, 
so  as  not  to  break  the  foliage,  will  do  good  ser- 
vice. 

Some  eight  or  nine  years  ago,  the  quince- 
trees  in  this  vicinity,  previously  healthy  and 
fruitful,  were  attacked  with  a  blight,  causing 
the  foliage  to  appear,  at  first,  somewhat  hoary, 
or  as  if  mouldy.  This  appearance  was  soon 
succeeded  by  the  brown  and  sere  leaf,  and 
eventually,  Ijy  the  death  of  the  shrub, — so 
that  quince  bushes  only  exist  now  with  us,  his- 
torically. Some  hasty  and  partial  examinations 
of  this  blight  disclosed  numerous  but  minute 
plant-lice  : — a  discovery  which  at  the  time,  led 
me  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  the  sole 
cause  of  the  blight.  But  having  since  heard 
other  causes  of  the  destruction  of  the  shrub 
assigned  by  intelligent  cultivators,  I  have 
doubted  the  correctness  of  my  first  conclu- 
sions, and  regret  that  a  more  thorough  exam- 
ination was  not  then  made. 

The  Aphis  Brassicce,  cabbage-louse,  found 
also  on  mustard,  turnips,  and  other  plants  of 
this  order,  is  of  a  greenish  color,  partially  cov- 
ered, as  is  the  plant  which  it  infests,  with  an 
excretion  in  the  form  of  a  whitish  powder. 
These  lice  are  sometimes  quite  troublesome  to 
the  market  gardener.  I  am  informed  by  one 
of  my  neighbors,  Mr.  Whittemore,  who  has 
been  an  extensive  and  successful  cultivator  of 
cabbages,  that  these  lice  begin  to  appear  about 
the  time  of  the  first  setting  out  of  the  plants 
from  the  hot-bed,  and  continue  till  the  latest 
harvest,  in  early  winter ;  that  he  has  never  no- 
ticed a  winged-insect,  though  he  has  never 
scrutinized  the  infested  plants  with  a  view  to 
such  discovery ;  and  that  they  are  accompa- 
nied by  the  same  ant  that  visits  the  apple-tree 
lice  ; — from  which  we  conclude  that  they  are  in 
the  sugar  manufacturing  business. 

His  remedies  were  ashes,  lime,  and  plaster 
in  powder,  applied  separately  or  mixed,  by 
dashing  the  same  on  to  the  infested  parts,  by 


hand.     Several  applications  were  necessary  in 
some  seasons  to  suppress  the  vermin. 

I.  B.  Hartwell. 

Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  1867. 


EXTRACTS   AND    REPLIES. 

THE    SEASOX    IX   WIXCSOR    COUNTY,    VT. 

We  have  had  the  same  subject  to  talk  about  here 
that  they  have  in  other  places,  viz. ;  "A  cold,  back- 
ward spring."  Tlic  supplies  of  hay  and  grain  for 
feeding  stock  was  sliort,  while  the  grass  was  still 
shorter ;  so  that  a  good  many  farmers  were  plagued 
to  keep  their  stock  along  decently  till  the  gi'ass 
grew.  But  the  crisis  is  past;  the  pleasant  sum- 
mer is  at  hand,  laden  with  blessings,  and  the  far- 
mers have  abundant  reason  for  anticipating  good 
crops  for  the  coming  harvest.  The  hay  crop  in 
particular  bids  fair  to  be  far  better  than  that  of 
last  year. 

Blight  Summer  has  come  with  her  heauties  again, 
Her  warm  breath  Is  noticed  on  mountain  and  plain  ; 
With  sweet  scented  blossoms  she's  crowning  the  bowers 
And  nursing  them  kindly  with  sunshine  and  showers. 

She's  welcomed  by  all,  both  the  young  and  the  old, 
She  brings  for  them  jewels  far  brighter  than  gold; 
Whether  low  ly  or  humble,  wealthy  or  poor, 
With  a  smile  of  afiection  she  enters  their  door. 
Royalton,  Vt.,  June  1, 1867.  J.  Gr.  Bennett. 


SPAVIN    OF   A   TEARS    STANDING. 

Please  inform  me  through  the  columns  of  the 
Farmer,  if  a  horse  which  has  a  bone  spavin  of 
about  a  year's  standing  can  be  cured,  and  what 
remedy  you  would  apply,  and  oblige 

An  Old  Subscriber. 

Rijegate,  Vt.,  May,  1867. 

Remarks. — Wo  have  so  often  "delivered  our- 
selves" on  this  subject,  that  wc  are  glad  to  repro- 
duce the  following  remarks  by  Dr.  Paaren,  Vetei*- 
inary  Editor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer,  who  says,  "the 
application  every  second  day,  of  a  liniment,  com- 
posed of  two  parts  of  olive  oil,  and  one  part  each 
of  creosote  and  oil  of  tni-pentine,  will  to  some  ex- 
tent relieve  pain,  if  not  lameness.  Blistering  and 
firing  are  frequently  employed,  but  with  no  better 
success  than  milder  remedies,  and  at  all  events 
the  cure  only  goes  so  far  as  to  prevent  the  horse 
from  going  lame ;  but  in  this  case  even,  we  only 
call  the  failing  mended,  for  it  certainly  is  not  cured, 
though  the  lameness  may  be  so.  We  say  'mended 
only,'  because  the  cure  is  somewhat  similar  in 
effect  to  the  mending  a  broken  or  splintered  lance- 
wood  gig-shaft  by  splicing  to  it  a  stiff  piece  of 
wood  or  iron.  The  shaft  is  certainly  mended,  ren- 
dered safe,  useable,  and  as  strong  as  ever,  but  its 
elasticity,  on  which  depends  its  chief  merit,  is  for- 
ever gone ;  and  this,  in  a  minor  degree,  is  the 
effect  th.at  mending  a  spavin  hock  has  on  its  mo- 
tion ;  though  if  spavin  is  taken  in  hand  as  soon  as  it 
is  perceived,  and  before  stiffness  of  the  hock  takes 
place,  the  horse  may  then  be  nearly  or  quite  as 
well  as  he  ever  was.  But  the  severest  of  operations 
will  not  restore  elasticity  if  it  has  once  been  de- 
stroyed. 'Bone  Spavin'  is  a  term  applied  to  a  tumor 
on  the  inside  of  the  hock  joint,  proceeding  from 
an  ossiflc  or  bonj^  deposit,  which  forms  a  junction  of 
the  small  bones  of  the  joint ;  of  course  preventing 


874 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


the  freedom  of  their  aetion,  and  producing  pain 
and  lameness — a  lameness  that,  in  a  plurality  of 
cases,  no  skill,  no  treatment,  no  operation  can 
beneficially  ellcet." 

PROFIT  AND  EXPENSE  OF  POCLTRY. 

1  have  noticed  a  numlier  of  reports  of  late  on  the 
large  profits  of  fowls.  I  think  they  do  not  charge 
all  the  expenses,  or  the  breed  of  fowls  must  be 
very  small  feeders.  I  now  send  you  my  account 
for  1866  :— 

Stock  and  Value,  January  1, 1866. 
2V  fowls  at  'ibc,  $20.23;    8  late  chicks, 

$3  20 $23  45 

13  ducks   at    75c 9  '5 

$33  20 

64  bush.  F.  feed,  25.10;  20  bush,  oatmeal,  17.85,  42  95 
24  do.  corn,  26.90;  18  do.  cracked  corn,  18.40,  45  30 
18  do.  oaiB.  14.15;  6>i  do.  meal,  6.60.  ...  20  65 
5  do.  potatoes,  3.00 ;  100  tt>8.  wheat,  2.45  .  .  5  45 
321  lbs.  scraps,  6.42;  12  doz.  eggs  to  set.  6.23  .  .  11  65 
24  doz.   eggs   set,   at  38c,  9.12;  11   doz.  duck's 

eggs,  4.47 13  59 

2  ducks,  4.00 ;  4  roosters,  5.80,  bought,  ....       9  80 
1  bbl.  lime,  1.76 ;  whitewash  brush,  50c  ;  salt,  15      2  40 

3  boxes,   shipping  fowls,  75c;    dressing  poul- 

try, 1.50 2  25 

Laths   and  nails 7  08 

Lathing,  plastering  and  white-washing  coop,    12  00 

$206  32 
ProQt 104  64 

$310  96 
Stock  and  Value,  January  1, 1867. 
40  fowls,  75c,  $30;  16  ducks,  75c,  $12,  .   .   $12  00 

3  turkeys 3  00 

$45  00 

Sold  107  hens  and  chickens 102  39 

"      47  duflis,  45.89;  ^7;'4  bbls.  manure, 

2;.25 73  14 

«'  130  doz.  9  hens'  eggs,  37c 48  38 

"   15  "  1  ducks'  eggs,  40c 6  03 

274  94 

Stock  and  eggs  tised  in  the  house  : 

7  hens,  70c,  4.90;  5  ducks,  1.25,6.25 11  15 

24  doz.  10  hen's   eggs,  37c 9  18 

39  doz.  3  duck's  eggs,  40c 15  69 

$310  96 

Whole  No.  hen's  eggs  laid 179  doz.    7 

"        "      duck's    "      " 65     "      4 

244  doz.  11 

I  always  get  roosters  from  other  stock,  to  breed 
from,  otherwise  they  will  soon  run  out. 

Salem,  Mass.,  1867.  James  Buffington. 


A  NEW   THEORY   IN    RESPECT   TO    BOTS. 

From  long  and  close  obser\'ation,  I  am  satisfied 
it  is  much  easier  to  prevent  horses  from  having 
bots  than  to  cure  them,  even  if  chloroform,  ns  re- 
commended in  a  late  Farmer,  is  a  certain  remedy. 
It  is  the  generally  received  oi)inioii,  that  after  the 
fly  has  de|)0sited  its  egg  on  the  hair  of  the  horse, 
the  subsequent  existence  of  the  hot  depends  on  the 
egg  accidentally  falling  into  the  horses'  food,  or 
being  nibbled  off  by  him  and  swallowed,  and  thus 
reaching  the  animal's  maw,  where  it  matures,  is 
subsequently  discharged  with  the  excrement,  be- 
comes a  perfect  fly,  which  again  dciiosits  its  egg 
as  before.  This  theory  leaves  the  propagation  of 
its  species  to  the  merest  accident;  a  thing  which 
has  no  analogy  in  nature,  as  tlic  great  Creator  has 
nowhere  else  "left  the  continuation  of  any  species 
he  has  created  to  mere  chance.  But  I  am  fully 
satisfied  that  this  theory  is  incorrect,  and  tliitt  the 
reproduciion  of  this  insect  is  no  more  left  to 
chance  tlian  is  that  of  any  other.  My  theory  is, 
that  the  fly  instinctively  deposits  its  eggs  at  well 
selected  points,  near  the  vital  parts,  or  near  some 


large  arteries  and  veins  leading  to  tliose  parts, 
where  in  a  few  days  the  animal  warmth  completes 
the  incubation,  and  the  larva  with  unerring  in- 
stinct easily  makes  its  way  through  the  animal's 
porous  skin,  and  fleshj  if  need  be,  to  his  natural 
home  in  the  maw.  Let  any  one  wishing  to  satisfy 
himself  of  this,  examine  the  eggs  after  they  have 
been  on  the  hair  of  the  horse  a  few  days,  with  a 
microscope,  or  without,  if  their  eyes  are  good,  and 
he  will  find  it  only  a  shell,  with  a  hole  in  the 
lower  end,  where  the  larva  has  evidently  made  his 
exit. 

As  a  remedy  or  preventive,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  scrape  off  with  a  sharp  knife  the  eggs  every  two 
or  three  days,  or  as  often  as  any  are  laid,  without 
any  fear  that  they  will  fall  into  the  horses  food  or 
be  licked  up  by  him.  I  have  practiced  it  for  many 
years,  and  my  horses  have  had  no  trouble  with 
bots.  Thomas  Ellis. 

Rochester,  Mass.,  Feb.  25,  1867. 

Remarks.— For  once,  the  generally  received 
opinion  agrees  with  the  books.  In  Tenny's  Nat- 
ural History,  recently  published,  it  is  said  that 
there  are  in  this  country  more  than  twenty  species 
of  the  JEstrida,  or  Bot-Fly  family. 

"The  genus  Gasterophilus  comprises  three  species 
wliich  infest  the  horse.  'Ihel.irge  Bot-Hy,  G.equi, 
Linn.,  lays  her  eggs  upon  the  fore  legs  of  ihehori-e; 
the  red-iuiled  Boi-Fly,  G  hcEmorrhoidulis,  Linn.,  lays 
her  eggs  upon  the  lips  ;  and  the  brown  Karrier  Bot-Fly, 
G.  veterinus,  green  under  the  throat.  By  biting  the 
parts  where  the  eggs  are  laid,  the  hori?e  gels  the  larvae 
into  his  mouth,  swallows  them,  and,  oliiigingto  the  walls 
of  the  stomach,  they  remain  there  till  fully  grown." 

This  theory  is  adopted  by  Mr.  Youatt,  in  his 
work  on  the  horse,  and  by  the  American  Cyclope- 
dia, article  Bots.  But  the  books  also  assert  that 
"bots  cannot  be  injurious  to  the  horse,  for  he  en- 
joys the  most  perfect  health  while  the  cuticular 
part  of  his  stomach  is  filled  with  them."  This 
dictum  of  the  veterinary  schools  of  Europe,  Dr. 
Dadd  says,  is  contradicted  by  the  stubborn  facts 
of  his  practice  as  a  veterinary  surgeon.  "On  the 
strength  of  past  experience,"  says  he,  "together 
with  what  Prof.  Gamgee  has  written  on  the  sub- 
ject, I  do  believe  that  bots  are  often  injurious  to 
horses." 

If  science  is  thus  at  fault  in  its  theory  of  the 
effect  of  this  parasite,  possibly  it  may  be  mistaken 
as  to  the  means  by  which  the  bot  reaches  the 
stomach  of  the  horse,  and  that  our  correspondent 
has  made  an  important  discovery  in  Natural  His- 
tory. We  must  confess  that  his  reasoning  is  not 
entirely  satisfactory  to  our  own  mind.  His  objec- 
tion that  the  old  theory  leaves  the  perpetuation  of 
the  species  to  mere  chance,  is  no  more  forcible  than 
it  would  be  in  respect  to  other  well-known  provi- 
sions for  the  propagation  of  many  inferior  animals 
and  plants.  The  hole  in  the  egg,  also,  is  as  well 
accounted  for  on  the  old  theory  as  his  own,  so  far 
as  we  can  see.  Still  we  thank  him  for  his  thought- 
ful communication. 


AN   infallible   REMEDY  FOR   LICE   ON   COLTS. 

Take  equal  parts  of  ground,  pure,  black  pepper, 
powdered  sulphur,  and  yellow  snutf;  it  takes  one- 
half  pound  of  each  for  a  yearling.  Get  a  square 
tin  di^li,  and  mix  the  part.s  together,  and  apply  it 
dry.  Do  this  by  holding  the  tin  up  against  the 
colt  and  carefully  and  faithfully  working  the  pow- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


875 


der  into  the  Tiair  next  to  the  skin.  Common  brush- 
ing or  earcle^s  working  it,  witli  thotiugurs  don't  do 
it.  It  kills  every  louse  in  thirty  niiniUes.  Possi- 
bly some  nits  may  escape,  but  a  second  application 
four  days  after  will  make  sure  death  of  them. 
This  api)lication  is  as  harmless  to  the  colt  as  so 
much  dry  i-and.  l.  t.  t. 

South  Roijalton,  Vt.,  Juiie  11,  1867. 


BLOSSOMING   OF   APPLE    TREES   IN    MAINE. 

Having  a  record  of  the  time  of  the  blossom  of 
apple  trees  for  eleven  years,  I  forward  it  to  you, 
supposing  it  may  be  interesting  to  your  numerous 
readers.  These  observations  were  taken  in  lati- 
tude 44°  30'  north. 


1857 June    4. 

1858 "        6. 

1859 May  27. 

1860 "      24. 

1861 June    6. 

1862 Miiy   26, 


1863 May  24. 

1864 June    1. 

1865 May  28. 

1866 "      30. 

1867 June    9. 


It  will  be  seen  that  the  present  is  the  latest  by 
three  days,  of  the  eleven  years  ;  fifteen  days  later 
than  1860  and  1863,  and  about  seven  days  later 
than  the  average  time  of  blossoming. 

Oliver  Pettinoill. 
Rumford,  Maine,  June  10,  1867. 

Remarks. — V.e  thank  our  correspondent  for  the 
foregoing  facts,  which  are  far  more  valuable  than 
the  guess  work  with  which  we  too  often  test  the 
seasons. 

In  this  connection  we  print  the  following  table 
of  the  blossoming  of  apple  trees  in  Mansfield, 
Mass.,  about  four  degrees  south  of  Rumford,  Me., 
and  28  miles  south-west  of  Boston,  where  vegeta- 
tion is  probably  ten  or  twelve  days  earlier  than  at 
Rumford,  which  was  furnished  to  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer,  June  4, 1849,  by  Isaac  Stearns,  Esq., 
who  remarks  that  "May  9, 1830,  and  June  2, 1812,  are 
the  two  extremes.  Difference,  24  days ;  the  mean 
of  which  is  May  21.  The  mean  annual  blossoming 
for  the  whole  lifty-two  years,  is  exactly  May  21. 
The  mean  of  the  first  26  years,  is  May  22,  nearly ; 
and  of  the  last  26  years,  is  May  20." 


1798  .  . 

.  .  May 

13. 

1824 

1799  .  . 

.  ,  " 

19. 

1825 

1800  .  . 

(1 

17. 

1826 

1801  .  . 

,  .  " 

17. 

1827 

1802  ,  . 

,  ,  '< 

26. 

1828 

1803  .  . 

.  .   " 

22. 

1>'29 

1804  .  . 

.  .  " 

2i. 

1830 

1805  .  . 

.  .  " 

14. 

1831 

1806  .  . 

.  .  " 

27. 

1832 

1807  .  . 

,  ,  " 

27. 

18ci3 

1808  .  . 

.  .  " 

18. 

18U 

1809  .  . 

.  .  «' 

25. 

1835 

1810  .  . 

.  .  .   " 

19. 

1836 

1811  .  . 

.  .  .   " 

15. 

1837 

1812  .  . 

.  .  .  June 

2. 

1838 

1813  .  . 

.  .  .May 

25. 

1839 

1814  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

14. 

1840 

1815  ,  . 

(1 

27. 

1841 

181(3  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

28. 

1842 

1817  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

23. 

1843 

1818  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

29. 

1844 

1819  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

25. 

1845 

1820  .  , 

.  .  .  " 

17. 

1846 

1821  ,  . 

.  .  .  " 

27. 

1S47 

1822  ,  . 

.  .  .  " 

15. 

1848 

1823  .  . 

.  .  .  " 

23. 

1849 

A   ROLLER   GATE. 

I  saw  a  gate  last  week  at  one  of  my  neigh1)or's 
farm  that  was  hung  on  a  roller.  He  said  there 
was  a  jiatent  on  it,  and  that  it  had  Ijeen  advertised 
in  the  Farmer.  It  is  a  common  gate,  very  sim- 
ple. If  you  cannot  inform  me  who  has  the  patent 
will  you  please  make  the  iii(|uiry  in  your  paper. 

J'assun.psic,  Vt.,  June  10,  1867.    E.  A.  Parks. 

Remarks. — We  do  not  recollect  about  the  ad- 
vertisement, but  in  looking  over  our  back  volumes 
in  an  attempt  to  find  what  was  referred  to,  we 
came  across  the  following  directions  for  making  a 
cheap  and  simple  gate  of  inch  boards.  Make  the 
latch  end  piece  four  inches  wide;  the  hinge  end, 
eight  inches ;  lower  board,  eight  inches ;  next 
above,  six  inches ;  next  two,  four  inches  each ; 
brace,  six  inches ;  the  whole  secured  by  wrought 
nails  clinched,  and  hung  with  strap  hinges.  Such 
a  gate,  the  writer  says,  can  be  made  and  hung, 
after  the  posts  are  set,  in  two  hours.  Now,  who 
will  answer  Mr.  Parks'  inquiry  ? 


The  next  year  Mr.  Stearns  sent  us  the  time  of 
blossoming  for  1850,  wliich  was  June  3,  one  day 
later  than  the  late  season  of  1812. 


FALL   FEEDING. 

Sometime  ago,  I  saw  among  the  "Extracts"  in 
the  Farmer,  a  piece  headed  "Fall  Feeding." 
Many  acknowledge  fall  feeding  to  be  wrong,  but 
practice  it  on  the  plea  of  necessity.  I  think  one 
might  as  well  justify  himself  in  hiring  money  at 
100  per  cent.,  by  the  same  plea.  After  a  field  of 
grass  is  mowed,  let  a  child  pass  through  the  field 
two  or  three  times  a  day,  for  several  weeks  in  one 
beaten  path,  and  this  patn  can  lie  distinctly  seen 
the  next  summer,  although  not  used  at  all  that  sea- 
son. By  this  fact  we  may  form  some  estimate  of 
the  damage  done  to  a  mowing  field  by  the  much 
heavier  pressure  to  which  it  is  subjected  by  being 
fed  by  cattle  and  horses.  e.  b. 

Deny,  N.  H.,  1867. 

a  large  wheat  crop. 

A  field  of  a  trifle  over  one  acre  of  ground  was 
snmmei'- fallowed  and  sowed  with  wheat  in  Sep- 
tember, by  one  of  my  neighbors.  It  yielded  forty- 
one  and  a  half  bushels  of  good  wheat,  besides  some 
poor  wheat.  But  for  a  storm  in  July  which  greatly 
injured  the  crop,  it  is  thought  the  produce  would 
have  been  still  greater.  A  Subscriber. 

at.  George,  Vt.,  May  29,  1867. 

Remarks. — For  the  honor  of  St.  George,  of  the 
Champlain  Valley,  and  of  your  "neighbor,"  may 
we  not  ask  for  a  more  particular  statement  of  this 
crop  ? 

KING-BIRDS   CAL'GHT   CATCHING   BEES. 

Mr.  Eli  Cooper  of  Winchester,  Mass.,  informs 
us  that  while  sitting  near  his  hives  watching  the 
operations  of  the  little  busy  bee,  which  so  earnest- 
ly improves  each  shining  hour,  he  has  repeatedly 
seen  the  king-bird  descend,  and,  hovering  for  a 
moment  immediately  in  front  of  a  hive,  seize  a  bee, 
always  in  its  middle,  with  its  body  at  right  angles 
to  the  bill,  and  therefore  plainly  to  be  seen,  and 
at  once  fly  off  with  its  prize.  As  Mr.  Mosely,  in 
the  Farmer  of  May  2.5,  found  no  bees  in  the  crops 
of  those  king-birds  which  he  killed,  as  he  thought, 
in  the  very  act  of  catching  them,  Mr.  Cooper  sug- 
gested that  the  bird  may  swallow  only  the  honey, 
&c.,  and  reject  the  carcass  or  shell  of  the  bee. 

In  his  valuable  work  on  Bee-keeping,  Mr.  Quinby 


376 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAEMER. 


Aug. 


says  he  believes  the  king-hu-d  guilty  of  taking  only 
drones,  and  asks,  "If  he  devours  workers  as  well 
as  drones,  why  docs  he  not  visit  the  apiary  long 
before  noon  and  fill  his  crop  with  them  ?  But  in- 
stead he  waits  until  afternoon ;  if  no  drones  are 
flying,  he  watches  quietly  till  one  appears,  although 
workers  may  be  out  by  hundreds."  He  adds  he 
has  shot  them  after  seeing  them  devour  a  goodly 
number,  but  in  every  instance  the  bees  found  in 
their  crops  were  so  crushed  that  it  was  impossible 
to  determine  whether  they  were  the  remains  of 
workers  or  drones. 


SEASOX   AND    CROPS    IN    CENTRAL   MASSACHUSETTS. 

We  have  had  a  very  wet  and  backward  spring, 
but  now 

"The  sky  is  clear,  the  woods  are  bright, 

The  fields  are  fresh  and  green, 
And  summer,  in  her  robes  of  light, 

lieigus  o'er  us  like  a  queen." 

"Wheat,  oats,  corn,  &c.,  look  splendidly,  although 
the  latter  is  a  little  backward  on  wet  land.  The 
crows  have  been  somewhat  mischievous,  and  we 
find  it  hard  work  lo  frighten  the  black  varmints. 
The  weather  has  been  favoraljle  for  grass  and  there 
is  a  prospect  that  we  shall  cut  a  heavier  crop  than 
we  have  for  several  years.  Rye  is  a  very  little 
winter  killed,  but  in  most  spots  it  shows  a  very 
wry  face.  From  present  indications  I  think  we 
shall  have  apples,  peaches,  pears,  and  plums  in 
abundance.  chiel. 

tShelbunie,  Mass.,  June  17,  1867. 


CROP   OF    WHEAT   IN   ST.    GEORGE,    VT. 

In  reply  to  our  request  for  further  particulars  in 
relation  to  the  crop  of  41.^  bushels  of  wheat  raised  on 
a  little  over  one  acre  of  ground  in  St.  George,  Vt., 
mentioned  in  the  Farmer  of  June  15,  we  have  re- 
ceived the  following  brief  statement : — 

The  land  on  which  the  wheat  grew,  is  about 
eighteen  rods  long  by  ten  -wide.  The  ground  was 
plowed  in  the  spring  of  I860,  but  neitlier  planted 
nor  sowed  until  September  or  October,  when  it 
was  sowed  to  winter  wheat.  The  crop  was  har- 
vested in  August  or  September,  1866,  and  threshed 
in  March  1867,  and  the  grain  then  measured.  The 
result  was  forty-one  and  a  half  bushels  of  good 
plump  kernels  and  some  shrunken  wheat,  as  we 
Yankees  call  it.  L. 

67.  George,  Vt.,  June  15,  1867. 

REMOVING   WARTS    ON    COWS'   TEATS. 

I  should  like  to  inquire  what  is  the  quickest 
and  easiest  way  of  removing  warts  from  cows, 
teats  ?  Also  should  like  to  know  the  philosophy 
of  planting  potatoes  near  together.  I  know  one 
man  in  this  town  who  makes  the  hills  two  feet 
apart  and  gets  first  rate  crops.    Whv  is  it  ? 

Ashbi/,  Mass.,  1867.  J.  N.  Davis. 

Remarks. — Tie  a  horse  hair  tightly  around  the 
wart,  and  after  a  day  or  two,  take  a  piece  of  caus- 
tic potash,  and  draw  it  about  the  wart  once  each 
day,  until  the  wart  is  eaten  away.  Or,  shave  the 
end  of  the  wart  until  the  slightest  blood  appears 
and  then  touch  it  with  the  caustic.  The  caustic 
may  be  found  at  drug,  stores. 

We  do  not  quite  understand  what  our  corres- 
pondent desires  to  learn  about  the  potatoes.  The 
usual  way  of  planting  is  two  to  three  feet  apart, 


each  way,  in  hills.  Some  persons,  hmvever,  plant 
in  drills,  and  place  the  seed  only  a  few  inches 
apart,  thinking  they  can  obtain  a  larger  crop  by 
this  mode  of  planting. 

training  and   trimming   of   the   TOMATO. 

Please  give  in  your  next  issue  the  best  mode  of 
training  and  trimming  tomato  plants. 

Webster,  Mass.,  June  16,  1867.      A.  G.  Sibly. 

Remarks. — Last  week  we  gave  a  cut  illustrating 
a  simple  means  of  training  the  tomato  by  means 
of  three  hoops  attached  to  three  stakes.  We  now 
present  a  trellis,  which  may  be  made  by  firmly 


setting  two  stakes  four  feet  in  length,  three  or  four 
feet  apart,  on  a  line  with  the  plants,  and  nailing 
lathes  or  sticks,  nine  inches  apart  on  the  stakes, 
to  which  the  plants  are  tied  by  any  soft  string. 

Mr.  Burr,  in  his  valuable  book,  the  Vegetables 
of  America,  says  that  when  the  two  first  trusses 
of  bloom  have  expanded  over  each  shoot,  the 
shoot  should  be  stopped  by  pinching  off"  the  por- 
tion which  is  beyond  the  leaf  above  the  second 
truss,  and  no  more  lateral  shoots  should  be  suffer- 
ed to  grow ;  but  the  leaves  must  be  carefully  pre- 
served, especially  those  near  the  trusses  of  bloom. 
The  number  of  shoots  on  each  plant  will  vary  ac- 
cording to  the  strength  and  vigor  of  the  particu- 
lar plant;  ))ut  three  or  four  will  be  quite  enough, 
leaving  about  half  a  dozen  trusses  of  fruit.  The 
ripening  of  the  fruit  may  be  hastened  by  setting 
the  plants  against  a  south  wall  or  close  fence,  and 
liberally  watered  if  the  weather  be  dry. 

The  Gardener's  Chronicle  gives  the  French 
method  as  follows :  "As  soon  as  a  cluster  of  flow- 
ers is  visible,  they  top  the  stem  down  to  the  clus- 
ter, so  that  the  flowers  terminate  the  stem.  The 
effect  is,  that  the  sap  is  immediately  impelled  into 
the  two  buds  next  below  the  cluster,  which  soon 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


877 


push  strongly,  and  produce  another  cluster  of 
flowers  each.  When  these  are  visible,  the  branch 
to  which  they  belong  is  also  topped  down  to  their 
level ;  and  this  is  done  five  times  successively. 
By  this  means,  the  plants  become  stout,  dwarf 
bushes,  not  above  eighteen  inches  high.  In  order 
to  prevent  their  falling  over,  sticks  or  strings  are 
stretched  horizontally  along  the  rows,  so  as  to 
keep  the  plants  ei'cct.  In  addition  to  this,  all  lat- 
erals that  have  no  flowers,  and  after  the  fifth  top- 
ping, all  laterals  whatsoever,  are  nipped  off.  In 
this  way,  the  ripe  sap  is  directed  into  the  frixit, 
which  acquires  a  beauty,  size,  and  excellence 
unattainable  by  other  means." 

But  in  ordinary  field  culture,  and  by  those  who 
raise  tomatoes  for  the  market,  little  attention  is 
paid  to  training  or  trimming. 


THE    CTJT  WORM. 

As  the  origin  and  hal)its  of  the  Cut  "Worm  have 
been  a  sulyect  of  douljtful  disputation,  I  will  here 
relate  my  experiments.  The  latter  part  of  last 
August  I  procured  some  of  the  worms,  placed 
them  in  a  box  with  earth,  fed  them  on  tobacco 
leaves  until  they  refused  to  eat,  and  buried  them- 
selves in  the  earth.  In  two  weeks  I  dug  them  up 
and  found  they  had  gone  through  a  state  of  trans- 
formation, each  one  being  encased  in  what  I  shall 
term  a  sarcophagus,  about  an  inch  in  length,  beiaig 
pointed,  and  resembling  in  form  a  gimblet  handle, 
with  traces  of  legs,  wings  and  horns  thereupon, 
denoting  it  would  come  up  a  winged  animal.  I 
broke  open  one  of  them  and  found  it  to  contain 
thousands  of  eggs,  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of 
sand.  I  covered  them  up  again,  and  in  the  latter 
part  of  September  they  came  up  brown  millers 
containing  the  eggs.  These  millers  deposit  their 
eggs  in  the  fall  upon  decaying  vegetation,  and  die, 
their  mission  being  fulfilled.  The  eggs  remain 
amid  the  wreck  of  decayed  vegetation,  and  are 
ploughed  under  in  the  spring,  and  as  the  ground 
warms  and  vegetation  increases,  they  burst  their 
fetters,  and  the  worm  renews  his  ravages.  And 
so  on  through  successive  generations.  The  leaf 
tobacco  worms,  with  which  I  have*" likewise  exper- 
imented, remain  in  their  sarcophagus  until  spring, 
and  come  up  large  white  millers,  which  deposit 
their  eggs  upon  the  plant  in  the  stillness  of  night 
and  morning,  and  in  eight  and  forty  hours  they 
become  worms  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  length. 
They  sometimes  are  found  upon  the  tomato  plant, 
varying  somewhat  in  their  outlines,  but  the  insect 
is  the  same.  Leander  Morton. 

Hatfield,  Mass.]  June,  1867. 

Remarks. — After  these  experiments,  we  are  con- 
fident that  our  correspondent  is  not  only  better 
prepared  to  contend  against  the  ravages  of  these 
voracious  worms,  but  he  has  a  new  interest  in  their 
history.  Several  years  ago.  Prof.  Harris,  author 
of  a  most  valuable  book  on  Insects  Injurious  to 
Vegetation,  tried  a  similar  experiment  with  quite 
a  large  number  of  cut  worms,  gathered  in  June 
and  July,  from  near  cabbage  plants,  potato  hills, 
cornfields,  and  the  flower  garden.  They  were  all 
very  similar  in  appearance,  though  different  in 
size.  They  were  soon  changed  to  what  naturalists 
call  chrysalids,  a  preferable  word,  perhaps,  to  that 
used  by  our  correspondent.  The  word  sarcopha- 
gus, according  to  Webster's  Dictionary,  is  now 
generally  used  to  denote  any  stone  cofBn  or  recep- 


ticle  for  the  dead.  Primarily  it  meant  flesh-eating, 
and  at  first  it  was  applied  to  coffins  made  of  a  kind 
of  lime  stone  that  consumed  the  flesh  of  bodies  in 
a  few  weeks. 

Between  the  twentieth  of  July  and  the  fifteenth 
of  August,  Mr.  H.  says  his  chrysalids  changed 
to  the  moth  state,  and  came  out  of  the  earth. 
Much  to  his  surprise,  however,  these  cut-worms 
produced  five  different  species  of  moths.  The  an- 
nexed cuts  illustrate  the  regular  transformations 
of  the  peach  tree  borer,  and  other  high  orders  of 


Worm.  Cocoon.  Chrysalis, 

insects.  Most  of  the  insects,  says  Mr.  Harris,  as 
they  leave  off  eating,  spin  around  their  bodies  a 
sort  of  shroud  or  cocoon,  into  which  some  inter- 
weave the  hairs  of  their  own  bodies,  and  some  em- 
ploy, in  the  same  way,  leaves,  bits  of  wood,  or 
even  grains  of  earth.  Other  catei'pillars  suspend 
themselves,  in  various  ways,  by  silken  threads, 
without  enclosing  their  bodies  in  cocoons;  and 
again  there  are  others  which  merely  enter  the  earth 
to  undergo  their  transformations.  The  cut  worms 
form  no  cocoons,  but  are  changed  to  chrysalids  in 
the  ground,  and  as  our  correspondent  says,  appear 


Female.  Male. 

as  brown  millers,  which,  after  a  brief  existence  in 
the  winged  state,  and  after  depositing  their  eggs, 
disappear— having  finished  their  course,  and  pro- 
vided for  the  perpetuation  of  their  kind. 


raising  roots  on  grass  earms. 

Brother  S.,  of  Roxbury,  intimates  that  he  thinks 
I  should  do  well  to  substitute  carrots  as  one  of  the 
rotation  field  crops  instead  of  the  potato.  I  think 
it  would  be  a  mistake  to  do  so. 

There  are  so  many  different  circumstances  and 
conditions  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  that  one 
theory  or  practice  is  not  applicable  to  all.  There 
is  the  market  gardener,  the  fancy  ftirmer,  the  silk 
gloved  theorist,  retired  perhaps  from  some  success- 
ful speculation,  and  sometimes  a  person  with  a 
very  limited  amount  of  land  largely  supplied  with 
labor.  Even  the  successful  practices  of  either  of 
these  classes  would  be  very  irrelevant  to  the  mass 
of  farmers  in  a  grazing  district.  It  will  not  do  for 
us  to  cultivate  our  farms  as  I  see  it  stated  Horace 
Greeley  does  his,  at  an  expense  of  four  or  five  times 
what  the  products  might  be  bought  for  in  market. 
We  must  cultivate  to  a  profit.  True,  some  of  us 
cultivate  too  much  for  the  present  profit.  In  stir- 
ring the  soil,  the  first  object  should  be  the  prepai-a- 
tion  of  the  land  for  an  abundant  hay  crop.    That 


378 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


being  the  staple  product,  and  the  most  economical 
and  only  reliable  cattle  feed.  All  other  crops, 
when  made  secondary  to  that,  and  rightly  econo- 
mized, may  be  raised  in  sufficient  supply  for  most 
farms.  One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  farming  generally,  is  inability  to  get  over  our 
meadow  land  with  some  cultivated  crop  as  often 
as  it  needs  resuscitating.  Hence  the  necessity  of 
keeping  land  but  one  or  two  years  at  most  under 
the  plough ;  and  of  cultivating  such  crops  as  can 
be  grown  on  a  large  number  of  acres  in  a  year,  to 
fit  it  for  seeding  down. 

The  carrot  seed  is  one  very  slow  to  germinate, 
tender  and  delicate.  The  ground,  for  its  success- 
ful cultivation,  needs  a  tilth  and  richness  too  great 
to  introduce  it  as  a  rotation  crop  on  our  mountain 
farms.  The  almost  endless  amount  of  labor  re- 
quired in  dressing  a  carrot  field,  at  a  season  when 
labor  is  from  forty  to  furty-five  dollars  per  month, 
or  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  dollars  per  day,  is 
no  inconsiderable  item.  And  then  the  crop  when 
Introduced  as  above,  might  be  set  down,  instead  of 
twenty-tive  or  thirty  hundred  bushels  per  acre, 
more  safely  at  one  third,  or  at  most,  one-half  of 
that  amount. 

The  different  varieties  of  the  beet  and  turnip 
may  with  much  more  propriety  be  introduced  as  a 
rotation  field  crop.  I  like  a  variety,  and  have  had 
a  limited  experience  in  raising  the  different  kinds 
of  roots  for  the  last  thirty  years.  But  only  to  the 
amount  of  six  or  seven  hundred  bushels  in  a  year 
of  the  other  kinds,  and  to  the  amount  of  three, 
and  not  less  than  one  of  the  carrot,  for  the  last  fif- 
teen years.  I  now  raise  less  than  formerly  of  the 
carrot,  and  believe  it  is  the  case  generally  in  this 
mountain  se'tion. 

In  your  correspondent's  war  of  extermination 
on  weeds,  1  heartily  engage,  also  against  every 
other  foe  of  our  soil,  and  with  as  much  vigor  as 
though  I  expected  the  tight  to  close  at  the  end  of 
ten  years.  Old  Ned. 

Washington  County,  Vt.,  Jwie  4,  1867. 


HEN  MANURE. 

I  have  seen  in  the  papers  many  statements  in 
regard  to  the  profit  of  keeping  fowls,  but  few  of 
them  make  any  account  of  the  manure.  Now  I 
think,  judging  from  my  own  experience,  that  the 
manure  from  fifty  hens,  if  carefully  s.aved,  prop- 
erly composted,  and  judiciously  applied,  is  more 
valuable  than  fifty  dollars'  worth  of  any  of  the 
manures  that  can  be  bought  in  the  market. 

Pelham,  N.  H.,  June.  1867.  B.  F.  Cutter. 


AGRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

—  The  first  strawberries  were  forwarded  from 
Cobden.   Southern  Illinois,  to  Chicago,  May  20. 

—The  Fair  of  the  Franklin  County,  Vt.,  Agri- 
cultural Society  will  be  held  at  St.  Albans,  Sept. 
18  and  19. 

—Geo.  W.  Rublee,  of  Berkshire,  Vt.,  made  2000 
pounds  of  maple  sugar  from  500  second  growth 
trees  this  spring. 

—Charles  Washburn,  of  Reading,  Vt.,  sheared 
2^  pounds  of  wool  from  his  two  year  old  buck, 
which  had  only  ordinary  keeping. 

—Mr.  Oliver  Wilkinson,  of  Townsend,  Vt.,  has 
a  ewe  sheep  that  has  had  and  raised  ttvcnty-two 
lambs  in  eleven  years. 

—  A  correspondent  of  the  Coimtry  Gentleman 
says  that  the  corn  planting  machines  in  use  in 
Illinois,  though  operating  well  when  new  and  on 


land  in  good  order,  are  liable  to  clog,  and  leave 
the  work  badly  done.  An  improvement  is  needed 
by  which  the  driver  shall  have  warning  when  the 
keraels  cease  to  fall  into  the  furrow. 

— Vermont  suffers  less  from  dogs  than  any  State 
in  the  Union,  and  yet  five  hundred  sheep  were 
killed  by  these  useless  curs  during  the  past  year 
in  five  counties  of  the  State. 

—Messrs.  S.  and  W.  S.  Allen,  Vergennes,  Vt., 
inform  us  that  a  Short-Horn  cow  of  their  herd 
dropped  a  calf  that  weighed  141  lbs.  before  suck- 
ing. 

—  The  most  wonderful  labor-saving  contrivance 
is  to  be  the  Pennsylvania  Agricultural  College. 
The  students  will  be  taught  farming  without  learn- 
ing to  work. 

—  Dyer  and  Seneca  D.  Townshend,  of  Walling- 
ford,  Vt.,  have  recently  sold  their  entire  stock  of 
yearling  merino  ewes  to  A.  E.  Smith  of  Clarendon, 
for  fifty  dollars  per  head. 

—The  Shenandoah  Valley,  (Va.,)  farmers  have 
recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  war  to  some  ex- 
tent, and  now  have  growing  the  largest  and  finest 
wheat  crop  ever  raised  in  that  section. 

— If  you  have  a  screw  rusted  into  wood,  or  a 
nut  or  a  bolt  that  will  not  readily  turn,  pour  on  a 
little  kerosene  and  let  it  remain.  In  a  little  while 
it  will  penetrate  the  interstices  so  as  to  be  easily 
started. 

—  Through  the  whole  South  the  earliest  vegeta- 
bles and  the  first  spring  chickens  are  brought  into 
the  towns  by  the  freedmen.  "And  they  save  their 
money  to  buy  them  a  farm,  to  lead  a  different 
life." 

—  Horace  Greeley  says  that  he  lost  $1200  by  the 
Fawks'  steam  plow  failure  in  Illinois,  but  he  still 
expresses  the  belief  that  within  ten  years,  land  will 
be  plowed  twenty  inches  deep  at  a  cost  of  $1  per 
acre. 

—The  Prairie  Farmer  states  that  Dr.  Hull  has 
adopted  the  plan  of  planting  plum  trees  at  stated 
intervals  in  his  orchards  of  peach,  cherry,  &c.,  as 
nearly  all  the  curculios  can  be  caught  upon  them 
so  long  as  there  is  any  fruit  to  sting. 

— The  number  of  sheep  returned  by  the  auditor 
of  the  county  of  Portage,  Ohio,  in  1866  was  137,- 
633 ;  while  the  number  for  1867  is  but  124,427,— a 
decrease  of  13,206  in  a  single  county,  equal  to  a 
falling  ofi"  of  one  million  in  the  whole  State. 

—Last  year  130  mules  and  100  hogs  were  win- 
tered in  Ohio  on  the  product  of  65  acres  of  corn, 
and  they  had  it  before  theni  all  the  time.  The 
foddering  season  there  is  usually  about  five  months 
in  length. 

—At  a  late  discussion  on  steam  cultivation,  in 
England,  Prof.  Voelchcr  said  that  he  believed  if 
steam  plows  were  placed  on  our  strong  clays  we 
should  not  want  any  drainage  at  all,  further  than 
to  carry  off  surface  water.  The  superior  cultiva- 
tion would  improve  the  mechanical  condition  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


379 


the  soil  to  such  an  extent,  that  eveiy  inch  of  rain 
that  falls  upon  the  land  would  be  required  by  the 
growing  vegetation.  It  now  goes  through  the 
drains  simply  because  it  runs  through  the  cracks 
in  the  gi'ound ;  it  does  not  go  through  the  soil. 

—  Mr.  J.  Strickler,  Monroe,  Pa.,  who  has  been  a 
farmer  fifty-six  years,  wishes  to  know  how  the 
Yankees  manage  to  give  their  sons  a  good  college 
learning  and  keep  them  at  farming  after  they  have 
got  through  ?    Who  said  they  did  do  it  ? 

—  A  piece  of  rooting  slate,  any  thin  flat  stone,  or 
even  a  shingle,  placed  under  canteloupes,  water- 
melons, &c.,  will  prevent  the  ground  from  extract- 
ing the  flavor  from  the  lower  part  of  the  melon, 
and  also  considerably  hasten  its  ripening. 

— Mr.  H.  Murray,  of  Clay,  Illinois,  has  a  plastic 
slate  roof  which  has  been  on  eight  months,  and 
after  a  three  hours'  rain  the  water  has  a  bad  taste, 
which  unfits  it  for  a  cistern.  Besides  this,  it  gives 
the  water  a  yellow  tinge,  which  strikes  into  the 
white  clothes  when  washed. 

—  From  a  ewe  22^  months  old,  Mr.  W.  B.  De- 
nio  of  East  Rupert,  Vt.,  sheared  a  fleece,  the 
growth  of  11^  months,  which  weighed  18  lbs.,  and 
she  had  a  lamb  by  her  side.  Her  first  fleece 
weighed  12:|  lbs.  She  was  sired  by  C.  D.  Sweet's 
(Hammond)  buck  of  North  Bennington. 

— On  Mr.  J.  T.  Warder's  farm  of  600  acres,  near 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  there  are  four  fields  of  seventy 
or  eighty  acres  each,  on  which  the  rotation  is  to 
turn  over  the  sod  for  com,  which  is  followed  by 
wheat,  then  seeded  to  clover  and  timothy,  and  then 
mowed  or  pastured  two  years. 

—  The  following  grumble  at  the  weather  should 
be  read,  as  it  was  evidently  written,  in  a  wet  spell : 

I'd  like  to  hire  a  man  to  stop 

Each  crevice  in  the  sky; 
Though  rain  may  benefit  the  crop, 

I'm  not  a  crop,  not  I. 

—  A  correspondent  of  the  American  Agriculturist 
says  that  rats  dislike  coal  tar  very  much,  and  that 
he  is  in  the  habit  of  daubing  it  about  their  holes 
and  runs,  with  good  results.  Coal  tar  mixed  with 
sand  to  the  consistency  of  thick  mortar,  is  an 
efi'ectual  stopper  to  rat-holes. 

—  We  are  informed  by  a  correspondent  that  Mr. 
Daniel  Carleton  of  North  Andover,  Mass.,  sold  last 
year  pigs  to  the  amount  of  $160,  the  product  of 
two  litters  of  one  sow  six  years  old,  besides  three 
which  he  kept  himself.  There  were  ten  pigs  in 
the  first  litter  and  thirteen  in  the  second. 

—  In  regard  to  killing  Canada  thistles  by  plow- 
ing and  hoeing,  a  correspondent  of  the  New  York 
Farmers'  Club  says  he  has  a  piece  of  land  that  has 
been  hoed  15  years,  and  there  are  ten  thistles  now 
to  one  where  he  commenced.  He  succeeds  better 
in  mowing  them  when  in  blossom. 

—  Mr.  D.  T.  Clough  of  Thetford,  Vt.,  informs 
us  that  a  buck  of  his  from  Sanford's  Comet,  which 
"was  kept  on  poor  swail  hay,  until  March,  and 
without  exposure  to  the  sun,  this  spring,  sheared 


21  lbs.,  and  after  shearing  weighed  93  lbs."  What 
would  the  fleece  have  weighed  if  the  animal  had 
been  fed  up  to  125  lbs.  ?    He  was  two  years  old. 

— Prof.  Vandervier  states  the  grape  growers  on 
the  Rhine,  after  experimenting  a  thousand  years 
have  found  that  a  particular  grape  is  required  for  a 
particular  soil,  which  is  of  limited  extent,  and  that 
guano,  when  applied,  so  injured  the  quality  of  the 
wine  that  the  guano  had  to  be  dug  out  and  thrown 
away. 

—  Cattle  are  becoming  so  scarce  in  the  Northern 
States  that  it  was  encouraging  to  read  in  a  late 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  Union,  that  such  immense  herds 
of  cattle  are  roaming  at  will  through  the  wilds  of 
that  State  and  Georgia,  as  to  prove  a  serious  in- 
convenience to  the  railroad  trains  which  traverse 
those  sections. 

— The  Paris  Exposition  coiTcspondent  of  the 
Prairie  Farmer  says  that  Comstock's  Rotary 
Spader,  there  on  exhibition,  has  been  tested  and 
did  most  excellent  work ;  that  it  is  attracting  very 
general  attention,  and  is  now  being  manufactured 
in  England,  Austria  and  Prussia,  and  that  the  im- 
plement is  greatly  improved  over  anything  he  had 
seen  In  this  country. 

— A  creosoted  sleeper,  put  down  on  the  Stockton 
and  Darlington  Railway,  in  England,  in  August, 
1841,  was  taken  up  March  14,  1867,  after  nearly  25 
years'  service.  The  gi-ain  of  the  wood,  although 
slightly  discolored  by  creosote,  is  as  fresh  and 
apparently  as  tough  as  that  of  newly-sawed  tim- 
ber, and  the  odor  of  creosote  is  as  strong  as  if  the 
wood  had  just  been  operated  upon. 

A  SUMMER  SUNSET. 

It  seemed  as  though  the  gates  of  heaven 

Were  opened  in  the  West, 
And  all  the  angels  looking  out, 

In  shining  garments  drest. 

Their  radiant  forms  went  flitting  past 

The  gateway  of  the  blest, 
Then  In  a  chariot  of  flame 

They  took  the  sun  to  rest. 

—H.  M.  L.  in  Rural  New  Yorker. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman, 
whose  experience  with  the  Brahmas  was  unfavor- 
able, says  he  had  got  out  of  patience  with  hia 
common  fowls,  but  when  he  commenced  with  the 
Brahmas,  wishing  to  make  a  fair  comparison,  he 
gave  them  as  good  treatment  as  the  Brahmas,  and 
to  his  surprise  they  have  laid  more  profusely,  and 
thus  far  have  proved,  in  all  respects,  superior  to 
the  Brahmas. 

— During  a  late  visit  to  the  farm  of  Mr.  J.  T. 
Warder,  near  Cincinnati,  the  editor  of  the  Country 
Gentleman  was  informed  that  in  thirty  years  four 
wheat  crops  had  been  lost — in  two  instances  from 
rust,  and  twice  from  freezing  out.  The  crop  of 
1866  was  a  total  failure,  from  the  latter  cause, 
throughout  almost  the  whole  of  this  part  of  Ohio. 
On  175  acres  Mr.  Warder  did  not  cut  a  single  sheaf! 
Land,  labor,  and  seed,  were  a  total  loss. 

— A  dusting  of  dry  wood  ashes  is  recommended 
by  W.  N.  Barnett,  of  West  Haven,  Ct.,  in  the 


380 


NEW  ENGLAND   FARI^IER. 


Aua. 


Cotintry  Gentleman,  as  a  protection  from  the  cur- 
culio  and  other  insects.  His  trees  are  trained  low 
so  that  the  ashes  may  be  more  easily  applied.  It 
should  be  dooe  at  sunrise,  when  the  dew  is  on, 
as  soon  as  the  blossoms  drop  from  the  fruit,  and 
repeated  when  washed  off  till  the  fruit  is  two- 
thirds  grown — the  object  being  to  keep  the  fruit 
covered  with  a  coating  of  ashes. 

—A  correspondent  of  the  Lamoille  Netos  Dealer 
says  he  successfully  defends  his  vine  patches  in 
this  way  :  "Lay  a  board,  one  or  more  according  to 
the  size  of  your  patch,  between  the  rows,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  afford  shelter  to  toads  in  the  day 
time,  and  leave  it  undisturbed,  so  that  they  will 
make  their  home  under  it,  which  they  M'ill  do  in 
great  numbers.  At  night  they  sally  out  and  de- 
vour every  bug,  and  grow  fat  as  aldermen." 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  at  the 
Paris  Exposition  says,  "The  competition  in  plow- 
ing has  thus  far  been  between  France  and  Eng- 
land ;  resulting  very  gi'eatly  in  favor  of  the  Eng- 
lish manufticturers.  The  French  journals  attempt 
to  apologize  for  this  state  of  things  by  saying  that 
the  English  competitors  have  brought  with  them 
chosen  plowmen  and  horses.  There  is  some  point 
in  this  charge,  yet  nothing  but  very  rude,  ill-con- 
structed plows,  could  do  such  wretched  woi'k, 
as  the  French  plowmen  have  done.  French  plows 
are  fiftj^  years  behind  the  age. 

— Horace  Greeley  says  that  the  year  18G6  was 
remarkable  for  the  general  deficiency  of  its  har- 
vests throughout  the  Union.  Former  years  were- 
more  palpably  unfruitful — 1816  especially  so — 1836 
pei'haps  as  meagre  in  its  returns  to  the  husband- 
man, but  this  in  good  part  because  he  put  forth 
too  little  exertion ;  but  in  no  former  year  of  this 
century  was  the  failure  of  crops  so  widespread  as 
in  1866.  Wheat  was  less  than  half  an  average 
yield  throughout ;  so  that  our  country,  which  ex- 
ported millions  of  bushels  of  this  staple  in  the 
midst  of  our  great  civil  war,  has  actually  been  im- 
porting for  some  months  past,  as  she  had  scarcely 
done  before  since  1836-7. 


ENRICHING   THE    SOIL    BY    TUBNING 
i  UNDER   PLANTS. 

f  The  practice  of  plowing  plants  under  the 
soil  to  enrich  it  is  not  a  new  one,  or  one  of 
doubtful  expediency.  It  was  practiced  among 
the  ancients,  is  continued  to  this  time,  and, 
under  some  circumstances,  with  most  signal 
advantages.  In  cases  where  it  is  not  conven- 
ient to  keep  much  stock,  the  land  may  be 
brought  to  a  high  state  of  fertility  by  filling  the 
soil  with  vegetable  matter  by  plowing  in  plants 
of  one  kind  or  another,  to  become  decomposed 
there.  So  of  lands  that  it  is  desired  to  culti- 
vate, and  which  lie  on  hills  that  are  difficult  of 
ascent,  or  are  so  far  from  the  barn  as  to  make 


carting  manure  too  expensive.  In  many  cases, 
too,  with  the  aid  of  modem  machinery,  many 
farmers  could  cultivate  more  acres  than  they 
usually  do,  if  they  had  the  means  ef  manuring 
them  well. 

We  take  it  that  the  fact  is  well  established 
that  this  course  may  be  pursued  with  profit. 
A  question  remains  behind  : — In  what  condi- 
tion will  the  plants  afford  the  greatest  benefit 
to  the  soil, — green  or  dry  ?  Will  some  of  our 
intelligent  correspondents  tell  us  ? 


WOOL  AND  WOOLENS. 
Since  January,  we  have  received  regularly 
from  Washington  a  neatly  printed  quarto  pam- 
phlet entitled  "Monthly  Report  of  the  Direc- 
tor of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Treasury  De- 
partment," Alex.  Delmar,  Director.  It  fur- 
nishes a  large  amount  of  information  in  rela- 
tion to  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  country. 
From  the  Report  for  May  we  cop}-  the  follow- 
ing statement  in  relation  to  the  value  of  the 
importations  of  Wool,  Sheep,  Goat's  and 
Camel  Hair  and  manufactures  thereof,  during 
the  months  of  January,  February,  March,  and 
April  of  the  present  year : — 

Raw  and  fleece 
Cloths  &  Cassim'rs 
Waste  or  Shoddy 
Shawls 
Blankets 
Dress  Goods 
Manure  not  spec'fd 

Total 

Showing  a  grand  total  of  $15,712,372  for 
the  four  months.  From  other  tables  it  appears 
manufactures  of  cotton  were  imported  to  the  j 
amount  of  $12,941,009  ;  of  silk  goods  $6,202,- 
161.  From  which  it  may,  perhaps,  be  in- 
ferred that  our  people  are  "bound  to  wear 
good  clothes  if  they  do  not  lay  up  a  cent." 


Jan. 

Feb. 

March 

April 

$2S4,056 

$458,134 

$621 ,0-.'5 

$747,255 

1,069,991 

908,250 

683,147 

456,142 

65,946 

68.398 

53,092 

23,075 

135,008 

299,354 

216,731 

116,585 

13,956 

4,102 

2,956 

1,296 

2,015,013 

1,768,696 

1,034,975 

763,799 

992,395 

1,139,675 

1,194,369 

674,953 

4,576,364 

4,646,608 

3,806,295 

2,683,105 

SHEEP  SHEAKINQ  IN  MAINE. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  North  Kenne- 
bec Wool  Growers'  Association,  in  Waterville, 
June  4th,  there  was  a  show  of  sheep,  a  shear- 
ing festival,  and  a  good  time  generally.  We 
condense  the  accompanying  tabular  statement 
of  the  names  of  exhibitors,  age  and  weight  of 
animal,  weight  of  fleece  and  length  of  staple  of 
the  dilfererent  fleeces,  from  the  Maine  Far- 
mcr,  who  remarks:  "An  interesting  scene  it 
was,  some  fifteen  of  the  most  expert  shearers 
in  all  the  region,  seated  on  the  fresh,  green 
grass,  under  the  shade  of  trees,  with  coats  off. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


381 


sleeves  rolled  up,  and  each  of  them  on  bis 
knees  holding  his  pet  buck  or  ewe  with  one 
hand,  while  with  the  other  he  plied  the  sharp 
shears  over  the  smooth,  fat  sides  of  the  im- 
mense Cots  wold,  or  followed  the  heavy  folds 
of  the  neck  of  some  Merino." 


Class  and  O^tner. 

3^ 

1 

Full  TAood  Merino  Bucks. 

lbs. 

vrs. 

lbs 

oz. 

in. 

Eph.    Maxhaoi,    Waterville  .  .   . 

13i 

2 

20 

8 

3 

Joshua  Nye                 "             ... 

149 

6 

15 

14 

2^ 

"                          "             ... 

119^ 

4 

10 

10 

2i 

Elijah  Blaisdell          "             ... 

142 

3 

17 

8 

^ 

Geo.  E.  t^hore8,          "             ... 

118 

3 

14 

1 

3 

Dr.  N.  R.  Boutelle    "            ... 

138 

4 

18 

2^ 

P.  W.  Ayer,  Freedom 

124 

3 

17 

8 

3 

Seth  Wintworth,  China  ..... 

113 

5 

12 

15 

2i 

C.K.SawtcUe, Waterville.   .   .   . 

99 

2 

12 

15 

S'f 

Grade  Merino  Bucks. 

Rnssell    Freeman,  Winslow  .   .   . 

76^ 

2 

11 

4 

3 

Beth  Wentwnrth,  China 

138 

6 

14 

9 

2^ 

Fred.    H.   Wins;,  Waterville  .   .   . 

112 

2 

13 

9 

4 

Full  Blood  Merino  Ewe. 

Eph.  Maxham,   Waterville    .   .   . 

82.^ 

4 

9 

14 

2? 

"           "                  "             ... 

73 

3 

8 

5 

2', 

"           "                  "             ... 

51 

1 

8 

9 

2i 

Cotswold  Buck,  (washed.) 

C.  P.  Cliureh,  Bradford 

193^ 

5 

8 

8 

8 

Grade  Cotswold  Ewe,  {cosset,} 

W.  J.  Morrill,  Waterville  .... 

127 

2 

12 

4 

5 

FLAVOR  OF  CHEESE. 
In  connection  with  our  remarks  last  week 
upon  this  subject,  we  publish  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  a  circular  issued  by  Mr.  Weeks  to 
the  patrons  of  the  Week's  cheese  factory  in 
Verona,  N.  Y.  Mr.  W.  is  the  secretary  of 
the  American  Dairymen's  Association.  Its 
suggestions  are  applicable  to  private  as  well 
as  to  factory  dairying. 

1.  Never,  under  any  circumstances,  send  a  can 
of  milk  to  the  factory  tliat  has  not  been  strained. 
A  tin  strainer  pail  is  best,  but  a  clean,  carefully 
scalded  cloth,  stretched  upon  a  neat  little  frame, 
which  may  be  placed  directly  over  the  can,  will 
answer.  This  I  deem  all-important,  and  any  one 
who  will  examine  the  contents  of  the  strainer  at 
any  factory  will  be  convinced  of  it. 

2.  Sec  to  it  that  the  milking  be  performed  in  a 
cleanly  manner,  and  never  tolerate  filthy  habits  in 
milkers.  It  is  unjust  to  the  purchaser  and  to  the 
consumers  of  our  cheese. 

3.  Pay  more  attention  to  the  cans,  especially  to 
the  seams,  covers  and  faucets.  In  hot  weather  be 
particularly  vigilant.  A  thorough  rinsing  at  night, 
and  a  rinsing,  washing,  scalding  and  sunning  in 
the  morning,  will  suffice,  though  it  is  very  desira- 
ble that  in  hot  weather  the  cans  and  faucits  be 
scoured  with  salt  twice  a  week. 

4.  When  it  is  possiljlc,  avoid  the  use  of  all  wood- 
en vessels.  Tin  is  the  only  fit  article  for  pails,  ^c. 
When  wood  is  used,  extra  care  must  be  employed 
in  cleansing.  Beware  of  freshly  painted  pails,  for 
their  use  is  dangerous. 

5.  See  to  it  that  when  the  cows  are  driven  from 
the  pasture,  they  be  not  chased  by  dogs,  nor  in  any 
way  huiTied  and  heated. 

6.  Always  have  leaky  cans  promptly  repaired. 

7.  In  portions  of  the  year,  when  milk  is  sent  to 
the  factory  only  once  daily,  always  put  the  night's 
mills  into  the  can  (into  two  if  you  have  them,) 


leave  the  cover  off,  set  in  a  cool  place,  and  stir  the 
mass  with  a  dipper  several  times  during  the  even- 


"WASTE    OF   FORCE    IN    VEGETATION". 

There  are  many  facts  in  vegetable  growth 
that  are  wonderful  and  mysterious.  A  com- 
mon pump  will  raise  water  some  thirty  feet 
with  comparative  ease,  but  with  all  our  con- 
trivances of  air-chambers  and  complicated  ma- 
chinery, it  is  difficult  to  raise  it  seventy-five 
or  a  hundred  feet.  Yet  how  readily  the  sap 
"runs"  to  the  topmost  bough  of  the  highest 
trees — though  the  perpendicular  ascent  may  be 
from  two  to  three,  or  even  four  hundred  feet, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Great  Trees  of  Califor- 
nia !     What  makes  it  go  up  ? 

The  following  article  does  not  answer  this 
question,  but  it  states  some  curious  facts  and 
theories  which  we  think  will  interest  every  one 
who  has  trained  grape,  hop,  bean  or  pea  vines. 
It  is  entitled,  "On  the  Consumption  of  Force 
by  Plants  in  Overcoming  Gravitation,"  and 
was  written  by  Thomas  Meehan,  Editor  of  the 
Gardener'' s  Monthly,  and  published  in  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciouces, 
Philadelphia. 

Every  one  interested  in  Horticulture  knows 
how  uncertain  is  the  successful  cultivation  of  the 
grape  in  the  United  States.  The  vines  usually 
nourish  well  for  a  few  years,  but  in  most  in- 
stances become  the  prey  of  numerous  diseases 
before  thej^  attain  any  very  great  age. 

In  remarkable  contrast  with  this  general 
failure  is  the  fact  that  grape  vines  growing  over 
trees  are  generally  healthy  and  fruitful  to  a  re- 
markable extent.  Branches  from  unhealthy 
vines  on  trellises,  when  they  can  get  to  ramble 
over  the  twiggy  branches  of  a  neighboring 
tree,  resume  the  health  and  vigor  lost  by  the 
parent  or  main  vine. 

These  facts  have  had  numerous  observers, 
and  are  generally  admitted.  They  have  been 
frequently  discussed  in  Horticultural  journals  ; 
but  every  theory  hitherto  brought  forward  has 
been  refuted.  For  instance,  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  the  partial  shatle  afforded  by  the  tree 
benefited  the  grape  vine ;  but  it  is  as  perfect 
when  growing  over  low  bushes,  onhot  banks,  ex- 
posed to  hot  and  dry  temperatures,  as  when  lux- 
uriating among  the  shady  branches  of  the  tall- 
est trees.  Again,  it  has  been  suggested  that  as 
the  vine  is  supposed  to  like  a  dry  soil,  the 
roots  of  the  tree  tended  to  absorb  superflu- 
ous moisture,  and  thus  furnished  the  best  con- 
ditions for  the  vine  roots  ;  but  healthy  vines  are 
found  on  trees  in  impassable  swamps  ;  besides, 
the  cases  of  branches  from  trellises  before  al- 
luded to,  answer  this  supposition.  Some  have 
thought  that  as  the  foreign  vine,  growing  im- 


J82 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


der  glass,  thrives  there  so  well,  principally  on 
account  of  humid  atmosphere,  the  evaporation 
from  the  trees'  foliage  might  benefit  the  vine 
growing  over  it ;  but  it  has  been  further  ob- 
served that  they  grow  as  well  over  dead  trees 
as  over  living  ones  :  and  so  on,  in  like  manner, 
every  theory  has  been  refuted,  and  the  true 
reason  unexplained. 

I  think  Mr.  Darwin's  discovery  of  tendril 
motion  will  afford  the  key  to  this  phenomenon, 
and  enable  us  to  form  a  new  theory  as  to  the 
origin  and  employment  of  force  in  vegetable 
growth. 

Mr.  Darwin  has  shown  that  the  tendrils  of 
plants  are  in  continuous  motion  for  a  longtime 
until  they  find  something  to  cling  to,  when  mo- 
tion at  once  ceases.  Motion  is  an  attril)ute  of 
viti:,l  force ;  and  vital  force,  whatever  be  its 
origin,  must  be  sustained  by  nutrition. 

There  are  two  forms  of  motion.  The  one 
we  call  growth,  which  is  the  motion  of  the  cells 
individually ;  the  other,  in  animals,  we  call 
muscular  motion,  is  the  movement  of  the  cells 
collectively.  This  tendril  motion,  unnamed 
because  until  lately  unknown,  is  analogous  to 
animal  muscular  motion,  in  its  being  a  collec- 
tive movement  of  the  parts. 

In  animals  we  know  that  nutrition  will  only 
supply  a  given  amount  of  force,  and  that  if  mus- 
cular motion  receives  an  undue  proportion  of 
this  force,  growth  (cell  motion)  suffers.  In 
common  language,  the  over-run  horse  gains  no 
flesh.  On  the  other  hand,  the  disuse  of  mus- 
cular power  fattens  the  animal.  If  the  same 
division  of  motion  exists  in  plants,  and  Mr. 
Darwin's  paper  shows  it  does,  it  necessarily 
follows  that  if  one  form  gets  more  than  its  due 
share,  the  healthful  balance  is  destroyed — in 
other  words,  the  force  necessary  for  excessive 
tendi  11  motion  in  the  grape  vine  exhausts  the 
nutritive  powers  of  the  plant  to  supply  ;  growth 
suffers,  and  disease  ensues. 

To  apply  this  principle  to  the  case  of  unsuc- 
cessful grape  culture,  we  find  in  no  system  of 
grape  management  is  any  provision  made  for 
arresting  tendril  motion, — but  on  the  tree 
thousands  of  little  twigs  invite  the  tendrils  at 
every  turn.  No  motion  is  expended  except  for 
what  we  might  almost  term  healthful  exercise, 
— the  balance  is  used  in  growth. 

Observation  on  many  species  of  climbing 
vines  under  similar  circumstances  confirms 
these  views.  The  growth  and  general  health- 
fulness  of  every  kind  of  vine,  is  in  exact  pro- 
portion to  the  climbing  facilities  afforded  It. 
The  garden  pea  will  furnish  a  ready  means  of 
testing  this  proposition.  It  will  be  found  that 
difference  in  vigor,  general  healthfulness,  and 
longevity,  is  strikingly  in  favor  of  those  grown 
on  twiggy  branches.  Peas  unstaked,  grow 
weakly,  bear  early  and  sparing,  and  die  young. 
Honeysuckles  ramble  to  great  heights  and  have 
large  luxuriant  foliage  on  fine  wire  trellises, 
but  when  dangling  to  one  straight  stick  they 
grow  very  little  Indeed.  The  most  striking  in- 
stance that  came  under  my  observation  was  in 


some  Wistaria  sinensis  which  had  been  trained 
to  form  self-supporting  dwarf  trees.  The 
branches  would  only  grow  two  or  three  feet  in 
a  season,  but  a  few  of  the  shoots  in  time  bend- 
ing over  and  reaching  the  ground,  where  they 
found  a  natural  support,  would  grow  thirty 
feet  during  a  single  season.  The  observations 
in  this  way  were  so  uniform,  and  the  materials 
being  everywhere,  any  one  can  verify  this 
without  it  being  necessary  for  me  to  particu- 
larize further  instances. 

Every  effort  of  nature  is  but  an  endeavor  to 
accomplish  an  object.  The  history  of  a  plant's 
life  is  a  struggle  with  gravitation.  The  pur- 
pose of  that  struggle  is  with  the  Author  of  its 
existence,  but  its  immediate  object  is  to  elevate 
itself  from  the  earth.  The  force  required  for 
this  is  very  great.  In  its  young  days,  how- 
ever, it  goes  on  with  vigor, — taking  no  thought, 
as  it  were,  of  to-morrow, — but,  as  it  grows 
older,  it  becomes  bowed  down  by  the  weight  of 
its  own  accumulations ;  gravity  tells  on  its 
wide-spreading  branches,  reminding  it  of  the 
growing  weakness.  It  then  prepares  itself  for 
its  final  dissolution  by  producing  fruit,  which, 
fully  accomplished,  the  struggle  with  gravita- 
tion ceases,  and  dust  to  dust  returns. 

The  whole  of  this  enormous  motive  force 
must,  as  we  have  seen,  be  derived  from  nutri- 
tion,— and  the  proper  proportion  due  to  each 
form  of  motion  must  be  provided  and  paid  to 
it,  or  deranged  action  be  the  inevitable  conse- 
quence. 

For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
NOTES    ON   THE    CONNECTICUT    VAIi- 
LEY.— NO.  I. 
Scenery— Soils — Tobacco— Corn. 

The  Connecticut  River  valley  has  had  a 
reputation  for  fertility  and  beauty  of  scenery 
unrivalled  perhaps  by  any  other  section  of  the 
New  England  States.  By  reason  of  this  repu- 
tation I  was  prepared  on  coming  to  this  place, 
to  expect  not  only  fertility  and  beauty,  but  a 
high  grade  of  agricultural  information  and  prac- 
tice. I  will  not  say  that  I  have  been  altogeth- 
er disappointed  In  these  respects,  for  I  have 
not  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  make  up  a 
final  verdict.  I  will,  therefore,  just  record 
my  impressions  as  to  how  things  here  strike  a 
stranger. 

Much  as  has  been  said  respecting  the  varied 
beauties  of  the  scenery  of  this  section,  only  the 
past  summer  a  noted  traveller  expressed  sur- 
prise at  the  comparative  low  estimate  of  the  at- 
tractions of  this  locality ;  when,  according  to 
his  opinion,  they  were  far  greater  than  any  he 
had  ever  met  with  in  any  or  all  of  his  travels 
abroad.  Be  this  as  it  may,  a  person  having  a 
taste  for  such  things  cannot  fail  of  finding 
localities  of  very  great  attraction  and  of  greatly 
varied  character. 

This  matter,  however,  I  regret  to  say,  does 
not  occupy  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  estima- 
tion of  farmers   as  it  ought.     If  the  masses 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


383 


could  be  brought  to  the  cultivation  of  a  taste 
for  the  beautiful  in  nature,  what  might  we  not 
be  led  to  look  for  of  beauty  in  the  surround- 
ings of  their  homes  and  possessions  ?  Instead 
of  seeing  residences  unsheltered  by  protecting 
trees  ;  grounds  unadorned  by  shrub  or  flower ; 
fences  dilapidated ;  farm  implements  laying 
promiscuously  around ;  neglect  enstamped  on 
every  side. — we  should  see  homes  that  showed 
the  unmistakable  signs  of  cultivated  taste,  dili- 
gent care,  and  wise  regard  for  all  the  tnie  en- 
joyments of  life.  If  the  poet  is  correct  in  say- 
ing that  "a  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever,"  a 
development  of  a  taste  for  it  will  not  fail  of 
future  reward,  but  forever  expand  in  the  beau- 
tiful world  of  light,  unmarred  by  the  clogs  of 
corroding  care,  and  unincumbered  with  the 
inlirmities  of  the  flesh. 

There  is  quite  a  diversity  of  soil  even  on  the 
very  banks  of  the  river.  Of  that  part  of  this 
town  which  borders  on  it,  but  little  is  subject 
to  overflows  during  the  greatest  freshets. 
The  mendows,  as  they  are  termed,  are  more  or 
less  flowed  every  spring,  and  some  of  them 
at  other  seasons  of  the  year.  These  inunda- 
tions add  greatly  to  the  productiveness  of 
these  meadows,  so  far  as  grass  is  concerned. 
So  far  as  my  observation  extends, — from 
Springfield  to  Hartford, — they  are  not  very 
good  for  grain  or  tobacco.  I  incline  to  think 
the  water-level  too  near  the  surflice,  the  soil 
too  cold  and  compact.  Then  we  have  clay 
and  sand,  loam  and  sand — much  more  of  the 
last  than  I  was  prepared  to  expect.  This 
whole  section  seems  to  be  made  up  of  con- 
trasts. Clay  suitable  for  brick  is  found  side 
by  side  with  sand  suitable  to  combine  with 
the  clay  for  the  same  purpose.  I  was  struck 
with  the  productiveness  of  these  sandy  soils  in 
grass,  as  compared  with  that  of  what  appear  to  be 
the  same  soils  in  southern  Massachusetts.  The 
clays  are  not  as  desirable  for  gejieral  farm  pur- 
poses as  the  sandy  loams.  Tobacco  is  never 
put  on  them,  and  grain  does  not  do  well. 
They  are  so  compact  that  underdraining  must 
be  resorted  to  to  bring  them  into  good  tillage 
condition.  Draining,  however,  during  these 
scarce  times  for  labor  is  not  entertained.  No 
one  thinks  he  can  afford  it. 

The  treatment  these  lands  have  been  subject 
to  has  been  suicidal.  Immense  tracts  have 
been  in  past  years  cropped  with  grain — rye 
mostly — year  after  year,  with  little,  and  in 
most  cases  no  manure.  Distilleries  were  for- 
merly in  close  proximity  to  each  other  here. 
They  stimulated  the  farmer  to  run  his  land  in 
grain  by  affording  him  a  sure  market  and  good 
prices.  In  this  way  the  past  generation  robbed 
the  present  of  their  rightful  legacy, — a  descrip- 
tion of  robbery  that  deprives  one  of  all  chance 
of  self  defence.  How  to  restore  these  lands  to 
a  profitable  state,  is  now  with  some  a  very  im- 
portant q.estion.  I  can  scarcely  see  how  it 
can  be  done  with  any  prospect  of  profit  to 
those  who  attempt  it.  It  really  seems  as  if 
they  must  be  left  to  the  recuperating  influences 


of  rest.  If  tobacco  had  not  come  into  general 
culture  here,  it  is  not  hard  telling  what  would 
have  become  of  very  many  farmers  who,  pur- 
suing the  skinning  process,  became  more  and 
more  involved  in  debt  each  succeeding  year. 
Since  its  introduction,  debts  have  been  paid, 
new  buildings  erected,  old  ones  repaired  and 
the  general  surroundings  improved.  It  seemed 
to  have  been  to  all  a  great  source  of  income. 
Its  effects,  however,  on  the  general  improve- 
ment of  the  farm  are  questionable.  About  all 
the  available  manure  made  upon  the  farm  is  hus- 
banded for  the  growth  of  this  crop. 

The  general  farm  management  in  this 
locality,  excepting  as  modified  by  the  cultiva- 
tion of  tobacco,  is  much  the  same  as  in  most 
parts  of  New  England.  Where  tobacco  is  not 
grown,  however,  more  manure  is  applied  to 
other  crops,  and  consequently  better  yields  of 
grain,  vegetables,  &c.,  are  secured.  Many 
farmers  here  plow  about  all  they  can  find  time 
to  in  the  fall ;  especially  their  tobacco  lands. 
Some  sow  these  with  rye,  to  turn  under  in  the 
spring  in  time  for  setting  their  tobacco,  think- 
ing it  pays  well  in  increased  production, 
which  I  think  highly  probable,  as  a  large 
amount  of  vegetable  matter  is  thus  obtained 
from  these  highly  manured  fields,  many  of 
which  have  been  used  for  several  years  for  the 
same  purpose.  I  have  been  shown  fields  on 
which  this  crop  has  been  grown  from  ten  to 
twenty  years,  without  any  perceptible  decrease 
in  the  crop. 

There  is  a  feeling  of  delicacy  in  commenting 
unfavorably  upon  the  practices  of  others,  espe- 
cially respecting  matters  that  people  are  very 
sensitive  about.  Almost  every  farmer  consid- 
ers his  modes  of  doing  farm  work  as  good  or 
better  than  those  of  any  other  man,  and  he  re- 
gards a  hint  to  the  contrary  as  a  personal  in- 
sult. How  to  approach  such  people,  hoping  to 
do  them  good,  is  a  very  nice  question  to  solve. 
I  will  venture  however  to  chronicle  my  impres- 
sions, hoping  that  I  may  be  forgiven,  on  the 
ground  of  good  intentions,  if  not  on  that  of 
useful  criticism. 

It  strikes  a  stranger  as  being  far  behind  the 
times  for  three  men  to  go  into  a  field,  prepared 
for  planting  corn  by  furrowing  with  a  plow 
both  ways,  with  a  wagon  load  of  manure  drawn 
by  two  yoke  of  oxen,  and  all  three  putting  it 
into  the  hills,  then  each  one  tying  on  a  pocket 
in  front  with  corn  in  it,  to  drop  and  cover  each 
for  himself,  leaving  the  team  unemployed  un- 
til the  load  is  covered ;  then  go  for  another 
load.  I  should  not  allude  to  this  great  waste 
of  time  and  consequent  expense,  if  this  prac- 
tice was  not  one  of  quite  common  occurrence 
here.  When  I  first  saw  it,  I  recalled  the  la- 
bor saving  processes  and  machinery  employed 
at  the  West,  and  in  other  sections. 

Any  one  at  all  familiar  with  corn  planting, 
can  but  see  that  the  practice  I  have  alluded  to 
is  many  years  behind  the  times,  as  well  as  an 
extravagant  waste.  When  a  boy,  I  was  ex- 
pected to  drop  com  on  manure  as  fast  as  three 


384 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJ^IER. 


Aug. 


and  four  men  could  cover  with  hoes,  and  did 
not  consider  it  a  hardship.  A  man  can  not  put 
his  hand  into  a  pocket  and  drop  each  hill  sep- 
arately and  cover,  without  a  great  loss  of  time. 

The  after  culture  of  this  crop  is  also  very 
imperfectly  attended  to.  Very  few  hoe  their 
corn  more  than  twice,  if  ever  so  foul  with  weeds. 
I  have  seen  fields  the  past  season  where  the 
weeds  overtopped  the  corn,  and  almost  all  I 
saw  were  very  weedy,  insuring  a  bountiful 
crop  for  coming  years.  This  neglect  of  clean 
culture  is  in  part  owing  to  a  press  of  other 
work,  especially  from  the  imperative  demands 
of  the  tobacco,  which  must  be  attended  to,  or 
great  loss  will  be  the  result.  How  far  a  far- 
mer is  justified  in  planting  more  extensively 
than  he  can  well  care  for  during  the  growing 
season,  I  will  leave  for  each  to  decide  for  him- 
self; being  content  with  my  own  conviction  that 
there  is  no  profit  in  it,  but  on  the  contrary  a 
downright  loss. 

As  regards  the  best  method  of  management 
of  corn  after  maturity,  much  diversity  of  opin- 
ion prevails  all  over  the  country.  1  believe, 
however,  it  is  the  most  prevalent  idea  that  it  is 
the  most  profit  to  cut  at  the  ground  at  the 
proper  time  for  curing  both  corn  and  fodder 
and  putting  into  shocks  or  stooks.  The  shock- 
ing is  almost  universally  prevalent  here,  but 
neglected  or  deferred  until  the  leaves  of  the 
fodder  are  about  ruined  before  cutting.  To 
avoid  frost  or  stonns,  many  cut  and  leave  their 
corn  upon  the  ground  for  weeks  before  setting 
it  up,  exposing  it  to  great  damage  by  dews 
and  storms.  When  harvested,  very  little  care 
is  taken  to  secure  the  fodder  fi-om  stormy 
weather,  either  by  getting  under  cover  or  set- 
ting up.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  two-thii"ds 
of  its  value  for  stock  is  worse  than  lost  by 
these  careless  methods.  In  some  sections  of 
New  England  the  fodder  from  an  acre  of  corn 
yielding  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre,  is  considered 
equal  to  a  ton  and  a  half  of  hay,  when  as  much 
care  is  taken  to  secure  it  in  good  order  as  in 
the  case  of  hay.  In  such  sections,  the  pre 
vailing  practice  here  would  be  regarded  as  the 
sure  road  to  the  pauper  asvlum.  K.  o. 

East  Windsor,  Gt.,  18(37. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
THE  GARDEN  IN  JULY. 
The  garden  this  month  will,  if  it  has  been 
well  tended  thus  far,  furnish  a  variety  of  fruits 
and  vegetables  to  reward  the  labors  of  the 
gardener.  During  this  month,  increased  atten- 
tion is  needed  in  keeping  weeds,  &c.,  in  sub- 
jection ;  they  will  grow  as  fast,  if  not  faster 
than  other  plants.  The  improved  machines 
recently  introdiu^ed  will  enable  the  fanner  to 
perform  his  haying  and  other  laborious  farm 
work  so  much  easier  and  more  rapidly,  that 
time  for  the  proper  care  of  the  garden  may  be 
found  by  tlie  diligent  farmer.  An  hour  or  two 
in  the  morning,  while  the  dew  is  on,  is  more 
profitably  spent  in  the  garden  than  in  the  hay 


field.  Stir  the  soil  and  the  weeds  often  with 
the  hoe  ;  apply  liquid  manure,  just  before  rain, 
or  after  sun  set,  at  the  roots  only  of  such 
plants  as  need  stimulating,  covering  the  watered 
surface  with  dry  soil.  Water  newly  set  trees 
and  grape  vines,  keeping  the  mulch  moist. 
Li(iuid  manure  will  swell  fruit  very  fast  when 
judiciously  applied. 

Blackkeuries. — Tie  new  shoots  to  stakes 
or  trellises ;  shorten  main  stem  and  branches 
to  help  growth  of  fruit  buds,  and  pull  up  all 
canes  not  wanted  for  multiplying. 

Celery. — Transplant  till  the  last  of  the 
month ;  hoe  and  cultivate  often.  The  excel- 
lence of  the  crop  depends  largely  upon  rapid 
growth  and  proper  bedding  and  blanching. 

Currants. — If  particularly  large  specimens 
are  desired,  pinch  off  the  ends  of  the  shoots 
just  beyond  the  bunches,  and  thin  and  give 
plenty  of  water  or  lifjuid  manure.  They  will 
begin  to  ripen  during  the  month  ;  when  fully 
ripe  pick  for  jelly,  preserves  and  canning. 
Prune  and  cut  out  old  canes  as  soon  as  the 
fruit  is  gathered.  The  currant  worm  and  other 
insects  should  be  looked  after  and  destroyed 
by  all  practicable  means.  Powdered  hellebore 
is  recommended  to  destroy  the  worm,  &c. 

Gooseberries. — Thin  out  the  fruit  where 
needed  early  in  the  month,  and  use  the  berries 
removed  for  sauce,  pies,  &c.  Dust  with  sul- 
phur on  the  first  signs  of  mildew. 

Grapes  will  need  thinning  where  more  than 
two  or  three  bunches  grow  on  a  shoot.  Treat 
signs  of  mildew  with  sulphur.  Pinch  off  super- 
fluous shoots  to  two  or  three  leaves ;  also  fruit 
branches  two  leaves  beyond  the  last  bunch. 
Attention  in  summer  pruning,  watering,  &c., 
will  be  repaid  with  less  labor  in  fall  pruning, 
better  wood,  and  superior  fruit ;  insuring  bet- 
ter fruit  buds  for  next  season. 

Herbs. — Cut  when  in  blossom  ;  tie  in  small 
bunches  or  spread  and  dry  in  the  shade,  and 
save  in  papers  or  boxes,  which  will  hold  their 
aroma. 

]\Ielons  need  the  same  culture  that  is  given 
cucumbers.  To  hasten  maturity,  place  a  board 
or  fiat  stone  under  specimens. 

Potatoes. — Early  planted  will  do  to  dig 
for  use  ;  clear  off  and  sow  to  turnips,  spinach, 
or  other  late  crops. 

Raspberries. — As  soon  as  the  fruit  is  off, 
cut  down  oid  canes  and  thin  out  new  ones. 
Three  or  four  canes  to  a  stool  is  sufficient; 
keep  well  hoed  without  disturbing  the  roots. 

Seeds. — Some  vegetables  and  plants  will  be 
maturing  their  seeds  ;  save  only  the  best,  and 
that  from  the  most  perfect  specimens,  and  from 
near  the  centre  of  the  plant  or  vine.  The 
earliest  should  be  saved,  as  it  tends  to  increase 
earliness ;  dry  all,  and  put  in  a  dry  cool  place 
in  boxes  or  papers,  labelled  with  variety  and 
year  of  growth. 

Strawberries. — After  bearing  is  over, 
weed  the  beds  and  cut  the  runners  Avhere  not 
wanted  for  new  plants.  Old  beds  may  be  re- 
newed by  first  spreading  on  fine  manure,  then 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


385 


spading  in  alternate  strips,  three  feet  wide, 
plants  and  all,  and  fining  the  surface  well. 
The  limners  from  the  alternate  strips  left  un- 
spaded,  will  spread  on  to  the  newly  dug  spaces 
and  soon  stock  them  sufHciently.  The  old 
plants  may  be  subse(juently  hoed  up,  and  the 
spaces  occupied  used  for  paths  or  walks. 

W.  H.  White. 
South  Windsor,  Ct.,  June,  1807. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
TENANT   FARMING,    AGAIN. 

In  the  Fahmer  for  March  9,  Mr.  J.  G. 
Hubbard  olfers  a  farm  "on  a  lease  on  valua- 
tion, and  all  taxes  paid,"  and  states  that  he 
does  so  as  "a  test  to  anonymous  contributors, 
who  are  pleased  to  air  their  theories  in  the 
public  journals,  from  time  to  time,  and  to  in- 
timate to  them  that  to  be  of  value  their  sug- 
gestions must  be  practical,  and  they  should  be 
able  to  find  those  that  will  practice  them." 

^^ow  1  submit  that  a  fair  reading  and  con- 
struction of  the  article  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Hubbard,  does  not  warrant  the  charge  that  its 
suggestions  are  not  practical,  for  it  is  ex- 
pressly stated,  that  '-probably  one  of  the  best 
systems  of  tenant  farming  in  this  countrv,  is 
that  adopted  on  the  Wadsworth  farms  in  Wes- 
tern New  York ;"  and  that  "here  is  a  large 
number  of  farms,  all  worked  under  the  direc- 
tion of  an  able  and  competent  manager,  in  a 
way  that  tends  to  the  present  and  permanent 
advantage  of  the  owner,  while  it  makes  a  per- 
manent and  profitable  business  for  all  the  good 
farmers  that  work  them."  To  which  is  also 
added  a  brief  account  of  the  kind  of  farming 
and  course  of  cropping  pursued,  showing  a  sys- 
tem of  management  that  secures  good  tenants, 
and  keeps  the  land  in  good  condition,  while 
these  farms  don't  "have  to  go  a  begging." 

Lest  Mr.  Hubbard  should  try  to  throw  this 
aside  as  coming  from  an  "anonymous  contribu- 
tor," or,  were  1  to  sign  my  name,  as  coming 
from  a  stranger,  I  will  copy  a  short  extract 
from  the  Memorial  of  the  late  Gen.  James  S. 
Wadsworth,  delivered  before  the  New  York 
State  Agricultural  Society,  at  the  close  of  its 
annual  exhibition  at  Rochester,  Sept.  23,  1864, 
by  Lewis  F.  Allen  of  Buffalo,  and  published 
in  the  Transactions  for  1864,  page  71. 

"Prolialily  no  agricultural  property  in  the  coun- 
try, so  extensive  in  domain,  has  been  arranged 
into  a  l)L'tter  division  of  individual  farms,  and  their 
husbandry  directed  with  more  systematic  economy 
on  the  part  of  the  landlords, 'than  those  of  the 
Wadsworths.    The  soils  were  applied  to  the  crops 
most  C(»ngcnial  to  their  natures,  and  which  yield- 
ed most  protit  on  their  outlay ;  and  as  proof  that 
the  mutual  interests  of  landlord  and  tenant  were  I 
thoroughly  studied,  I  understand  that  quite  three-  '• 
fourths  in  number  of  the  tenants  now  on  the  farms  j 
are  those,  and  the  descendants  of  those  who  occu-  \ 
pied  them  in  the  lifetime  of  the  elder  Wadsworths."  | 
It  is  also  stated  that  "the  moral  and  pecuniary 
condition    of  the    inhaljitants    dwelling    on    the  ' 
Wadsworth  fiirms  is  as  high,  and  the  line  of  hus-  \ 
bandry  has  been  as  good,  in  the  average,  as  among  ' 


the  smaller  farmers  who  hold  their  lands  in  fee— 
and  the  general  agriculture  of  Livingston  county 
is  of  no  mean  order." 

Undoubtedly  the  editors  of  the  Farmer  have 
read  this  memorial  of  Gen.  Wadsworth,  who, 
after  having  three  horses  shot  under  him,  was 
mortally  wounded  in  the  sanguinary  battle  of 
the  Wilderness ;  and  have  also  heard  of  the 
Wadsworth  farms  and  farming  in  the  noted  fer- 
tile valley  of  the  Genesee,  and  can  assure  Mr. 
H.  of  the  general  correctness  of  the  account 
here  given. 

Now,  in  all  candDr,  is  not  this  practice  of 
letting  the  Wadsworth  farms  "tangible  and 
practicable,"  as  any  farming  in  Western  New 
York,  and  does  it  not  show  that  the  account  in 
the  other  article  was  something  more  than  a 
mere  "airing  of  theories,"  and  that  there  is  no 
trouble  in  finding  many  who  will  and  do  prac- 
tice the  suggestions  there  offered  ? 

There  can  be  little  need  of  repeating  facts 
and  quotations  to  show  that  the  statements  in 
regard  to  tenant  farming  in  England  are  equal- 
ly true  ;  and  that  being  on  a  much  more  exten- 
sive scale  is,  if  possible,  still  less  open  to  the 
charge  of  being  impracticable.  Should  such 
proofs  be  required,  I  may  refer  Mr.  H.  to 
"Observations  on  English  Husbandry,"  by 
Hon.  Henry  F.  French,  Exeter,  N.  H.,  in  the 
Patent  Office  Report  for  1860,  page  140,  and 
also  to  other  writers  on  English  farming. 

But  perhaps  Mr.  Hubbard  may  say,  "all 
this  don't  meet  my  case.  I  ask  for  a  man  to 
take  my  farm  according  to  the  suggestions  in 
your  article ;  that  is  the  kind  of  proof  I  wish 
you  to  bring."  Well,  then,  let  us  see  about 
this  ;  you  offer  your  farm  on  a  lease  at  6  per 
cent.,  per  annum,  on  valuation,  and  all  taxes. 
Now  if  Mr.  H.  will  read  my  article  again  he 
will  see  that  there  is  nothingsaid  in  regard  to 
the  amount  or  price  of  rent,  or  whether  it  is 
to  be  fixed  by  valuation  or  in  some  other  way. 
This,  both  here  and  in  England,  is  always  a 
matter  of  agreement  between  the  parties. 
The  valuations  relate  solely  to  the  condition  of 
the  farm, — to  crops  on  the  ground,  the  labor 
done  and  manure  applied  by  the  outgoing  ten- 
ant, or  occupant.  So  it  will  be  seen,  that 
friend  H.  has  made  one  impracticable  condi- 
tion, not  warranted  by  the  a'rticle  objected  to. 
Next,  Mr.  Hubbard  wants  6  per  cent,  on 
the  value  of  his  farm,  and  all  taxes  paid.  Six 
per  cent.,  I  believe  is,  or  was,  lawful  inter- 
est in  Massachusetts,  so  he  wants  lawful  inter- 
est and  taxes  besides.  This  would  be  better 
than  money  at  interest,  as  then  the  taxes  must 
be  paid  by  the  lender.  And  then  as  full  in- 
terest is  wanted,  he  seems  to  forget  that  there 
are  few  if  any  old  sections,  where  capital  is 
plenty,  in  which  land  will  rent  for  tiie  interest 
of  what  it  will  sell  for.  The  greater  safety 
and  certainty  of  the  investment,  and  the  gen- 
eral rise  in  real  estate,  leads  to  investing  mon- 
ey in  land  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest,  or  for  a 
lower  income,  than  will  be  accepted  in  any  oth- 
er way.     Hence,  rents  seldom  range  as  high 


886 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJ^IER. 


Aug. 


as  lawful  interest ;  they  do  not  here,  nor  do 
they  in  any  of  the  older  farming  sections  in 
which  I  am  acquainted.  On  the  Wadsworth 
farms  the  rent  is  calculated  to  average  about 
live  p'jr  cent.  In  England,  in  many  cases,  it 
is  not  over  two  per  cent.  Here,  then,  Mr. 
H.  makes  another  impracticable  condition. 
He  asks  more  than  his  land  can  reasonably  be 
expected  to  rent  for.  If  oifered  for  a  fair 
price,  he  would  doubtless  soon  find  a  tenant. 
At  least,  that  is  always  the  case  here,  where,  al- 
though there  are  a  good  many  farms  let,  either, 
for  a  money  rent  or  a  share  of  the  crops,  the 
demand  for  farms  is  always  greater  than  the 
supply. 

But  ]\Ir.  Hubbard  seems  to  have  in  view  a 
still  stronger  test  of  the  fiiith  of  anonymous 
contributors ;  as  he  intimates  that  such  con- 
tributors should  come  and  take  his  farm.  To 
this  I  answer,  for  myself  only,  by  saying,  no 
sir,  I  thank  you ;  I  have  a  good  farm  of  my 
own.  But  I  may  take  the  liberty  to  make  a 
brief  statement  here  of  my  own  personal  experi- 
ence in  respect  to  the  ''theory"  of  renting 
farms,  which  I  have  presumed  to  "air  in  the 
public  journals.'"  Beginning  life  with  nothing 
but  my  hands,  I  first  worked  out.  then  took 
land,  both  for  money  rent  and  on  shares,  until, 
having  got  some  money  ahead,  I  bought  a 
small  place.  This,  in  time,  I  was  able  to  sell 
and  buy  my  present  farm,  which  answers  my 
purpose  very  well.  Having  thus  managed 
to  get  a  get  a  good  farm,  I  have  a  good  deal  of 
sympathy  for  those  that,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, are  trymg  to  get  one,  also.  Not  be- 
ing able  to  do  much  hard  work  myself,  I  have 
been  obliged  to  take  some  coui'se  to  get  my 
farm  worked,  and  I  have  therefore  given  some 
thought,  reading  and  observation,  to  this  sub- 
ject. 

The  article  criticised  by  Mr.  Hubbard  aimed 
to  give  impartial  directions  and  suggestions  for 
the  benefit  of  both  landlord  and  tenant.  That 
my  remarks  might  be  improved,  I  have  no 
doubt.  I  could  not  expect  to  point  out  the 
very  best  way,  or  that  applicable  imder  all 
circumstances,  but  only  to  add  my  mite  to  the 
fund  of  knowledge  that  is  intended  to  improve 
tenant  farming,  as  well  as  other  branches  of 
agriculture. 

But  enough  is  written  to  show  that  my  re- 
marks are  not  open  to  the  charge  of  being 
theoretical  and  not  practical,  because  I  do  not 
accept  or  comply  with  Mr.  IIubl)ard's  "test," 
or  because  I  do  not  furnish  him  with  a  tenant, 
on  the  hard  conditions  ollered.  Were  it  even 
true  that  he  could  not  let  it  on  any  terms,  it 
would  not  prove  that  such  is  the  case  with  all 
farms.  Or  if  tenant  farming  does  not  prove 
satisfactory  in  "Derry,  N.  II.,"  it  may,  by 
better  management,  or  on  better  land,  do  bet- 
ter in  other  places. 

I  hav(!  fre(iuently  heard  men  strenuously 
contend  tliat  some  particular  course  cannot  be 
followed,  or  some  operation  performed,  when 
I  knew  that  the  same  things   were  in  success-  ' 


ful  practice  in  other  places.  Bdt  not  coming 
within  the  sphere  of  their  experience  or  ob- 
servation, and  not  fully  undei-.-.tanding  the 
process  or  course  of  proceeding,  such  men  find 
it  easier  to  doubt  and  dispute,  than  to  read  and 
investigate.  Now  I  hope  this  is  not  the  case 
with  friend  II.,  but  that  instead  of  insisting  on 
impracticable  tests  he  will  investigate  and  find 
out  the  reason  wliy  tenant  farming  is  not  as 
practicable  there  as  in  other  places.  Then  sure- 
ly Yankee  ingenuity  will  for  once  be  unac- 
countably at  fault,  if  a  remedy  is  not  applied. 
Western  N.  Y.,  1867.  f. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    BAROMETER   FOR   FARMERS. 

Having  had  some  experience  with  this  instru- 
ment as  a  weather  indicator,  I  desire  to  urge 
its  more  general  adoption,  as  an  agricultural  im- 
plement. J\Iany  of  our  larger  larmer.i  use  it 
already,  and  consider  the  money  thus  expend- 
ed, a  good  investment ;  indeed,  I  never  knew 
an  instance  where  an  intelligent  observer 
would  be  willing  to  part  Avith  his,  at  several 
times  its  cost,  if  another  could  not  be  obtained. 
There  has  been  many  inferior  things  vended 
about  the  country  as  barometers,  which  are 
not  properly  barometers  at  all.  For  instance, 
a  hygrometer  was  extensively  sold,  a  year  or 
two  ago,  as  a  genuine  barometer ;  then  there 
liave  been  cheap,  improperly  made  instruments 
put  into  the  market.  Of  course,  when  such 
"traps"  are  sold  the  buyer  is  "sold"  also. 
Many  minds  have  been  prejudiced  by  these 
means  ;  others  from  an  utter  aversion  to  every 
thing  scientific. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  an  established  fact, — 
established  by  the  millions  of  recorded  obser- 
vations both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe — 
that  weather  changes  are  preceded  by  in- 
creased, or  diminished  atmospheric  pressure. 
This  the  barometer  faithfully  indicates,  giving 
warning  ii-ora  two  to  twenty-four  hours  in  ad- 
vance. It  is  vain  at  this  late  day,  to  argue 
that  no  dependence  can  be  put  on  its  indica- 
tions. It  is  well  known  that  it  is  considered 
indispensable  on  the  seas,  and  that  there  it 
is  most  implicitly  relied  on.  A  sea  captain 
would  as  soon  think  of  sailing  without  his  chart 
or  compass,  almost,  as  without  his  barometer. 
But  for  it,  many  a  "gallant  ship"  would  go 
down,  which  now  outrides  the  storm,  because- 
"forewarned  is  Ibrearmed" — a  maxim  as  appli- 
cable on  the  land,  as  on  the  water. 

On  the  fiirm,  its  principal  value  is  in  the  • 
saving  of  crops.  Dr.  Henry,  of  the  Smithso- 
nian Institute,  estimates  that  five  per  cent,  on 
all  crops  might  be  saved  by  the  universal  use 
of  this  ay)pllance  liy  fanners,  amounting  to 
elgty  millions  of  dollars  annually.  Much  val- 
uable time  is  often  wasted,  as  every  farmer 
knows,  especially  in  the  haying  season,  from  a 
lack  of  some  means  of  foretelling  whether  the 
day  will  prove  favorable  or  not ;  at  .such  times 
a  good  barometer  affords  great  aid,  often  sav- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


387 


ing  its  entire  cost  in  a  short  time.  I  have  used 
the  barometer  for  nitteorological  purpot^cs,  for 
the  past  ten  years,  and  have  never  regretted 
its  purchase.  Besides  its  value  in  calcuhiting 
the  weather,  the  observations  of  its  daily  and 
hourly  changes  is  a  source  of  much  pleasure 
and  profit.  It  awakens  curiosit}',  s;.imulates 
thought,  and  leads  the  mind  to  a  closer  con- 
templation of  those  great  natural  laws,  wliere- 
by  even  ihe  universe  itself  is  maintained. 
This  wonderful  little  tube  of  mercury,  by  its 
mysterious  rising  and  falling,  conveys  to  you, 
sitting  snugly  by  your  lire,  a  visible  indication 
of  the  mighty  movement  and  sweep  of  lar-off 
air  currents,  that  are  perhaps  marking  the 
earth  and  seas  with  devastation  ;  or  which,  in 
the  farther  depths  of  this  upper  ocean,  are 
warring  with  other  forces,  as  'litonic  as  them- 
selves. I  have  come  to  regard  mine  as  a 
necessity.  True,  we  might  live  whhout  clocks 
or  watches,  thermometers  or  spectacles,  kero- 
sene lamps  or  gas,  newspapers  or  books  ;  but 
in  this  nineteenth  centiny,  willl'ully  to  neglect 
any  of  the  means  Avhich  the  goodness  of  the 
Creator  has  placed  in  our  hands  for  mnking 
ourselves  wiser  and  better,  and  more  comforta- 
ble, is  a  sin. 

In  selecting  an  instrument,  see  that  the  tube 
and  cistern  are  of  good  size,  and  that  the 
whole  is  portable,  or  may  be  easily  moved.  It 
is  desirable,  also,  that  it  be  provided  with  a 
vernier,  by  which  variations  may  be  read  to 
the  hundredth  of  an  inch.  I  have  used  several 
different  barometers,  and  I  know  of  none  of 
moderate  cost  that  is  so  generally  well  made 
and  relialde  as  the  "Woodruff."  This  instru- 
ment is  perfectly  portable,  has  a  good  metalic 
scale  nnd  vernier,  is  tastefully  gotten  up,  and 
take  it  all  in  all,  I  believe  there  is  no  other 
of  a  similar  cost  that  will  compare  with  it.  I 
have  no  pecuniary  interest  in  this  or  any  other 
barometer,  but  desire  simply  to  commend  the 
best.  If  any  of  jour  numerous  readers  can 
recommend  a  better  one  for  general  use,  they 
will  convey  a  favor  on  all  who  are  interested  in 
this  neglected  topic,  by  naming  it. 
June,  1867,  An  Old  Contributor. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

WILL    IT   PAY   TO    BE   A    SLICK   FAK- 
MER? 

For  the  following  notes  of  the  discussion  of  this  subject 
by  the  Iraeburg  Farmers'  Club,  we  are  indebted  to  Z. 
E.  Jameson,  secretary. 

E.  P.  Church  was  aware  that  a  person  is 
subject  to  criticism  if  his  theory  and  practice 
do  not  correspond.  Still  he  believes  it  pays 
to  be  a  slick  farmer.  The  door-yards  attract 
our  attention  whenever  we  pass  a  farm.  Some 
are  filled  with  decaying  sleds,  wheels,  harnes- 
ses, o.x-yokes,  logs  partly  chopped  and  piles  of 
chip  dirt.  Other  yards  are  swept  clean  and  a 
beautiful  green  tuif  covers  the  earth  ;  all  rub- 
bish being  either  destroyed  or  packed  away  in 
in  the  wood-shed  or  yard. 


Sometimes  deep  dead-furrows  in  the  middle 

of  fields,  or  high  ridges  about  the  edges  are 

left  so  that  the  mowing-machine  and  horse-rake 

cannot  work   to   advantage.     At   the   second 

plowing,  he  sometiu  es  begins  in  the  middle  and 

turns  two  first  flu-rows  into  the  dead  furrow,  and 

'■■  sometimes  has   carted   the   outside  furrow  to 

;  the  middle.     Wiiere  wet  and  dry  land  join 

i  there  is  frequently  quite  an  abrupt  descent. 

■  In  plowing  the  dry  ground,  I  begin  at  the  bot- 

\  tom  of  the  descent  and  with  plo\v   and   shovel 

I  work  it  down  so  as  to  form  a  gradual  slope, 

I  rather  than  a  steep,  break- neck  place.     It  pays 

i  to  cut  bushes  on  low  land,  and  on  side  of  roads 

I  and  fences,   and  our  permanent  road  fences 

I  should   be   made   neat   and   tidy.     Our   barn 

j  doors    should   be   well   hung   and   easily   see 

cured.    Tools  should  not  be  exposed  to  weath- 

I  er    as   the    iron  rusts   and    wood   rots,    and 

when  wanted  for  use  are  ready  to  break.     I 

once  had  a  new  cart  made  for  "$28,  I  used  it 

20  years  and  sold  it  for  $28.     Tools  that  are 

sheltered  when  not  in  use  last  a  lifetime.    Now 

if  we  keep  the  roadsides  free  from  bushes  and 

rubbish,  have  our  fences  in  order,  and  things  in 

order  a,bout  the  buildings,  there  will  be  such  an 

attractive  appearance  that  our  property  woidd 

sell  for  a  much  higher  price  than  it  would  if  we 

take  the  opposite  course. 

A.  Jameson  said  it  pays  to  have  things  in 
order  and  well  cared  for,  but  he  once  knew  a 
man  who  he  thought  was  too  slick  for  profit. 
He  would  use  his  jack-knife  in  cutting  the 
gi-ass  around  stone  heaps ;  his  hay-mow  was 
trimmed  down  square  ;  his  hoes  were  brought 
to  the  house  every  night  and  wiped  dry  ;  and 
he  would  not  burn  a  stick  of  crooked  wood  in 
his  fire-place. 

G.  B.  Brewster  once  worked  seven  years 
for  a  man  who  was  nearly  blind,  yet  was  very 
particular  and  knew  how  work  ought  to  be 
done,  and  would  have  it  done  right.  "My  ideas 
of  slick  farming  I  got  from  him.  He  kept  600 
sheep,  and  his  barn  and  sheds  were  well  ar- 
ranged for  their  accommodation.  The  rub- 
bish from  the  roadsides  was  taken  into  the 
fields  and  burned.  The  yard  back  of  the 
house  was  equal  in  neatness  and  order  to  that 
in  front.  I  think  it  pays  well  to  spend  a  few 
days  in  the  year  in  clearing  up. 

N.  F.  Stiles  thinks  a  man  may  be  a  thorough 
farmer  yet  not  a  slick  one.  A  farmer  who 
puts  his  work  over  the  road  double  quick  can't 
stop  to  be  slick ;  it  won't  pay. 

Wm.  L.  Jameson  had  not  been  able  to  do 
all  his  work  as  he  could  desire.  Many  things 
which  are  left  undone  and  which  he  does  not 
think  will  pay  to  hire  done,  gall  me  as  much  as 
they  do  any  one.  In  a  new  country  the  peo- 
ple are  necessarily  busy  getting  a  li^'ng,  and 
have  not  time  to  do  unprofitable  work  ;  l)ut  as 
the  country  gets  older  and  the  farmers  richer, 
we  witness  an  improvement.  He  knew  many 
good  farmers  who  are  making  money.  They 
take  care  of  farm  tools,  fences  and  buildings, 
yet  they  are  not  what  are  called  slick  farmers. 


KEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Aug. 


tools,  &c.,  wliich  were  not  consistent  with  good 
farming.  Now  while  it  will  pay  to  be  a  good 
farmer,  it  may  not  bring  in  the  dollars  to  be  a 
slick  farmer. 

Mr.  Church  asked,  is  the  almighty  dollar  the 
only  thing  we  should  live  for  ?  Do  not  com- 
fort, beauty  and  cheerful  appearance  pay  us 
well  for  slicking  up  ?  When  friends  come  to 
visit  us,  does  it  not  pay  in  enjoyment  to  walk 
with  them  about  a  slick  farm.  A  good  farmer 
is  a  slick  farmer. 

]\lr.  B.  knew  a  man  who  probably  wastes 
$500  or  $1000  a  year  by  careless  manage- 
ment. Everything  is  at  loose  ends.  At  one 
time  he  had  about  twenty  barrels  of  tal- 
low. The  hogs  got  to  it  and  destroyed  a  part 
of  it.  At  another  time  he  went  with  friends 
to  see  a  field  of  wheat,  and  found  oOO  or  400 
sheep  in  it.  There  was  nothing  secure  and 
tidy  in  his  management,  for  he  was  always  in 
a  hurry,  doing  great  business  with  constant 
waste  and  carelessness. 

Z.  E.  J.  thought  that  to  be  a  slick  farmer  all 
work  must  be  done  promptly  and  systematically. 
The  farmer  who  has  not  sufficient  help  finds  it 
necessary  to  begin  many  jobs  and  deler  finish- 
ing them  until  some  future  time.  If  many 
jobs  are  thus  left,  things  get  at  loose  ends  rap- 
idly. There  are  some  things  that  can  be  post- 
poned without  serious  damage  ;  others  cannot 
be  left  without  loss.  Only  half  my  year"'s  sup- 
ply of  wood  is  in  the  shed  ;  the  rest  lays  in  the 
door-yard.  We  sometimes  leave  the  hoeing, 
to  shear  sheep  or  to  work  on  the  roads ;  or 
Laying,  to  cut  grain.  The  farmer  often  acts 
as  carpenter,  joiner,  painter,  glazier,  and,  if 
handy,  something  may  be  thus  saved.  Will  it 
pay  to  hire  all  this  done  for  the  sake  of  having 
it  appear  slick  ?  I  think  if  a  man  is  in  debt 
and  trying  to  pay  uj)  a  mortgage,  slick  farm- 
ing will  not  bring  money  into  his  pocket. 
Slick  farming  improves  the  looks  of  a  farm 
more  than  it  increases  the  crops. 

Wm.  L.  Johnson  understood  this  question 
to  mean,  will  it  pay,  after  a  man  is  a  thorough- 
going farmer,  to  put  on  the  polish  ?  The  ex- 
treme slovenly  cases  are  not  the  standard  of 
comparison. 

F.  S.  Brown  thinks  it  is  profitable  to  have 
stumps  and  stones  taken  from  the  tillage  land, 
and  all  useless,  refuse  matter  and  rubbish 
slicked  up  about  the  house  and  barn. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NEAT    STOCK   IMPROVEMENT. 

In  conse(|uence  of  the  agitation  of  the  sub- 
ject at  our  Farmer's'  Lyceum,  the  increased 
reading  of  agricultural  papers,  and  observa- 
tions at  annual  Fairs,  the  beginnings  of  im- 
provement in  this  department  are  manifest  in 
this  vicinity. 

Some  two  years  ago,  a  pure-bred  two-year 
old  Durham  bull  was  obtained  from  abroad, 
but  there  being  no  pure-bred  cows  to  match 


with  him,  none  but  grade  stock  was  the  result, 
until  a  pure  bred  cow  was  brought  fiom  Massa- 
chusetts. She  brought  a  bull  calf,  which  was  sold 
at  five  months  old  for  $12.5,  to  be  kept  in  the 
neighborhood.  She  recently  drop[)ed  a  heifer 
cak',  which  M'as  valued  at  $150,  but  unfortu- 
nately it  got  drowned  in  a  mud-puddle  the  first 
night !  The  owner  went  immediately  to  Mas- 
sachusetts and  purchased  a  cow  and  calf  and  a 
bull,  being  determined  to  give  the  breed  a  fair 
trial  on  our  soil  and  hills. 

Nearly  two  yeai's  ago,  a  man  in  the  opposite 
part  of  the  town  got  some  Aldeincy  calves, 
also  from  Massachusetts,  and  is  intending  to 
give  that  breed  a  hearing. 

Another  man,  five  years  ago,  obtained  from 
the  same  State  a  heifer  calf,  half  Alderney 
and  half  Ayershire.  She  proves  to  make  a 
superior  family  cow,  valued  at  $200. 

Last  season  three  pure  bred  Ayrshires — one 
bull  and  two  heifers — were  brought  from  New 
York  and  Coimecticut.  The  bull,  a  yearling, 
served  about  eighty  cows,  during  the  year, 
— most  of  them,  so  called  natives — with  a  few 
grade  Devons  and  grade  Durhams.  Those 
calvef  that  have  already  made  their  appear- 
ance give  good  satisfaction,  and  are  no  dis- 
credit to  their  sire.  They  are  well  built,  of 
good  size,  and  remarkably  smart.  As  they 
seem  to  understand  from  birth  that  they  are  to 
be  "raised,"  they  take  to  drinking  and  eating 
intsiinctively .  I  have  four  of  them  ;  three  of 
Avhich  drank  the  first  time  they  were  told  to, 
and  the  other  required  but  little  coaxing  with 
the  fingers.  My  neighbor,  across  the  way,  is 
also  raising  four,  and  says  he  never  had  any 
calves  that  made  so  little  trouble,  or  did  so 
well ;  and  he  has  raised  several  each  year  for 
a  long  time. 

To  encourage  others,  in  other  localities,  to 
make  some  effort  for  stock  improvement,  I 
will  say  that  the  service  of  the  bull  amounted 
to  his  first  cost,  the  first  year ;  that  he  has 
grown  quite  enough  to  pay  for  his  keeping, 
and  consequently  that  there  is  yet  no  loss. 
Although  1  offered  a  present  of  ten  dollars  to 
any  man  in  the  neighborhood,  who  would  get 
one  of  this  breed,  no  one  would  risk  it.  I 
therefore  risked  it  myself,  though  without  suit- 
able conveniences  ;  but  I  do  not  regret  it,  be- 
lieving now  more  than  ever  that  it  will  prove 
for  the  public  good,  and  a  paying  investment. 

One  thing  is  certain.  Very  little,  if  any  im- 
provement of  the  "natives"  can  be  expected 
without  considerable  effort ;  and  some  one  in 
every  place  must  begin.  Judging  from  my 
little  experience,  there  is  but  small  chance  for 
pecuniary  loss,  even  if  a  tall  price  is  paid  for 
the  thorough-breds  to  start  with.  But  rather 
than  no  l)eginning,  I  would  say  begin  with  half- 
breds,  which  will  cost  much  less. 

The  above  having  been  written  several 
weeks  ago,  and  not  forwarded,  by  being  mis- 
laid, I  am  now  able  to  add  that  several  of  the 
half-blood  Ayershire  bull  calves  that  have  been 
fattened  attained  a  plumpness  and  weight,  at 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


389 


four  or  five  weeks  old,  very  commendatory 
to  the  breed,  ranging  from  150  to  over  200 
pounds. 

There  are  a  few  yearling  half-bloods,  sired 
by  a  bull  from  W.  Birney's  herd,  that  are  very 
"likely  ;"  one  man  having  two  of  them,  a  bull 
and  heifer  that  run  together  last  fall,  and  the 
heifer  is  to  "come  in"  the  fore  part  of  August. 
The  "Birney"  bull  became  imbecile  or  ineffi- 
cient very  soon  after  he  was  obtained.  With- 
out any  known  cause,  his  sheath  became 
inflamed,  and  after  a  few  weeks  yard  and 
sheath  grew  together,  so  as  to  prevent  his  use- 
fulness, and  he  was  sold  to  go  to  Brighton  for 
beef.     Who  ever  knew  a  like  case  ?        Bos. 

Randolph,  Vt.,  June,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOTES    ON"   THE    CONNECTICUT    VAL- 
LEY.— No.    n. 
Haying— Baising   Sorghum. 

In  securing  the  hay  crop,  the  mowing  ma- 
chine and  horse  rake  are  in  general  use  in  this 
valley,  and  a  very  few  tedders,  as  those  that 
have  been  introduced  soon  get  out  of  order. 
This  is  a  very  serious  objection  to  all  that  I 
have  as  yet  seen.  More  durable  machines 
must  be  got  up  in  order  to  secure  their  general 
introduction.  It  will  never  do  for  a  farmer  to 
depend  upon  any  machine  that  is  likely  to  fail 
him  at  the  time  most  needed.  The  Buckeye 
mower  is  the  favorite,  although  it  has  several 
competitors  that  seem  to  be  gaining  favor  of 
late.  The  Hubbard  and  Monitor  being  the 
most  prominent.  I  have  been  quite  sanguine 
that  important  improvements  would  be  made 
in  mowers,  and  my  expectations  bid  fair  to  be 
realized.  A  machine  was  tried  late  last  season 
that  appears  to  have  distanced  all  rival  com- 
petitors, if  I  can  credit  reports  that  reach  me 
from  the  scene  of  its  operations.  It  is  invented 
by  Mr.  Perry,  the  town  clerk  of  Kingston, 
R.  I.,  and  is  to  be  manufactured  by  Ames  & 
Co.,  of  Boston.  I  will  not  specify  its  pro- 
fessed merits,  as  I  have  no  doubt  that  will  be 
faithfully  attended  to  by  those  interested  in 
its  introduction. 

I  have  not  seen  in  all  this  region  a  hay  cap 
in  use.  This  was  really  astonishing  to  me,  as 
I  had  been  accustomed  to  see  them  in  so  com- 
mon use  in  Massachusetts.  For  the  past  five 
or  six  years  the  expense  of  material  has  been 
.  a  serious  obstacle  to  their  more  general  use  in 
all  parts  of  our  country. 

Sorghum  has  to  some  extent  been  cultivated 
in  this  vicinity.  It  appears  to  be  gaining  favor 
with  those  who  have  grown  it.  Some  are  very 
sanguine  of  success, — having  substituted  it  for 
tobacco.  When  it  gets  an  early  start  in  the 
spring,  it  is  comparatively  secure  from  frost ; 
failing  of  this,  frost  is  quite  sure  to  injure  it. 
A  sample  sent  me,  made  from  frosted  cane,  is 
a  very  poor  substitute  for  molasses.  Its  color 
is  bad,  and  its  flavor  still  worse.  Another 
eample,  from  that  not  frozen,  was  very  good 


in  color  and  flavor.  It  was  not,  however,  boiled 
sufficiently  to  give  it  as  heavy  body  as  most 
would  desire.  The  yield  has  been  about  two 
hundred  gallons  to  the  acre,  in  some  cases 
even  three  hundred — do  not  think  it  is  usually 
so  productive.  The  leaves  are  stripped  from 
the  stalk  for  feeding  cattle ;  said  to  be  good 
for  that  purpose.  Mills  for  grinding  it,  and 
pans  for  evaporating  the  syrup  are  manufac- 
tured in  Hartford,  which  are  said  to  be  the 
best  in  use. 

Much  experience,  I  think,  will  be  necessary 
to  enable  the  cultivator  to  determine  the  proper 
time  to  plant  and  gather  this  crop,  and  the 
manufacturer  to  make  a  proper  use  of  it  when 
it  comes  into  his  hands.  1  make  these  sug- 
gestions because  I  have  seen  sorghum  syrup  at 
the  west,  that  in  my  judgment  was  ecjual  to 
syrup  of  any  kind  I  ever  tasted.  I  cannot  see 
any  good  reasons  why  it  should  not  succeed 
here  as  well  as  there.  It  will  grow  anywhere 
that  corn  will.  Sandy  loam  is  considered  the 
best  soil  for  it,  as  it  does  not  yield  so  much 
saccharine  matter  when  grown  on  clay  soils. 

One-half  of  the  syrup,  or  fifty  cents  a  gal- 
lon, is  the  present  rate  for  manufacturing,  and 
is  a  good  business  while  it  lasts.  These 
charges  cannot  of  course  continue  if  the  crop 
is  extensively  produced.  It  readily  amalga- 
mates with  both  corn  and  broom  corn.  This 
impaiifs  its  value  materially.  It  should  not  be 
planted  near  either  of  them.  I  hope  soon  to 
see  our  New  England  farmers  producing  their 
.own  sweetening.  There  is  no  good  reason 
why  they  should  not.  The  beet,  if  not  the 
sorghum,  can  be  raised  successfully,  and  of 
superior  quality  to  the  European  for  sugar. 

East  Windsor,  Ct.,  1867.  K.  O. 


THE    PROPER   TIME   AND    MODE   FOR 
CUTTING   FLOWERS. 

Never  cut  flowers  during  the  intense  sun- 
shine, nor  keep  them  exposed  to  the  sun  or 
wind ;  do  not  collect  them  in  large  bundles, 
nor  tie  them  tightly  together,  as  this  hastens 
their  decay.  Do  not  pull  them,  but  cut  them 
cleanly  off  the  plant  with  a  sharp  knife,  not 
with  a  pair  of  scissors.  When  taken  indoors, 
place  them  in  the  shade,  and  reduce  them  to 
the  required  length  of  stock  with  a  sharp  knife, 
by  which  means  the  tubes  through  which  they 
draw  up  the  water  are  left  open,  and  the  wa- 
ter is  permitted  to  ascend  freely,  whereas  if 
the  stems  are  bruised  or  lacerated,  these  pores 
are  closed  up.  Use  pure  water  to  set  them  in, 
or  pure  white  sand  in  a  state  of  saturation, 
sticking  the  ends  of  the  stalk  in  it,  but  not  in 
a  crowded  manner.  If  in  water  alone,  it  ought 
to  be  changed  daily,  and  a  thin  slice  should  be 
cut  off  the  ends  of  the  stalks  at  every  change 
of  water.  Water  about  milk-warm,  or  con- 
taining a  small  quantity  of  camphor  dissolved 
in  spirits  of  wine,  will  often  revive  flowers  that 
have  begun  to  fade.  Place  a  glass  shade  over 
them  during  the  night,  or  indeed  at  all  such 


390 


NEW    EXGLAND    FARMER. 


Aug. 


times  as  they  are  not  purposely  exhibited. 
Shade  them  from  very  bright  sunshine,  and 
when  uncovered,  set  them  where  they  may  not 
be  exposed  to  a  draught  of  air.  A  cool  tem- 
perature during  summer  is  favorable  for  them, 
and  the  removal  of  the  slightest  symptoms  of 
decay  is  necessary.  When  taken  to  a  dis- 
tance, carry  them  in  a  shallow  air-tight  tin 
case,  or  cover  them  with  paper  to  exclude 
them  from  air  and  light.  Charcoal  saturated 
with  water  is  also  a  good  preservative  for 
sticking  them  in,  and  the  thinner  they  are  kept 
the  better. 


TKEE   BORERS. 

The  borer  is  the  popular  name  given  to  the 
larvae,  of  several  kinds  of  beetles  ;  tliat  is,  bugs 
with  wings  and  hard  shells.  The  larvae  are  the 
young  of  these  beetles,  in  the  form  of  worms, 
and  in  this  period  of  infancy  they  pass  most  of 
their  lives  in  eating,  growing  rapidly,  and  us- 
ually cast  off  their  skins  repeatedly. 

Their  second  period  is  called  ihepupa  or  co- 
coon state,  in  which  they  sleep  while  Nature  is 
preparing  the  wings,  legs,  antenna?,  and  other 
paraphernalia  of  the  perfect  beetle. 

From  this  second  period  they  enter  upon 
their  last  or  adult  state,  do  not  increase  in  size, 
and  are  devoted  to  a  continuation  of  their  kind. 
This  period  lasts  only  a  short  time,  for  most 
insects  die  immediately  after  their  eggs  are 
laid. 

It  is  in  the  larva  condition  that  they  are 
wood-eaiers,  or  borers.  Our  forests  and  or- 
chards are  more  or  less  subject  to  their  attacks, 
especially  after  the  trees  have  passed  then- 
prime. 

These  borers,  of  one  kind  and  another,  in- 
fest apple  trees,  the  quince,  cherry,  mountain 
ash,  oaks,  white  ash,  locust,  and  some  others, 
and  their  depredations  are  often  very  destruc- 
tive. The  locust  tree  is  preyed  upon  by  three 
different  kinds  of  borers.  Splendid  groups  of 
the  locust  are  frequently  utterly  ruined,  and 
majestic  oaks  are  half  denuded  by  them  in  a 
single  season.  The  borer  enters  a  small 
branch  at  some  convenient  point,  cutting  it 
half  off  in  to  doing,  and  then  passes  along 
throu'di  its  centre,  or  pith,  towards  the  end  of 
the  branch.  Now  note  the  instinct  of  these 
little  animais.  They  do  not  pass  in  towards 
the  body  of  the  ,tree,  but  outwardly,  so  that  a 
strong  puff  of  wind  breaks  the  branch,  which 
falls  lightly  to  the  ground,  into  which  the 
worm  goes  to  pass  through  the  next  transfor- 
mation ! 


By  taking  up  one  of  these  broken  branches 
and  carefully  following  his  tracks,  the  worm 
may  easily  be  found.  He  certainly  has  im- 
proved a  delightful  mode  of  descending  from 
the  brawny  arms  of  tall  oaks  to  reach  the 
ground. 

The  apple  tree  borer  is  the  larva  of  the  stri- 
ped saperda,  (saperda  bivittati,)  which  is  rep- 
resented in  the  following  cut. 
This  is  the  insect  in  its  perfect  or  beetle  state. 
This  figure  shows  the  size 
of  the  insect.    The  upper 
part    of    the     body     is 
marked  by  two  longitud- 
inal white  stripes,  among 
others  of  a  light  brown. 
The    face,    antennae    or 
feelers,  and  under  side  of 
the  body  and  legs  are  white. 

This  beetle  comes  forth  from  the  tree  in  June, 
in  the  night,  flying  from  tree  to  tree  for  food 
or  companions,  resting  in  the  daytime  among 
the  leaves  of  the  tree  on  which  it  feeds.  In 
June,  July,  and  sometimes  in  August,  it  de- 
posits its  eggs  on  the  bark  of  the  tree,  at  or 
near  the  ground. 

Knowing  this  habit,  many  of  these  eggs  may 
be  destroyed  by  scraping  around  the  base  of 
the  tree,  and  washing  it  with  strong  soap  suds, 
during  the  last  week  in  August. 

The  larva;,  or  young  boi'ers,  from  these  eggs 
are  fleshy,  round,  whitish  grubs,  without  legs 
or  wings.  They  eat  through  the  bark  and  re- 
main there  the  first  winter,  marking  their  en- 
trances by  a  little  pyramid  of  borings,  which 
betrays  their  hiding  places,  in  which  they  can 
be  easily  found  and  destroyed.  The  next  season 
they  penetrate  the  wood,  throwing  out  dust, 
or  cuttings  like  saw-dust,  by  which  they  may 
be  traced  ;  generally  ascending  as  they  pro- 
ceed and  boring  deeper  into  the  tree.  It  be- 
comes a  full  grown,  borer  as  here  represented. 
The  third  season,  nearly  two  years  from  its 
entrance,  it  ap- 
proaches the  sur- 
face, where  it  un- 
dergoes its  final 
transformation,  becomes  a  beetle  and  leaves 
the  tree.  This  borer  sometimes  enters  the 
tree  several  feet  above  the  groimd,  and  occa- 
sionally enters  the  limbs  near  the  stem. 

Their  presence  may  be  ascertained  by  their 
cuttings,  or  dust,  and  the  hole  where  this  has 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


391 


been  cast  out  discerned  by  a  little  practice  and 
care.  When  found,  insert  a  wire  with  a  very 
small  point  turned  up  on  the  end,  by  which  the 
invader  may  be  drawn  out  and  killed. 


DOCTORING   HORSES. 

There  are  certain  practices  with  horses  that 
are  sick,  which  are  popular,  certainly,  but  are 
just  as  certainly  not  only  unfeeling  but  abso- 
lutely cruel.  In  the  first  place,  the  probability 
is  that  not  more  than  one  horse  in  ten  would  be 
sick  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  unless 
through  some  carelessness,  some  want  of 
knowledge,  or  some  cruelty  of  man.  And  yet, 
when  sick,  how  often  it  is  that  some  terrible 
dose  is  administered,  such  as  a  pint  of  gin  or 
rum,  a  half  pint  of  castor  oil  in  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine, or  a  tremendous  "ball  of  aloes,"  to 
say  nothing  of  the  potent  caustics,  such  as 
bichloride  of  mercury,  arsenic,  nitrate  of  sil- 
ver, sulphate  of  copper,  &c.,  &c. 

"The  horse's  body,"  it  is  said,  "docs  not 
quickly  respond  to  opening  medicine,  but  the 
action,  once  eliciteil,  is  not  invariably  easy  to 
command.  The  animal's  life  is  frequently  a 
prey  to  a  potent  purgative.  The  veterinarian 
knows  that  the  different  creatures  vary  much 
in  their  capacity  of  swallowing  amounts  of 
aloes ;  that  the  dose  which  will  not  move  one 
quadruped  may  destroy  the  inhabitant  of  the 
next  stall.  One  creature  will  imbibe  two 
ounces  of  the  drug  without  marked  effect, 
another  will  be  shaken  by  the  action  of  less 
than  half  an  ounce  of  the  same  preparation." 

This  practice  is  all  wrong,  and  should  never 
be  allowed  by  owners  of  horses.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  many  valuable  animals  are 
lost  by  such  desperate  prescriptions. 

Among  the  first  evils  practiced  is  that  of  us- 
ing the  horse  too  soon.  Few  of  them  are  now 
permitted  to  grow  until  their  sinews  and  mus- 
cles are  matured.  A  frequent,  but  light  and 
gentle  use  of  young  horses  is  undoubtedly 
good  for  them  ;  but  one  fatigue,  or  strain,  may 
affect  their  whole  life.  Too  often  the  impa- 
tience of  gain  seizes  the  colt  and  subjects  him 
to  long  travel  or  hard  labor,  which  brings  on 
one  of  the  countless  diseases  or  lamenesses  to 
which  he  is  liable,  and  from  which  he  never 
fully  recovers. 

Because  the  horse  can  endure,  and  will  pa- 
tiently endure,  a  vast  amount  of  hard  labor, 
neglect  and  even  cruel  treatment,  only  a  few 
peraons  reflect  upon  the  marvellous  delicacy  of 


his  construction.  If  they  would  study  this 
more,  they  would  neglect,  or  over-drive,  or 
ovei'load  the  animals  less. 

Half  or  more  of  all  our  horses  are  mean  in 
spirit  and  form.  They  come  from  old  and  dis- 
eased animals  to  begin  with  ;  animals  loaded 
with  quarter-cracks,  spavin,  bots,  rheumatism, 
ring-bone,  founder,  grease,  string-halt,  and 
forty  other  things,  and  with  these  they  possess 
some  other  faults,  which  makes  them  anything 
but  safe  and  agreeable, — such  as  stumbling, 
running,  and  shying,  though  the  latter  may  be 
occasioned  by  the  unnecessary  and  senseless 
use  of  blinders.  It  is  time  a  reformation  were 
commenced. 


From  Chambers'  Journal. 
SUMMER  IDLENESS. 

Under  a  "roof  of  pine," 

To  hoar  the  ringdove  brood, 
With  the  sorrow  of  lung  past, 

Thrillina;  the  listening  wood; 
Deep  'raid  the  clustering  firs, 

Where  the  nightingale  sings  all  day, 
To  hide  in  the  diirknet^s  sweet, 

Where  the  sunbeam  finds  no  way. 

To  ramble  from  field  to  field, 

Where  the  poppy  is  all  on  flame, 
All  but  the  little  black  coal 

At  its  core,  that's  still  the  same; 
And  where  the  ''speedwell"  blue 

Cheers  with  its  two  kind  words. 
And  the  wild  rose  burns  with  a  blush 

At  the  flattery  of  the  birds. 

To  bask  on  a  grassy  clifi", 

Lazily  wutcliing  the  sail. 
The  blue  plains  of  the  deeper  sea, 

And  the  shallows  emerald  pale; 
The  breezes'  rippling  track, 

And  the  sea-birds  flickering  white 
Athwart  the  rosy  cloud, 

And  under  the  golden  light. 

In  the  haycock  sweet  and  dry, 

To  lazily  nestle  down. 
When  halifthe  field  is  grey  and  shorn, 

And  half  the  field  waves  brown; 
'Mid  the  clumps  of  purple  thyme, 

When  the  evening  sky  is  red, 
To  lie  and  rest  on  the  llowers 

One's  Epicurean  head. 

Or,  better,  amid  the  corn. 

To  turn  on  one's  lazy  back, 
And  see  the  lark  upborn 

Over  the  drifting  wrack ; 
To  hear  the  field-mouse  run 

To  its  nei^t  in  the  swinging  stalk; 
And  see  the  timorous  hare 

Limp  over  the  hedge-side  walk. 

Buch  are  the  summer  joys 

That  Epicureans  love; 
Men  with  no  morrow  to  heed, 

Heeding  no  cloud  above : 
Grasshopper-men,  that  sing 

Their  little  summer  through, 
And  when  the  winter  comes, 

Hide  from  the  frost  and  dew. 

Happy  the  man  whose  heart 

Is  granite  against  Time's  frost, 
Whose  summer  of  calm  content 

In  autumn  's  never  lost; 
Who,  when  care  comes  with  clouds 

That  gatht  r  from  east  and  west, 
Has  still  a  changeless  heart, 

And  sunshine  in  his  breast. 


892 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Aug. 


LETTER   FROM   THE   FARM. 

Concord,  July  3,  1867. 

Gents  : — In  a  hurried  journey  through  a 
portion  of  some  twenty  towns  in  this  State  and 
New  Hampshire,  I  have  been  greatly  gratified 
with  the  appearance  of  the  crops.  As  I  trav- 
elled by  horse-power,  I  had  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve, make  calls  and  inquiries  as  I  went  along ; 
and,  by  the  way,  this  is  the  manner  in  which 
farmers  should  travel,  unless  abroad  on  mere 
business  matters.  A  life  that  gains  little  or 
nothing  by  observation,  is  a  monotonous  and 
dull  one.  I  scarcely  ever  travel  a  day  among 
farmers,  or  pass  over  a  well  conducted  farm 
without  seeing  some  example  which  I  intend 
to  copy,  or  hearing  some  opinion  or  sugges- 
tion which  I  mean  to  adopt.  And  now  our 
homestead  bears  evidence  on  nearly  every  part 
of  it,  of  the  opinions  and  practices  of  other 
minds. 

The  bountiful  rains  with  which  we  have  been 
favored,  seem  at  last  to  have  overcome  the 
blighting  effects  of  a  three  years'  drought,  and 
to  have  enriched  and  stimulated  the  power  of 
the  soil  into  new  action.  Everywhere  it  has 
"blossomed  as  a  rose."  The  delightful  fra- 
grance of  wild  grape  and  clover  blossoms 
make  the  air  redolent  with  sweets.  It  is  the 
greatest  clover  year  perhaps  ever  known.  The 
pastures  are  delightfully  green  and  inviting, 
60  that  brimming  pails  and  sweet  butter  are 
no  longer  myths.  The  "cattle  upon  a  thou- 
sand hills"  rejoice,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to 
imagine  that  the  hills  themselves  might  clap 
their  hands  in  joy. 

I  had  just  been  reading  a  book  describing 
the  customs  and  conditions  of  life  in  Asia 
Minor  and  Syria.  Its  descriptions  were  fresh 
in  my  recollection,  and  laid  out  before  me 
as  a  map,  as  I  journeyed  along;  and  the 
contrasts  between  that  life  and  this  which  I 
heard,  felt  and  saw  before  me,  filled  my  mind 
with  the  most  profound  gratitude.  In  the 
midst  of  ?«^  glowing  world,  I  contrasted  our 
condition  with  theirs, — our  laws,  general  edu- 
cation, the  blessings  flowing  from  science  and 
art,  and  their  wonderful  march  onward,  the 
comfort  and  elegance  of  our  dwellings,  the 
intelligence  and  refinement  of  women,  the  tol- 
eration of  opinion  in  politics  and  religion, 
prevalence  of  books,  and  all  that  dignifies  and 
ennobles  our  natures. 

Tiiere  is,  indeed,  a  great  gulf  between  our 
condition  and  theirs,  which  -.vould  require  cen- 


turies of  progress  to  level  up.  And  yet,  they 
have  a  land  of  unsurpassed  beauty  and  fertil-  m 
ity,  and  had  the  "gospel  preached  unto  them"  ^ 
ages  before  we  did.  No  substantial  progress 
can  be  secured  so  long  as  women  are  consid- 
ered inferior  to  man  and  treated  as  such, — so 
long  as  the  harem  and  polygamy  exist.  With 
these  contrasts  in  my  mind,  was  it  strange 
that  the  birds  and  the  brooks  sang  cheerfully 
to  my  ear,  that  the  air  was  fragrant  with  the 
perfume  of  flowers,  and  that  our  rough  New 
England  valleys  and  hills  were  easily  trans- 
formed into  a  paradise  ? 

With  the  exception  of  the  apple  and  pear, 
all  the  crops  appear  well.  These  seem  to 
have  disappeared  as  by  magic.  The  trees 
blossomed  well,  the  fruit  set  as  usual,  but  soon 
fell  off,  so  that  there  is  comparatively  little 
left  of  either  of  these  fine  fruits.  Still,  there 
are  some  left,  and  being  few  they  will  be  likely 
to  be  large,  and  I  hope  fair. 

Peach  trees  are  well  filled.  Even  those 
with  only  here  and  there  a  straggling  living 
branch,  with  a  few  sickly  looking  leaves,  have 
a  few  fruit  peaches  on  them.  Thanks  for  the 
promise  once  more  of  a  crop  of  this  dehcious 
and  wholesome  fruit. 

Corn,  potatoes,  rye,  barley  and  oats,  look 
finely.  I  do  not  recollect  of  seeing  a  field  of 
wheat. 

Strawberries  are  more  abundant,  I  believe, 
than  ever  before.  I  regaled  myself  on  a  dish 
of  perfectly-ripened  wild  ones,  which  brought 
back  childhood  days  vividly. 

Monday  morning,  July  1st,  the  haymakers 
were  abroad  early.  The  merry  click  of  the 
mowing  machine,  the  graceful  and  athletic 
swing  of  the  hand  mower,  and  the  Avhite  shirts 
that  dotted  the  fields,  were  attractive  and 
pleasant.  On  fair  land,  I  found  the  grass 
everywhere  good  —  more  than  an  average 
crop  1  should  think.  And  yet,  with  these  fair 
prospects,  farmers  told  me  that  good  hay  will 
be  worth  $20  per  ton  in  the  barn,  as  soon  as 
it  is  placed  there,  where  the  whole  community 
is  made  up  of  farmers  !  They  say  there  is  no 
old  hay  left — scarcely  five  tons  in  a  town. 
The  Use  of  Hay  Caps. 

But  for  the  high  price  of  cotton  cloth,  hay 
caps  would  be  in  common  use.  The  opinion 
now  is  (juite  general  that  their  use  is  highly 
economical.  I  believe  that  if  we  knew  the 
weather  would  be  fair,  it  would  be  economy 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


393 


to  cover  hay  with  caps.  Experience  and  care- 
ful observation  for  twenty  years  has  established 
this  belief  in  my  mind.  I  have  often  made 
experiments  on  the  same  lot  of  grass,  cover- 
ing a  portion  and  leaving  a  portion  uncovered. 
This  has  been  done  when  the  weather  has  con- 
tinued fair  and  when  showers  and  storms  have 
succeeded ;  in  the  latter  cases,  no  one  doubts, 
I  believe,  the  utility  and  the  economy  of  their 
use.  But  in  fair  weather,  many  persons  are 
of  the  opinion  that  they  are  of  little  or  no 
benefit. 

If  the  cap  were  employed  merely  to  keep 
the  hay  from  getting  wet,  this  reasoning  would 
be  correct ;  but  this  is  only  a  small  part  of 
the  good  effect  which  it  performs.  It  not  only 
keeps  off  the  dews  and  rain  water,  but  pre- 
vents the  evaporation  of  the  aroma  of  the  hay 
while  in  cock  ;  keeping  it  moist  with  its  own 
juices,  and  inducing  a  sweating  process,  which 
improves  its  quality  by  keeping  the  woody 
fibre  softer  and  more  palatable  and  nutritious. 
It  undergoes  a  cooking  process,  which  cures 
the  hay  so  that  it  requires  but  very  little  ex- 
posure to  the  sun  afterwards. 

Cut  Grass  Early. 

In  connection  with  this,  I  desire  to  suggest 
again  the  cutting  of  grass  early.  In  the  blades 
and  stems  of  the  young  grasses  there  is  much 
sugar  and  starch,  which  as  they  grow  up  are 
gradually  changed  into  woody  fibre.  Thg 
riper  the  stem  of  the  plant  becomes  the  less 
sugar  and  starch  it  contains.  These  are  what 
we  ought  to  retain — the  sugar,  starch,  gum 
and  oil ;  and  by  cutting  the  grass  soon  after  it 
has  attained  its  greatest  height,  a  large  quan- 
tity, as  well  as  a  better  quality  of  hay,  will  be 
obtained. 

All  grass  that  has  been  partially  wilted, 
should  be  placed  in  cock  over  night.  I  have 
just  been  spreading  some  that  was  left  in  win- 
row,  and  found  that  on  the  surface  slightly 
bleached.  Better  cock  it,  if  it  takes  until  after 
sundown. 

But  the  haymakers  want  me,  so  I  close. 
Truly  yours,  Simon  Brown. 

Messrs.  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co.,  Boston. 


A  LARGE   DAIRY. 

A  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Ross  Winans 

owns  760  acres  of  land  near  Baltimore.     He 

keeps  cows  for  milk  in  city  stables,  and  feeds 

them  the  year  round  on  hay,  with  some  bran 


or  shorts,  Indian  corn,  &c.  The  editor  of  the 
Country  Oentleman  who  recently  visited  his 
establishment  says,  that  he  sold  milk  in  one 
year,  at  30  cents  per  gallon,  to  the  amount  of 
$37,630.71 ;  cows  and  calves  $11,986.08— al- 
most fifty  thousand  dollars  !  He  mows  about 
650  acres,  filling  forty-five  barns,  rated  at 
forty  tons  each, — some  eighteen  hundred  tons, 
— averaging  over  two  and  a  half  tons  per 
acre !  His  city  stables  contain  stalls  for 
220  cows,  and  he  actually  keeps  300  head 
of  cattle  and  30  horses.  From  a  somewhat 
imperfect  record,  it  is  estimated  that  his  cows 
make  an  average  yearly  yield  of  2637  quarts 
of  milk  per  cow.  Sixteen  cows  which  dropped 
their  calves  at  intervals  during  January  and 
February  averaged  over  16  quarts  per  day,  up 
to  March  13th.  Such  crops  of  hay  are  evi- 
dence of  liberal  manuring,  and  such  yields 
of  milk  of  good  stock  and  of  judicious  manage- 
ment. 

Yankee  Plows  and  Plowmen. —  The 
Paris  correspondent  of  the  Mural  Neio  Yorker 
compounds  the  following  bitter  pill  for  our 
"crack"'  plowmen  and  plowmakers,  and  ad- 
vises them  to  swallow  it  like  men,  for  it  will  do 
them  a  vast  deal  of  good.  After  describing 
the  trial  of  mowing  machines  on  the  Emperor's 
farm  near  St.  Cloud,  in  which  the  Americans 
swept  every  thing  clean,  he  alludes  to  the 
plowing  match,  in  which  the  English  had  every 
thing  their  own  way.     He  says  : — 

We  cannot  compete  with  them  cither  in  plows, 
teams  or  plowmen — all  necessary  elements  in  a 
plowing  match.  This  will  l)c  perfectly  understood 
and  acknowledged  by  all  who  have  seen  England 
and  taken  the  least  notice  of  plowing  there,  but 
will  not  be  by  those  who  have  not.  I  do  not  con- 
tend that  the  time  and  force  expended  l)y  the  Eng- 
lish plowman  is  any  more  renunierative  than  with 
us,  but  when  you  come  to  the  doing  of  a  nice  job, 
such  as  is  expected  at  a  plowing  match,  we  cannot 
come  up  to  their  ordinary  work. 


Root  Pruning  of  Pear  Trees. — The  fol- 
lowing directions  for  summer  root  pruning,  to 
induce  fruitfulness,  are  given  by  the  New  York 
Horticulturist :  "As  soon  as  the  terminal  buds 
of  this  season's  growth  have  formed  or  are 
forming,  dig  a  trench  around  the  tree,  two 
thirds  in  circumference  the  diameter  of  the 
branches.  Dig  down  deep,  so  deep  that  you 
can,  by  opening  a  trench  toward  the  body  of 
the  tree,  get  in  a  position  to  cut  the  tap  root 
off  about  eighteen  inches  under  ground,  then 
with  a  sharp  knife  trim  each  end  of  the  roots 


394 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


Aug. 


around  the  inner  side  of  the  trench,  and  again 
fill  in  the  soil.  Make  sure  that  no  strong  lat- 
eral roots  or  duplicate  tap  roots  are  left  uncut." 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
KAISINQ  CORN  IN  CANADA. 
This  is  rather  a  cold  country  for  corn,  and 
it  is  not  expected  that  we  can  raise  such  large 
crops  as  can  be  raised  further  south  or  west. 
But  I  believe  that  Indian  corn,  properly  cared 
for,  can  be  made  very  remunerative  even  m 
this  cold  climate. 

Take  green  sward  and  plow  in  the  fall,  the 
earlier  the  .better.  I  have  tried  two  ways  of 
manuring.'  First,  put  on  liberally  of  good 
barn  yard  manure  before  plowing  ;  and,  sec- 
ond, applying  the  manure  after  plowing.  I  do 
not  know  which  is  best  for  the  corn;  but  the 
land  will  produce  grass  longer  when  manured 
after  the  first  mentioned  manner. 

I  never  plow  in  the   spring  before  planting  ; 
I  had  rather  that  the  sod  would  lay  and  de- 
compose under  the  corn,  as  I  believe  it  helps 
its  growth,    but   do   not    spare    the   harrow. 
When  the  land  is  in  good  tilth,  furrow  with  a 
plow  about  three  and  one-half  feet  apart,  into 
which  manure  is  placed  at  suitable  distances 
for  the  hills   and  immediately  covered  with  a 
hoe,  so  as  to  keep  the  moisture  from  evapor- 
ating     This  manure  for  the  hills  is  prepared 
in  the  following  manner.     My  hog  pen  is  so 
situated  that  1  can  throw  all  the  manure   from 
my   hor^c   barn  and  from   the  privy  directly 
into  the  yard  of  the  hog  pen.     Besides  this,  all 
the  chamber  slops  are  thrown  upon  this  ma- 
nure.    In  the  fall,  after  killing  the  fat  hogs, 
the  manure  is  thrown  out  by  the   side   of  the 
yard.     Early  in  April  what  is  made  during  the 
winter  by  the  store  hogs,  is  thrown  out  on  to 
the  fall  made,  when  the  heap  will  immediately 
commence   heating.     In   about    three   weeks 
begin  at  one  side  of  this  heap  with  fork  and 
shovel,  and  turn  it  all  over,  mixing  that  mude 
in  the  fall  thorou^dily  with  that  made   in  the 
winter.     From  this   compost  heap,  put  about 
ei"-ht  or  ten  cart  loads,  of  thirty  to  thirty-live 
bitshcls  to  the  load,  to  each  acre.     I  have  tried 
various   kinds  of  manure,  but  find  the   above 
the  best.     I  believe  just  as  good  as  all  hog 
manure. 

If  the  manure  is  allowed  to  dry  up  after 
bein"-  put  in  the  hill,  the  corn  will  not  come 
up  so  readily.  1  put  my  seed  corn  into  warm 
water  the  night  before  planting.  In  the  morn- 
ing, dry  the  corn  so  that  it  will  not  stick  to- 
getiier'by  i)utting  plaster  or  wood  ashes  to  it. 
This  causes  the  seed  to  come  up  much  (luickcr 
than  it  would  if  planted  dry,  as  it  gives  the 
germ  a  start. 

I  have  planted  corn  on  ground  prepared  as 
above  lor  a  good  many  years,  and  seldom  lad 
of  a  good  crop.  In  1805  I  had  one  and  three 
fourths  acres  from  which  I  gathered  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  bushels  of  ears  good  sound  corn. 


Not  so  large  a  crop  as  we  frequently  read  of; 
but  considering  the  climate  and  the  distance 
north,  I  think  it  a  good  crop,  at  least  remuner- 
ative, especially  as  I  also  raised  about  six 
bushels  of  beans  among  the  corn,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  pumpkins  on  the  same  land.  Now 
the  fodder  when  well  harvested  I  believe  will 
pay  for  harvesting  the  crop  of  corn.  _  When 
the  corn  is  prettyVell  advanced  in  ripening, 
or  immediately  after  the  first  frost,  or  before 
a  stoim  of  rain,  my  method  is  to  cut  it  all  up 
close  to  the  ground,  and  then  set  it  up  in 
stooks,  tying  a  band  of  straw  around  the  tops 
after  liringing  them  together.  This  will  keep 
the  storms  from  hurting  it.  Let  it  stand  two 
or  three  weeks,  then  pick  the  ears  from  the 
stalks  and  husk  them  immediately,  or  at  your 
leisure,  and  bind  up  the  stalks  and  house  them 
in  places  where  they  will  not  hurt,  and  my 
word  for  it  you  will  have  as  fine  fodder  as  you 
can  wish.  It  will  make  cows  give  as  much 
milk  as  the  best  of  English  hay  ;  at  least,  this 
is  my  experience.  It  always  pains  me  to  see 
corn  fodder  left  in  the  field  to  waste,  as  many 
farmers  leave  it.  I  do  not  know  as  we  ought 
to  call  such  men  farmers. 

Some  farmers  are  always  complaining  that 
they  cannot  keep  the  crows  from  pulling  their 
corn  after  it  comes  up.  I  used  to  be  troubled 
somewhat  in  that  way ;  but  for  several  years 
I  have  not  had  one  stalk  pulled  up.  I  take 
cotton  twine  or  woolen  yarn,  and  run  it  clear 
round  my  piece,  fixing  it  to  stakes  five  or  six 
feet  from  the  ground.  I  have  so  much  faiih  in 
the  above  remedy,  that  if  farmers  would  do  it 
before  their  corn  is  up,  I  should  not  be  afraid 
to  say  that  I  would  give  them  twenty-five  cents 
for  every  spear  the  crows  pull  up.  I  think  it 
an  excellent  plan  to  put,  after  the  first  hoeing, 
al)Out  one-half  pint  of  unleached  wood  ashes 
among  the  spears  of  corn  in  each  hill.  Be 
sure  to  hoe  so  as  not  to  let  weeds  have  the 
supremacy,  as  they  take  the  nourishment  that 
should  support  the  corn.  Hiram  French. 
Eaton,  a.  E.,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOTES    ON    THE    CONNECTICDT    VAL- 
LEY.— No.  III. 
The  Old  Orchards. 

A  feeling  of  sadness  comes  over  me  as  I 
observe  the  unmistakable  evidences  on  every 
hand  of  the  decay  of  the  old  fiuit  orchards, 
and  the  absence  of  well  directed  efforts  in 
planting  and  fostering  new  ones  to  supply  their 
place.  °^Vithin  my  recollection  Hartford  ex- 
ported large  quantities  of  apples  and  cider. 
Much  of  its  cider  found  its  way  to  a  southern 
city  where  I  resided.  Now  ai>plcs  are  not 
only  reipiired  from  other  States  to  sujiijIv  the 
cities,  but  many  are  required  for  the  villages 
and  farming  communities. 

Neglected  and  abused,  as  most  orchards  are, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  trees  do  not  llourish 
and  that  fruit  fails.     Trees  require  more  care- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


395 


ful  usuge  now  than  when  the  country  was  com- 
paratively new.  They  are  more  exposed  to 
the  force  of  winds,  and  ravages  of  insects  at 
the  present  time  than  then.  Few  appear  to 
regard  these  changes  as  being  necessary  to  be 
taken  into  account  when  they  plant  out  their 
fruit  trees.  They  dig  a  hole  and  put  them 
into  it,  and  leave  them  to  struggle  for  their 
existence  under  an  accumulation  of  difficulties 
the  most  discouraging.  They  may  manage  to 
live  for  a  few  years,  if  the  cattle  or  swine  are 
not  too  severe,  and  then  give  up  and  die. 
Others  are  cared  for  after  a  fashion,  until  they 
have  attained  quite  a  good  size,  say  a  ten 
years'  growth,  then  left  to  shirk  for  themselves. 
A  week  or  two  since  I  saw  one  of  my  neigh- 
bors trimming  trees  with  a  common  chopping 
axe, — good  thrifty  trees,  too,  that  with  proper 
care  might  not  only  be  made  an  ornament  to 
his  place  but  a  source  of  profit. 

Fruit  has  become  so  much  a  necessity  in  every 
family  that  prices  are  and  will  be  remunerative. 
Your  articles  on  the  care  of  trees,  published 
in  the  Farmer,  are  to  me  the  most  valuable  of 
any  that  appear  in  the  paper.  What  will  New 
England  homes  be  without  orchards  ?  To  the 
boy  that  has  been  reared  beneath  their  shel- 
ter and  shade,  and  partaken  of  their  fruif, 
how  endeared  is  every  tree.  Some  of  them  in 
particular  are  indelibly  engraved  on  his  affec- 
tions. He  longs  to  re-visit  them,  even  when 
years  of  separation  have  intervened.  If  in 
this  respect  he  should  be  gratified,  how  joyful 
the  re-union  !  How  grateful  the  reminiscences  \ 
How  luscious  the  fruit !  This  is  not  all  romance, 
but  with  many  an  one,  a  simple  history,  a  liv- 
ing reality. 

I  must  plead  for  the  orchards  that  are  still  left 
us  and  urge  the  cultivation  of  new  on'is.  They 
are  a  necessity  for  our  well  being.  Our  homes, 
if  in  the  country,  require  them.  They  cannot, 
ought  not,  to  be  regarded  as  homes  unless  we 
have  or  mean  to  have  an  orchard  of  good  fruit. 
Plant  and  wisely  care  lor  an  orcfiard,  and 
you  are  thrice  blessed  in  the  satisfaction  you 
will  find  in  it,  and  your  children's  children 
will  arise  to  call  you  blessed.  k.  o. 

East  Windsor,  Ct.,  1867. 


NEW  JERSEY  LANDS. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
says  that  a  gentleman  of  good  business  capaci- 
ty and  of  large  experience,  recently  visited 
one  of  the  new  settlements  with  a  view  to  pur- 
chase, should  he  find  the  facilities  for  a  home 
there  cfjual  to  the  representations  of  conmiit- 
tees  and  others,  who  have  advertised  those 
lands.  He  reports  a  large  and  restless  popu- 
lation, without  much  visible  means  of  living. 
and  the  largest  portion  of  them  anxious  to  sell. 
The  lands  cost  some  $25  an  acre  for  field,  and 
several  tiuies  that  sum  in  the  village.  Every 
acre  is  covered  with  scrubs  and  bushes,  sub- 
jecting the  proprietor  to  as  much  as  the  origi- 
nal cost  to  clear  and  plow  it.     After  this,  the 


stumps  must  be  grubbed  or  pulled,  to  furnish 
clear  cultivation.  The  soil  appears  to  be 
sandy  loam,  and,  as  there  is  no  manure  at 
hand — nothing  to  feed  an  animal  of  any  kind 
— the  cultivator  first  casts  about  him  to  ascer- 
tain where  he  shall  find  fertilizing  matter  for 
his  crops.  The  principal  reliance  is  on  the 
marl  deposits  of  other  counties.  Every  acre 
costs  the  settler  at  least  fifty  dollars  before  he 
realizes  a  crop,  and  he  must  wait  for  grass  to 
grow  before  he  can  keep  a  horse  or  cow.  Un- 
til he  can  keep  stock  and  manufacture  manure, 
he  must  buy,  so  that  for  two  years,  at  least,  it 
is  all  outlay  and  no  income. 


LITTLE  FALLS  FARMERS'  CLUB., 
The  farmers  of  this  romantic  valley  have 
kept  up  semi-monthly  meetings  for  some  ten 
years  past.  Their  discussions  of  topics  relat- 
ing to  the  farm  and  garden,  particularly  to 
dairying,  which  is  a  leading  pursuit  of  the  far- 
mers of  Herkimer  County,  have  been  ably  re- 
ported by  Mr.  X.  A.  Willard  and  others,  and 
probably  no  farmers'  club  in  the  country  has 
sent  out  as  much  valuable,  practical  information 
as  has  this  association.  We  find  the  following 
notice  of  the  manner  of  conducting  its  discus- 
sions, which  it  will  be  seen  is  very  simple,  from 
an  article  in  the  Utica  Herald,  conducted  by 
Mr.  Willard  .— 

Near  the  close-  of  every  meeting,  a  subject  is 
chosen  for  the  next  meeting,  and  some  person 
or  persons  appointed  to  open  the  discussion. 
The  opening  speeches  are  made  in  the  way 
most  agreeable  to  the  speakers.  Either  by 
written  essays,  or  extemporaneously.  After 
the  opening  speeches,  members  carry  on  the 
discussion  in  a  conversational  way — asking 
questions  or  giving  their  experience  without 
any  attempt  at  speech  making.  All  that  is 
sought  to  be  obtained  are  the  facts.  Generally, 
members  keep  their  seats,  and  talk  in  a  famil- 
iar way,  precisely  as  they  would  if  meeting 
friends  on  the  street  or  at  their  own  homes. 
Under  this  system,  it  has  been  found  that  much 
more  knowledge  is  obtained  than  would  be  ob- 
tained if  speakers  were  required  to  rise  and  de- 
liver their  experience,  &c.,  in  a  set  speech, 
since  many  who  are  willing  to  talk  and  answer 
questions  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  rise 
and  make  a  speech. 


l^  At  a  factory  in  Breslau,  p!ne-tree  wool 
is  now  spun  and  woven  into  a  kind  of  flannel, 
which  is  largely  used  as  blankets  in  hospitals, 
barracks  and  prisons,  in  that  city  and  in 
V'ienna  with  manifest  advantage,  for  pine  wood 
drives  away  all  disagreeable  and  noxious  in- 
sects from  the  localities  in  which  it  is  used.  It 
can  be  used  as  stuffing  for  chairs,  sofas  and 
mattresses  in  the  same  way  as  horse  hair. 


396 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Aug. 


THE   COMMOW  MILK  WEED — Asclepias  Comuti. 

A  fine  patch  of  this  plant 
grew  in  the  highway  just  be- 
low "our  house"  when  we 
were  boys.  We  remember 
of  playing  with  its  flowers, 
its  freely-flowing  milk,  its 
abundant  pods,  and  its  downy 
seeds,  which  floated,  balloon- 
like, in  the  air,  as  a  breath 
of  wind  or  a  puff  from  the 
children's  lungs  sent  them 
afloat — sowers  going  forth  to 
sow  seed.  Having  been  told 
that  nothing  was  made  in 
vain,  we  used  to  wonder  what 
all  its  milk  and  all  its  silk  was 
good  for.  We  believe  that 
the  latter  was  sometimes  used 
as  a  substitute  for  feathers  in 
beds,  and  that  the  children 
thought  the  milk  would  cure, 
or  cause  warts, — we  have  for- 
gotten which.  The  books, 
however,  say  it  is  of  little 
economical  value. 

Besides  the  name  given 
above,  the  great  botanist  Lin- 
naeus called  it  Asclepias  Sy- 
riaca,  probably  supposing  it 
to  be  a  Syrian  plant;  but 
Dr.  Darlington  says  it  is  ex- 
clusively an  American  spe- 
cies. It  is  also  called  Silk- 
weed,  on  account  of  the  beautiful  silky  hairs  The  milkweed  is  not  specially  obnoxious  to 
of  the  seeds,  which  bear  the  latter  to  a  long  the  farmer,  and  is  not  very  diflicult  to  exter- 
distance,  and  thus  sometimes  scatter  it  over  minate,  imless  it  has  for  a  long  time  been  al- 
extensive  districts.  When  this  plant  is  wound-  lowed  to  occupy  the  ground,  and  get  perma- 
ed,  it  emits  an  abundance  of  thick,  milky  nently  established.  It  does  not  take  root  like 
juice,  resembling  in  both  taste  and  color  the  the  chickory,  where  it  requires  two  men  to 
juice  of  the  common  garden  lettuce.     Indeed,    pull  up  a  single  plant. 

the  milkweed  is  by  some  called  Wild  Lettuce,  I  In  the  engraving,  the  small  figure  at  the 
we  suppose  on  account  of  the  resemblance  of  right  represents  a  single  flower,  and  that  at 
the  juices  in  the  two  plants.  |  the  left,  the  seed-bearing  pods  reduced  in  size. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

FARM   LABORERS. 

Change  is  characteristic  of  the  times  in 
which  we  live.  No  part  or  department  of 
farming  is  exempt  from  its  transforming  influ- 
en(!e.  Some  of  these  changes  are  hailed  with 
delight,  as  evident  progressions ;  but  in  the 
older  Northern  States,  there  has  been  a  change 
in  the  character  of  its  labor,  which  has  recei\Hid 


anything  but  a  cordial  assent.  Formerly  in 
New  England  farm  help  was  composed  exclu- 
sively of  her  native  sons  and  daughters.  Of 
late  our  native  born  young  men  and  women 
have  souglit  their  homes  and  fortunes  in  the 
new  States,  or  in  other  pursuits  in  their  own 
States,  until  not  only  has  the  surplus  been  ab- 
sorbed, but  children  leave  their  ancestral  homes 
and  their  aged  and  dependent  parents  to  be 
cared  for,  if  cared  for  at  all,  by  hirelings. 


1867, 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


397 


The  rapid  introduction  uf  mechanical  appli- 
ances, and  new  and  improved  methods  of  hus- 
bandry have  increased  the  demand  for  active, 
intelligent  and  skilful  labor.  While  the  for- 
mer suppl>-  has  been  thus  cut  oil",  another  class 
of  lat)orers  has  come  from  other  sources. 
How  well  the  latter  meet  the  requirements  of 
farmers  need  not  be  stated  here.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  the  vexations  and  discourage- 
ments experienced  with  modern  help  have  been 
the  turning  point  in  the  sale  of  many  a  farm, 
and  in  other  cases  have  caused  operations  to 
be  contracted  into  the  narrowest  limit  possible. 

AVhile  some  farmers  are  thus  giving  up  in 
despair,  and  others  waste  time  in  regretting 
over  the  past,  or  in  desponding  over  the  pres- 
ent or  future,  it  is  well  to  inquire  if  the  best 
mode  of  dealing  with  this  new  material  has 
yet  been  adopted.  It  is  evident  that  the  sys- 
tem practicable  with  the  former  class  is  not  in 
all  respects  advisable  for  the  present  class. 
So  radical  a  change  in  the  character  of  the  la- 
borer must  be  met  with  a  corresponding  change 
in  the  manner  of  dealing  with  him. 

Under  the  present  plan  of  boarding  their 
hands,  farmers  are  dependent  upon  the  young 
and  inexperienced,  or  on  older  men  of  thrift- 
less or  indifferent  habits,  who,  having  no  par- 
ticular attachments  to  any  place,  are  fond  of 
change,  and  Hoat  about  for  novelty  and  ex- 
citement, if  they  find  no  other  pretext  for  leav- 
ing an  employer.  These  are  so  unstable  that 
it  is  difficult  to  make  them  fulfil  a  contract  for 
a  single  season.  The  old  apprentice  system  is 
an  institution  of  the  past,  and  there  is  no  re- 
straining this  roving  disposition  of  young  help. 
Provided  there  was,  by  the  time  that  young 
men  become  thoroughly  useful  they  naturally 
desire  to  establish  a  home  of  their  own.  This 
cannot  be  done  in  their  employer's  kitchen. 
The  only  alternative  for  them  is  to  leave  him 
and  go  where  they  can. 

Such  a  system  has  inherent  defects,  and  is 
not  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  the  times. 
Something  is  needed  that  will  induce  the  young 
men  to  remain  a  few  years  longer,  and  give  a 
more  permanent  character  to  labor.  That 
want  will  be  supplied  when  pleasant  and  com- 
fortable tenemettts,  one  or  more  according  to 
the  size  of  the  farm,  are  provided  for  the 
workmen  upon  the  farm.  Then  the  services 
of  married  men  can  be  secured ;  those  having 
maturity  of  character  and  the  requisite  experi- 
ence for  profitable  hands.  Such  men,  having 
a  family  and  home  upon  the  farm,  will  natural- 
ly take  a  deeper  interest  in  their  employer's 
business ;  will  be  less  inclined  to  rove  about 
and  quit  a  good  place  on  the  slightest  variance. 
It  is  not  enough  to  employ  married  men  who 
have  families  miles  away,  or  in  a  neighboring 
village  within  walking  distance,  and  the  men 
board  at  home.  For  with  their  families  in  one 
place  and  their  work  in  another,  their  attention 
is  likely  to  be  divided,  and  often  when  most 
needed  they  are  not  to  be  found. 

The  families  of  these  men  will  increase  the 


supply  of  female  help  for  the«farm  and  neigh- 
borhood ;  both  kinds  of  which  are  scarce  in 
most  rural  districts.  The  wives  of  the  labor- 
ers, if  foreigners,  will  gladly  accept  of  extra 
jobs  at  the  farm-house  ;  and  those  farmers  who 
know  so  well  how  to  turn  the  time  of  their 
own  children  to  profit  will  see  that  these  chil- 
dren will  be  cheap  help  for  the  busy  seasons. 
Well  trained  lads  are  far  more  profitable  upon 
many  kinds  of  work  than  men  of  twice  their 
strength.  With  plenty  of  such  help  at  com- 
mand there  would  be  no  excuse  for  weedy 
fields  ;  and  the  cultivation  of  small  fruits  and 
of  fruit  generally,  with  root  crops,  &c.,  would 
be  practicable  where  they  are  now  considered 
unprofitable,  with  only  heavy,  clumsy  men  tu 
do  the  work.  The  multiplication  of  machine- 
ry upon  the  farm  favors  the  employment  of 
young,  light  and  active  help.  The  great  want 
of  farmers  is  permanent  cheap  help  to  diminish 
the  cost  of  production  and  increase  the  profits 
of  the  farm,  and  it  is  this  occasional  help 
which  can  be  had  at  call  for  specified  work 
which  is  cheapest  and  best.  Is  there  any  way 
of  obtaining  it  except  by  a  resident  population  ? 

The  expense  of  this  plan  need  deter  none 
from  adopting  it.  A  few  hundred  dollars,  at 
present  prices,  will  erect  tasteful  and  comfor- 
table tenements  of  four  or  five  rooms,  which 
with  a  small  garden  and  some  trees  can  be 
made  an  attractive  home — far  better  than  most 
of  the  present  class  of  hands  ever  enjoyed  in 
their  native  lands  or  can  command  in  crowded 
cities  or  manufacturing  villages.  Often  a 
large  portion  of  the  materials  and  labor  for 
construction  can  be  furnished  by  the  farm. 
Whatever  the  cost,  a  fair  percentage  could  be 
deducted  from  wages  for  rent. 

I  am  confident  that  farmers'  wives  and 
daughters  will  not  object  to  a  plan  which  at 
once  relieves  them  of  so  much  hard  and  disa- 
greeable work.  The  complaints  that  are  so 
often  heard  over  their  hard  lot  are  not  without 
foundation.  Farmer's  kitchens  under  present 
arrangements  are  noted  places  for  unceasing 
toil.  Young  girls  have  an  intuitive  dread  of 
them  ;  and  not  a  few  older  ones,  when  they 
have  learned  how  comparatively  easy  people 
in  cities  and  villages  live,  prefer  to  jog  along 
solitary  and  alone,  rather  than  assume  the  du- 
ties of  a  farmer's  wife.  The  wives  of  no 
other  class  of  men,  with  the  same  capital  in 
their  business,  perform  so  much  downright 
drudgery.  Not  long  ago  the  apprentices  and 
most  of  the  help  of  mechanics  and  small  trad- 
ers lived  in  the  families  of  their  employers ; 
but  through  changes  in  our  social  condition, 
that  custom  no  longer  exists,  and  surely  far- 
mer's wives  have  enough  to  do  without  keeping 
boarders,  and  may  plead  the  same  good  rea- 
sons to  be  relieved  of  this  heavy  burden. 

But  some  may  say,  we  board  our  hands  to 
maintain  the  strict  economy  which  farming  com- 
pels us  to  practice.  To  make  keeping  boarders 
profitable,  is  acknowledged  by  the  experienced 
to  be  a  difficult  business.     Without  the  closest 


398 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Aug. 


calculation,  constant  personal  oversight  and 
unremitting  hard  work  there  is  no  chance  of 
success.  Even  with  these  qualiftcations,  the 
profits  depend  upon  the  number  of  boarders — 
one,  two  or  three  are  often  more  trouble  and 
expense  than  profit.  How  can  farmers  talk  of 
economy  when  the  circumstances  of  their  fam- 
ilies are  so  often  against  taking  boarders. 
The  fact  that  they  do  board  the  hands  often 
necessitates  keeping  help  within  the  house, 
which  by  consumption  and  waste  increases  ex- 
penses beyond  what  most  men  are  aware. 
Where  this  is  done,  if  accurate  accounts  are 
kept  and  compared  with  those  when  the  fami- 
ly are  alone,  boarding  the  hands  may  prove  an 
expensive  arrangement.  But  allow  the  situa- 
tion of  the  farmer's  family  to  be  favorable  to 
boarding  the  hands,  all  the  profit  that  can 
arise  must  be  from  washing,  mending  and 
scrubbing  for  them  ;  for,  if  tlie  men  boarded 
themselves,  whatever  of  the  farm  produce 
they  needed  could  be  charged  to  them,  and 
farmers  would  be  in  the  same  position  as  if 
they  lived  in  town  and  bought  everything.  If 
our  wives  and  daughters  must  always  do  this 
in  order  to  swell  tlie  yearly  income,  it  must  be 
admitted  farming  is  a  poor  business,  and  suc- 
cess depends  fully  as  much  upon  the  wife  as 
the  husliand.  Experience  with  both  plans  has 
demonstrated  that  the  farmer's  family  can  live 
cheaper  and  more  happily  by  themselves,  and 
the  laborer  cheaper  and  more  contentedly 
with  his  own  family.  Such  is  human  nature. 
The  laborer  will  be  perfectly  satisfied  at  his 
own  table  with  what  would  excite  no  little 
fault-finding  and  grumbling,  if  provided  for 
him  by  his  employer ;  and  it  accords  with  the 
spirit  of  the  times  that  every  man  should  sit 
at  his  own  table  and  cut  and  spread  his  own 
bread  and  butter. 

Another  objection  may  be  raised,  that  mar- 
ried men  must  necessarily  receive  higher 
wages  than  single  men,  and  the  question  may 
also  be  asked  what  shall  those  of  us  do  who  em- 
plov  help  only  two-thirds  of  the  year?  How 
is  this  among  the  trades  ?  Is  not  the  same 
rule  that  governs  them  applicable  to  farm 
hands  ?  A  shoemaker  with  a  large  family  to 
support  makes  shots-  at  the  same  rate  as  a 
stripling,  provided  he  has  no  superior  skill,  nor 
does  a  married  carpenter  or  machinist  receive 
higher  wages  than  a  single  man  on  account  of 
his  family.  Ability  and  experience  regulate 
wa""es.  Farmers  must  remen>ber  that  in  all 
occupations  which  can  be  pursued  only  during 
warm  weather  the  highest  wages  are  paid,  for 
something  nuist  be  laid  by  for  idle  days. 
Steady  work  and  a  permanent  home  are  mat- 
ters of  prime  importance  toamarnedmau,  and 
are,  in  fact,  a  part  of  his  wages. 

Farmers  who  keej)  liel[)  only  a  part  of  th(! 
year  are  usually  behind  tinu' ;  their  work 
drives  them,  and  they  are  always  in  a  lun-ry  : 
they  cannot  think  of  leaving  home  while  the 
ci'ops  are  growing  and  while  employing  help. 
After  the  hands  are  discharged  in  the  fall,  the 


daily  routine  confines  them  closely  to  the  farm, 
and  year  after  year  passes  without  their  leav- 
ing for  more  than  a  few  hours  at  a  time.  Not 
unfrequently,  too,  the  precious  school  time  of 
their  sons,  limited  to  one  short  term,  is  in- 
fringed upon  by  winter  work.  Now  the  wages 
of  a  man  for  the  whole  year  exceeds  the  wages 
of  a  man  for  eight  or  nine  months  only  by  a 
small  sum,  while  the  relief  of  a  man  kept  the 
year  round  would  bring  to  the  proprietor  by 
leaving  him  free  to  go  and  come  at  pleasure ; 
the  benefit  to  the  children  to  have  their  school 
time  without  interruption,  and  the  amount  of 
work  which  could  be  done  in  early  spring  and 
late  fall,  to  say  nothing  of  what  can  be  done 
in  winter  towards  forward  permanent  improve- 
ments and  in  preparing  for  the  busy  season, 
repays  the  additional  increase  of  wages. 

The  quality  of  farm  laborers  may  be  further 
improved  by  paying  experienced  hands  more 
and  inexperienced  ones  less.  It  is  possible  that 
with  the  shovel  and  hoe,  both  may  do  the  same 
amount  of  work,  but  in  feeding  stock  of  twen- 
ty or  thirty  head,  an  ignorant  hand  may  easily 
waste  hfty  cents  worth  of  fodder  per  day,  and 
his  employer  not  know  it  at  the  time  ;  and  in 
driving  a  team,  a  hand  that  worries  his  horses 
or  oxen,  and  is  always  meeting  with  accidents, 
is  dear  help  at  any  price.  Thus  throughout 
the  more  important  work  of  the  farm,  skilful 
help  is  cheapest ;  and  yet  how  i'ew  are  willing 
to  make  a  difference  of  a  few  dollars  per 
month  between  an  experienced  workman  and 
a  blundering,  ignorant,  green  hand.  The  art 
of  farming  is  not  a  simple  thing  that  can  be 
learned  at  sight  or  in  one  year ;  but  like  any 
mechanical  trade  it  requires  time.  All  the 
regulations,  and  gradations  in  wages  made  in 
the  trades  should  be  observed  with  farm  labor- 
ers. It  will  btimulate  them  to  qualify  them- 
selves as  thorough  workmen.  But  when  a 
man  of  ten  years'  experience  sees  another  of 
only  a  few  months',  receive  nearly  the  same 
pav,  where  is  the  incentive  to  perfect  himself 
in  "his  work,  or  do  any  better  than  the  second. 

The  idea  so  prevalent  among  farmers  that 
they  must  be  always  in  the  field  with  their  men 
to  lead  them  off;  to  do  all  the  important  parts 
themselves;  in  fact,  to  work  harder  than  any 
hired  man,  besides  having  all  the  care,  and 
the  moment  one  cannot  do  all  this,  he  is 
obliged  to  sell,  should  be  corrected.  Such  a 
state  of  aflairs  shows  plainly  that  something  is 
wrong  in  their  system  of  dealing  with  help. 
The  remedy  proposed  is  the  one  which  pro- 
vides cheap  and  jx'rmanent  help  for  the  Eng- 
lish faimer.  In  and  around  large  towns  men 
are  readily  found  capable  of  taking  charge  of 
gardens,  green-houses,  stables  and  teams,  and 
wiiat  is  there  un  a  farm  that  they  need  to  dis- 
like or  cannot  learn  to  do.  It  is  plain,  I  tiiink, 
that  whenever  fiirmers  shall  adopt  measures, 
which  will  give  to  their  employees  the  same 
relative  advantages  as  are  enjoytd  by  those 
around  them,  they  will  command  as  i)ermanent, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


cheap,  faithful  and  competent  help  for  their 
work  as  will  be  found  in  any  occupation. 
Lawrence,  Mass.,  July,  1864.        N.  s.  T. 


The  Sheared  Sheep. — You  have  been 
shearing.  Do  you  intend  to  turn  the  meek 
and  amiable  animals,  which  have  just  been 
stripped  '.'•tark- naked'  for  your  benefit,  adrift, 
to  sleep  on  the  cold  ground,  and  take  the 
storms  as  they  come  ?  You  have  had  abun- 
dant evidence  that  sheep  have  thick  coats 
these  days,  and  when  you  shear  them  it  is  like 
wearing  an  over-coat,  under-coat,  shirt  and 
wrapper,  and  stripping  them  all  off  and  going 
nakeil. 

You  would  expect  to  die  if  you  did  it,  and 
you  ought  to ;  and  that  is  about  what  those 
deserve  who  shear  their  sheep  at  their  own 
convenience,  and  let  them  take  the  rains  and 
the  winds,  and  the  frosts  as  they  come.  In 
this  way,  multitudes  of  sheep  sret  coughs,  con- 
sumptions and  premature  death,  and  are  re- 
ported to  die  of  grub  in  the  head,  &c.  Don't 
be  so  gieedy  but  what  you  can  leave  a  good 
hall-inch  of  wool  on  the  sheep  when  you  shear ; 
you  will  get  it  all  in  the  end  ;  and,  futhermore, 
shelter  your  sheep  for  at  least  three  weeks 
after  shearing,  every  rain  antl  every  night  that 
is  not  particularly  warm. — Hugh  T.  Brooks, 
Wijomiiig  Co.,  N.  Y.,  at  a  Shearing  Festival. 


PAKIS  TKIAL  OF  MOWING  MACHINES. 

The  trial  of  Mowing  Machines  at  Paris 
opened  on  Thursday,  the  23d  of  May.  The 
place  chosen  for  the  trial  by  the  Imperial 
Commission  was  upon  the  farm  of  the  Empe- 
ror, at  Feuilleuse,  situated  about  one  and  a 
half  miles  from  St.  Cloud,  the  site  of  the  sum- 
mer palace  of  the  present  Emperor.  The 
field  selected  for  this  important  work  was  one 
not  calculated  to  please  the  contestants.  The 
ground,  though  for  the  most  part  level  enough, 
terminated  with  a  gradual  elevation  at  the  far- 
ther end.  It  was  "seeded  down"  last  year  to 
a  mixture  of  Alfalfa  or  California  clover,  the 
common  red  clover,  and  a  slight  quantity  of 
red  top — the  greater  proportion  of  the  first 
named.     No  real  sward  had  been  formed. 

The  surface  was  exceedingly  rough,  no 
roller  having  been  used  upon  it,  and  there 
were  large  numbers  of  small,  loose  stones  scat- 
tered over  it.  Besides,  upon  the  rising 
ground  "mole  hills"  were  plenty,  and,  as 
every  farmer  knows,  not  to  be  avoided  in 
using  the  mowing  machine.  The  clovers  were 
"crinkled"  and  interwoven,  though  of  them- 
selves, under  ordinary  circumstances,  not  diffi- 
cult to  cut.  Add  to  this,  that  the  ground  had 
been  soaked  by  almost  constant  rains  for  sev- 
eral davs  and  that  a  severe  wind,  accompanied 
by  a  drifting  rain,  occurred  during  the  trial, 
and  the  reader  will  understand  that  the  test 
was  not  a  light  one. 

The  field  had  been  staked  oflf  into  lots  of 


equal  dimensions,  each  contaim'ng  §  of  a  hec- 
tare or  about  l.G.'j  acres  of  parallelogram  form, 
tliough  some  of  them  differing  in  length.  The 
scythe  had  been  used  in  dividing  the  lots  from 
each  other  and  forming  a  path  for  the  first 
"through"  of  the  machines.  The  assignment 
of  lots  was  made  by  drawing  numbers  in  the 
usual  manner.  In  accordance  with  an  order 
from  the  jury,  the  machines  with  teams 
attached,  were  arranged  in  front  of  the  lots  at 
half  past  eleven  o'clock.  The  following  is  a 
list  of  the  machines  in  competiton,  in  the  order 
in  which  they  stood  : 

No.  1 — Kearsley  Mower,  made  bj'  H.  &  G.  Kearsley, 
Kipon,  JSngland.     2  wheel ;  length  of  lut  4  feet. 

No.  2 — Pettier,  Jr.,  Paris,  France.  2  wheel;  length  of 
cut  3  feet  6  inches ;  one  horse. 

No.  3 — Anglo-American,  made  by  .James  Howard,  Bed- 
ford, England.  All  iron;  2  wheel;  length  of 
cut  4  feet  6  inches. 

No.    4 — Made   by  A.  C.  Bamlitt,   Yorkshire,   England. 

2  wheel ;  cut  4  feet  6  inclies. 

No.    5 — Made  by  Sarauelson,  Bar  bury,  England.    Iron 

frame  :  2  wheel;  4  feet  cut. 
No.    6 — Wood   Machine,   made    by  Walter   A.   Wood, 

Hoosick  Falls,  N.  Y.     2  wheel ;  cut  4  ft.  3  in 
No.    7 — Made  by  Enler  &  Girand,  Lyons,  F'rance.    Cut 

3  feet  6  inches. 

No.  8 — Lancashire  Combined,  made  by  Pixley  &  Sims, 
Lancashire,  Eng.     Cut  4  it.  6  in. 

No.  9— Clipper,  made  by  Allen  &  Son,  N.  Y.  One 
horse;  (cut  not  ascertained.) 

No.  10 — Did  not  appear  upon  the  field  for  some  un- 
known reason. 

No.  11 — Machine  Morgan,  Seymour  &  Morgan  Patent, 
made  by  Durand,  Paris.  Ciiubined,  used  reel; 
cut  not  ascertained. 

No.  12 — Perry  Mower,  Ames  Plow  Company,  Worces- 
ter, Mass.,  manufacturers.  Cut  a  fi.  9  in.  Ex- 
hibited by  .John  G.  Perry,  the  inventor. 

No.  13 — A  Wood  Machine,  made  in  Paris.     Cut  4  ft. 

No.  14 — McCormick,  Chicago,  Illinois.    Cut  4  It. 

No.  15 — Buckeye,  Jr.,  maae  at  Berwick-upon-Tweed, 
Scotland.    Cut  4  ft. 

No.  16 — Wood  Combined  Machine,  Hoosick  Falls,  N.Y. 

No.  17 — A  French  Machine,  name  and  width  of  cut  un- 
ascertained. 

No.  18 — Wood  Machine  from  Canada  West. 

No.  19 — Made  by  Noel,  Paris.  Iron  franie ;  cut  4  feet 
3  inches. 

At  12  o'clock  20  minutes,  the  machines, 
from  1  to  7  inclusive,  were  ordered  to  start. 
It  was  also  directed  that  but  one  man  should 
accompany  each  machine,  but  this  was  not  in- 
sisted upon,  and  the  owner  or  agent  was  per- 
mitted to  follow  if  he  chose.  When  stopped 
from  ordinary  causes,  such  as  clogging  with 
grass,  or  foul  sickle  bar,  the  driver  was  al- 
lowed to  proceed  again  as  quickly  as  possible, 
but  if  stopped  on  account  of  breakage  of  any 
of  the  parts,  no  machine  was  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed until  ordered  to  do  so  by  a  juryman. 

The  contest,  especially  at  the  opening,  was 
an  exciting  one,  alike  to  owners,  operators 
and  spectators.  Here  were  the  chosen  im- 
plements of  the  world  for  this  class  of  work. 
It  was  nation  against  nation,  and  machine 
against  machine,  for  the  highest  honor  that 
could  be  awarded — the  championship  of  the 
world.  He  who  entered  the  list  unprepared, 
or  with  an  inferior  implement,  well  knew  that 
his  chance  was  not  worth  the  trouble  of  com- 
peting. The  French  machine  No.  7,  failed  in 
the  first  rod  and  was  taken  from  the  field. 
One  after  another,  Nos.  1,  2,  and  4  came  to  a 


400 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARIVIER. 


Aug. 


halt.  As  yet  No.  6  (the  Wood)  kept  on  its 
way,  sending  back  its  rapid,  musical  "click, 
click,  click."  Its  team  worked  admirably; 
the  driver — a  Yankee  boy  just  out  of  his 
"teens" — evidently  knew  his  business  to  per- 
fection. At  last  however,  a  mole  hill  on  the  last 
half  of  the  first  swath  caused  this  also  to  stop, 
for  cleaning.  One  after  another  the  others 
toiled  on,  stopping  sometimes  from  an  ill  bro- 
ken team,  clogging  with  the  wet  grass,  (for  a 
shower  had  set  in,)  or  from  the  more  serious 
obstructions  met  with  in  the  mole  hills.  The 
Wood  and  Howard  machines  approached  the 
farther  end  quite  closely  together,  the  former 
having  stopped  but  once,  finally  coming  out 
ahead,  in  eleven  minutes  from  the  time  of 
starting.  The  Howard  halted  near  the  end, 
while  the  Wood  proceeded  on  its  return  trip 
in  good  style,  i-eaching  "home"  with  two  short 
stoppages  and  before  any  other  had  completed 
a  swath.  The  round  trip  was  made  in  20  min- 
utes. A  second  round  was  made  in  14  min- 
utes, with  three  slight  halts.  At  this  time  the 
Howard  was  in  its  first  return  swath,  and  No. 
4,  the  Bamlitt,  had  completed  its  first,  with 
No.  2  nearly  out  and  No.  5  about  half  way 
across.  The  Howard  completed  its  first  round 
trip  in  43  minutes,  at  which  time  the  AVood 
had  accomplished  four  rounds,  the  third  being 
made  in  I'd  minutes,  and  the  last  in  still  less 
time.  With  the  exception  ofthe  Wood  and 
Howard  it  was  very  evident  no  satisfactory 
results  could  be  expected  from  the  machines 
in  this  division  The  others  were  floundering 
along  at  various  distances,  some  on  the  first 
and  others  on  their  second  swaths.  Finally 
the  Howard  seemed  to  come  to  a  "dead  halt ;" 
the  Wood,  occasionally  making  stops  to  clean 
its  sickle  bar,  kept  steadily  on  its  way. 

At  1  o'clock  l5  minutes,  the  second  division, 
consisting  of  machines  from  8  to  14  inclusive, 
was  ordered  to  advance,  the  jury  leaving  the 
first  division  to  itself  for  the  time.  These  ma- 
chines mov(jd  toward  the  middle  of  the  field 
with  more  uniformity  than  the  first,  yet  sev- 
eral of  them  were  soon  seen  to  halt.  Each 
stopped  at  the  rough  ground  at  the  farther 
end  ;  the  Perry  and  McCormick  however,  be- 
ing very  soon  upon  the  move.  There  was 
but  a  trifle  of  difference  in  the  time  at  which 
these  two  machines  completed  the  first  swath. 
The  Seymour  &  IMorgan  was  next  to  them  and 
the  Allen  (one  horse)  the  fourth  in  the  list. 
The  Perry  started  first  upon  the  home  stretch. 
(It  should  here  be  stated  that  the  lots  on 
which  the  last  three  machines  of  this  division 
were  operated  were  about  ^  longt-r  tlian  those 
ofthe  first  division.)  The  McCornuck  passed 
the  Perry  in  the  return,  completing  its  first 
round  in  17  minutes.  It  started  back,  carry- 
ing the  colors  of  its  division.  I'he  Perry, 
very  soon  out,  met  with  an  accident  in  turn- 
ing at  the  end.  The  horses  attached  to  this 
machine  were  unused  to  the  work,  mettlesome 
and  unsteady.  Tlie  driver,  excited,  could  not 
manage  them  well  in  the  crowd  that  stood  at 


the  starting  point.  He  failed  to  raise  the  cut- 
ter bar,  and  the  dividing  board  or  "track 
clearer"  catching  in  a  deep  rut,  was  broken 
asunder  at  the  point  where  attached  to  the 
bar.  The  breakage  was  without  remedy,  and 
the  jurymen  present  at  the  time,  allowed  the 
machine  to  proceed  upon  its  work  as  it  best 
might.  The  inventor  evidently  feared  it  could 
not  do  its  usual  work,  but  ordered  it  on.  It 
completed  its  second  round  in  advance  of  all 
the  others  of  its  division — the  two  rounds  oc- 
cupying but  20  minutes.  The  last  swath  was 
cut  the  entire  length  without  a  stop,  a  feat  ac- 
complished by  no  other  machine  during  the 
day.  The  McCormick,  during  this  time,  was 
working  well,  and  the  Seymour  &  Morgan  evi- 
dently third  in  this  division  contest.  'I'he  lit- 
tle Clipper  kept  on  its  way  pretty  well,  but 
cut  high,  the  knives  evidently  being  raised  for 
fear  of  breakage. 

Turning  our  attention  again  to  the  first  di- 
vision, we  find  about  the  same  relative  work 
accomplished  as  at  the  time  we  left  them,  with 
the  exception  that  the  Howard,  meeting  with 
frequent  obstructions  it  had  not  the  power  to 
overcome,  had  fallen  farther  behind  the  Wood. 
We  see  also  that  the  latter  is  about  complet- 
ing its  lot,  and  is  a  great  centre  of  attraction. 
At  precisely  1  o'clock  54  minutes,  the  last 
clip  was  taken,  and  your  humble  correspond- 
ent involuntarily  grasped  the  operator  by  the 
hand  and  shouted  for  America. 

At  this  juncture  all  the  other  machines  of 
this  division  were  ordered  from  the  field,  the 
committee  seemingly  satisfied  with  what  they 
had  seen.  The  wind  and  rain  now  became 
more  severe,  and  the  Perry  mower,  unable  to 
clear  its  break,  failed  to  operate  satisfactorily 
and  was  withdrawn  by  its  owner  upon  being 
assured  that  a  new  trial,  with  a  new  machine, 
was  granted  him  the  next  day,  the  jury  very 
justly  considering  the  breaking  no  fault  of  the 
invention.  The  McCormick  kept  well  up  to 
its  work,  making  quite  satisfactory  progress. 
The  others  of  the  second  division  were  work- 
ing rather  indifferently. 

At  two  o'clock  seventeen  minutes,  the  3d 
division — the  balance  of  the  machines — was 
ordered  to  work.  Owing  to  the  storm,  or 
some  other  cause  best  known  to  the  jury,  they 
were  kept  at  work  but  a  very  few  minutes — 
none  of  them  showing  execution  superior  to 
that  already  done,  and  tlie  best  of  them  being 
of  the  same  manufacture  as  already  tried. 
With  these,  all  but  the  McCormick  were  or- 
dered to  stop  work.  The  last  mentioned  kept 
on,  finishing  its  lot  at  3  o'clock  50  minutes, 
being  2  hours  and  35  minutes  at  work. 

Thus  ended  the  first  day's  trial  of  mowers 
at  the  (irand  Exhibition,  with  America  as  the 
clianij)ion  among  nations,  and  tlie  Wood,  Mc- 
Cormick and  Perry,  at  the  head  ofthe  Ameri- 
can machines  here  represented. 

Further  trial  was  postponed  till  the  trial  of 
reapers,  some  time  in  July. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


401 


Since  writing  the  above  I  have  information 
that  the  jury  has  concluded  to  throw  out  all 
but  eiglit  of  the  machines  in  the  further  tests 
that  are  to  take  place.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  the  machines,  placed  in  the  order  of 
performance  at  this  stage  of  the  contest : 

No.  1.— The  Wood  Machine. 
No.  2. — The  MeCormick  Machine. 
No.  3. — The  Perry  Machine. 
No.  4. — The  Howard  Machine. 

No.  5 . 

No.  6. — The  Kearsley. 
No.  7.— Tlie  Peltier. 
No.  8. — Tho  Buckeye,  Jr. 

Now  as  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  more  than 
three  prominent  medals,  say  one  gold  medal 
and  two  silver  ones,  will  be  awarded,  it  is  easy 
to  say  that  the  three  highest  prizes,  judging  by 
the  present  position  of  affairs,  must  go  to 
American  machines. — Prairie  Farmer. 


Remarks. — Since  the  above  was  written, 
the  premiums  have  been  announced,  and  were 
published  in  the  Farmer  of  July  6th. 


MABKETINQ   -WOOL. 

One  of  the  leading  farmers  of  Illinois,  who 
appears  occasionally  in  the  Prairie  Farmer  as 
"Wool  Grower,"  regards  the  present  as  one 
of  the  dark  times  for  wool  growers  in  that  sec- 
tion. He  says  that  all  other  branches  of  farm- 
ing are  paying  better  than  this.  He  charges 
the  wool  commission  houses  of  Chicago  with 
operating  against  the.  interests  of  the  grower 
and  in  favor  of  the  manufacturer.  Though 
written  especially  for  farmers  at  the  West,  the 
folloAving  paragraphs  may  be  read  with  inter- 
est by  wool  growers  of  other  sections  : — 

I  say  to  wool  growers,  sell  your  own  wool 
at  your  own  barn  if  possible.  Sell  to  a  local 
dealer  for  three  or  four  cents  less  than  you 
think  it  worth,  rather  than  get  it  stranded  in  a 
wool  house.  The  best  time  to  sell  wool,  nine 
times  out  of  ten,  is  when  the  tide  is  up  at 
shearing  time.  It  scarcely  ever  lasts  over  a 
week  or  two,  and  if  you  let  the  opportunity 
slip  you  are  compelled  to  ship,  and  then  to 
commence  that  weary  waiting  which  makes  the 
heart  sick.  After  the  first  tide  ebbs  it  is  usually 
from  four  to  six  months  before  you  can  get 
even  a  nibble  for  wool,  and  then  when  you  do 
effect  a  sale,  by  the  time  you  deduct  freight  and 
commission,  and  insurance,  and  storage,  and 
drayage,  and  sale  tax,  and  re-sackage,  and 
stealage,  and  one-third  off,  and  half  off,  and  in 
some  cases,  all  off,  you  will  find  that  you  might 
have  sold  at  home  for  from  six  to  fifteen  cents 
per  pound  more  money. 

The  one  great  drawback  to  wool-growing  in 
the  United  States  is  not  dogs  nor  scab  nor 
foot-rot,  but  the  manner  of  marketing.  There 
is  no  other  staple  agricultural  product  grown 
in  our  country,  the  purchasers  of  which  are  so 


few  in  number,  and  hence,  able  to  make  such 
soul-eating  combinations  to  affect  prices,  as 
wool.  The  manufacturers  and  their  organs 
never  let  up  during  the  entire  circle  of  the 
year,  from  "bearing"  the  wool  market.  The 
buyers  of  grain  are  not  always  "bears,"  but 
there  is  always  an  equally  smart  lot  of  "bulls," 
which  helps  to  keep  grain  somewhere  near  an 
equilibrium ;  but  the  purchasers  of  wool  are 
always,  and  everywhere,  "bears." 


A  Fine  Field  of  Rye.— A  correspondent 
informs  us  that  he  recently  visited  a  field  of 
four  acres  of  rye  in  Tower  Hill  neighborhood, 
Lawrence,  Mass.,  that  he  thinks  deserves  hon- 
orable mention.  It  is  on  the  ftirm  of  Richard 
H.  Kent.  Four  years  ago  the  field  was  cleared 
of  a  growth  of  pine,  the  land  plowed  and  set 
to  apple  trees.  It  has  since  been  planted  to 
potatoes,  corn,  &c.,  and  well  manured.  The 
present  crop  of  rye  attracts  considerable  atten- 
tion from  its  heavy  and  even  growth, — some  of 
the  stalks  being  seven  feet  high  by  actual  meas- 
urement. Mr.  Kent  has  promised  to  furnish  a 
fuller  account  of  the  crop  after  harvesting. 


EXPERIENCE   IN   BEE-KEEPING. 

Seven  years  ago  this  spring,  I  commenced 
bee-keeping,  hardly  knowing  a  honey-bee  from 
a  humble-bee  ;  but  I  procured  the  best  works 
on  bees,  such  as  Langstroth's,  Quinby's,  Kid- 
der's, &c.,  and  studied  the  theory  of  scientific 
bee-keeping,  which  I  immediately  commenced 
to  put  in  practice,  going  very  carefully  at  first, 
and  as  the  result,  my  bees  have  averaged  over 
$5.00  per  swarm,  yearly,  in  surplus  honey,  be- 
sides the  increase  ;  and  we  have  had  two  or 
three  very  poor  seasons  for  honey  in  the  time 
— 1865  was  the  poorest  we  have  had  in  thirty- 
years — so  old  bee-keepers  tell  me. 

Last  year,  (1866,)  I  commenced  the  season 
with  twenty-three  swarms  in  poor  condition ; 
most  of  them  had  to  be  fed  as  soon  as  set  out, 
to  save  them  from  starvation ;  but  the  month 
of  April  was  very  pleasant,  and  as  soon  as  the 
soft  maple  was  in  bloom,  the  bees  got  their 
living,  and  some  of  my  best  swarms  stored 
eight  or  ten  pounds  ahead. 

In  the  month  of  June  I  bought  one  of  Lang- 
stroth's Italian  queens,  and  as  fast  as  I  could 
raise  queens  I  divided  my  bees  and  furnished 
the  queenless  part  with  an  Italian  queen. 
After  dividing  I  raised  more  queens,  to  take 
the  place  of  the  black  queens. 

I  closed  the  season  with  fifty-four  swarms, 
(mostly  Italian,)  and  544  pounds  surplus 
honey. 

I  put  my  bees  into  the  cellar  Dee.  4th, 
and  took  them  out  April  10th,  1867,  and 
found  them  all  in  good  condition.  I  fed  a 
few  of  the  h'ghtest  swarms  by  changing  framea 


402 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


Aug. 


■with  those  that  had  a  surplus.  Bees  are  stor- 
ing honey  from  the  soft  maple  now,  but  not  as 
much  as  they  did  last  year.  The  honey  crop 
of  18G6  was  better  (in  our  county)  than  for 
several  seasons  previous. 

I  intend  to  raise  another  set  of  queens,  to 
take  the  place  of  those  that  paired  with  the 
black  drones  last  season.  I  shall  not  let  any 
black  drones  fly  in  my  apiary  this  season.  I 
make  my  hives  double,  with  a  dead  air  space 
all  around  the  swarm,  thereby  securing  a  more 
uniform  temperature,  both  summer  and  winter. 
I  think  a  double  hive  much  the  best  for  our 
changeable  climate,  and  they  cost  but  a  trifle 
more. — George  T.  Wheeler,  in  Country  Oen- 
tleman. 


Eabks' 


Bcparlmciit. 


From  "May-day  and  other  Pieces,"  by  R.  W.  Emerson. 
BIBDS    AND    FLOWEES. 

Ah  I  well  I  mind  the  calendar, 
Faithful  through  a  thousand  years, 
Of  llie  painted  race  of  flowers, 
Exact  to  days,  exact  to  hours, 
.     Counted  on  the  spacious  dial 
Yon  broidered  zodiac  girds, 
I  know  the  pretty  almanac 
Of  the  punctual  coming  back. 
On  their  due  days,  of  tlie  birds, 
I  marked  them  yestermorn, 
A  flock  of  finches  darting 
Beneath  the  crystal  arch. 
Piping,  as  they  flew,  a  march, — 
Last  year,  from  yon  oak  or  larch; 
Dusky  sparrows  in  a  crowd. 
Diving,  darting  northward  free, 
Suddenly  betook  them  all. 
Every  one  to  his  hole  in  the  wall, 
Or  to  his  niche  in  the  apple  tree. 
1  greet  with  joy  the  choral  trains 
Fresh  from  palms  and  Cuba's  caneB, 
Best  gems  of  Nature's  cabinet. 
With  dews  of  tropic  morning  wet. 
Beloved  of  children,  bards,  and  Spring, 
O  birds,  your  perfect  virn>e8  bring. 
Your  song,  j'our  forms,  your  rhythmic  flight, 
Your  manners  for  the  heart's  delight. 
Nestle  in  hedge,  or  barn,  or  roof. 
Here  weave  your  chamber  waterproof. 
Forgive  our  harms,  and  condehcend 
To  man,  as  to  a  luljber  friend, 
And,  generous,  teach  his  awkward  race, 
Courage,  and  probity,  and  grace ! 


HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 


CONTRinUTED  FOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER, 


Unleavened  Bread. 

I  have  long  been  proposing  to  send  you  my  way 
of  making  unleavened  bread,  as  I  think  it  mueli 
superior  in  point  of  licalth  to  any  other  kind. 

For  Brown  Bread  talcc  two  parts  of  Indian  meal 
to  one  of  rye  or  Graliam.  Scald  the  Indian,  then 
add  the  other  with  cold  water  suliicient  to  mois- 
ten it  enough  so  that  it  can  be  tlioroughly  mixed. 
Salt  and  molasses  can  be  added  if  desired,  but  itis 
good  and  more  healthful  without.  This  kind  of 
brown  bread  is  wholesoiiTe,  when  v.-arm  from  the 
oven.    It  may  be  made  in  loaves  three  or  four 


inches  thick,  and  should  stand  upon  the  back  part 
of  the  stove,  or  where  the  bottom  will  receive  a 
scalding  heat  for  an  hour  before  being  placed  in  a 
hot  oven,  when,  if  thoroughly  baked,  it  will  be  light 
and  sweet. 

The  crust  is  harder  than  that  of  raised  bread, 
but  it  malics  a  palatable  dish  by  itself,  if  taken  off 
and  soaked  in  milk,  allowing  it  to  come  to  a  quick 
boil  before  taking  up ;  or  it  makes  a  good  pudding 
for  a  plain  farmer's  dinner,  if  steeped  in  apple- 
sauce, and  eaten  with  butter  and  sugar,  maple 
syrup,  or  sweet  cream ;  or  if  one  prefers  a  made 
sauce,  a  nice  one  can  be  had  by  combining  nice 
sour  cream  with  molasses,  (maple  is  best),  or  if 
sweet  cream  is  used,  a  spoonful  or  two  of  vinegar 
or  cider,  or  a  little  tart  jelly  dissolved  in  it  im- 
proves it,  and  a  little  nutmeg  can  be  added ;  or  a 
plainer  sauce  can  be  made  by  taking  a  pint  of  milk, 
saving  out  enough  to  moisten  two  spoonfuls  of 
flour,  boil  and  thicken,  and  add  an  egg  beaten  with 
three  spoonfuls  of  white  sugar  after  it  is  taken 
from  the  fire,  so  that  it  will  not  harden  the  egg. 
One  of  the  most  palatable  of  Indian  breads  can  be 
made  by  substituting  flour  for  the  rye  meal,  and 
there  is  no  end  to  the  variety  of  ways  in  which 
healthful,  palatable,  unleavened  cakes  can  be  made, 
either  by  using  muffin  rings,  roll  or  patty  pans, 
(the  French  roll  pans  are  much  the  least  trouble,) 
or  by  making  them  in  drop  cakes,  or  forming  them 
into  little  cakes  in  the  hand,  covering  them  with 
flour;  and  a  little  time  devoted  to  experimenting 
with  them,  I  do  not  deem  misspent. 

I  will  give  you  one  receipt  for 

Pop-Corn  Pudding, 
which  I  think  very  good. 

Take  of  corn  well  popped,  and  rolled,  pounded, 
or  gi-ound,  oi;c  heaping  teacupful ;  one  quart  of 
milk,  one  egg,  nearly  a  cupful  of  sugar,  a  little 
salt  and  spice  to  taste.  Soak  the  corn  in  the  milk 
over  night,  add  the  other  ingredients  and  bake  two 
hours. 

Apple  Pie. 

Take  one  egg  and  half  a  cracker,  or  if  the  plate 
is  large,  a  little  more,  to  a  pie,  and  about  two  good 
sized,  sour  apples,  which  may  be  grated  raw,  or 
stewed  and  strained,  with  a  little  nutmeg  and  salt. 
Use  but  very  little  more  sugar  than  for  common 
custard  pies,  preparing  with  milk,  like  tliem. 

I  desire  in  receipts  a  variety  of  plain  dishes,  ea- 
sily prepared,  and  thinking  that  others  may  ap- 
preciate the  same,  have  tried  to  contribute  my 
mite ;  but  I  fear  it  may  not  be  very  acceptably 
written,  from  confusion  produced  by  tlie  interrup- 
tions of  my  little  ones,  as  their  care,  with  tliat  of 
my  household,  gives  me  little  uniuterniptcd  time. 

Eaut  Princeton,  Mass.,  18G7.  Nellie. 

Union  Cake. 
One  cup  of  butter,  two  of  sugar,  three  of  flour, 
one  of  milk,  one-half  cup  of  corn  starch,  four 
eggs,  two  teaspoonfuls  extract  of  Icniou,  one  of 
cream  tartar,  one-half  tcaspoonful  of  soda. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


403 


Hard  Gingerbread. 

One  and  one-half  cups  of  white  sugai",  one-half 
cup  of  butter,  one-half  cup  of  sweet  milk,  one- 
half  teaspoon  soda,  one  of  crcain  tartar,  one  egg, 
ginger  to  suit  the  taste,  or  nutmeg  and  cinnamon. 
Knead  in  fiour  enough  to  make  a  very  hard  dough, 
and  roll  out  to  the  thickness  of  pic-crust. 
Pudding. 

Two  cups  of  flour,  one  of  chopped  suet,  one  of 
raisins,  or  any  other  dried  fruit,  one  egg,  two  ta- 
blespoonfuls  of  molasses,  one  teaspoonful  of  soda, 
one  cup  of  new  milk,  spice  to  suit  the  taste,  steam 
one  and  one-half  hours.  Eat  with  liquid  sauce. 
Imitation  Corn  Starch  Pudding. 

One  quart  of  milk,  and  a  little  salt.  Thicken  one- 
third  of  the  milk  to  quite  a  thick,  smooth  paJstc, 
with  flour;  add  two  eggs  well  beaten,  andstirinto 
the  remainder  of  the  milk,  when  it  boils.  To  be 
eaten  cold  with  cream  and  white  sugar. 

Dudley,  Mass.,  1867.  A  Farmer's  "Wife. 


Mr.  Editor  : — As  I  feel  quite  interested  in  read- 
ing the  receipts,  and  have  tried  some  which  ap- 
pear in  your  paper  from  time  to  time,  I  thought  I 
would  send  a  few  which  certainly  belong  to 
"Household  Economy,"  but  I  consider  them  good 
enough  for  use  sometimes. 

Brown  Bread. 

Among  the  receipts  for  brown  bread,  I  find  none 
which  suits  me  any  better  than  mine.  I  do  not 
think  sweetening  improves  the  bread  enough  to 
pay  for  the  molasses  used. 

I  prefer  mixing  at  night.  For  two  loaves,  I  take 
five  pints  of  Indian  meal,  nearly  the  same  of  rye, 
full  two-thirds  of  a  cup  of  yeast  (I  like  "Ruby's" 
way  of  making  yeast  very  much ;)  mix  with  warm 
water.  In  summer  I  use  cool  water.  In  the  ex- 
treme hot  weather  of  last  summer  I  took  cold  wa- 
ter. When  I  do  not  mix  at  night,  I  scald  the  In- 
dian meal,  and  use  warm  water. 

Indian  Griddle  Cakes. 

Two  cups  of  sweet  milk,  the  same  of  sour,  one 
teaspoonful  of  soda,  salt;  one-third  flour,  two- 
thirds  Indian  meal ;  mixing  a  little  thicker  than 
Avhen  all  flour  is  used.  The  flour  sifted  from  the 
meal  will  make  them  better,  if  any  one  has  a  fine 

sieve. 

Molasses  Cake. 

Two  cups  of  buttermilk,  one  cup  of  molasses, 
ono  teaspoonful  of  soda,  a  little  salt,  flour  enough 
to  make  a  batter  not  so  thick  but  it  will  run.  I 
sometimes  vary  this  with  ginger  or  caraway  seed. 

Veppcrell,  Mass.,  1837.  Hannah. 


ABOUT  CURRANTS. 
Currants  Preserved. 
Take  ripe  currants  free  from  stems ;  weigh 
them,  and  take  the  same  weight  of  sugar  ;  put 
a  teacup  of  sugar  to  each  pound  of  it ;  boil  the 
syrup  until  it  is  hot  and  clear ;  then  turn  it 
over  the  fruit ;    let  it  remain  one  night ;  then 


set  it  over  the  fire,  and  boil  gently  until  they 
are  cooked  and  clear ;  take  them  into  the  jars 
or  pots  with  a  skimmer ;  boil  the  syrup  until 
rich  and  thick,  then  pour  it  over  the  fruit. 
Currants  may  be  preserved  with  ten  pounds  of 
(ruit  to  seven  of  sugar.  Take  the  stems  from 
seven  pounds  of  the  currants,  and  crush  and 
press  the  juice  from  the  remaining  three 
pounds  ;  put  them  into  the  hot  syrup,  and  boil 
until  thick  and  rich ;  put  it  in  pots  or  jars,  and 
the  next  day  secure  as  directed. 

Currant  Jelly. 

Pick  fine,  red,  but  long-ripe  currants  from 
the  stems ;  bruise  them  and  strain  the  juice 
fi-om  a  quart  at  a  time  through  a  thin  muslin; 
wring  it  gently  to  get  all  the  liquid  ;  put  a 
pound  of  white  sugar  to  each  pound  of  juice  ; 
stir  it  until  it  is  all  dissolved  ;  set  it  over  a 
gentle  fire  ;  let  it  become  hot,  and  boil  for  fif- 
teen minutes ;  then  try  it  by  taking  a  spoonful 
into  a  saucer ;  when  cold,  if  it  is  not  quite 
firm  enough,  boil  it  for  a  few  minutes  longer. 
Jelly. — Another  Receipt. 

Put  your  currants  in  a  bell-metal  kettle  and 
scald  them  well ;  when  cool  press  them  through 
a  sieve,  getting  out  all  the  juice,  (be  careful 
not  to  allow  any  skin  or  seeds  to  pass  through 
the  sieve,)  measure  the  juice  and  put  it  back 
again  into  the  kettle  and  let  it  boil  hard  for 
five  or  six  minutes,  skimming  it  well ;  then 
add  while  on  the  fire  boiling  one  pound  of 
sifted  loaf  sugar  to  every  pint  of  juice  ;  stir  it 
till  dissolved,  which  it  will  be  in  a  few  minutes  ; 
it  oitght  not  to  boil  after  the  sugar  is  in,  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  have  it  well  dissolved, 
and  then  it  is  done  and  rewdy  to  put  in  the 
tumblers.  It  tastes  much  more  of  the  fruit, 
and  is  a  beautiful  light  color.  Will  keep  for 
years  if  necessary. 

Currant  Jam  of  all  Colors. 

Strip  your  currants  and  put  them  into  your 
pan,  with  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  sugar 
to  a  pound  of  fruit ;  add  your  sugar  after  your 
fruit  has  boiled  a  few  minutes  ;  boil  all"  to- 
gether, mashing  your  fruit  with  a  wooden 
spoon ;  boil  all  gently  for  half  an  hour,  then 
fill  your  jars. 

Currant  Wino. 

Dissolve  eight  pounds  of  honey  in  fifteen 
gallons  of  boiling  water,  to  which,  "when  clari- 
fied, add  the  juice  of  eight  pounds  of  red  or 
white  currants ;  then  ferment  for  twenty-four 
hours  ;  to  every  two  gallons  add  two  pounds  of 
sugar,  and  clarify  with  whites  of  eggs. 

Black  Currant  Vinegar. 
_  To  four  pounds  of  fruit,  very  ripe,  put  three 
pints  of  vinegar ;  let  it  stand  three  days ;  stir 
occasionally;  squeeze  and  strain  the  fruit. 
After  boiling  ten  minutes,  to  every  pint  of 
juice  add  one  pound  of  lump  sugar.  Boil 
twenty  minutes. 

Currant  and  Gooseberry  Compoto. 
Put  one  quart  of  red   currant  juice  to  five 
pounds  of  loaf  sugar ;  set  it  on  the  fire,  and 


404 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Aug. 


when  the  sugar  is  dissolved  put  in  eight  pounds 
of  red,  I'ough,  ripe  gooseberries,  let  them  boil 
half  an  hour,  then  put  them  into  an  earthen 
pan  and  leave  them  to  stand  for  two  days ; 
thi'n  boil  them  again  until  they  look  elear ;  jput 
them  into  pots  and  let  them  stand  a  week  to 
dry  a  little  at  the  top,  then  cover  them  with 
brandy  papers. — Oermantown  J'eleffrajyh. 


A  BEAUTIFUL  TRIBUTE  TO  A  WIFE. 
I  was  guided  in  my  choice  only  by  the  blind 
afi'ections  of  my  youth.  I  found  an  intelligent 
companion  and  a  tender  I'riend,  a  prudent 
monitiess,  the  most  faithful  of  wives,  and  a 
mother  as  tender  as  children  ever  had  the  mis- 
fortune to  lose.  I  met  a  woman  who,  by  ten- 
der management  of  my  weaknesses,  gradually 
corrected  the  most  pernicious  of  them.  She 
became  prudent  from  affection  ;  and  though  of 
the  most  generous  nature,  she  was  taught  fru- 
gality and  economy  by  her  love  for  me.  Dur- 
ing the  most  critical  period  of  my  life,  she 
relieved  me.  She  gently  reclaimed  me  from 
dissipation  ;  propped  my  weak  and  irresolute 
nature  ;  she  urged  my  indolence  to  all  the  ex- 
ertions that  have  been  useful  and  creditable  to 
me,  and  she  was  perfectly  at  hand  to  admonish 
my  heedlessness  or  improvidence.  To  her  I 
owe  whatever  I  am ;  to  her  whatever  I  shall 
be.  In  her  solicitude  for  my  interest  she  never 
for  a  moment  forgot  my  feelings  or  character. 
Even  in  her  occasional  resentment,  for  which  I 
but  too  often  gave  her  cause  (would  to  God  1 1 


could  recall  those  moments  !)  she  had  no  sul- 
lenness  or  acrimony.  Her  feelings  were  warm, 
nay,  impetuous  ;  but  she  was  placable,  tender 
and  constant.  Such  was  she  whom  I  have  lost, 
when  her  excellent  natural  sense  was  rapidly 
improving,  after  eight  years  struggle  and  dis- 
tress had  bound  us  fast  together,  and  moulded 
our  tempers  to  each  other ;  when  a  knowledge 
of  her  worth  had  refined  my  youthful  love  into 
friendship,  and  before  age  had  deprived  it  of 
much  of  its  original  ardor.  I  lost  her,  alas  ! 
the  choice  of  my  youth,  the  partner  of  my  mis- 
fortunes, at  a  moment  when  I  had  the  prospect 
of  her  sharing  my  better  days. — Sir.  James 
McIiiiOsh. 


To  Preserve  Raspberries  for  Creams 
OR  Ices  Without  Boiling. — Let  the  fruit 
be  gathered  in  the  middle  of  a  warm  day,  in 
very  dry  weather ;  sti^ip  it  from  the  stalks 
directly,  weigh  it,  turn  it  into  a  bowl  or  deep 
pan,  and  bi-uise  it  gently ;  mix  with  ao 
equal  weight  of  fine,  dry,  sifted  sugar,  and  put 
it  immediately  into  small,  wide-necked  bottles  ; 
cork  these  firmly  without  delay,  and  tie  blad- 
ders over  the  tops.  Keep  them  in  a  cool 
place,  or  the  fruit  will  ferment.  The  mixture 
should  be  stirred  softly,  and  only  just  sufficient- 
ly to  blend  the  sugar  and  the  fruit.  The  bot- 
tles must  be  perfectly  dry,  and  the  bladders, 
after  having  been  cleaned  in  the  usual  way, 
and  allowed  to  become  nearly  dry,  should  be 
moistened  with  a  little  spirit  on  the  side  which 
is  to  be  next  the  cork. 


NEW  I 


MER 


DEVOTED  TO  AGmCDTiTITHE,  HOBTICUIiTUKE,  AND  KTNDEED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES.       Boston,  September,   1867.      VOL.  I.— NO.  9. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  PoBMSHEKS, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  liow. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN,  j  ■o-r.-n.^^. 
8.  FLETCHEIi,      \  Editoks. 


SEPTEMBER. 

"Sweet,  is  the  voice  that  calls 

From  babbling  waterfalla 
In  meadows  where  the  downy  seeds  are  flying; 

And  soft  the  breezes  blow, 

And  iddyiiig  come  and  no 
In  faded  gardens  where  the  rose  is  dying." 

^_^  EPTEMBER,  once  more,  in  the 
-  '  X^^y  never-ceasing  march  of  the 
n  seasons,  calls  upon  us  this  year 
for  the  exercise  of  all  our  powers  of 
industry  and  skill,  to  gather  up  and 
secure  for  future  use  the  abundant 
crops  of  our  fruitful  soils. 

Never  before,  it  seems  to  us,  have 
the  trees  and  all  large  plants  been  so  clothed 
with  a  dense,  high-colored  and  vigorous  fo- 
liage, while  the  face  of  the  earth  is  covered, 
almost  beyond  precedent,  with  all  crops  com- 
moH  to  the  season.  Timely  and  copious  rains, 
warmed  by  genial  suns,  have  percolated  the 
soil  in  all  her  pores,  found  the  minerals  there 
which  plants  require  for  a  full  development  of 
their  parts,  and 

"Thrust  blooming  thence  the  vegetable  world." 
In  addition  to  the  abundant  hay-harvest  of 
June  and  July,  the  "aftermath,"  "rowen,"  or 
second  crop  of  August,  has  been  so  abundant 
as  scarcely  to  find  room  in  the  already  crowded 
bams. 

The   Indian   corn  has  a  luxuriant  growth  of 

leaf  and  stem,  is  a  little  late,  and  if  spared  by 

frosts,  and  if  properly  secured,  will  add  largely 

to  the  aggregate  value  of  next  winter's  fodder. 

The  root  crops,  also,  have  a  redundant  fo- 


liage, which  is  gi'eatly  relished  by  all  the  farm 
stock.  AH  these  are  prime  sources  of  milk, 
butter,  cheese,  beef,  mutton,  &c.,  and  if  care- 
fully husbanded,  will  materially  swell  the  prof- 
its of  the  farm. 

The  impression  with  some  is  that  the  price 
of  hay  will  be  low  during  the  next  six  months. 
There  are  some  reasons  why  it  may  not  be. 
At  the  commencement  of  the  present  haying 
season,  scarcely  ten  tons  of  old  hay  could  be 
found  in  any  one  of  our  best  farming  towns. 
All  the  poorer  kinds  of  fodder  had  been  econ- 
omized, chopped,  grain  added  to  it,  and  fed 
out  in  order  to  send  the  best  hay  to  market, 
and  get  from  $35  to  $50  per  ton  for  it !  This 
state  of  things  extended  far  into  the  coimtry, 
where  the  best  hay  was  pressed  and  sent  for- 
ward, and  the  poorer  used  at  home.  Before 
June  came,  the  barns  in  nearly  all  parts  of  New 
England  were  empty  as  they  had  not  been  be- 
fore for  many  years. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  demands  of  our  vast 
armies  during  the  war  had  swept  off  our  beef 
cattle  to  an  unparalleled  extent,  and  horses  in  a 
still  larger  proportion,  so  that  most  of  the 
farms  in  the  country  had  scarcely  more  than 
one-half  the  stock  they  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  feeding. 

Now,  farmers  are  purchasers.  They  caro 
to  sell  only  those  animals  that  happen  to  be  in 
excellent  condition  for  market,  and  those  which 
they  are  fatting  on  account  of  age,  because 
they  are  poor  milkers,  or  for  some  other  cause. 


406 


NEW   ENGLAOT)    FARMER. 


1867. 


These  opinions  are  held  by  most  fanners 
and  will  have  a  decided  influence  in  keeping 
up  the  price  of  hay.  To  these  may  be  added 
another,  that  so  long  as  the  prices  of  labor, 
building  materials,  clothing,  grain,  groceries, 
&c.,  are  high,  hay,  also,  will  be  high. 

Some  signs  of  rot  have  been  found  in  the 
potato  crop.  The  breadth  of  ground  occupied 
with  this  indispensable  vegetable  is  large,  and 
the  growth  luxuriant. 

The  apple  crop  is  light,  very  light,  but  still 
there  are  many  trees  having  fruit  upon  them 
that  will  be  quite  fair  and  of  good  size.  Sev- 
eral varieties  of  sweet  apples,  the  Rhode  Isl- 
and Greening,  and  Porter,  have  moderate 
crops  upon  their  trees.  Scarcely  a  Baldwin 
tree  is  in  fruit,  so  that  all  that  pretty  poetry 
about  their  red  cheeks  glistening  in  the  sun, 
may  well  give  place  to  a  little  that  will  make 
us  careful  how  we  collect  what  does  grow : 

"Fruit  gathered  too  timely  will  tacte  of  the  wood. 
Will  shrink  and  be  bitter,  and  geldom  prove  good: 
So  fruit  that  is  shaken,  and  beat  off  a  tree, 
With  IruisiiJg  iu  falling,  soon  faulty  will  be." 

On  the  whole,  farm  affairs  are  promising. 
Some  apples,  glistening  in  the  sun  this  morn- 
ing. We  shall  have  peaches,  pears,  and  plenty 
of  preserved  small  fruits. 


■WORK   FOR   SEPTEMBER. 

Wheat.  If  not  put  in  last  month,  early  in 
this  is  better  than  to  postpone  it  entirely.  It 
needs  a  rather  stiff  clay  loam,  and  on  such  a 
soil  that  is  in  fair  condition,  the  crop  will  rarely 
fail. 

The  Rye  crop  we  have  spoken  of  in  another 
article. 

Turnips.  Thin  out  and  weed  the  turnips  ; 
keep  the  soil  loose  about  them. 

Strawberry  plants  may  be  set  early  in  this 
month ;  and  if  carefully  tended  and  slightly 
covered  with  straw  in  November,  will  make  a 
good  start. 

Fattening  Animals.  It  is  better  to  begin 
to  feed  swine  liberally  now,  than  to  postpone 
it  to  a  later  day.  Whatever  the  animals  are, 
feed  plentifully,  and  make  them  comfortable 
in  their  yards  and  sleeping  rooms,  and  they 
will  gain  faster  than  they  will  in  cold  weather. 
They  prefer  a  variety  of  food,  and  will  do 
better  upon  it,  than  they  will  if  confined  to  a 
single  article,  even  though  some  portion  of  the 
variety  be  of  a  poor  quality. 

Peat.     Spare  no  reasonable  cost  to  lay  up 


a  large  quantity  of  this  valuable  fertilizer. 
Remember  that  "Muck  is  the  mother  of  the 
meal  chest."  We  urge  the  use  of  peat  by  the 
farmer  with  more  emphasis  than  almost  any 
other  point.  We  hioio  its  value  by  the  expe- 
rience had  with  it  for  many  years.  It  is 
useful  on  all  lands — light  or  heavy.  We  have 
restored  exhausted,  heavy  clay  loams  with  it, 
as  well  as  to  bring  life  and  vitality  to  barren 
sands  and  gravelly  knolls  !  Our  own  experi- 
ence is  corroborated  by  that  of  many  success- 
ful farmers,  and  by  the  intelligent  attention 
given  the  subject  by  those  who  have  ascer- 
tained its  value  by  actual  use  in  the  soil  and 
by  critical  analysis. 

Among  the  latter  is  Prof.  Samuel  W. 
Johnson,  the  chemist  of  the  Connecticut 
State  Agricultural  Society.  He  says  the  char- 
acters that  adapt  peat  for  agricultural  uses, 
are 

Those  which  render  it  useful  in  improving 
the  texture  and  other  physical  characters  of  the 
soil,  and  indirectly  contribute  to  the  nourish- 
ment of  crops,  and 

Those  which  make  it  a  direct  fertilizer.  As 
an  amendment,  the  value  of  peat  depends 
upon, 

1.  Its  remarkable  power  of  absorbing  and 
retaining  water,  both  as  a  liquid  and  as  vapor. 

2.  Its  power  of  absorbing  ammonia. 

3.  Its  action  in  modifying  the  decay  of  or- 
ganic (animal  and  vegetable)  bodies. 

4.  Its  effects  in  promoting  the  disintegration 
and  solution  of  mineral  matters,  (the  stony 
matters  of  the  soil ;)  and 

5.  Its  influence  on  the  temperature  of  the 
soil. 

These  are  vital  points  of  interest  to  every 
cultivator  of  the  soil.  Peat  actually  assists 
in  dissolving  sand,  gravel,  and  the  rocks  them- 
selves, and  liberating  their  potash  and  other 
valuable  minerals  for  the  nutrition  of  plants. 

There  is  no  other  possible  way  in  which 
New  England  farming  can  be  made  so  profita- 
ble as  by  the  use  of  large  quantities  of  peat. 
We  can  only  speak  of  the  subject  in  this  brief 
way  at  present,  but  will  take  early  opportunity 
to  lay  more  of  the  Professor's  clear  and  con- 
cise facts  on  the  subject  before  the  reader. 
We  wish  his  whole  work  could  be  in  the  hands 
of  every  intelligent  and  progressive  farmer. 
Do  not  delay  the  work  until  it  is  too  late. 

Seeding  Land  to  Grass.     Early  in  Sep- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


407 


tember  is  a  good  time  for  this  work,  but  not 
quite  as  favorable  as  in  August.  Where  the 
object  is  to  keep  land  in  grass,  rather  than  in 
hoed  crops,  the  sward  may  be  turned  over  and 
seeded  directly  with  perfect  success,  if  the 
work  is  properly  done. 

Very  many  other  things  belong  to  Septem- 
ber work  which  the  systematic  farmer  will  not 
neglect. 

A  "WINTER  EYE    CROP. 

"Thresh  seed,  .^nd  to  fanning,  September  doth  cry, 
Gtet  plough  to  the  tield,  and  be  sowing  of  rye ; 
To  harrow  the  ridges,  ere  ever  ye  strike'*; 
Is  one  piece  of  husbandry  the  farmer  doth  like." 

One  of  the  most  important  items  of  farm 
work  for  Septeniper  is  to  get  in  the  rye  crop. 
Some  persons  do  it  late  in  August,  but  it  is 
generally  done  in  September.  We  say  it  is 
an  important  work,  because  we  believe  that  ten 
times  as  much  rye  flour  ought  to  be  used  in  the 
family  as  there  now  is — and  the  same  amount 
of  bleached,  bewitched  and  highly- manufac- 
tured wheat  flour  discontinued.  No  sweeter 
or  better  bread  ever  passes  our  lips  than  that 
made  of  rye  flour.  In  warm  biscuit  for  breakfast 
it  is  unsurpassed,  and  for  invalids,  a  pudding 
made  of  it  is  grateful  to  the  <aste,  easy  of  di- 
gestion and  nutritious.  It  has  a  remarkable 
muscle-making  power. 

Rye  is  adapted  to  nearly  all  our  sandy  lands, 
— the  pine  plain  lands  which  exist  all  over 
New  England.  Such  land  is  easily  worked, 
and  when  generously  treated  gives  bountiful 
returns  of  this  valuable  crop.  The  richer  the 
land,  however,  the  more  vigorous  and  luxuri- 
ant the  crop  will  be.  It  is  the  only  grain,  we 
believe,  that  will  flourish  on  land  that  contains 
eighty-five  parts  in  a  hundred  of  sand.  It  is 
a  common  practice  to  crop  rich  land  until  it  is 
exhausted,  and  then  let  it  repose  for  some 
years,  when  it  will  collect  sufficient  nutrition  to 
enable  it  to  bear  a  crop  of  rye,  which,  how- 
ever, will  be  likely  to  be  a  poor  one.  Would 
it  not  be  better, — would  there  not  be  a  larger 
amount  of  grain  secured,  by  cultivating  less 
land,  and  manuring  it  a  little,  and  thus  save 
^■he  labor  of  plowing  and  working  so  much  ? 

Early-sown  rye  may  be  fed,  says  the  Coun- 
try Gentleman,  with  sheep  or  calves,  during 
the  month  of  November,  with  great  benefit  to 
tlie  stock,  and  if  the  growth  is  large,  with  de- 
cided benefit  to  the  crop,  as  a  large  quantity 
of  herbage,  lying  on  the  ground  in  the  winter, 
renders  the  crop  liable  to  be  "smothered,"  as 


it  is  called,  especially  if  it  is  covered  long  with 
snow.  No  injury  results  from  feeding  rye 
with  sheep  or  light  cattle,  any  time  in  winter, 
except  when  the  ground  is  so  soft  that  it  would 
be  "poached,"  and  the  roots  of  the  rye  be 
broken,  and  there  is  no  food  better  for  such 
animals." 

Spring  rye  and  winter  rye,  are  not  distin- 
guished by  any  botanical  characteristics,  but 
simply  by  a  property  which  has  been  artificially 
communicated  to  it,  and  of  which  it  may  be 
deprived  by  a  change  in  the  mode  of  cultiva- 
tion ;  viz.,  that  of  coming  more  quickly  to  ear. 
Spring  wheat  is  often  made  to  become  au- 
tumnal or  winter  wheat.  Winter  rye  has  some 
properties  peculiar  to  itself;  it  remains  longer 
in  the  ground  than  spring  rye,  grows  more 
bushy,  and  does  not  put  forth  its  stems  or 
seed  stalks  until  late  in  the  season. 

Winter  rye,  sown  in  the  spring  for  several 
successive  seasons  would  probably  acquire  all 
the  characteristics  of  a  spring  rye,  and  vice 
versa.     It  would  be  the  same  with  wheat. 

Early  in  September — the  earlier  the  better 
— is  a  good  time  to  get  in  a  crop  of  rye.  Its 
use  as  food  for  the  table  is  becoming  more 
fashionable,  and  it  will  tend  to  health  and  ac- 
tivity. It  is  cheaper  than  wheat  flour,  and  the 
straw  is  always  in  quick  demand  at  high  prices  ; 
besides  these  recommendations,  it  is  one  of 
the  surest  crops  we  can  cultivate.  Get  in  the 
rye  crop,  then,  on  land  that  has  not  been  ex- 
hausted, and  as  much  profit  from  it  will  be  re- 
alized as  from  any  of  the  green  crops  of  the 
farm. 


*Striking  is  the  last  plowing  before  the  seed  la 
town,  aad  the  poet  wants  the  ridges  harrowed  dows 
before  that  plowing  takes  place. 


"Good  Wine  Needs  no  Bush." — This  is 
an  old  proverb,  and  means  that  it  needs  noth- 
ing to  point  out  where  it  is  sold,  because  it 
was  an  ancient  custom  to  hang  up  a  bush,  or 
vine,  where  wine  was  sold. 

In  a  book  called  "Greene's  Conceipt"  1598, 
it  is  said,  "Good  wine  needs  no  Ivie  Bush." 

In  "England's  Parnassus,"  London,  1600, 
the  first  line  to  the  reader  runs  thus  :  "I  hang 
no  Ivie  out  to  sell  my  wine." 

In  Vaughan's  "Golden  Grove,"  London, 
1608,  is  the  following  passage  :  "Like  as  an  Ivy 
Bush  put  forth  at  a  vintrie,  is  not  the  cause  of 
wine,  but  is  a  Signe  that  wine  is  to  be  sold 
there." 


408 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Sept. 


TUKNINQ  IN  GBEEN-  CROPS. 

ROBABLY  there  Is  no  method 
by  which  humus  can  be  so 
speedily  and  economically 
supplied  to  an  exhausted  soil,  as  by 
turning  in  green  crojys.  For  this 
purpose  the  buckwheat  plant  is  very 
valuable,  as  it  flourishes  on  lands 
which  are  too  far  reduced  to  produce 
any  other  grain,  and  as  it  decomposes  rapidly, 
even  when  there  is  but  a  limited  supply  of 
moisture  in  the  soil. 

It  is  an  oriental  production,  having  been 
brought  from  the  East  during  the  Crusades, 
and  has  not  lost  its  sensibility  to  cold ;  it  there- 
fore succeeds  best  on  dry,  sandy  soils,  where 
there  is  a  good  degree  of  heat.  It  will,  how- 
ever, thrive  on  lower  lands,  if  previously 
drained,  and  on  dry  clays  ;  so  that,  as  a  green 
crop  for  supplying  humus,  it  is  tolerably  well 
adapted  to  every  variety  of  soil  on  which  it  is 
desirable  that  such  a  crop  should  be  grown. 

On  these  light  sands,  and  especially  on  hill- 
sides, the  labor  of  carting  manure  is  a  serious 
obstacle  to  their  permanent  improvement,  and 
where,  also,  the  wash  of  the  autumnal  and 
spring  rains  deprives  the  surface  of  everything 
in  the  condition  of  resolvable  humus,  no  pro- 
cess of  manuring  can  exceed  the  one  now 
recommended,  either  as  regards  efficiency  or 
economy.  Such  lands  generally  produce  a 
slight  vegetation  which  is  rarely  worth  the 
expense  of  harvesting,  but  which  may  be  of 
service  if  turned  down  and  followed  by  a 
green  crop. 

When  this  course  is  adopted,  plow  when 
the  grass  growing  upon  the  land  has  obtained 
its  maximum  growth — say,  just  in  blossom. 
Then  roll  thoroughly,  and  after  giving  the 
surface  a  good  working  with  the  harrow,  sow 
the  seed,  and  roll  again.  The  latter  rolling 
will  facilitate  the  germination  of  the  seed,  and 
also  render  the  labor  of  turning  in  more  easy. 
When  the  Avheat  makes  its  appearance,  a 
good  dressing  of  lime  should  be  applied,  and 
the  crop  turned  under  as  soon  as  it  is  in  bloom. 
The  roller  must  now  follow  the  plow,  and 
another  application  of  lime,  with  a  dozen  bush- 
els of  wood  ashes  to  the  acre,  would  improve 
the  next  crop  exceedingly. 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  by  adopting 
this  process  of  enrichment,  we  necessarily  re- 
turn no  more  to  the  soil  than  the  crop  turned 
in  takes  from  it.     The  alimenc  of  buckwheat, 


as  well  as  the  aliment  of  all  other  crops,  is  de- 
rived, in  part,  from  the  atmosphere ;  so  that 
we  not  only,  in  this  process,  obey  literally  a 
fundamental  principle  of  good  husbandry,  in 
returning  all  to  the  land  which  we  take  from 
its  vegetative  powers  and  resources,  but  a 
considerable  amount  beisdes.  Were  the  crop 
to  restore  only  what  it  derived  from  the  land 
— allowing  the  land  to  receive  nothing  from 
the  atmosphere,  in  the  meanwhile — the  turning 
in  of  green  crops,  now  so  universally  recog- 
nized as  a  judicious  means  of  enrichn^nt, 
would  be  abandoned,  or  rather  would  never 
have  been  devised  or  practiced. 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  comprehend 
more  fully  the  fertilizing  capabilities  of  buck- 
wheat, we  annex  the  following  analysis.  It 
may  be  proper,  however,  to  remark  that  the 
quantity  of  silica,  which  appears  large  in  pro- 
portion to  the  other  constituents,  may  have  J| 
been  increased  by  the  dust  adhering  to  the  ™ 
grain  in  this  case. 

Silica, 7.06 

Earthy  phosphates, 57.60 

Lime,    .   • 0.14 

Magnesia  , 2.66 

Potash 23.33 

Soda, 2.04 

Sulphuric  acid, 7.30 

Chloriue, 0.20 

ICO.33 
Plain  lands  that  possess  but  little  fertility, 
and  which  consequently  require  manuring  be- 
fore they  can  be  profitably  cropped,  may  be 
prepared  for  producing  good  crops  of  rye,  by 
a  crop  of  buckwheat.  Rye  is  the  only  product 
which  alternates  favorably  with  this  grain,  and 
may  be  grown  after  it  on  any  soil  of  ordinary 
richness.  As  a  preparatory  crop  for  the  for- 
mer, it  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable  that  can 
be  suggested. 

For  sowing,  from  half  a  bushel  to  three 
pecks  of  good  seed  is  the  proper  quantity  for 
an  acre.  It  should  be  sown  as  evenly  as  pos- 
sible, for  on  this  will  depend  the  uniformity  of 
amelioration.  In  a  great  measure.  No  previous 
preparation  of  the  seed  is  necessary,  as  It  ger- 
minates readily  in  soil  that  is  too  dry  to  insure  l 
the  vegetation  of  most  other  grains,  and  is  so  | 
hardy  tliat  no  ordlnaiy  privation  of  moisture  is 
capable  of  seriously  allecting  Its  development 
while  young. 

As  it  Is  one  of  the  class  of  lime  plants,  it  is 
more  essentially  benefited  by  calcareous  mat- 
ter— that  partaking  of  chalk  or  lime — than  any 
other    ci'op;   consequently  the  application  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


409 


that  mineral,  unless  the  soil  be  calcareous, 
tends  greatly  to  promote  its  growth  and  value, 
both  as  regards  the  plant  and  seed. 

Prof.  Johnston  says,  "a  green  crop  plowed 
in  is  believed  by  some  practical  men,  to  en- 
rich the  soil  as  much  as  the  droppings  of  cattle 
from  a  quantity  of  green  food  three  times  as 
great." 

For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
HOMT   PLANTS    GROW.— NO.    III. 

By  means  of  food  derived  from  the  atmos- 
pliere  and  the  soil.  This  food  consists  chiefly 
of  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxygen.  Water  con- 
sists of  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  so  that  we  may 
say  that  carbon  and  water  constitute  the  staple 
food  of  plants.  Nitrogen  is  found  in  some 
plants,  and  phosphorus  in  the  seeds  of  many. 
These  two  latter  elements  do  not  seem  essen- 
tial to  the  growth  of  plants,  for  many  are  found 
without  them. 

Various  salts,  as  lime,  potash,  soda,  iron 
and  sulphur  are  held  in  solution  in  water,  and 
are  drank  in  along  with  it  by  the  radicles  of 
plants,  and  are  deposited  in  the  cells  and  in 
their  interstices,  which  compose  the  frame 
work  of  plants,  and  contribute  something  to 
their  bulk,  and  serve  to  modify  their  pro- 
perties and  products.  A  large  quantity  of 
water  is  drawn  from  the  soil  and  strained 
through  the  vessels  of  plants.  A  sunflower, 
presenting  between  five  and  si.x  thousand  inches 
of  surface,  was  found  by  Hales  to  exhale  from 
twenty  to  thirty  ounces  of  water  daily,  depend- 
ing upon  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere. 
When  this  was  in  a  condition  to  hold  in  solu- 
tion the  minute  particles  of  water  presented  to 
it  upon  the  surfaces  of  the  plant,  the  exhala- 
tion went  on  vigorously.  No  perceptible  ex- 
halation occurred  in  dewy  nights,  because  the 
air  then  contained  more  water  than  it  could 
hold  m  solution.  What  quantities  of  water, 
then,  must  pass  through  the  immense  surface 
presented  by  the  leaves  of  a  large  tree  ! 

But  this  water  leaves  in  the  plant  whatever 
solid  substances  it  contained  in  solution.  In 
many  plants  these  earthy  salts  seem  to  serve 
very  little  other  purpose  than  to  harden  and 
solidify  the  tissues.  In  others  they  combine 
with  acids  that  are  formed  in  the  vessels,  and 
serve  to  give  character  to  the-  plants,  and  are 
Vound  in  their  juices  as  oxalate  of  lime,  malate 
of  lime,  tartrate  of  potash,  &c.  Such  salts 
ire  tbund  most  abundant  in  the  leaves  and 
juits  of  plants  ;  in  less  quantity  in  the  stems 
ind  roots.  We  have  said  the  principal  arti- 
cles of  plant  footl  are  carbon,  oxygen  and  hy- 
drogen. Of  these,  carbon  is  the  one  most 
abundantly  worked  up  in  the  growth  of  the 
plant.  It  is  the  material  of  which  the  root 
and  stem,  the  branches  and  leaves  are  chietly 
composed.  It  is  received  into  the  plant  in  the 
form  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  carbon  combined 
with  oxygen,   which  naturally  has  a  gaseous 


form.  When  received,  united  with  water, 
through  the  roots  of  plants,  it  is  carried  up 
through  the  stems  into  the  leaves.  When  re- 
ceived through  the  pores  of  the  leaves  from 
the  atmosphere,  it  is  immediately  mingled  with 
the  sap  in  the  leaves  brought  up  from  the  roots. 
It  is  subjected  to  the  action  of  the  light  in  the 
leaves,  by  which  the  oxygen  is  separated  from 
the  carbon.  The  oxygen  goes  off  in  the  form 
of  an  invisible  gas,  and  the  carbon  is  retained 
and  combined  with  the  sap  already  formed, 
and  is  carried  with  this  to  the  formative  ves- 
sels which  are  at  work  in  the  plant.  Thus, 
particle  by  particle,  the  vessels  of  plants  ob- 
tain from  an  invisible  gas,  the  material  of 
which  their  structure  is  chieHy  formed.  That 
the  structure  of  plants  is  chiefly  composed  of 
carbon,  we  may  determine  by  examining  a 
piece  of  charcoal,  after  everything  else  has 
been  driven  off  by  heat.  We  find  that  it  con- 
sists of  nearly  pure  carbon,  and  retains  the 
form  and  nearly  the  size  of  the  plant. 

Animals  feed  on  materials  that  have  been 
organized  in  the  vessels  of  plants.  They  have 
not  the  power  of  assimilating  and  vitalizing 
inorganic  mineral  matter.  But  plants  feed  on 
dead  inorganic  matter.  They  have  the  power 
of  assimilating  and  appropriating  to  their  own 
use,  material  derived  from  the  mineral  king- 
dom. The  amount  of  material  annually  or- 
ganized into  the  structure  of  vegetables  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  is  inconceivably  great. 
Whence  is  it  obtained  ?  From  what  sources 
derived.-^  I  answer,  from  the  air  and  from 
water.  Pure  atmospheric  air  consists  of  oxy- 
gen and  nitrogen.  But  air  is  not  pure  as  it  is 
presented  to  plants.  It  contains  various  sub- 
stances in  solution ;  substances  which  may  be 
said  to  be  accidental  to  it,  which  are  not  essen- 
tial to  its  constitution,  and  may  therefoi-e  be 
withdrawn  from  it  without  injury.  These  sub- 
stances are  collected  into  the  atmospheric 
ocean,  by  which  all  ])lants  are  constantly  bath- 
ed, and  stored  there  for  their  use.  About  one 
thousandth  pai't  of  the  atmosphere  is  carbonic 
acid.  This  is  returned  to  the  atmosphere  by 
the  decay  and  combustion  of  vegetable  and 
animal  matter ;  by  the  respiration  of  animals, 
and  by  the  decomposition  of  minerals,  as  fast 
as  it  is  withdrawn  by  the  growth  of  vegetables, 
so  that  the  balance  is  never  greatly  disturbed. 
Carbonic  acid  gas  is  somewhat  heavier  than 
common  air,  and  tends  to  accumulate  in  the 
lower  strata  of  the  atmosphere.  Thus  we  find 
it  in  valleys,  pits  and  wells.  This  circumstance 
brings  it  within  reach  of  plants.  But  it  is  in- 
capable of  sustaining  animal  life,  and  the  sim- 
ple fact  that  carbonic  gas  is  heavier  than  at- 
mospheric air,  would  cause  all  animal  life  to 
cease  from  the  earth,  had  not  some  compensa- 
tion been  found.  This  compensation  consists 
in  the  withdrawal  of  this  gas  from  the  air,  by 
the  vessels  of  growing  plants.  As  we  ascend 
into  the  atmosphere,  carbonic  acid  is  less  abun- 
dant. Perhaps  this  is  one  reason  why  plants 
thrive  with  less  vigor  in  elevated  situations. 


410 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAR]MER. 


Sept. 


Thus  the  verj^  substances,  which,  accumulated, 
would  destroy  all  animal  life,  is  converted  by 
a  change  of  form,  into  the  means  of  nourish- 
ing and  sustaining  every  form  of  animal  life. 
"Coticord,  Mans.,  July,  1867.  R. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

NOTES    OK"   THE    CONNECTICUT    VAL- 
LEY.—No.  rv. 
Conveniences  and  Cost  of  Farm-Houses. 
I  think  that  almost  every  person  on  passing 
through  this  section  of  country  would  be  struck 
with   the   large    size  of  the  farm-houses   and 
numerous  farm-buildings .     The  first  query  that 
arises  in  the  mind  is,  how  can  it  be  possible 
for  the  farms  to  keep  such  buildings  in  repair  ? 
This  question  I  am  still  unable  to  solve.     To- 
bacco-raising may  do  it  in  some  cases. 

We  see  many  old  buildings  with  the  long 
sloping  roof  on  the  rear  side,  and  the  short, 
steep  roof  in  front ;  carrying  us  back  to  Revo- 
lutionary times,  or  to  prior  periods.  Our 
fathers  believed  in  big  chimnies,  and  had  them. 
In  this,  as  in  many  other  respects,  we  see  evi- 
dence of  the  reaction  that  has  taken  place  in 
architectural  taste.  We  now  occupy  the  small- 
est possible  space  in  constructing  them. 

I  do  not  fancy  the  style  of  the  modern  built 
farm-houses  of  this  section.     There  is  too  much 
outside  to  them,  for  economy,  comfort,  or  con- 
venience.    In   illustration   of  this,    I  have   a 
house  under  my  eye  that  was  put  up  the  past 
summer,  with  four  rooms  on  the  ground  three  of 
which  are  ells,  with  windows  on  three  sides  of 
each  of  the  ells,  and  an  outside  door  to  each 
room.     With   the   exception  of  these  outside 
doors,  the  rooms  above  correspond  with  those 
below.     For  summer  occupancy  this,  of  course, 
is  all  very  well.     For  winter,  give  me  less  ex- 
posed quarters.     From   the   inconvenience  of 
doing  the   necessary  house-work,  as   well  as 
from'the  worse  than  needless  expense  in  build- 
in"-  and  keeping  in  repair  of  such  structures, 
deliver  me.     Think  of  the   weary   steps   that 
must   necessarily   be  taken  to  accomplish  the 
daily  duties  of  a  family  in  such  an  ill  arranged 
establishment.    If  a  person  is  ever  a  subject  for 
commisseration,  it  is  the  poor  housewife,  going 
into  a  new   house  of  this   description ;  where 
she  must  inevitably  wear  herself  out  in  encoun- 
tering the  extra  care  and  toil  consequent  upon 
its  defects. 

How  much  of  the  worn  and  wearied  looks 
we  too  often  see  in  farmers'  wives  are  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  want  of  properly  arranged 
houses  —  those  adapted  to  their  calling  —  we 
are,  of  course,  unable  to  determine ;  but  no 
doubt  very  much  of  it  is  traceable  to  this  ciaiise. 
As  a  general  rule  the  ease  and  economy  of  do- 
ing the  work  of  a  household  is  overlooked  in 
its  planning. 

As  a  rule  that  admits  of  few  exceptions,  a 
square  house,  with  an  ell,  is  every  way  the 
most  economical  in  cost,  and  can  be  made  in 
its  internal  arrangements  the  most  convenient. 


In  a  square  building  we  get  the  greatest  amount 
of  room  with  the  least  sM//ace,— unless  you 
resort  to  hexagon,  octagon  or  circular,  which 
few  incline  to,  although  strenuouslv  recom- 
mended by  some.  I  hope  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  the  proper  construction  of  our 
farm-houses  will  become  to  those  who  purpose 
buildino',  a  subject  for  wise  forecast  in  the  par 


ticulars° I  have  adverted  to,  viz:  economy  of  -  ■ 
cost,  and  conveniences  ibr  doing  the  work  of  ■ 
a  family.  ^-  *^- 

•   East  Wi7idsor,  Ct.,  1867. 


POULTRY   AT    THE    PABIS   EXPOSI- 
TION. 
From  an  article  on  this  subject  by  the    cor- 
respondent of  the  Prairie  Farmer,  we  extract 
the  following  paragraphs  : — 

There  are  in  all  408  coops,  or  about  1225 
fowls,  of  all  the  best  breeds,  viz  :  Brahmas, 
Dorkings,  Black  Spanish,  Shanghai,  Gold 
and  Silver  Spangled  Hamburgs,  Cochin  Chi- 
na's, Dominiques,  Maylay,  Bantams,  &c. 

The  exhibition  of  geese  is  not  large,  but 
embraces  some  excellent  specimens  of  the 
Toulouse,  Danube,  Egyptian,  Barnacle,  and 
Embden  varieties.  The  best  turkeys  are  from 
an  Irish  exhibiter  of  Limerick.  Generally 
these  fowls  are  far  inferior  to  those  bred  in  the 
States.  The  show  of  ducks  is  very  good, 
embracing  the  Normandy,  Aylesbur}-,  Poland, 
Labrador"  Sifflers  (  Whistlers,  )  and  three  or 
four  inferior  French  breeds. 

The  show  of  poultry  and  form  fowls  is  the 
the  best  by  far  that  I  have  ever  seen.  The 
specimens,  as  I  believe,  with  one  exception, 
were  from  French  poultry  yards.  The  superi- 
ority of  French  fowls  is  well  known  everywhere 
and  is  the  result  of  the  love  of  this  people  for 
eggs  and  fowls  for  table  use.  A  dinner  with- 
out a  fowl  of  some  kind,  is  considered  incom- 
plete, and  at  breakfast,  eggs,  in  some  form, 
are  considered  almost  indispensable.  The 
consequence  is,  as  before  stated,  great  perfec- 
tion in  the  breeding  and  management  of  do- 
mestic poultry. 

Besides  the  breeds  of  hens  mentioned  above, 
there  are  four  varieties,  all  of  French  origin 
so  far  as  I  can  learn,  that  are  not  generally 
known  to  our  breeders,  that  are  certainly 
worthy  of  description  and  should  be  generally 
introduced  into  our  country. 

La  Fleche— A  rf  ow. 
This  is  the  race  from  which  come  those  fat- 
tened pullets,  so  renowned  and  so  remarkable 
for  the  firmness  and  delicacy  of  llesh,  and 
which  are  generallv  known  under  the  name  of 
Du  Mans.  This  fowl  has  a  large,  strong  frame, 
and  is  very  tall.  Its  plumage  is  black,  with  a 
greenish  tinge,  without  any  mixture  of  color. 
When  voung,  the  legs  near  the  feet  are  of  a 
grayisli  slate  color,  which,  as  they  grow  old, 
becomes  less  deep  and  rich  The  beak  is 
strong,  and  the  nostrils  very  open  ;  the  earlap 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAKTHER. 


411 


is  formed  of  a  whitish,  well-developed  mem- 
brane ;  the  crest  divfdes  at  the  base,  and  forms 
two  round  and  pointed  extensions,  like  horns, 
an  inch  or  more  in  length,  from  which,  in  the 
country,  it  gets  the  name  of  the  "horned  fowl." 
The  weight  of  the  hen  when  m  ature — say  ten 
or  twelve  months  of  age — averages  about  six 
and  a  half  pounds.  The  cocks  at  the  same 
age  weigh  a  pound  or  two  more,  and  increase 
in  weight  until  eighteen  or  twenty  months  of 
age. 

They  seldom  commence  laying  before  seven 
months  old,  and  lay  very  few  eggs  in  winter; 
but  from  the  last  of  February  they  lay  regu- 
larly until  moulting  time.  They  scarcely  ever 
desire  to  set,  and  are  not  considered  good 
mothers. 

Breed  of  Mans. 

The  true  Du  Mans  variety  differs  from  the 
"Fleeche"  in  having  a  double  crest.  The 
form  is  nearly  the  same  ;  the  weight  at  maturi- 
ty is  considerably  less  ;  the  flesh  is  considered 
about  the  same  in  quality  and  appearance,  and 
the  bird  fattens  as  easily. 

Creve-Coeur. 

The  Creve-Cceur  (heart-breaker)  has  rath- 
er short  legs  ;  its  body  is  long,  plumage  black, 
bead  ornamented  with  white  feathers.  Its  early 
crest  often  presents  the  horned  appearance 
of  the  Fleeche ;  the  whiskers  are  thick,  and 
the  cravat  very  decided.  Weight  of  mature 
female,  six  to  seven  pounds.  The  male  of 
this  breed,  has  a  black  plumage,  tinged  with 
green,  very  lustrous.  They  may  have  the  col- 
lar and  tips  of  wings  a  little  pale  or  red,  and 
yet  be  pure.  After  the  second  moulting,  the 
tuft  of  the  male  bird  should  always  contain 
some  white  feathers.  When  well  fed,  the  cock 
at  maturity  should  weigh  seven  or  eight 
pounds. 

This  breed  originated  in  Normandy,  and  is 
there  in  high  repute  with  all  the  farmers.  They 
are  the  first  chickens  sent  to  the  Paris  market, 
reaching  here  in  April  or  May — a  month  or  so 
in  advance  of  those  from  any  other  depart- 
ment of  the  country. 

The  Eoudan. 
The  plumage  is  an  unique  mixture  of  black 
and  white.  The  head  is  very  large  and  strong 
and  surmounted  by  a  tuft  less  dense  than  that 
of  the  Creve-CcEur;  "cravat  and  whiskers" 
prominent ;  crest  and  wattles  small.  The  feet 
are  of  a  grayish  lead  color,  and  have  five  toes 
— two  above  each  other,  projecting  from  the 
hind  part  of  the  leg,  above  the  heel.  Weight 
of  mature  pullet,  five  to  six  pounds.  The 
cock  has  a  mottled  plumage  of  tan  mixed  with 
pale  yellow,  though  generally  black  and  white. 
The  feathers  of  the  tall  and  wings  have  a  very 
marked  green  hue.  Up  to  three  months  of  age 
the  blaek  predominates,  after  which  time  the 
white  increases.  The  crest  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  having  the  appearance  of  horns,  like  the 
Fleeche  breed.  Weight  of  mature  cock,  from 
six  and  a  half  to  seven  pounds. 


The  flesh  of  the  Houdan  fowl  is  very  fine 
and  delicate.  They  take  on  fat  readily,  but 
the  hens  are  smaller  and  less  precocious  than 
either  of  the  first-described  varieties. 


BUCKTATHEAT   FOB    "WIRE    WORMS. 

D.  Marvin  of  West  Alburgh,  Vt.,  writes  to 
the  New  York  Farmers'  Club  that  all  the  low 
lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Champlain  are  in- 
fested with  this  pest.     He  says  : — 

Two  years  ago  I  broke  a  low  run-out  mead- 
ow of  eight  acres  in  the  spring  and  sowed  to 
oats,  expecting  the  sward  would  keep  them 
busy  the  first  season ;  but  they  destroyed 
about  one-half  the  crop,  I  noticed  that  where 
I  harrowed  in  the  seed  they  did  not  destroy  it ; 
but  not  burying  it  to  suit  me,  I  loaded  the  cul- 
tivator, put  on  three  horses  and  buried  it  deep. 
This  was  badly  eaten.  After  the  crop  was 
taken  off  we  plowed  the  ground  late  in  the  fall, 
ridging  it  up  and  draining  it.  Last  spring, 
waiting  until  I  thought  the  seed  would  grow 
rapidly,  I  sowed  to  oats,  having  in  a  consid- 
erable sprinkle  of  buckwheat,  purposely,  twen- 
ty-six bushels  in  all,  to  the  eight  acres.  This 
seed  never  came  up.  I  never  before  saw  a 
crop  literally  eaten  up.  The  worms  were  so 
thick  when  we  got  in  the  seed  that  we  could 
see  the  yellow  fellows  roll  up  behind  the  culti- 
vator and  harrow.  The  buckwheat,  I  ought 
to  say,  came  up,  but  they  evidently  ate  con- 
siderable of  this,  so  that  it  was  a  lost  crop. 
The  last  of  June  we  put  in  the  teams  and 
plowed  it  all  over,  and  sowed  to  buckwheat, 
one  bushel  to  the  acre,  which,  as  the  ground 
was  strong,  was  too  much  by  one-half;  how- 
ever, the  crop  was  good,  but  would  have  been 
better  with  less  seed.  We  plowed  again  late 
last  fall ;  the  ground  was  clean  and  thoroughly 
fallowed,  and  on  repeated  examinations  we 
saw  no  worms.  Buckwheat  is  our  only  remedy. 
Experienced  men  prescribe  two  or  three  crops 
in  succession,  two  at  least,  which  do  not  de- 
plete the  strength  of  soil,  and  so  thoroughly 
fallow  it  as  to  starve  them  out,  and  it  is  the 
only  crop  that  will. 


Coal  Tar  for  Sheep. — The  Urbana  Citi- 
zen, says  that  a  farmer  of  Ohio,  has  used  with 
great  success,  coal  tar  for  maggots  in  sheep. 
When  all  other  remedies  failed  to  remove  the 
maggots  from  the  wounds,  he  applied  the  coal 
tar,  which  effected  a  speedy  cure. 


Tanning. — The  report  of  the  Commission- 
ers having  charge  of  this  department  of  the 
Pjiris  Exposition,  have  arrived  at  a  conclusion 
which  will  meet  the  approval  of  practical  chem- 
ists regarding  the  various  processes  for  rapid 
tanning,  namely :  That  no  definite  advantage 
has  yet  been  found  in  these  processes,  and  the 
period  required  remains  about  the  same  as 
before. 


412 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Sept. 


THE   EUBOPEAIT   SILVER  FIR. 


"Giant  trees, 
Children  of  elder  time"— Shelley. 

The  Silver  Fir  was  esteemed 
by  the  Romans  for  its  use  in 
carpentry  and  for  the  construc- 
tion of  vessels.     Virgil  speaks  of 

"The  fir  about  to  brave  the  dangers  of 
the  seas," 

and  in  describing  the  scenes  of  a 

particular  locality, 

"Hills  clad  with  fir  to  guard  the  hal- 
lowed bound, 
Rise  m  the  majesty  of  darkness  round." 

They  also  used  its  wood  for  jave- 
lins, and  the  Emperor  Caligula 
had  an  obelisk  transported  from 
from  Egypt  to  Rome,  which  re- 
quired the  outstretched  arms 
of  four  men  to  encircle  it.  It 
grows  upon  exposed,  dry,  stony 
places  on  mountains  of  the  mid- 
dle and  south  of  Europe,  and 
reaches  to  the  height  of  from 
130  to  160  feet.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  the  abies  pulclierrima  of 
Virgil  and  of  Roman  authors. 
Unlike  the  pines,  its  leaves  grow 
singly  round  the  branches,  all 
turned  toward  one  side  and  glau- 
cous or  white  beneath. 


MANURES. 

This  subject  was  discussed  at  the  first  of  a 
series  of  Legislative  meetings  inaugurated  by 
the  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Representatives. 

Rev.  Dr.  Barstow,  of  Keene,  alluded  to  the 
fact  that  plaster  was  of  no  use  in  that  section. 

Hon.  Mr.  Read,  of  Swanzey,  suggested  that 
as  the  elements  of  plaster  were  present  in  the 
soil  in  sufficient  quantities,  its  further  applica- 
tion was  unproductive  of  apparent  good. 

I\Ir.  True,  of  Antrim,  said  no  effect  is  seen 
if  the  season  is  wet,  but  if  dry  the  plaster 
placed  in  the  hill  attracts  the  moisture  and 
with  this  the  salts  of  the  soil,  keeping  the 
plant  in  a  more  vigorous  growth  than  it  would 
otherwise  have.  He  also  thought  that  top- 
dressing  of  moist  grass  lands  was  a  very  pro- 
fitable method  of  using  manures.  He  used  a 
mixture  of  stable  manure  witli  sawdust  which 
had  l)ecn  used  as  a  litter  in  the  stall. 

Mr.  Smith,  of  Lyme,  was  a  friend  to  saw- 
dust. A  fi!w  years  ago,  in  planting  a  piece  of 
pine  plain  hind,  he  took  sawdust  that  was  from 
three  to  five  years  old  and  put  half  a  shovel- 


ful upon  potatoes  after  they  had  been  dropped 
in  the  hill.  He  thought  he  received  as  much 
benefit  from  it  as  from  the  like  quantity  of 
green  manure,  and  more  than  from  ashes  and 
plaster.  In  the  fall  he  had  a  quantity  of  green 
sawdust  placed  in  his  garden  expecting  to  re- 
move it  in  the  spring ;  but  it  had  become  so 
much  spread  about  that  all  was  spaded  in. 
The  soil  was  very  sandy.  The  crops  were  un- 
usually large  that  season. 

Mr.  Read,  of  Swanzey,  uses  sawdust.  Its 
value  as  a  fertilizer  depends  upon  the  kind  of 
wood  from  which  it  is  made.  Those  kinds 
which  make  the  largest  amount  of  ashes  are 
the  best.  It  must  undergo  decomposition  be- 
fore it  can  be  of  any  use  as  a  fertilizer. 

During  the  discussion  the  following  points 
were  made. 

1.  Potash  or  lime  salts  were  of  use  upon 
nearly  all  soils  that  had  been  long  under  cul- 
tivation, the  particular  salt  to  be  used  depend- 
ing partly  upon  the  natural  constitution  of  the 
soil  and  partly  upon  the  demands  of  the  crop 
growing  or  to  be  grown. 

2.  Gypsum,  sulphate  of  lime,  is  useful,  not 
alone  on  account  of  the  lime  of  its  base,   but 


J  867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


413 


from  the  sulphur  of  its  acid  component.  Sul- 
phur is  an  essential  constituent  of  the  albumen 
and  gluten  of  most  grains.  Many  crops  fail 
from  the  difficulty  with  which  this  eWment  is 
obtained  from  the  slowly  decomposing  soil. 
Sulphate  can,  under  these  circumstances,  be 
advantageously  applied. 

3.  Gypsum  is  applied  in  Europe  upon  grass^ 
and  especially  upon  red  clover,  and  upon  other 
large  leaf  crops,  in  which  case  its  efficacy  de- 
pends mainly  upon  an  abundant  supply  of 
water  also. 

]\Ir.  Walker,  of  Concord,  said  that  at  the 
Asylum  farm,  there  has  been  constructed  below 
the  level  of  the  buildings  an  immense  open 
tank  of  stone  with  water-tight  walls  and  floor. 
Into  this  several  hundred  loads  of  old  and  well- 
decomposed  muck  are  put  two  or  three  times 
a  year,  and  upon  this  is  received  all  the  wash 
from  the  closets,  sinks,  laundry,  &c.,  of  the 
Institution.  When  this  mass  has  become  thor- 
oughly saturated,  it  is  removed  and  its  place 
supplied  with  fresh.  This  manure  is  put  upon 
the  lighter  portions  of  the  farm,  and  the  stable 
manure  upon  those  parts  that  are  heavier. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
HO^W   PLANTS   QROW.--NO.  IV. 

Pure  water  consists  of  oxygen  and  hydro- 
gen. But  rain-water  is  not  pure.  As  I  have 
said,  water  has  a  strong  affinity  for  carbonic 
acid  and  ammonia,  and  as  its  vapor  is  precipi- 
tated in  the  form  of  rain,  it  brings  down  car- 
bonic acid  and  ammonia,  and  carries  them  into 
the  soil.  It  is  estimated  that  the  surface  water 
is  converted  into  vapor  and  precipitated  from 
ten  to  fifteen  times  annually,  thus  washing  the 
impurities  from  the  atmosphere  and  bringing 
down  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia  into  the  soil 
for  the  use  of  plants. 

Plants  receive  all  their  food  in  either  a  gas- 
eous or  liquid  form.  In  the  atmosphere  they 
find  it  in  the  form  of  gas.  In  water  they  find 
it  in  a  liijnid  form.  Water  also  contains  in  so- 
lution many  other  substances  dei-ived  from  the 
mineral  kingdom,  which,  if  not  essential  to  the 
growth  of  plants,  yet  are  ajjpropriatcd  by 
them  to  the  formation  of  various  products  pe- 
culiar to  their  several  families,  as  gums,  resins, 
oils,  odoi-s,  coloring  matters,  poisons,  &c., 
and  to  the  performance  of  their  secondary 
functions,  the  reproduction  of  their  species. 

These  substances  are  lime,  potash,  soda, 
magnesia,  silex,  iron,  manganese,  phospho- 
rus, sulphur.  Thus  nature  has  provided  the 
food  of  plants  in  two  distinct  forms  and  stored 
it  up  in  two  distinct  reservoirs.  Plants  have  not 
the  j)ower  of  locomotion.  They  cannot  roam 
abrond  in  (juest  of  their  food,  like  animals,  and 
this  double  commissariat  is  the  compensation 
which  nature  has  provided.  But  how  do 
plants  grow  ?  We  have  not  yet  answered  the 
question.  We  have  merely  spoken  of  the 
food  which  plants  consume,  and  the  sources 
from  which  it  is  obtained.     We  have  not  spo- 


ken of  the  organs  by  which  the  assimilation  and 
vitalization  of  plant  food  are  effected — the 
formation  vessels — the  vessels  in  which  secre- 
tion and  excretion  are  carried  on. 

The  various  organs  of  plants  consist  of  cells, 
which  were  at  their  formation  soft,  transparent, 
round  or  ovoid  bodies,  but  arranged  into  con- 
geries and  strata,  they  become  elongated  and 
flattened,  and  in  this  form  are  generally  pre- 
sented to  us. 

A  common  form  of  vegetable  cells  is  that 
which  a  kernel  of  rye  would  present  with  its 
two  ends  cut  off  so  as  to  leave  the  ends  more 
blunt  than  when  the  grain  is  perfect.  In  a 
growing  plant  new  cells  are  constantly  formed, 
and  arranged  in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of 
the  plant,  and  in  the  direction  of  the  circum- 
ference ;  that  is,  plants  grow  at  the  same  time, 
both  in  length  and  circumference.  We  have 
two  classes  of  plants  in  which  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  cells  differs  somewhat.  In  exog- 
enous plants,  or  plants  which  grow  by  addi- 
tions to  the  surface,  the  new  cells  are  arranged 
between  the  sap  wood  or  the  albumen  and  the 
bark.  This  is  by  far  the  most  numerous  class 
of  plants  in  our  climate.  It  embraces  all  our 
wood  bearing  trees  and  shrubs,  and  most  of 
our  annual  and  biennial  plants.  In  endoge- 
nous plants,  as  Indian  corn,  sorghum,  the  com- 
mon tiags,  asparagus  and  the  palms,  the  cells 
are  arranged  in  bundles  or  threads,  Avhich 
grow  in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  plant, 
and  are  inserted  in  the  mass  of  pulpy  tissue 
which  the  plant  contains.  If  you  cut  off  a 
stalk  of  corn  and  bruise  is  a  short  distance 
from  the  cut  end  so  as  to  break  the  sap  ves- 
sels, you  will  have  a  bundle  of  threads  or 
fibres.  These  are  constantly  multiplying  in 
number  and  increasing  in  length  from  the  cen- 
tre to  the  inner  surface  of  the  enclosing 
skin  or  bark. 

In  annual  and  biennial  exogens,  the  internal 
layers  of  cells  become  hardened  or  filled  with 
excretions,  and  cease  to  aid  in  the  circulation 
of  the  sap,  which  goes  on  in  the  external  lay- 
ers. In  perennial  exogens  a  new  layer  of 
cells  is  formed  annually.  The  internal  layers 
after  a  time  become  hard  and  filhd  by  the  de- 
posit of  foreign  substances  as  lime,  potash, 
silex,  &c.,  or  by  the  excretions  of  the  plant, 
as  pitch,  resin,  gum  camphor,  &c.,  and  con- 
tribute little  or  nothing  to  the  growth  or  other 
functions  of  the  plant  which  are  cariied  on  in 
the  albumen,  and  chiefly  in  the  outer  layers  of 
that,  and  in  the  inner  layers  of  the  liber  or  in- 
ner bark.  These  cells  are  formed  in  every 
part  of  the  plant.  They  constitute  the  fiame- 
work  of  its  root,  its  stem,  and  its  foliage.  In 
these  cells  the  work  of  assimilation  and  vitali- 
zation goes  on.  Thny  are  lined  with  a  mucil- 
aginous substance,  which,  in  addition  to  carbon, 
oxygen  and  h}  drogen,  contain  nitrogen.  This 
is  the  vitally  active  principle  of  the  plant,  and 
may  be  said  to  give  form  to  the  plant ;  lor,  un- 
der its  influence,  the  prepared  sap  or  cellulose 
is  deposited  to  form  the  permanent  walls  of  new 


I 


414 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Sept. 


cells.  This  vitalizing  mucilage  or  protoplasm, 
as  it  is  called,  exists  in  minute  quantity  and  as 
the  cells  are  completed  it  moves  forward  into 
the  new,  and  forming  cells  along  with  the  sap 
or  cellulose  from  which  new  deposits  are  going 
on,  it  does  not  become  incorporated  into  the 
tissues  of  the  cells,  or  appear  to  constitue  an 
essential  part  of  them,  for  it  may  be  washed 
out  of  them,  and  yet  its  presence  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  formative  process  in  the  ves- 
sels of  plants.  Through  the  cells  thus  ar- 
ranged in  the  sap  wood  of  plants,  water  con- 
taining the  various  substances  heretofore 
named  in  solution,  is  transmitted.  It  is  car- 
ried on  into  the  leaves.  Here  a  portion  of  it 
is  transmitted  through  the  pores  of  the  cuti- 
cle of  the  leaf,  and  passes  into  the  atmosphere. 
Another  portion  is  decomposed  by  the  action 
of  the  chemical  agencies  at  work  in  the  cells  of 
the  leaf,  and  its  solid  contents,  together  with 
its  carbon  retained,  and  its  oxygen  is  given 
off  into  the  atmosphere.  The  carbonic  acid 
imbibed  from  the  atmosphere  is  at  the  same  time 
decomposed,  and,  mingling  with  that  obtained 
from  the  water  brought  up  from  the  soil,  now 
forms  the  descending  or  prepared  sap,  and  is 
transmitted  downward  in  the  cells  of  the  inner 
bark  or  liber,  and  carried  through  the  cells 
containing  the  protoplasm  or  vitalizing  fluid, 
■which  acts  upon  it,  and  produces  in  it  that 
change,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  fits  it  to  be 
incorporated  into  the  tissues  of  the  plant,  and 
become  a  part  of  an  organized  being.  There 
is  a  close  analogy  between  the  processes  by 
■which  plants  and  animals  grow,  although  there 
are  two  very  important  differences.  One  is  that 
animals  make  use  of  foodthat  has  been  previous- 
ly organized  and  vitalized  ;  another  is  that  a 
much  higher  degree  of  vitalization  is  imparted 
in  the  vessels  of  animals  than  in  those  of  veg- 
etables. We  cannot  trace  the  various  steps 
of  the  process  as  distinctly  in  plants  as  we 
can  in  animals.  But  the  results  are  as  obvious 
in  the  former  as  in  the  latter.  The  food  of 
plants  taken  in  by  the  spongioles  of  the  roots 
and  by  the  pores  of  the  leaves  and  green 
bark  is  carried  forward  in  obedience  to  cer- 
tain foices  operating  in  the  cells  of  plants,  un- 
til it  reaches  the  cells  of  the  leaf,  as  the  food 
of  animals  received  by  the  mouth,  and  under 
certain  circumstances,  by  the  jjores  of  the 
skin,  is  carried  forward  until  it  reaches  the 
lungs.  In  the  leaf,  as  in  the  lungs,  certain 
chemical  changes  are  wrought  upon  the  food  by 
external  forces  to  which  it  is  here  presented. 
In  the  one  case  tlie  change  is  effected  by 
means  of  the  chemical  alliiiity  existing  in  one 
of  the  constituents  of  the  atmosphere  for  an 
element  presented  to  it  in  the  blood.  In  the 
other  case  the  change  is  effected  through  tlie 
chemical  agency  of  light,  aided  by  the  stimu- 
lus of  heat.  In  both  cases  the  result  is  a  flu- 
id containing  certain  elements  fit  to  be  incor- 
porated into  the  growing  tissues. 

When  an  abundant  supply  of  suitable  food 
is   taken   up  by  plants,  new  cells  are  rapidly 


formed,  and  become  engorged  by  tissue-form- 
ing fluid.  The  cells  are  then  large  and  filled 
with  sap,  and  the  tissue  formed  is  soft  and 
spongy.  The  plant  is  then  growing  vigorous- 
ly. In  a  short  time,  it  may  be  in  a  few  days 
or  weeks,  the  vessels  cease  to  take  in  food  so 
greedily.  Solid  matters  are  deposited  in  the 
cells,  and  they  become  firm  and  hardened,  and 
growth  ceases.  So,  in  animals,  the  formative 
vessels,  when  the  supply  is  abundant,  appro- 
priate what  they  can  use,  and  the  remainder 
which  has  been  taken  in  is  carried  off  by  the 
excretory  vessel.  In  animals  the  stage  of 
growth  is  continued  one,  two  or  many  years. 
In  perennial  plants  it  is  annually  renewed  and 
annually  ceases   for  a  succession  of  years. 

Both  in  plants  and  animals,  the  process  of 
growth  goes  on  until  the  individual  attains 
certain  limits,  when  it  ceases.  Why  the  pro- 
cess is  thus  confined  I  know  not.  Why  the 
germ  of  one  plant  is  developed  in  successive 
growths  for  centuries,  until  it  reaches  a  gigan- 
tic size,  and  that  of  another  completes  its  de- 
velopment in  a  few  Aveeks  or  days,  and  only 
reaches  a  size  so  minute  that  it  is  scarcely  visi- 
ble to  the  naked  eye,  I  know  not.  I  can  only 
say  that  it  is  in  obedience  to  a  law  impressed 
on  its  constitution. 

Thus  I  have  said  a  few  things  about  the 
growth  of  plants,  which  is  one  department  of 
vegetable  physiology,  but  have  scarcely  begun 
to  discuss  the  subject.  It  is  a  subject  of  great 
interest,  and  has  relations  with  all  animate 
and  inanimate  nature.  By  its  study  we  are 
strikingly  taught  the  wisdom  and  skill  of  the 
Creator,  and  our  entire  dependence  upon  his 
power  and  goodness.  J.  R. 

Concord,  Mass.,  July,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOTES   ON    THE    CONNECTICUT    VAL- 
LEY.—No.  V. 
Barns  and  Out-Building3. 

This  section  presents  no  exceptions  to  most 
others  of  our  country  in  the  location  and  char- 
acter of  the  barns  and  other  out-buildings  of 
the  farm. 

In  a  majority  of  cases,  it  would  appear  as  if 
chance,  and  not  forecast,  decided  the  question 
of  their  position,  and  that  adversely  to  the 
best  inteiests  of  the  farmer  and  tlie  farm. 
Most  of  those  where  some  plan  appears  to 
have  been  oliserved,  are  open  to  olijcctions  in 
several  particulars.  It  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  all  men  will  be  suited  with  the  same  style 
of  house  and  surroundings,  neither  is  it  desira- 
ble. If  this  were  the  case,  we  should  see  a 
sameness  that  would  be  wearisome  to  us.  The 
cheapest  of  buihlings,  whatever  their  uses,  are 
susceptible  of  ta-<tef'ul  constructi  n.  Their 
proper  location  is  a  very  im[)ortant  matter. 
Health,  wealth,  comfort  and  convenience  are 
to  be  consulted. 

Most  men  have  been  more  or  less  influenced, 
when  locating  a  new  house,  by  the  position  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEI^IER. 


415 


the  old  buildings.  Want  of  means,  no  doubt, 
in  many  cases  prevent  a  radical  change.  We 
will  assume  the  house  to  be  a  fixture,  and  con- 
sequently that  the  out-buildings  must  be  adapt- 
ed to  it,  and  to  the  demands  of  the  farm.  On 
every  hand  we  see  barns  and  other  out-build- 
ings quite  too  near,  and  olten  in  front  of  the 
dwelling.  Prevailing  winds  are  also  disre- 
garded, as  well  as  the  liability  of  having  the 
odors  of  the  barnyard  and  pigpen  wafted  to 
the  dwelling.  True,  it  is  desirable  for  New 
England  farmers  to  have  their  barns  not  far 
from  their  houses,  and  also  to  have  them  shel- 
tered as  much  as  possible  from  driving  winds, 
so  as  to  make  the  yards  comfortable  for  stock 
during  the  winter.  Such  locations  make  a  sav- 
ing in  the  consumption  of  feed  not  to  be  over- 
looked. If  there  are  no  trees  to  do  this,  plant 
them.  A  few  years — less  than  most  think — if 
they  are  properly  cared  for,  will  give  a  good 
shelter,  which,  when  once  possessed,  will  be 
highly  prized. 

When  a  boy,  on  my  father's  farm,  in  the 
most  stormy  and  cold  weather,  I  often  had  to 
go  a  fourth  of  a  mile,  facing  the  north  wind, 
to  a  barn  exposed  on  all  sides  to  the  winds, 
without  a  tree  to  break  their  force.  I  pity  the 
boys  who  are  now  obliged  to  do  the  same 
thing,  and  commisserate  the  poor  brutes  under 
their  care,  which,  as  soon  as  they  pass  from  the 
shelter  of  the  barn,  are  exposed  to  the  full 
sweep  of  these  cutting  winds. 

Diversity  of  opinion  prevails  with  those  who 
give  us  their  preferences  as  to  the  internal  ar- 
rangement of  the  barnyard.  Some  would 
have  it  concave,  others  an  inclined  plane  ;  the 
former  to  hold  all  that  gets  into  it,  the  other 
to   drain  off  all   the   liquids.     Both   of  these 

{)lans  are  based  on  the  )ard  being  covered  with 
oam,  muck,  mulch  and  such  material  as  is  sup- 
posed to  be  valuable  for  composting  with  the 
droppings  of  the  cattle.  Th(!  concave  plan 
secures  a  mud  hole  for  both  man  and  beast. 
The  inclined  plane  will  not  be  free  from  the 
same  evil,  and  at  the  same  time  results  in  a 
great  waste  of  valuable  manure.  I  have  ever 
thought  the  most  desirable  method  was  to 
gather  up  tlie  droppings  and  compost  them  in 
the  barn  cellar  or  sheds,  turning  on  water  from 
the  eave-troiigh  if  requii-ed.  I  think  more 
value  of  manure  can  be  thus  secured  than  in 
either  of  tlie  foregoing  methods.  It  is  also 
well  to  mulch  the  yards,  and  occasionally 
gather  it  np  to  add  to  the  compost  heap. 

As  to  architectural  design.  If  new  buildings 
are  to  be  constructed  every  one  will  concede 
that  in  a  good  degree  they  should  conform  to 
that  of  the  house,  providing  the  house  is  mod- 
ern, and  is  to  remain  permanently.  I  have 
seen  but  one  barn  (I  do  not  mean  gentle- 
men's stables.)  on  the  Connecticut  River,  be- 
tween Hartford  and  Northampton,  in  which 
this  idea  appears  to  have  been  thought  of.  I 
know  nothing  of  the  interior  arrangement  of 
this  barn  ;  but  the  least  observationof  its  ex- 
terior carries  to  the  mind  a  conviction  of  iti 


fitness  to  the  surroundings.  It  is  really  a 
thing  of  beauty,  and  though  plain  and  unos- 
tentatious, is  yet  attractive  by  its  harmony  of 
proportion  and  adaptedness  to  its  location  and 
surroundings.  I  hazard  nothing  in  asserting 
that  if  the  owner  of  that  farm  desires  to  sell  it, 
his  barn  would  be  to  him  a  surety  of  a  liberal 
purchaser.  He  might  expend  far  more  on  an 
ark  of  _  a  building  without  beauty,  and  fail  of 
obtaining  as  favorable  pecuniary  results.  Such 
unsightly  buildings  as  most  farms  are  provided 
with  are  a  great  drawback  to  their  money 
value,  as  well  as  a  sad  marring  of  the  beauti- 
ful and  appropriate.  k.  o. 
East  Windsor,  Ct.,  1867. 


EXTRACTS   A.WD   KEPLIES. 

OSAGE   ORANGE. 

AVill  you  please  inform  me  whether  Osage  Orange 
will  grow  as  farnorth  as  Vermont,  and  it'  so  where 
I  could  procure  roots  or  cuttings,  and  oblige 

Shelburne,  Vt.,  July  3,  1867.  Subscriber. 

Remarks.— Our  impression  is  that  this  hedge 
plant  is  not  sutHciently  hardy  for  your  climate. 
We  remember  of  seeing  a  statement  that  in  cen- 
tral Illinois  the  osage  orange  was  somewhat  dam- 
aged by  frost  last  winter,  although  peach  trees 
in  the  same  section  were  less  injured  than  usual. 
Still  if  your  place  is  somewhat  protected  from  frosts 
by  the  Lake,  we  hope  you  will  make  an  experiment 
in  a  small  way,  for  your  own  satistiiction,  and  by 
publishing  the  result,  for  the  benefit  of  your  fence- 
ridden  brother  farmers.  The  editor  of  the  Albany 
Cultivator  says  that  "with  proper  care  we  have 
never  found  the  least  difficulty  in  forming  a  perfect 
hedge.  The  requisites  of  success  arc — 1.  A  dry 
subsoil,  naturally  so,  or  by  an  nndcrdrain  near  the 
line  of  the  hedge.  2.  Preventing  gaps  l)y  trans- 
planting well  only  perfect  plants.  3.  Cutting  back 
twice  a  year  at  successive  heights,  so  as  to  form  a 
thick  bottom.  4.  Keeping  the  ground  well  and 
constantly  cultivated  with  plow  or  cultivator,  at 
least  four  or  five  feet  wide,  on  each  side  of  the 
hedge,  for  the  first  four  years."  Probably  a  large 
share  of  the  failures  in  hedge-growing  result  from 
want  of  proper  cultivation  and  mnnagcment. 
Plants  may  be  obtained  of  western  uurfCrymen, 
at  six  to  ten  dollars  per  1000. 

management  of    muck — MAKING    MANURE. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  in  the  quality  of 
the  various  deposits  of  muck.  In  sonic  plices 
where  it  is  saturated  with  water  from  cold  springs, 
it  is  of  little  value,  but  not  wholly  worthless.  By 
carting  it  out  and  letting  it  lay  in" the  sun  ainl  rain 
and  working  it  over  it  becomes  worth  soinetiiing; 
liut  it  needs  to  go  through  a  state  of  feruK  ntation. 
Other  and  larger  muck  or  peat  deposits  are  more 
valuable.  My  muck  iied  is  of  the  larger  class. 
When  I  bought  the  farm  where  I  now  live,  in  1841, 
the  bed  was  called  worthless.  It  was  an  un.-ightly 
place,  full  of  old  logs  and  all  manner  of  rouirh  stuff, 
like  thousands  of  others.  I  cut  three  "ditches 
through  it;  one  in  the  middle,  and  one  on  either 
side.  I  drained  the  land  gradually,  little  faster 
than  I  wanted  the  muck  for  use.  The  ditches  car- 
•3*ad  off  the  cold  springs  sud  the  surface  soon  be- 


416 


XEW   ENGLAND    FAIi:\IER. 


Sept. 


came  dry  and  firm  enough  to  support  a  team,  and 
I  have  plowed  some  of  it  and  raised  good  potatoes 
and  corn  tliereon ;  not  however  without  having 
first  talvcn  out  a  great  many  loads  of  hemlock  roots, 
logs,  &c.  On  this  meadow  the  peat  is  from  one  to 
ten  feet  deep,  covering  about  five  acres.  When  I 
commenced  here  I  had  had  no  experience  with 
muck,  but  had  it  all  to  learn.  I  tried  it  in  various 
ways,  and  in  all  cases  found  some  good  result  from 
it.  For  the  last  fifteen  years  I  have  taken  but  one 
course  with  it,  and  that  is,  to  cart  it  in  the  fall  into 
my  yards,  even  it  off  carefully,  and  put  the  stock 
on  through  the  winter.  In  the  spring  as  soon  as 
it  is  thawed  the  great  part  of  the  dung  is  taken  off; 
the  more  there  is  left,  however,  the  better  for  the 
muck.  After  planting,  it  is  put  into  heaps  of  con- 
siderable size,  where  it  lays  until  haying,  when  it 
is  worked  over  during  lowery  days,  &c.,  being 
careful  to  pulverize  it  finely.  It  is  then  thrown  into 
heaps  again.  There  it  will  ferment  and  become 
like  any  rotten  manure.  I  let  it  lay  until  perhaps 
the  last  of  September,  when  it  is  drawn  out  on  to 
such  parts  of  the  grass  land  as  need  it  most. 

With  this  management,  I  find  no  difficulty  in 
keeping  my  land  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  I 
sell  the  larger  part  of  my  hay,  and  I  think  I  could 
sell  it  all,  except  enough  to  keep  a  team,  and  still 
keep  my  farm  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  But 
I  would  say  to  all  farmers  and  farmers'  boys,  work 
with  j'our  hands  and  keep  manuring,  for  if  we 
should  stop  manuring  we  could  not  live  in  this 
country,  nor  in  fact,  in  any  other,  but  a  short  time. 
Keep  a  hoe  and  shovel  in  a  handy  place,  and  do 
not  let  them  rust,  but  wear  them  bright  by  use. 
Scrape  up  all  refuse  vegetable  matter  about  the 
buildings  and  roads,  and  put  it  in  with  the  hogs. 
They  are  a  mighty  help  to  make  manure.  I  think 
that  I  can  make  as  much  worth  of  manure  from 
ten  hogs  in  a  year,  as  you  can  from  ten  oxen  in  the 
same  time.  0.  Foster. 

Tunbridge,  Vt.,  April  7,  1867. 


TREE    BORERS. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — In  glancing  over  an  article 
in  your  last  issue,  July  6th,  headed  "Tree  Borers," 
I  find  one  or  two  corrections  necessary,  to  render 
it  valuable  to  the  community.  I  will  briefly  enu- 
merate them  without  further  preamble. 

First,  "The  borer"  is  the  popular  name  given  to 
the  larva;  of  several  kind  of  insects,  not  only  bee- 
tles, but  various  moths  and  wood-wasps ;  as  the 
locust-tree  borer,  the  pear,  and  the  hickoi'y,  the 
peach,  and  the  squash  vine  borer,  even,  belong  to 
the  moth  order,  Lepidoplera.  Pine  trees  are  much 
injured  in  the  Middle  States  by  a  borer  which  is  a 
bee,  Xylocopa.  Secondly,  ^'beetles''  are  not  "btiffs 
with  icings  and  hard  shells  "  unless  a  coio  is  a  horse 
with  legs  and  a  tail!  Many  bugs  have  hard  shells, 
and  the  majority  have  wings,  while  numbers  of 
beetles  have  no  wings,  and  a  still  larger  number 
have  soft  shells. 

Line  8th.  Their  <A/)-(i  period  is  called  th(i  pupa 
state.  The  first  state  is  that  of  the  egg,  the  sec- 
ond that  of  the  larva,  the  third  as  above,  that  of 
the  pupa,  and  the  fourth  and  last  that  of  the  imago 
or  adult. 

The  cocoon  is  not  a  condition,  or  state,  but  as  it 
were  a  felted  l)lankct  spun  or  woven  Ity  the  larvic 
of  many  insects,  to  enclose  and  protect  them  dur- 
ing the  pupa  state.  Few  larvjc  of  butterfiies  do 
this,  but  suspend  their  pup;v\  which  are  sometimes 
called  chrysalides,  by  the  tail,  and  freciuently  also 
by  a  girdle  about  the  middle. 

At  the  close  of  your  fifth  paragraph.  The  larva 
of  the  oak-pnmcr  l)eetle  does  not  enter  the  ground, 
lam  not  aware  that  the  larvic  of  any  of  the  Long- 
icornia,  Hong-hoined  beetles,  mostly  borers,)  or 
Buprestiaa,  (short-horned  beetles,  mostly  borers,) 


do  so.    All  pass  their  preparatory  stages  in  the 
bodies  of  the  plants  on  which  they  feed. 

The  branch  containing  the  oak-pruner  larva  or 
pupa,  may  by  falling  to  the  ground  be  kept  more 
moist,  (a  great  desideratum  by  the  way)  or  pro- 
tected by  the  snow  and  fallen  leaves  from  sudden 
changes  of  temperature  during  the  winter. 

Paragraph  seven  has  one  slight  typographical 
error;  Bivittata,  or  "two  striped"  was  the  name 
applied  by  Thomas  Say  to  this  species ;  its  older 
i  and  more  proper  name  however  is  Ca^idida,  mean- 
ing white. 

With  sincere  regard,  and  an  earnest  wish  to  as- 
sist in  furnishing  the  public  with  correct  informa- 
tion, I  am  very  truly  yours. 

Francis  Gregory  Sanborn. 

Rooms  of  Boston  Hoc.  Nat.  Hist.,  July  8,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  thank  our  friend  for  his  correc- 
tions. And  while  we  cheerfully  accept  his  amend- 
ments, we  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  we  are 
pleased  that  the  keen  eye  of  a  thoroughly  read  nat- 
uralist should  have  discovered  so  few  errors  of 
fact  and  expression  in  an  article  hastily  written  in 
a  most  busy  season  upon  the  farm,  and  for  read- 
ers who  see  much  more  of  the  operations  of  borers, 
beetles,  bugs  and  pruners,  than  they  hear  or  think 
of  their  proper  classification,  or  of  the  exact  terms 
which  the  books  employ  to  express  the  various 
stages  of  their  wonderful  transfonnation  in  com- 
ing to  maturity. 

THE   SEASON   IN    MAINE. — FEEDING   COLTS. 

In  our  vicinity  we  have  had  a  very  backward 
spring.  Some  among  us  did  not  commence  planting 
until  the  very  last  of  May.  Others,  upon  sandy 
fiirms,  planted  as  early  as  usual ;  l)Ut  most  of  the 
farms  in  our  vicinity  have  clayey  loam,  which  re- 
tains the  water  longer  than  most  other  soils.  But, 
the  late  spring  is  tollowed  by  a  very  gi'owing  sea- 
son. Corn  planted  the  10th  of  June  has  come  for- 
ward finely,  and  has  been  hoed  the  second  time. 
The  hay  crop  promises  to  be  fair,  but  not  abun- 
dant, i  don't  think  there  will  be  twice  as  much  as 
there  was  last  year.  It  is  predicted  tliat  July  will 
be  a  showery  month,  and  if  hay  is  not  considerably 
damaged  I  shall  be  mistaken. 

Please  inform  me  whether  oats,  com  or  meal 
should  be  fed  to  a  colt  in  the  winter  after  it  is  a 
year  old  in  the  spring.  c.  H.  ^v. 

IViscassct,  Me.,  July  8,  1867. 

Remarks. — That  depends  greatly  on  the  quality 
of  the  hay  or  other  fodder  which  the  colt  is  expected 
to  eat.  Where  there  is  plenty  of  good  clover  hay, 
and  a  few  potatoes,  we  doulit  the  expediency  of 
feeding  much  grain.  Colts  should  never  be  forced 
with  provender,  nor  stunted  for  want  of  nourish- 
ing food.  They  should,  however,  be  kept  in  a 
growing,  thrifty  condition,  even  if  it  be  necessary 
to  give  them  a  little  grain.  Will  some  practical 
horse  raiser  answer  our  correspondent's  inquiiy 
more  fully. 


DRY   CLAY  as   A    DEODORIZER. 

I  have  frequently  seen  plnstc  r  of  Paris  recom- 
mended to  si)read  on  manure  heaps,  juit  in  privies 
and  cess-pools  to  ab^orl>  ilie  gasisand  deodorize 
the  mass.  The  objection  to  the  use  of  i>laster  isits 
cxptnsc.  To  use  a  su(Hcient  quantity  to  be  effec- 
tual, would  require  to  tardea  lerceutage  that  when 
the  niaiua'c  is  sjiread  in  the  lield,  more  than  four 
times  as  muth  plaster  is  used  (iu  an  a(  re  as  is  of 
any  benefit.  An  equally  clhcieut  and  much  cheaper 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


417 


substitute  may  be  found  in  common  clay,  the  dust 
of  a  travelled  road  on  a  clay  soil.  I  have  found  by 
experiment  that  it  will  neutralize  the  odor  more 
quickly  and  effectually  than  plaster.  A  few  barrels 
full,  saved  at  the  proper  time,  would  last  for  a  year, 
to  be  occasionally  thrown  into  a  privy,  keeping 
the  same  swcet,,rendering  the  work  of  removal  com- 
paratively inoifensive,  and  furnishing  a  valuable 
compost  for  the  fium  or  garden. 

I  discovered  the  ethcacy  of  clean  clay  to  purify 
vrater  several  years  since.  I  had  occasion  to  use 
some  water  as  soft  and  colorless  as  could  be  ob- 
tained. I  found  that  alum  would  remove  all  the 
mechanical  impurities,  but  left  the  water  slightly 
colored,  in  consequence  of  passing  through  swamps 
some  miles  up  stream.  I  then  mixed  with  it  a 
small  quantity  of  pure  clay ;  after  twenty-four 
hours  the  water  was  as  clear  as  a  crystal,  and  the 
deposited  clay  brown  as  brick  dust. 

A  New  Subscriber. 

Middkbury,  Vt.,  July  4,  1867. 

Remarks. — If  clay  cannot  be  readily  obtained, 
dry  muck,  soil  or  even  sand  will  be  found  quite 
efficient  for  ordinaiy  purposes.  But  it  is  so  much 
work  to  house  a  few  wheelbarrow  loads,  or  we  are 
so  liable  to  neglect  it  at  the  proper  season,  that 
few  of  us  keep  any  thing  of  the  kind  on  hand,  and 
consequently  when  a  deodorizer  is  needed,  we  are 
compelled  to  buy  plaster  as  a  penalty  for  our  im- 
providence. 

IMPROPERLY   CURED   HAY. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  cutting 
hay  in  the  forenoon,  and  putting  it  in  the  barn  the 
same  day.  This  is  an  easy  practice  for  filling  the 
barn,  and  will  answer  very  well  if  your  object  is 
to  have  your  cattle  all  poor  in  the  spring,  and  your 
horses  die  with  the  heaves.  I  do  know,  from  fifty 
years'  experience  on  a  farm,  that  the  very  best 
English  grass,  managed  in  the  above  way,  is  not 
worth  so  much  as  good  meadow  hay  well  cured. 
I  do  know  that  English  grass  cut  in  its  prime,  say 
when  herds  grass  and  red  top  are  full  in  the  blos- 
som, needs  the  farmer's  best  attention  and  a  dry- 
ing sun  for  two  days  to  prepare  it  to  mow  away  in 
the  barn. 

Some  farmers  may  think  that  by  putting  their 
hay  in  the  Uarn  slack  dried,  that  they  will  get  more 
weight  in  the  spring;  hut  this  is  a  great  mistake. 
Hay  put  into  the  iiarn  imperfectly  dried,  will  heat 
and  sweat,  and  lo;e  more  weight  than  by  fair  dry- 
ing in  the  »uu  and  air.  In  the  spring  slack  dried 
hay  will  smell  rotten  or  musty,  while  hay  dried  as 
it  should  Ije,  will,  if  a  forkfal  is  thrown  out  doors 
of  a  de»vy  night,  smell  thj  next  morning  like  new 
hay  in  the  cock  on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Such  hay 
as  this  will  fatten  your  horse,  give  your  ox  strength 
to  draw  the  plough,  and  make  your  cows  fill  the 
pail  with  milk. 

If  the  farmers  in  New  York  are  in  the  practice 
of  cutting  their  hay  in  the  forenoon,  and  mowing 
it  away  in  tlic  at'tcruoou  of  the  same  day,  instead 
of  wondering  th.it  they  are  troubled  with  abor- 
tion in  tbeir  cows,  I  wonder  at  tlicir  having  any 
live  calves  at  all.  Asa  G.  Sheldon. 

Wilmiiiyton,  Mass.,  June  2-5,  1867. 

RANK   of   farmers. 

Brother  farmers,  who  feel  as  though  your  occu- 
pation was  con.-idcred  low  by  men  in  other  walks 
of  life,  and  yourself  slighted,  will  you  please  stop 
a  moment  and  -ee  what  you  have  done  or  are  doing 
to  entitle  you  to  a  more  worthy  consideration.  If 
your  only  ohject  in  tilling  the  soil  is  to  procure 
food  and  ciottiing,  your  occupation  is  not  above 
the  ox  grazing  the  field  for  his  food.    If  you  own 


a  good  house,  purchased  with  your  money,  you  are 
not  entitled  to  more  credit  for  it,  than  the  purchaser 
of  a  i)ainting.  By  others'  skill  the  house  and  paint- 
ing have  been  produced,  and  you  are  to  be  hon- 
ored only  for  your  taste  in  selecting  the  works  of 
another.  Make  an  effort  to  not  only  live,  but  to 
produce  domestic  animals  of  all  kinds  kept  by  you, 
that  shall  not  only  have  a  market  value,  but  which 
shall  be  as  great  proof  of  your  skill  as  a  fine  paint- 
ing is  of  the  skill  of  the  artist.  Make  both  your 
efforts  and  result  as  public  as  they  do  and  due 
honor  will  be  accredited.  Let  farmers  as  a  class 
do  this,  and  their  pursuits  will  rank  among  the 
highest ;  faling  to  do  that  do  we  not  deserve  the 
low  place  we  occupy  ?  Zenas. 

New  Hainpshire,  1867. 


GOOD    hens   and    good   PRICES. 

Having  noticed  several  reports  of  profitable  fowls 
in  your  valuable  paper,  I  may  say  that  I  have 
eight  hens  of  the  white  capped  Black  Poland 
variety,  which  I  think  have  been  profital)le.  They 
have  laid  from  the  first  of  March  to  the  first  of 
June,  this  year,  thirty-one  dozen  eggs  which  I 
have  sold  for  ^1  a  dozen  at  the  house. 

E.  Hayward. 

Danvers,  Mass.,  June  17,  1867. 


SCATTERING    RYE    ON    OAT  LAND. 

I  frequently  notice  at  this  time  of  the  year  scat- 
tering spears  of  rye,  growing  on  land  which  the 
year  before  was  seeded  down  with  oats.  Will 
some  one  tell  me  how  it  gets  there  ? 

Royalton,  Vt.  July  1,  1867.         J.  G.  Bennett. 


THE   MYRICK    HORSE. 

Can  I  be  informed  through  the  Farmer  where 
the  Stallion  Sherman   Blackhawk,  well  known  as 
the  North  or  Myrick  horse,  may  be  found  the  pres- 
ent season,  terms  of  service,  &c. 
.    West  Randolph,  Vt.  June  25,  1867.  Jack. 

Remarks. — We  are  informed  that  this  horse  is 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Bailey  of  Portland,  Me.,  and 
that  he  is  regarded  as  a  remarkable  fine  ani- 
mal by  the  horse  fanciers  of  that  section,  but  we 
cannot  answer  any  of  the  other  queries  of  our  cor- 
respondent. 

VSE    OF   SrPERPHOSPHATE    OF  LIME. 

A  constant  reader  of  the  New  England  Far- 
mer, wishes  to  use  superphosphate  of  lime  on 
good  ground,  where  winter  rye  is  to  be  sown,  and 
would  like  to  h  ive  some  one,  who  has  had  experi- 
ence in  it,  teil  him,  through  the  columns  of  your 
paper,  how  much  to  use  and  how  to  use  it. 

A  Subscriber. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  June  17,  1837. 

Remarks. — Do  not  use  less  than  300  pounds  per 
acre — iOO  will  be  better— and  work  it  in  when  the 
grain  is  harrowed  in. 

CHESS. — CURCULIO. 

As  the  year  has  closed  for  the  Farmer,  I  enclose 
the  money  for  another  year.  The  pai)er  is  to  my 
house  a  constant  source  of  instruL;tiou  and  com- 
fort.   We  should  not  know  how  tj  dj  without  it. 

As  it  is  now  quite  customiry  for  those  who  take 
the  Farmer,  to  make  iniuiries  concerning  the 
farming  interest,  I  take  the  liberty,  as  a  small  far- 
mer, to  do  the  same.  I  have  a  pieje  of  winter 
wheat,  sown  the  last  day  of  August,  that  came  up 
finely,  grew  well  through  the  fall,  and  came  out 
looking  well  in  the  spring.  I  flattered  myself  I 
should  get  a  fine  crop ;  but  when  it  headed  out  it 


418 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARJIER. 


Sept. 


was  full  one-half  chess,  the  largest  proportion  of 
any  piece  I  have  ever  raised.  If  you  or  any  of  the 
readers  of  the  Farmer,  can  assign  any  sure  pre- 
ventive, so  we  can  rid  ourselves  of  the  evil,  a  great 
favor  will  he  conferred  on  me  as  well  as  the  pub- 
lic in  general. 

Also  a  cure  for  the  curculio  is  greatly  wanted. 
I  have  a  few  fine  trees  that  blossomed  full,  set  the 
frnit  well,  and  I  flattered  m.yself  I  should  have  a 
fine  crop,  liut  they  are  all  gone.  If  some  one  will 
be  kind  enough  to  find  a  sure  remedy,  and  make 
it  known  it  will  be  a  great  favor. 

A   Subscriber. 

Shoreham,  Vt.,  July  7,  1867. 

Remarks. — These  are  hard  nuts  to  crack,  and 
a  great  many  wiser  heads  than  ours  have  failed  in 
the  attempt,  after  cracking  their  own  fingers  badly. 
Column  after  column,  and  page  after  page,  of  our 
agricultural  publications  have  been  filled  by  prac- 
tical farmers  and  theoretical  writers  on  the  chess 
question,  and  still  it  is  far  from  being  settled  in 
the  minds  of  many.  The  amount  of  foul  seed 
which  we  have  seen  separated  by  Mr.  Adams'  im- 
proved wmnowing  mills,  from  what  was  called 
clean  seed,  is  one  of  the  facts  which  incline  us  to 
•  the  opinion  that  chess,  like  other  plants,  is  brought 
,'forth  "after  his  kind."  If  this  theory  is  correct, 
the  seed  of  the  chess  which  grows  in  the  field  of  a 
Subsciiber.  was  either  sown  with  the  wheat,  or, 
like  that  of  white  clover,  it  "sprang  from  the 
ground." 

In  this  connection  we  copy  from  the  Country 
Gentleman  the  following  inquiry  and  answer. 

I  have  a  piece  of  wheat,  sowed  last  fall  on  rich, 
heavy,  clay  soil.  I  find  it  full  half  chess,  growing 
with  the  wheat  on  the  same  roots.  I  send  j'ou  a 
sample.  I  don't  have  to  look  to  get  it.  It  seems 
to  be  all  so.  I  have  often  read  of  wheat  turning 
to  chess  l)ut  have  never  believed  it  until  now. 
Can  you  give  an  explanation  ?  P.  P.  S.  Greenfield, 
Jilass.  [A  very  little  examination  will  show  our 
"correspondent  that,  though  the  wheat  and  chess 
stalks  in  this  case  were  growing  up  so  closely  to- 
gether that  their  roots  are  somewhat  intertwined, 
each  has  its  own  distinct  and  separate  root,  jubt  as 
plainly  as  if  they  had  grown  a  rod  or  more  apart. 
With  a  very  little  care  the  stalks  may  be  separated 
without  breaking  a  fibre,  which  certainly  does  not 
look  to  us  as  though  they  grew  "on  the  same 
roots,"  but  rather  as  if  the  little  chess  .'■eeds  had 
been  deposited  with  the  seed  wheat,  and  in  very 
near  conjunction  to  the  kernels  of  the  latter.] 

In  relation  to  the  curculio,  we  have  repeatedly 
publi^hed  all  that  we  know,  if  not  a  little  more. 
We  refer  our  correspondent  to  the  Weekly  Far- 
mer of  June  15,  for  an  article  of  more  than  a  col- 
umn, on  the  habits  of  this  little  fruit  killer,  and 
on  the  best  known  remedies  for  its  ravages. 

BIRDS   and   peas. 

Will  yon  inform  me  and  my  neighbors,  through 
the  coltmins  of  your  very  valualile  paper,  if  there 
is  any  way  to  protect  peas  from  tlic  ravages  of  the 
birds;  and  what  kind  of  birds  it  is  that  are  so 
bold  and  greedy  ?  They  have  t  ikeii  erenj  early 
pea,  and  iironiise  to  be  thus  failliful  with  the  later 
crop.  I'lease  give  us  a  remedy  against  >io  annoy- 
ing an  evil,  and  oblige  your  correspond(nt. 

July  8,  1867.  Montague. 

Remarks. — Kill  a  large  cat,  skin  her,  cover  the 
inside  of  the  skin  with  soap  that  has  arsenic  in  it, 


to  prevent  it  from  decomposing,  stuff  the  skin,  put 
glass  eyes  into  the  eye-holes,  and  set  her  up  as 
crouching  and  stealthy  as  you  ever  saw  a  cat  that 
was  watching  a  bird.  Put  her  up  among  the  pea 
vines,  and  twice  a  week  change  her  position ;  if 
that  does  not  keep  off  the  birds,  w^know  of  noth- 
ing that  will  but  powder  and  shot ! 

The  depredators  are,  mainly,  the  gold-robin, 
(Baltimore  oriole,)  the  common  robin  and  cedar 
bird.  The  first  is  the  most  destructive.  They  all, 
however,  leave  us  a  fair  share  of  the  crop.  We 
must  plant  liberally  so  as  to  compensate  them  for 
their  music  and  other  benefits  which  they  confer 
upon  us. 

Doves  are  very  destructive  to  peas,  when  they 
are  only  an  inch  or  two  high,  by  working  about 
them  with  their  bills  and  pulling  them  up. 


MANCHESTER,   MASS. 

This  is  one  of  the  quiet  towns  which  nestle 
among  the  rocks  of  our  iron-bound  coast.  The 
business  of  the  people  of  this  place  was  formerly 
almost  wholly  fishing.  About  fifty  jears  ago  a 
cal)inet  shop  or  manufactory  was  opened  here,  and 
the  business  has  gradually  increased,  until  it  has 
Ijecome  the  leading  interest  of  the  people  of  the 
place,  who  now  number  about  sixteen  hundred. 
Soft  wood  lumljcr  is  obtained  from  Maine  and  New 
Hampshire,  and  hard  wood  from  the  West.  The 
business  appears  to  be  reasonably  prosperous,  and 
the  prospect  for  the  future  good. 

Between  the  rocks  which  occupy  a  large  part  of 
the  surface,  the  soil  appears  to  be  very  good ;  and 
here  and  there  are  to  be  seen  the  gardens  apd  or- 
chards of  sume  of  the  more  enteri>rising  inhabi- 
tants, Mr.  J.  Godsoe,  who  has  been  a  constant 
reader  of  the  Farmer,  for  quite  a  number  of  years, 
has  set  a  very  good  example  of  what  enterprise 
and  industry  can  do  to  make  a  plear-ant  home  on 
this  rocky  coast.  In  1831,  he  began  where  he  now 
lives,  then  a  waste  piece  of  land,  with  no  neighbors. 
Now  there  is  quite  a  street,  lined  with  good  houses 
and  gardens.  Mr.  Godsoe  has  a  very  fine  apple 
orchard  which  looks  quite  thrifty,  although  this 
year  there  will  not  be  a  large  crop.  Mr.  G.  has 
improved  his  ground  so  that  he  has  a  fine  garden, 
with  the  choicest  variety  of  grapes  and  other 
fruits.  He  has  also  a  fine  grapery  with  forty  vines 
in  it  which  presented  a  most  neat  and  pleasant 
appearance,  as  the  vines  were  very  fiourishing. 
Mr.  G.  takes  great  pleasure  in  the  care  of  his 
grapery,  and  he  may  very  justly  feel  proud  of  it. 
His  house  is  most  jileasaiitly  'situatt'd,  and  his 
buildings  are  comfortable  and  connnodious. 

Mr.  Killem  has  recently  l)uilt  a  new  grapery,  40 
by  28  feet,  and  costing  about  J^SOO.  It  is  con- 
structed in  the  most  thorough  manner  and  of  the 
best  materials,  the  glass  being  from  England. 

w. 

OLD   PASTURES. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about  old  pas- 
tures. I  have  one  which  has  not  liecn  jilowed  for 
over  thirty  years.  I  commenceil  on  it  last  spring 
i)y  removing  the  stones  and  laying  ihein  as  I  drew 
tiiem  into  wall ;  took  extra  ))iiins  in  jilowing  and 
harrowing,  and  sowed  1',  bushels  of  India  wheat  to 
the  acre;  Inirrowcd  again,  then  put  on  'iuO  pounds 
of  plaster  and  rhe  sanieof  ])lu)spliate  of  lime  to  the 
acre.  When  the  wheat  arrives  to  a  cerlain  growth 
I  iniend  to  roll  it,  plow  it  in  and  stork  it  this  fall, 
say  the  last  of  August  or  the  first  of  Sciiicnilier. 

Now  I  want  to  know  what  kind  or  kinds  of  grass 
seed  I  had  bettrr  sow.  Clover  docs  well  here  for 
about  two  years,  then  it  disappears.    Had  I  better 


1867. 


NEW   ENCxLAND    FARMER. 


419 


sow  Clover,  Timothy,  Hunffi'rian  and  Fowl  Mead- 
ow, and  if  so,  how  much  of  each  to  the  acre  ?  I 
wish  to  stock  heavy  and  cut  the  grass  for  one  or 
two  years,  then  turn  it  into  pasture  again  and  see 
if  it  pays.  I  will  at  some  future  time  give  you 
and  your  readers  of  the  good  old  Farmer  the  cost 
per  acre  and  the  gain  by  so  doing.  The  land  is  a 
sandy  loam,  warm,  quick  soil,  with  an  east  slope 
hut  too  far  from  my  buildings  to  manure  with 
barn  manure.  Let  me  hear  from  you  through  the 
columns  of  the  Farmer.  A  Subscriber. 

Peacham,  Vt.,  July,  1867. 

Remarks. — Sow  8  to  10  quarts  of  timothy  seed, 
1^  to  2  bushels  of  red  top,  and  add  to  these  two 
quarts  of  Kentucky  blue  grass,  per  acre.  This 
latter  will  not  add  materially  to  the  crops  of  hay 
you  may  take  off,  but  will  come  in  and  make  a 
permanent  pasture  grass.  We  shall  be  glad  to  re- 
ceive the  result  of  your  experiments. 

WILD  grasses. 

I  wish  to  know  the  names  of  these  tjvo  grasses, 
and  their  value  as  gi-asses  for  hay,  and  if  they  do 
well  on  wet  or  dry  land,  and  if  they  have  to  be 
seeded  in  the  spring;  and  which  is  the  best  gi"ass, 
one  that  has  got  a  beard  on  the  leaf  or  the  other  ? 

Blackstone,  Mass.,  July,  1867.     A  Subscriber. 

Remarks. — The  gi-ass  with  the  broad  leaf  is 
probably  l]\&  blue  joint,  and  is  considered  a  valua- 
ble grass  when  cut  early — that  is,  while  in  bloom. 

The  other  is  undoubtedly  a  valuable  grass.  Both 
are  wild  and  probably  do  not  require  sowing  or 
culture. 

crops    in   western  VIRGINIA. 

One  of  our  subscribers  in  Hardy  county.  West- 
ern Virginia,  in  remitting  his  subscription  for  the 
weekly  Farmer,  communicates  the  following  in- 
teresting facts  in  relation  to  the  crops,  the  season, 
&c.,  in  that  section  : — 

I  have  not  sold  my  last  year's  tobacco  crop.  This 
coming  winter  I  shall  try  to  work  it  up  into  cigars. 
I  have  out  another  acre  of  tobacco,  eight  of  coni, 
one  of  cane,  and  one  of  potatoes.  It  has  been  too 
wet  forcoin,  cane  and  tobacco.  My  com  is  turning 
red  on  this  account.  There  will  lie,  I  fear,  agrcat  deal 
of  wheat  injured  in  the  shock.  If  it  continues  wet  a 
few  days  longer.  There  is  a  large  quantity  of  corn 
planted  in  this  valley  (Capon).  The  following  are 
some  of  our  current  prices: — wheat  flour,  6  cents 
per  pound;  corn  $1  \Kr  bushel;  butter  12^  cents 
per  pound  ;  eggs  10  cents  per  dozen ;  bacon  10  cents 
per  pound. 

Eardy  County,  W.  Va.,  July  9,  1867. 

fine  steers,  and  calves. 

While  at  West  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  the  other  day, 
I  saw  some  fine  cattle  at  the  farm  of  E.  D.  Works. 
One  pair  of  yearling  Uuvhara  steers  particularly 
attracted  my  attention.  They  were  well  matched, 
and  weighed  1800  lbs.  He  expects  they  will  weigh 
2000  by  Fair  time.  1  noticed  a  pair  of  native  steers 
of  the  t-ame  age,  which  though  a  fine  pair  were 
not  as  large  as  the  other.  Mr.  Works  takes  a 
laudable  interest  iathe  iini)rovemeut  of  his  stock, 
and  showed  me  a  pair  of  four-year-olds  which, 
considering  that  thc.v  were  kept  mostly  on  meadow 
hay  until  the  pist  winter,  were  very  creditable  an- 
imals, and  weigh  3000  lbs. 

On  pas^ing  the  farm  of  Jos.  Whitney,  in  Ster- 
ling, I  saw  a  pair  of  calves,  which  were  larger  and 
better  than  any  I  have  seen  this  season.    These 


were  actually  larger  than  three-fourths  of  the 
yearlings  to  be  seen  in  our  pastures.  I  did  not 
learn  their  weight.  Too  many  farmers  sell  their 
best  and  most  promising  calves  for  Brighton,  and 
then  depend  on  the  little  dwarfs  from  Canada  to 
fill  their  places.  b.  d.  w. 


AGRICULTUKAL   ITEMS. 

—To  save  time  in  looking  for  lost  pruning  knives 
and  other  small  garden  tools,  a  bright  red  paint  is 
recommended  for  the  handles. 

—If  you  would  have  your  daughter's  husband 
pleased  with  his  breakfast,  teach  her  to  get  a 
breakfast. 

—In  England,  land  is  rented,  first  to  the  gentle- 
man farmer,  next  to  the  managing  farmer,  who 
employs  poor  laborers. 

— In  long  summer  days,  between  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  coast,  our  farmers  have  daylight  for  21 
hours  and  40  minutes. 

— The  States  of  the  Pacific  coast  are  as  populous 
and  as  wealthy  as  were  the  whole  Colonies  in  the 
time  of  the  Revolution. 

— Somebody  has  calculated  that  the  time  and 
strength  wasted  in  one  year's  churning  would 
build  a  railroad  across  the  continent. 

— Secretary  Klippart,  of  Ohio,  has  ascertained 
that  there  are  about  fifty  different  draining-tile 
manufacturies  in  Ohio. 

— Air  slacked  lime  sprinkled  over  currant 
bushes  will  prove  a  perfect  preventive  to  the 
ravages  of  the  currant  woi-m.  So  says  a  corres- 
pondent of  the  Rural  New  Yorker. 

— A  pound  of  copperas  dissolved  in  four  gallons 
of  water  and  poured  over  the  sink  three  or  four 
times  will,  it  is  said,  completely  destroy  all  oflfen- 
sive  odor. 

— Governor  Crawford,  of  Kansas,  is  building  a 
stone  fence  around  his  farm,  the  entire  length  of 
which  when  finished  will  be  one  thousand  two 
hundred  and  eighty  rods. 

— The  Canada  Farmer  publishes  a  list  of  town, 
county  and  district  agricultural  societies,  in  Can- 
ada West,  numbering  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
nine. 

— A  con*espondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
made  a  clean  sweep  of  the  currant  worm,  which 
was  destroying  his  currant  and  gooseberry  bushes, 
by  a  thorough  dusting  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts 
of  plaster,  wood  ashes  and  slacked  lime. 

— The  investigation  into  the  causes  of  abortion 
in  cows,  for  which  an  appropriation  was  made  by 
the  late  legislature  of  New  York,  has  been  com- 
menced by  Prof.  John  C.  Dalton,  aided  by  scien- 
tific assistants. 

— At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Little  Falls  Far- 
mers' Club,  Geo.  W.  Davis  gave  the  results  of  a 
comparison  of  cost  of  making  cheese  at  factories 
and  in  private  dairies.  The  calculation  was  l)ased 
on  thirty  cows,  and  the  result  was  as  $271.00  to 


420 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Sept. 


^225.60— or  ^45.40  in  favor  of  the  factory  in  point 
of  cost  of  making.  In  marketing,  the  factory 
made  clieese  had  an  advantage  of  from  one  to  two 
cents  per  pound. 

— At  a  sheep  shearing  festival  in  Genesee  county, 
N.  Y.,  it  was  stated  that  the  sheep  of  tliat  section 
•will  shear  double  the  cleansed  wool  in  1867,  that 
they  did  in  1830 — a  gain  unparalleled  in  any  other 
department  of  farming. 

— A  report  that  the  rinderpest  had  made  its  ap- 
pearance at  Coxsacksie,  N.  Y.,  has  caused  great 
excitement  in  that  section.  A  careful  examina- 
tion shows  that  the  deaths  were  caused  by  pleuro 
pneumonia. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
thinks  posts  and  other  lumber  may  be  better  sea- 
soned by  ten  or  twelve  hours  fire  drying,  with 
proper  apparatus,  than  by  two  years  exposure  to 
the  air  at  ordinary  temperatures. 

— The  fact  that  only  about  one  tree  in  a  hundred 
which  are  set  out,  stands  the  test  and  becomes 
useful,  is  mentioned  by  the  Utica  Herald  as  one 
reason  of  the  steadily  increasing  business  of  the 
great  nurseries  of  the  country. 

— To  preserve  peas  from  bugs,  a  correspondent 
of  the  Country  Gentleman  puts  the  peas  into  wide- 
mouthed  bottles  or  jars,  with  about  half  an  ounce 
of  gum  camphor  to  each  gallon  of  peas,  and  corks 
tight. 

— There  is  in  Randolph,  Vt.,  a  Blackhawk  stud 
colt  that  at  one  year  and  seven  daj^s  old  was  16.^ 
hands  (66  inches)  high  at  withers  or  rump — having 
grown  over  a  half  inch  per  week  ever  since  he  was 
born. 

— The  California  Farmer  says  that  oranges  much 
superior  in  flavor  to  those  grown  upon  the  islands, 
are  being  plentifully  produced  in  many  sections  of 
that  State.  The  business  promises  to  be  a  highly 
remunerative  one. 

— The  York  New  Horticulturist  says  that  in  July 
as  the  lengthening  growth  of  suckers  around  apple 
and  other  fruit  trees  is  closed,  nearly  all  the  vital- 
ity is  laid  up  in  the  leaves  and  stems,  and  they  may 
be  removed  with  little  prospect  of  their  ever  again 
sprouting. 

— Fainiy  Fern  says,  to  her  eye,  no  statue  that 
the  rich  man  places  ostentatiously  in  his  window, 
is  to  1)0  compared  to  the  little  expectant  face  press- 
ing against  the  window  pane,  watching  for  father, 
when  his  day's  work  is  done. 

— The  Dutch  Government  has  ordered  7000  head 
of  cattle  to  be  shot  and  buried  in  a  single  week,  in 
Holland,  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  cattle  dis- 
ease. The  owners  resisted  in  some  ins-tnnces,  and 
two  men  were  killed  and  two  wounded  by  the  sol- 
diers. 

— At  a  late  fanners'  talk  in  England  on  steam 
cultivation,  one  gentleman  spoke  of  two  engines 
which  took  prizes  where  they  were  respectively 
exhibited,  and  yet  both  proved  failures  in  practice, 


though  each  was  bought  by  a  Lord,  who  had  every 
facility  for  their  proper  use. 

— Glass  can  be  cut  without  a  diamond  by  taking 
an  old,  three-cornered  file,  break  it  so  as  to  have 
sharp  corners,  and  with  a  straight-edge  draw  the 
sharpest  corner  where  you  would  have  the  glass 
cut ;  then  turn  the  glass  over  and  do  the  same  on 
the  other  side.  With  a  little  practice  it  is  said 
glass  can  be  cut  quite  well  in  this  way. 

— A  contrivance  for  protecting  horses  from  the 
effects  of  heat,  was  recently  exhibited  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club,  by  C.  Elveena,  of  California. 
It  consists  of  a  cloth  or  pad,  on  which  a  cup  for 
holding  water  is  placed  between  the  ears,  and  is 
so  constructed  that  a  little  water  passes  out  at  a 
time  and  keeps  the  head  moist.  Certificates  were 
read  from  Gens.  Meigs  and  Grant. 

— Boys  that  ride  horses  to  plow  com  are  ad- 
vised by  the  Maine  Farmer  to  remember  that  a 
horse  does  nearly  all  the  stepping  when  he  turns 
with  the  fore  feet.  He  makes  use  of  the  hind  feet 
chiefly  as  a  pivot.  Now  just  take  care  of  his  fore 
feet  and  keep  them  away  from  the  hills  and  pay 
no  attention  to  his  hind  feet  and  you  will  succeed 
nicely, 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Rural  New  Yorker  s&ja 
that  he  has  known  a  horse  that  went  for  twelve 
months  on  three  legs,  from  ringbone,  made  per- 
fectly sound  by  the  application,  once  a  day,  of  an 
ointment  composed  of  half  an  ounce  of  red  pre- 
cipitate ;  half  ounce  blue  stone ;  half  a  pint  of 
turpentine,  thoroughly  mixed.  Keep  the  hoof 
greased. 

— There  is  an  old  fanner  in  Northern  Ohio  who 
gets  up  at  daylight,  builds  a  fire,  puts  on  the  tea- 
kettle, dusts  the  furniture,  goes  to  the  stable  and 
feeds  the  horses,  then  calls  up  the  folks.  Having 
a  taste  for  reading,  he  goes  to  a  room  where  he 
keeps  his  books,  builds  a  fire,  sweeps  out,  and 
reads  till  l)reakfast  time.  This  is  Ben  Wade,  Vice 
President  of  the  United  States. 

—Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  in  a  letter  dated 
Paris,  May  31,  says,  last  week  we  had  some  frost 
in  this  vicinity.  Much  has  been  f-aid  of  the  in- 
completeness of  the  American  Dei)artment.  For 
myself  I  am  disposed  to  speak  favorably  of  it, 
and  although  there  may  not  be  so  much  fimcy, 
and  perhaps  taste,  in  the  arrangement,  I  believe 
the  record,  when  the  prizes  arc  awarded,  will  re- 
dound to  the  honor  of  the  American  Republic. 

— The  following  treatment  of  a  kicking  cow  is 
reconnncnded  by  C.  L.  Iluhl)s,  of  Oronoco,  Min., 
in  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club.  First, 
tic  licr  by  the  head ;  then  take  a  rope  the  size  of  a 
clotlics  line,  and  place  it  around  the  cow  just  back 
of  the  fore  legs  and  tie  loosclj' ;  then  put  in  a  small 
stick  ;  now  commence  milking,  and  when  the  cow 
kicks  twist  up  the  rope,  and  renew  the  twisting 
l)vocess  every  tinie  she  kicks.  Yon  will  soon  have 
it  tight  cnongh  so  that  she  caiuiot  roise  her  hind 
foot  more  than  four  inches  from  the  ground  ;  when 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


421 


she  stands  quiet,  loosen  up  a  little.  A  few  doses 
of  this  will  cure  a  cow  so  well  that  she  may  be 
milked  anywhere  iu  the  yard  without  trouble. 

— Whitewash,  as  ordinarily  made,  rubs  off  the 
walls  after  it  becomes  dry,  soling  clothes  and  every- 
thing coming  in  contact  with  it.  This  may  be  ob- 
viated, it  is  said,  by  slaking  the  lime  in  boiling 
water,  stirring  it  meanwhile,  and  then  applying, 
after  dissolving  in  water,  white  vitriol  (sulphate  of 
zinc)  in  the  proportion  of  four  pounds  to  a  barrel 
of  whitewash,  making  it  the  consistency  of  rich 
milk.  A  pound  of  white  salt  should  be  thrown 
into  it. 

— At  the  Agricultural  College  at  Cirencester, 
England,  a  field  of  ten  acres  of  wheat,  in  a  very 
forward  state,  was  divided  into  two  equal  parts  at 
the  first  of  April  and  one  hundred  ewes  with  lambs 
put  on  one  portion,  and  left  there  sixteen  days,  in 
which  time  they  had  eaten  the  wheat  close  to  the 
ground.  These  five  acres  were  harvested  four  days 
after  the  other  part  of  the  field,  and  appeared  fully 
equal  to  the  rest,  but  did  not  yield  quite  so  much. 
The  diflfercnce  was  made  up  by  the  value  of  the 
feed  of  the  sheep. 

—One  of  the  great  English  landlords  that  own 
whole  neighborhoods  and  villages,  and  who  has 
employed  steam  plows  for  seven  years,  stated  at  a 
late  public  meeting  that  he  finds  that  the  men  who 
are  connected  with  the  steam  plow,  have  become 
a  species  of  aiistocracy  among  their  fellows,  that 
they  pride  themselves  on  their  position,  and  are 
educating  their  sons  for  the  same  profession. 
Hence  he  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  steam  is 
to  effect  a  revolution  in  the  habits,  manners,  and 
morals  of  the  people,  as  well  as  in  the  tillage  of 
the  land. 

CONTENTMENT. 

For  me,  could  envy  enter  in  my  sphere, 

Which  of  all  human  taint  is  clean  and  quit, 

I  well  might  harbor  it 

When  I  behold  the  peasant  at  his  toil. 

Guiding  his  team,  untroubled,  free  from  fear. 

He  leaves  his  perfect  furrow  as  he  goes. 

And  gives  his  field  repose 

From  thorns  and  tares  and  weeds  that  vex  the  soil. 

Thereto  he  labors,  and  without  turmoil 

Entrusts  his  work  to  God,  content  if  so 

Such  guerdon  from  it  grow, 

That  in  that  year  his  family  shall  live; 

Nor  care  nor  thought  to  other  things  will  give. 
— Song  of  Fortune,  by  Guido  Cavalcanti,  an  early  Ital- 
ian poet. 

— Melilot  clover  (Melilotus  Leucantha)  is  re- 
commended by  an  Illinois  correspondent  of  the 
Isew  York  Farmers'  Club,  as  the  best  plant  for  bee 
pastures.  The  plant  grows  rapidly,  often  attain- 
ing the  height  of  from  six  to  eight  feet,  and  shades 
the  ground  completely.  The  tap  root  grows  to 
considei'able  length,  and  is  seldom  out  of  rsach  of 
moisture.  Early  frosts  injure  the  blossoms  but 
little,  and  even  when  wholly  destroyed,  the  plant 
is  again  in  full  bloom  in  the  course  of  three  or 
four  days.  Bees  can  work  on  the  blossom  in  this 
latitude,  thirty  miles  west  of  Chicago,  one  hun- 
dred days  at  least,  which  is  time  enough  to  give 
eveiy  good,  strong  hive  of  bees  a  surplus  of  fifty 


pounds.  Ten  acres  of  this  clover,  it  is  thought, 
will  give  full  employment  to  an  apiary  of  one  hun- 
dred families. 

— Speaking  of  two  adjoining  farms,  one  of  which 
was  well  cultivated,  every  field  being  clean  and 
in  fine  condition,  the  other  filled  with  thistles, 
whitcweed,  thoroughwort,  &c.,  a  correspondent 
of  the  Ohio  Farmer  says  :  If  I  keep  a  dog  and  he 
jumps  over  my  weed-growing  neighbor's  fence  and 
kills  a  half  starved  sheep,  I  am  accountable  for 
the  damage,  and  the  sheep  owner  is  looked  upon  as 
a  deeply  injured  person  ;  while  at  the  very  time, 
he  is  seeding  my  fields  with  the  most  noxious 
weeds  that  will  cost  me  time  and  money  to  eradi- 
cate, yet  I  have  no  redress. 

— M.  W.  Leland,  of  Rochester,  Minn.,  informs 
the  New  York  Fanners'  Club  that  the  bee  has  no 
more  to  do  with  the  mechanical  construction  of  its 
comb  than  has  a  fowl  with  its  eggs.  Bee  comb  is 
the  oil  extract  of  honey,  and  instead  of  its  being 
mechanically  made  it  grows  (!)  In  well-fed  and 
well-conditioned  swarms,  where  they  remain  in 
contact  for  any  length  of  time,  the  temperature 
being  sufficiently  high,  comb  commences  to  grow, 
and  the  bees  cannot  help  it.  It  is  the  perspiration 
or  secretion  of  this  oil  from  the  bee  which  cools 
and  is  naturally  formed  into  comb  cells,  and  the 
size  of  those  cells  depend  on  the  linking  of  the 
bees,  whether  at  the  first  or  second  joint. 


BUYING   AND    MAJNTUFACTURINQ 
WOOL. 

Mr.  William  Hayden,  an  experienced  wool 
manufacturer  of  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  attended  the 
Wool  Growers'  Meeting  at  Rochester,  last 
May,  and  on  being  called  upon  made  some 
very  sensible  remarks  upon  the  wool  trade. 
In  consequence  of  these  remarks  wool  grow- 
ers and  others  have  since  addressed  more  let- 
ters of  inquiry  to  him  for  further  information 
than  he  has  time  to  answer  individually.  He 
therefore  condenses  his  replies  and  explana- 
tions into  an  article  for  the  Rural  Neio  Yorker. 
We  think  he  demonstrates  very  conclusively 
the  injustice  of  any  uniform  price,  or  any  fixed 
rate  of  shrinkage  for  unwashed  wool.  Though 
all  his  views  may  not  be  endorsed  by  wool 
growers,  we  think  his  communication  will  be 
read  with  interest.  The  resolutions  referred 
to  were  published  in  the  Weekly  Farmer  of 
June  8th,  and  in  the  Monthly  for  July. 

"Wool  buyers  are  asking  me  why  I  do  not 
endorse  the  resolutions  adopted  at  their  con- 
vention held  in  Rochester,  April  19th,  1867. 
To  them  I  would  say  that  I  consider  some  of 
their  suggestions  good,  while  others  are  en- 
tirely superfluous,  and  such  as  no  buyer  or 
seller  will  adhere  to  longer  than  for  his  inter- 
est.    If  Mr.  A.  or  B.,  although  a  good  judge 


422 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAR:\IER. 


Sept. 


of  wool  and  careful  buyer,  can  make  more 
money  by  the  purchase  of  a  lot  of  wool  with 
strings  forty  times  around  each  fleece,  than  he 
can  by  the  purchase  of  another  lot  with  strings 
only  twice  around,  he  will  prefer  to  take  the 
lot  with  the  excess  of  twine,  all  resolutions  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  Mr.  Farmer  thinks  that  his  wool  will 
bring  him  more  without  strings,  he  will  so  put 
it  in  the  market. 

In  regard  to  unwashed  wool,  one-third  de- 
duction is  as  near  what  it  should  be  on  the 
average  as  any  figure  ;  but  I  hold  that  no  fixed 
rule  can  be  made  that  will  do  justice  to  all 
parties, — for  while  A.  may  have  wool  that 
should  have  a  deduction  of  at  least  one-half 
made  on  it,  owing  to  an  excess  of  yolk  and 
dirt,  his  neighbor  B.  may  have  so  kept  his 
sheep  that  a  deduction  of  one-fourth  might  be 
more  than  should  be  made.  Every  buyer 
should  be  a  good  judge  enough  of  wool  to 
make  his  own  rules  to  govern  his  purchases. 
Many,  in  allusion  to  a  statement  made  by  me 
at  the  Auburn  meeting,  have  asked  why  is 
wool  from  sections  where  the  water  is  soft 
cleaner  than  that  from  limestone  or  hard  water 
sections  ?  This  question  1  might  answer  by 
asking  another,  (as  I  only  referred  to  washed 
wool,)  Why  is  soft  water  better  than  hard 
for  any  washing  purpose  ?  In  answer  to  in- 
quiries why  wool  can,  as  I  stated,  be  purchased 
in  Michigan  to  better  advantage  to  the  manu- 
facturer than  here  and  in  some  other  sections, 
I  wish  only  to  be  understood  as  referring  to 
buyers  who  are  well  posted  and  who  discrimi- 
nate between  a  good  and  bad  conditioned  arti- 
cle. Wool  there  is  all  taken  to  market  before 
being  sold,  and  he  who  discriminates  most  gets 
the  best,  while  an  indifferent  buyer  gets  what 
the  first  does  not  want,  at  one  or  two  cents  per 
pound  less,  while  the  actual  difference  is  from 
three  to  eight  cents  per  pound.  Wool  raised 
on  sandy  soils,  like  those  of  nearly  the  whole 
of  Michigan,  is  generally  more  free  from  ani- 
mal oil  than  that  which  is  grown  on  heavy  or 
clay  lands.  I  have  also  found  that  wool  raised 
on  the  large  prairies  of  Illinois  has  less  strength 
than  Michigan,  Ohio  and  Eastern  State  wools. 
I  will  not  now  try  to  explain  why  this  is  so, 
but  leave  the  question  for  some  future  occa- 
sion, or  to  some  one  more  able  than  myself  to 
offer  the  correct  solution.  I  will  only  say  that 
it  is  a  fiict  which  I  have  noticed  in  an  expt^ri- 
ence  of  more  than  twenty-live  years  in  manu- 
facturing. Why  should  tags  and  unwashed, 
dead  wool  not  be  put  inside  of  fleeces  ?  For 
several  reasons  ;  among  which  is  the  one  that 
the  purchaser  can  form  but  a  poor  idea  of  what 
he  is  buying,  as  all  is  hid  from  view  and  he  is 
obligeu  to  depend  entirely  upon  information 
obtained  from  the  seller  as  to  the  amount  thus 
put  in.  I  find  such  information  is  not  at  all 
times  to  be  depended  upon  ;  and  when  deti^ct- 
ed,  he  claims  that  he  knows  nothing  about  it, 
and  charges  all  upon  the  shearer,  the  boys,  or 
the  hired  man. 


Old  wool  is  worth  more  than  new  for  some 
reasons,  among  which  are  the  following :  It 
takes  color  much  better,  especially  where  bright 
and  fancy  dyes  are  required ;  it  works  better 
and  wastes  less  in  carding ;  and  it  makes  firm- 
er cloth  than  can  be  made  from  the  same  qual- 
ity of  new  wool.  If  two  or  three  years  old  it 
is  all  the  better. 

Several  have  made  inquiries  about  the  use 
of  shoddy,  of  what  and  into  what  it  is  manu- 
factured. Although  I  never  owned  or  used  a 
pound  of  it,  I  have  seen  much  of  it  made  and 
used.  Shoddy  is  made  from  old  rags  which 
are  torn  by  machinery  for  that  purpose,  (not, 
as  some  suppose,  of  Yankee  origin,)  and  are 
thus  brought  back  to  wool  much  reduced  in 
length  and  strength.  It  is  mixed  with  wool 
before  carding,  and  thus  becomes  thoroughly 
incorporated  with  the  fabric,  and  must  of 
course  lessen  the  value  of  cloth  for  service  in 
proportion  to  the  amount  used.  Another  arti- 
cle much  used  in  the  adulteration  of  cloth,  and 
the  use  of  which  I  consider  worse  on  the  part 
of  the  manufiicturer  than  the  stuffing  of  fleeces 
with  dead  wool  by  the  farmer.  Is  termed  shear- 
ings. It  is  made  In  all  factories,  and  Is  largely 
imported  from  Germany  and  France.  It  is 
felted  into  cloth  while  being  fulled,  and  is 
merely  an  outside  covering  which  is  soon  found 
at  the  lower  part  of  the  garment,  between  the 
outside  and  the  lining.  This  Is  supposed  by 
many  to  be  shoddy,  but  Is  much  worse  and  can 
be  detected  by  rubbing  the  cloth  over  white 
paper." 

TALK  ON"  ■WORK,  HEAT  AND   HEALTH. 

Workers  in  the  fields — strong  men  and 
sturdy  boys,  toiling  beneath  a  blazing  sun, 
and  exposed  to  rain  and  chill — let's  have  a 
talk  together  about  work  and  health.  Not  a 
fussy  talk,  like  a  set  of  fidgety  nervous  fel- 
lows, afraid  to  stand  up  square  lest  some  of 
the  inside  works  give  out ;  but  just  a  word  of 
practical  common  sense.  (Common  sense,  by 
the  way,  is  rather  ?<Hcommon.) 

There''s  a  good  deal  of  work  to  be  done  In 
the  six  months  ahead  that  can't  be  got  round, 
or  pushed  aside,  unless  you  like  sheriffs  and 
red  fiags.  If  the  old  fiirm  Is  to  Le  ke])t,  and 
to  gain  In  value,  this  work  ahead  must  l)e  met 
and  done  up.  For  three  months  we  shall  have 
some  awful  hot  days,  with  burning  sun  and 
sultry  air,  "muggy,"  as  they  used  to  say, 
"down  East."  Thunder  storms  will  come  up 
suddenly,  wetting  you  to  the  skin,  and  with  raw 
winds  that  check  perspiration  sooner  than  Is 
healthy ;  and  a  damp,  chill  day,  now  and 
then.  In  between  these  scorchers,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  fogs  and  dews.  But  this  work  is  to  be 
put  through,  blow  high  or  low,  and  it's  a  good 
plan  to  start  and  go  on  in  such  fashion  as  to 
hold  out  strong  and  come  through  sound  and 
bright. 

It  may  be  well  to  "take  an  account  of  stock," 
as  merchants  say, — we  mean  stock  of  bone  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


42.3 


muscle,  and  nerve,  and  will-power.  Every 
sensible  man  knows  about  what  he  can  do,  and 
not  break  or  weaken  his  powers  ;  settle  that, 
and  then  don't  over-do.  Many  a  man  (and 
more  boys)  just  wrecks  himself  needlessly  in 
ten  minutes,  and  is  never  the  man  again  he 
was  before.  ^Vhen  you  feel  you  are  up  to 
your  highest  mark,  stop;  and  stop  before  you 
get  there,  save  in  rare  emergencies.  It's  well 
to  feel  that  you  have  a  reserve  force,  and 
could  "let  out  another  link." 

Look  out  for  the  sun.  He's  a  fiery  fellow, 
and  sometimes  when  your  system  may  lack 
positiveness  from  overwork,  he'll  send  a  hot 
shaft  right  through  you.  Don't  be  careless 
or  foolhardy,  that's  all.  The  "boys  in  blue" 
all  say  that  the  best  soldiers  took  no  useless 
risks,  and  were  therefore  fresh  and  right  when 
the  sharp  work  was  to  be  done. 

If  you  have  a  feeling  come  over  you  that  the 
heat  is  going  through,  take  to  the  shade  with- 
out any  foolish  shame,  for  the  hardiest  some- 
times falter,  and  far  better  one  hour's  care 
than  months  or  years  of  weakness  from  sun- 
s'roke — coup  de  soleil,  as  the  French  say. 
Keep  a  firm  will,  for  that  has  great  power  over 
the  body ;  and  keep  the  system  in  a  positive 
condition,  with  an  overplus  of  vital  force  to 
meet  and  master  heat,  or  cold,  or  work,  by 
rational  care  in  your  habits :  but,  when  you 
feel  that  the  vital  forces  are  too  weak,  or  too 
much  taxed,  yield  for  the  moment  and  recu- 
perate. 

Don't  drink  too  much,  no  matter  what  it  is, 
but  rather  a  little,  often,  slow,  rinsing  the 
mouth  well.  Be  careful  about  ice-water. 
Some  ginger  and  sugar  or  molasses  is  good  in 
your  water.  Home-brewed  ale  of  the  best 
sort  may  help.  As  for  spirits,  it's  too  fiery, 
in  whatever  shape,  gets  up  too  much  fever, 
too  high  pressure  and  makes  the  boiler  burst. 
We've  worked  in  hay  fields  when  sealing  wax 
would  be  soft  as  putty,  and  mowed  away  hay 
under  the  barn  roof  where  it  was  hotter  than 
any  spot  on  this  earth,  and  went  through  it 
without  the  ardent. 

Beware  of  getting  hot  and  tired  and  stand- 
ing in  a  chill  draft  of  air,  especially  if  it  comes 
on  your  back.  That  heat  and  work  has  less- 
ened your  vitality,  and  put  you  in  negative 
condition,  so  that  outer  forces  control  you 
easier,  perspiration  is  checked  and  sad  mis- 
chief done  before  you  think.  Keep  your  face 
to  the  wind  when  you  stop  to  rest,  for  the  re- 
sistant vital  forces  emanate  from  the  front 
more  than  the  rear,  and  he  is  a  wise  as  well  as 
a  brave  man  who  faces  exposure  as  well  as 
danger. 

Don't  bolt  a  hearty  meal  in  hot  haste  and 
rush  out  to  your  work,  but  get  a  little  rested, 
then  eat  moderately,  yet  enough,  and  go  to 
work  fresh.  Dyspepsia  and  its  kindred  hor- 
rors come  often  from  eating  full  meals  with  the 
system  overtaxed  and  heated,  and  no  vital 
power  left  for  digestion.     Keep  cool ;  the  more 


to  be  done  the  more  need  of  self-possession* 
that  you  may  be  master  of  the  situation. 

Don't  eat  heaps  of  meat  and  drink  gallons 
of  rank  colFee  and  strong  tea,  with  a  blind  no- 
tion that  you  must  have  hearty  food.  Your 
bread  or  beans,  pound  for  pound,  has  more 
nutriment  than  your  beef,  and  the  water  don't 
clog  up  the  system  like  this  black  colfee,  or 
rack  the  nerves  like  strong  tea. 

Meat  has  more  stimulus  than  bread,  and  a 
share  of  this  is  well,  but  not  in  excess.  Eat 
meat,  vegetables,  fruits,  &c.,  and  drink  mod- 
erately. Keep  the  system  open  and  all  evac- 
uations easy  and  natural,  and  save  fevers  and 
congestions.  Take  less  meat  in  very  hot 
weather.  Judge  for  yourselves,  but  keep  aU 
firm,  and  trim,  and  cool,  and  open,  in  the  in- 
ternal department,  and  you'll  be  fit  for  a  good, 
long  pull. 

Bathe  often,  hut  never  when  hot  or  tired. 
At  night  a  hand-bath  all  over,  if  not  too  tired, 
and  in  the  morning  you  are  fresh,  and  it  is  al- 
ways safe.  It  helps  greatly  through  the  heat- 
ed season. 

All  this,  and  much  more  in  the  same  way 
that  you  will  all  think  of,  can  be  done,  and 
avoided,  sensibly,  quietly,  and  without  fidget- 
ing, and  rely  on  it,  will  help  through  all  the 
exposure,  make  work  a  welcome  task,  and 
land  most  of  you,  strong  in  body  and  clear  in 
mind,  on  the  cool  edge  of  next  winter's  snow 
banks. — Rural  New  Yorker. 


ECONOMIZATION  OP  "WASTE  MANURE. 
The  following  account  of  the  modes  which 
have  been  adopted  in  Paris  to  promote  the 
health  of  the  people,  and  to  utilize  night  soil, 
&c.,  for  manurial  purposes,  is  communicated  to 
the  Chicago  Farmer,  by  its  intelligent  corres- 
pondent at  the  great  Exposition. 

All  the  night  soil  and  refuse  matter  of  this 
great  city  were  formerly  cast  into  the  sewers 
and  forced  into  the  river  Seine,  rendering 
alike  unhealthy  the  exhalations  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  streets,  and  the  waters  of  the  river 
— an  entire  waste,  and  a  source  of  disease. 
Succeeding  this,  up  to  the  year  1850,  all  this 
refuse  matter  was  kept  from  the  sewers 
and  conveyed  to  Pare  de  Chaumont,  where 
it  was  converted  into  poudrette  and  made  use 
of  as  manure ;  but  this  becoming  too  great  a 
nuisance,  it » was  done  away  with,  and  until 
three  years  ago,  all  thrown  into  an  immense 
subterranean  tunnel,  ten  kilometres  in  length, 
and  forced  by  means  of  steam  pumps  to  the 
forest  of  Bondy,  about  four  miles  distant  from 
any  human  habitation.  At  present  the  offen- 
sive matter  from  about  fifty  thousand  houses 
out  of  the  seventy  thousand  of  Paris,  is  con- 
veyed to  this  point.  It  is  conveyed  to  the 
tunnel  by  scavengers,  in  hogsheads ;  about 
seven  thousand  hogsheads  per  day  are  trans- 
ported. Previously  to  being  manufactui-ed 
into  poudrette,  it  is  all  raked  over  by  hand, 


424 


NEW   ENGLAND   F.\K^IER. 


Sept. 


the  men  taking  out  all  jewels  and  other  val- 
uables it  may  contain.  The  men,  about 
two  hundred  in  number,  thus  engaged,  gain, 
each,  about  four  francs  or  eighty  cents  per 
day,  which,  I  believe,  is  all  the  compensation 
they  obtain. 

A  large  amount  of  the  night  soil  from  the 
balance  of  the  houses  of  the  city,  including 
generally  what  is  called  "New  Paris,"  is  man- 
ufactured within  the  city  limits — yes,  even  in 
this  cleanly  city,  where  not  even  a  sheep  can 
be  slaughtered  without  subjecting  the  butcher 
to  severe  punishment ;  and,  in  reality,  it  is  no 
nuisance ;  its  odor  is  not  perceptible  twenty 
yards  away.  The  refuse  is  taken  by  scaven- 
gers, the  owners  of  houses  paying  them  for 
the  work,  in  closely-covered,  sheet-iron  jars 
placed  in  the  cabinets  of  the  houses,  and  con- 
veyed to  this  factory.  Here  the  solid  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  liquid  matter ;  the  solid  part  is 
thoroughly  mixed  with  lime  slaked  by  50  per 
cent,  of  its  own  weight  of  liquid  (urine  is  pre- 
ferred to  water  for  this  purpose)  ;  a  sort  of 
basin  is  formed  by  this  pulverized  lime,  into 
which  the  jars  are  emptied,  and  the  work  of 
mixing  commenced.  In  five  minutes  the  work 
is  completed,  the  offensive  odor  gone,  and  the 
manure  dry  and  ready  for  shipment.  The 
process  is  patented  on  the  continent  and  in  the 
United  States. 

The  product  finds  a  ready  market.  It  is  con- 
sidered especially  valuable  for  all  root  crops, 
and  particularly  lor  l)cets.  For  wheat  and  the 
small  grains  generally,  it  is  not  directly  applied. 
These  crops  follow  beets  manured  the  previ- 
ous year,  with  good  results.  It  is  applied,  it 
is  said,  at  the  rate  of  about  fifty  bushels  per 
acre.  The  average  amount  produced  at  this 
establishment  is  about  five  hundred  bushels 
per  day,  or  150, OUO  bushels  per  year  of  say 
300  working  days. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  if  all  the  waste  of 
Paris  could  be  thus  utilized,  it  alone  could 
fertilize  nearly  300,000  acres  of  land,  and 
that  all  the  cities  and  towns  of  France  could 
keep  up  to  the  maximum  of  fertility  over 
8,000,000  of  acres. 


DAIRY   COWS. 

Select  and  keep  the  very  best  only.  A  good 
cow,  well  kept,  is  profitable.  Poor  cows  are 
unprofital)le.  ISIy  own  experience  in  selecting 
cows  for  dairying  or  furnishing  milk  to  sell,  is 
to  select  good  wedge-shaped  animals,  heavy 
hind  quarters  and  tapering  towards  the  head, 
with  light  heads,  long  faces,  and  usually  small 
wax-colored  horns ;  also,  slim  necks,  small 
tails,  capacious  udders,  running  well  forward, 
milk  veins  large,  teats  good  size,  rather  long 
and  set  well  apart.  I  ctare  not  for  breed  or 
color.  It  is  ail  hunil)ug  for  dairy  pra/it. 
(Breeding  stork  is  another  story.)  I  think  it 
would  generally  pay  well  for  large  farmers, 
say  those  who  keep  from  twenty  to  thirty  cows, 
to  raise  some  five  to  eight  or  so  of  their  best 


heifer  calves  each  year,  from  their  very  best 
cows,  and  from  a  bull  which  you  know  to  be 
from  a  good  milking  family.  By  so  doing, 
and  by  selecting  the  best  only  to  keep  from 
the  heifers  you  raise,  (when  they  have  their 
first  calf.)  you  will  in  a  few  years  have  a  better 
herd,  and  a  better  paying  herd  of  cows  than 
you  will  be  able  to  buy.  As  to  color,  I  care 
but  little  about  it,  so  long  as  a  cow  has  a  good 
yellow  skin,  a  stripped  hoof  and  a  wax-colored 
horn.  If  her  hair  is  soft  and  silky,  I  care  but 
little  about  the  color  of  it.  I  have  noticed 
but  little,  if  any,  difference  in  the  quality  of 
milk  between  "Old  Brindle',  and  "Little  Red," 
while  the  "Roan  cow"  makes  as  good  a  calf 
as  either,  and  holds  her  milk  as  late  in  the  fall. 
The  boys  think  "Old  Topsy,"  the  brown  cow, 
will  beat  the  whole  flock ;  but  for  the  "season 
through,"  I  should  as  readily  bet  on  "Annie 
Laurie,"  the  pied  cow.  So  you  see  that  color 
is  all  a  fancy,  save  in  the  color  of  the  teats. 
I  should  prefer  colored  to  white,  as  being  less 
likely  to  chap  or  crack. 

As  to  the  profits  of  a  cow,  much  depends  on 
the  milker.  Some  men  are  rank  poison  to 
stock  any  way  ;  and  such  should  never  attempt 
to  milk.  A  good  milker  will  always  treat  the 
cow  gently  and  pleasantly,  milk  fast  and  tell 
or  listen  to  no  stories  while  milking,  and  be 
sure  to  get  the  last  drop  in  the  udder  every 
time.  1  consider  a  cow  in  her  prime  (all 
things  considered)  from  five  to  ten  years  old. 
Some  cows  hold  out  much  better  than  others, 
as  with  men  and  horses ;  and  are  really  as 
young  to  all  intents  and  purposes  at  twelve 
years,  as  others  are  at  nine  or  ten.  Never 
keep  a  cow  through  the  winter  after  she  gets 
to  going  down  hill,  or  kill  a  superior  cow  on 
account  of  her  age,  if  her  teeth  are  good,  and 
she  is  all  right,  without  any  signs  of  deterio- 
ration. Cows  should  be  milked  regularly,  and 
by  steady  milkers. — John  Dimon,  Pomfret. 
Ct. ,  in  Farm  and  Fireside. 


NO   PRESENT   RESULTS  FROM   THE 
NEW    WOOL   TARIFF. 

The  recent  tariff  has  not  yet  advanced  the 
prices  of  wool,  and  the  reason  is  obvious. 
From  the  time  of  the  first  concerted  action  ot 
the  manufacturers  and  wool-growers  for  a  re- 
vision of  the  tariff,  fifteen  months  elapsed  ere 
it  was  consummated,  when  it  might  and  should 
have  been  within  the  first  three  months.  This 
unaccountable  delay  afforded  ample  opportu- 
nity for  the  importation  of  vast  (juantities  of 
both  wool  and  woolens,  and  a  perfect  glut  in 
our  markets  existed  at  the  time  of  the  passage 
of  the  act  in  March  last.  Other  causes  have 
existed  to  prevent  the  effects  of  the  tariff  thus 
fiir,  and  cannot  j)robably  be  suddenly  re- 
moved. The  farmers'  crops  of  last  year  were 
more  or  less  sliort  throughout  our  whole  coun- 
try, thus  causing  a  depression  of  business  gen- 
erally, for  it  always  follows  that  when  the 
great  farming  interests   of    the   country   are 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


425 


prosperous,  all  others  flourish ;  and,  vice  versa, 
■when  they  are  depressed,  a  languishing  condi- 
tion ensues.  Agriculture  is  the  basis,  the 
foundation  of  all  other  interests  ;  it  cannot  be 
depressed  without  the  sympathy  of  all  others. 
The  farmers  are  the  great  consumers  of  man- 
ufactured goods  ;  if  their  means  are  curtailed, 
and  they  find  it  difficult  to  purchase,  and  must 
economize  to  the  utmost  to  live  within  their 
means,  the  manufacturing  and  trade  of  the 
country  will  most  sensibly  feel  it. 

This  state  of  things  has  existed  for  the  last 
nine  months,  and  now  exists,  and  must  con- 
tinue until  the  marketing  of  the  present  growth 
of  crops,  which,  by  present  appearances,  will 
afford  some  relief,  and  help  to  clear  the  mar- 
kets of  the  surplus  of  woolen  goods,  which  is 
causing  the  low  prices  of  our  domestic  wool. 
The  manufacturers  and  importers  should  have 
foreseen,  when  in  anticipation  of  an  increase  of 
duties,  they  were  straining  every  nerve  to  flood 
our  markets  with  foreign  wool  at  the  nominal 
duty  of  3  to  6  cents  per  pound,  that  a  reaction 
would  ensue ;  they  ought  not  to  have  expected 
that  they  could  sell  these  goods,  made  from 
cheap  foreign  wool,  at  a  great  profit,  in  com- 
petition with  the  foreign  importer  of  goods, 
while  they  were  leaving  the  domestic  wool  on 
the  hands  of  the  grower,  unless  he  would  sell 
at  much  less  than  the  cost  of  growing  it.  By 
this  operation,  combined  with  the  other  causes 
named  above,  the  farming  interest,  with  its 
onerous  taxation,  has  been  so  cramped,  that  it 
has  been  but  a  limited  and  poor  customer  for 
woolen  goods,  and  must  continue  to  be  so  until 
a  change  can  better  its  condition,  and  place  it 
at  least  where  it  can  receive  a  new  dollar  for 
an  old  one. 

Every  prudent  man  will  wear  his  old  coat 
another  year  before  he  will  run  in  debt  for 
a  new  one.  But  I  would  not  be  too  hasty  in 
selling  wool  at  present  prices ;  it  does  not  pay 
the  cost  of  production.  My  surplus  sales  are 
almost  wholly  confined  to  this  article,  and 
where  the  help  must  be  hired  at  present  prices, 
taxes  paid,  with  all  other  contingencies,  1 
know  tlie  fine  qualities,  well  washed,  cannot  be 
afforded  for  less  than  70  to  75  cents  per  lb. 

Of  all  the  protective  tariffs  we  have  had  in 
this  country,  none  has  had  an  Immediate  oper- 
ation. There  have  ever  been  depressing 
causes  that  have  postponed  and  delayed  action 
for  a  while,  and  so  it  is  now ;  but  the  time  will 
and  must  come  when  prices  will  advance,  and 
much  more,  in  my  judgment,  than  to  pay  the 
interest  for  holding.  The  duties  on  woolen 
goods  are  higher  now  than  ever  before,  and 
they  should  be,  for  the  government  excise 
taxes  are  much  higher  than  ever  before,  and  a 
protection  against  the  foreign  article  should 
be  had.  In  order  to  give  us  a  fair  competition 
in  our  own  markets.  The  tariff  of  1828,  the 
highest  we  ever  had  except  the  present  on 
woolen  goods,  and  higher  on  wool  than  now, 
had  no  material  effect  on  prices  for  more  than 
two  years.     The  country  had  over-traded,  im- 


ported largely  over  the  means  for  paying,  and 
the  English  manufacturers  seemed  determined 
not  to  relinquish  the  American  market,  and 
crowded  their  fabrics  upon  us,  even  at  a  loss 
to  themselves,  hoping  to  break  down  and  des- 
troy our  manufacturers,  knowing  that  they 
were  then  in  their  infancy,  and  if  they  could 
not  be  crushed,  would  sooner  or  later  become 
their  rivals,  and  hence  these  strenuous  ef- 
forts to  annihilate  them ;  and  from  the  vast 
amount  of  woolen  goods  shoved  upon  our  mar- 
kets for  the  last  twelve  months  by  the  foreign 
importers,  it  savors  a  little  of  a  repetition  of 
the  old  game ;  but  we  shall  survive  it,  as  we 
did  before,  and  come  out  all  right  in  the  end. 

Whoever  remembers  the  operation  of  the 
tariff"  of  1828,  will  take  courage  and  not  be 
disheartened  at  the  present  aspect  of  the  wool 
and  woolen  trade.  The  trade  was  at  a  low  ebb, 
and  so  continued  for  a  long  time.  Domestic 
wool  was  a  drug  upon  our  hands  in  1829,  '30, 
and  many  began  to  doubt  the  efficacy  of  tariffs, 
and  John  Randolph  proclaimed  from  his  seat 
in  Congress  that  he  would  travel  forty  rod? 
out  of  his  way  to  kick  a  sheep.  But  business, 
revived,  the  woolens  were  sold  out  of  our  mar- 
kets, prices  improved,  and  in  1831  wool  ad- 
vanced to  60,  70  and  75  cents  per  pound, — 
nearly  100  per  cent,  in  less  than  three  years. 

I  do  not  claim  any  such  rapid  advance  un- 
der the  workings  of  this  tariff,  but  I  do  claim 
that  no  inconsiderable  advance  will  take  place 
within  the  next  eighteen  months,  and  before 
sacrificing  ten  to  twenty  cents  per  lb.  on  what 
we  now  hold,  I  would  hold  a  while  longer,  un- 
less necessities  are  urgent. — J.  W.  Colburn, 
in  Co.  Gentleman. 

Mt.  Vale  Farm,  Vt.,  July  14,  1867. 


•WARM  DRINKS  IN  HAYING  TIME. 

Some  years  ago,  a  medical  gentleman  of  high 
repute  published  an  article  In  the  newspapers 
of  the  day,  urging  upon  all  farmers  and  others 
obliged  to  work  much  In  the  open  air,  to  avoid 
the  excessive  use  of  cold  water,  and  use  in- 
stead warm  drink.  We  all  of  us  know  that 
many  deaths  and  much  sickness  occur  every 
year  by  a  too  free  use  of  cold  water  during  the 
excessive  hot  weather  of  summer ;  and  we  are 
convinced,  not  only  from  nature's  reasonings, 
but  from  experience,  that  warm  drink  Is  less 
liable  to  prove  injurious,  and  will  quench  thirst 
more  satisfactorily  than  ice  cold  Avater.  We 
therefore  urge  all  housewives  to  keep  the  tea- 
pot on  the  stove  when  cooking,  and  send  to  the 
men  in  the  field  a  quantity  of  warm  tea,  with 
milk  and  a  little  sugar  added.  This  will  be 
more  nourishing  than  water,  will  satisfy  thirst 
more  completely,  and  men  will  not  need  to 
drink  of  it  so  often  as  of  water,  and  will  con- 
sequently receive  no  injury  from  taking  It.  In 
hot  weather  the  Interior  system  needs  to  be 
kept  at  a  temperature  equal  with  or  above  the 
temperature  without,  but  the  free  use  of  cold 
water  chills  the  system  within,  hence  the  inju- 


426 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Sept. 


ry.  Men  will  stand  the  heat  much  better  if 
they  partake  of  warm  drink,  than  if  they  im- 
bibe freely  of  cold  water. — Maine  Farmer. 


LETTER   FBOM   THE   FABM. 
Among  the  Farmers. 

Concord,  July  22,  1867. 

John  Adams'  recommendation  to  ring  the 
bells,  fire  off  crackers  and  big  guns  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  has  been  lived  up  to,  to  the 
very  letter,  for  a  good  many  years.  Perhaps 
that  was  well  enough  when  cities  and  villages 
were  few  and  far  between,  compared  with 
what  they  are  now, — when  there  were  not  so 
many  children  in  the  streets  whose  clothes 
might  be  set  on  fire  by  a  rollicking  rocket,  nor 
half  as  many  horses  to  be  frightened  and  run 
away  with,  and  break,  the  limbs  or  necks  of  a 
carriage  full  of  people ! 

It  certainly  was  refreshing  on  the  last  4th 
of  July,  to  find  a  quiet  day  and  be  able  to 
drive  about  the  town  without  critical  danger 
of  being  run  away  with,  or  upset  by  a  fright- 
ened horse. 

After  all,  I  am  inclined  to  think  some  of 
the  farmers  of  this  town  were  as  patriotic  in 
visiting  and  examining  the  farms  of  each  other, 
as  they  would  have  been  in  the  loudest  de- 
monstrations of  drum  and  trumpet,  big  guns 
and  crackers. 

At  the  close  of  their  winter  meetmgs,  the 
Concord  Farmers'  Club,  voted  to  spend  the  4th 
day  of  July  in  visiting  as  many  of  the  farms 
of  the  members  as  time  would  permit ;  and  in 
accordance  with  that  vote  commenced  their 
perambulations  by  driving  to  the  farm  of 

Mr.  Abiel  H.  Wheeler.  Most  of  the 
land  which  he  cultivates  is  rather  moist,  can- 
not be  conveniently  drained,  and  requires  con- 
siderable skill  to  manage  it  so  as  to  get  re- 
munerative crops.  With  skill  and  industry, 
however,  he  has  succeeded  in  every  crop  he 
has  undertaken,  with  the  exception  of  apples. 
He  now  has  a  large  number  of  apple  trees, 
very  vigorous,  and  of  beautiful  form,  which 
make  an  abundance  of  wood  every  year,  but 
have  never  fruited.  A  portion  of  the  land 
upon  which  they  stand  has  been  heavily  crop- 
ped with  corn,  strawberries,  asparagus  and 
potatoes.  In  the  hope  that  the  trees  would 
cease  their  growth,  in  part,  and  produce  fruit. 
But  no  effort  in  that  direction  has  been  suc- 
cessful, 60  that  he  has  cut  down  an  acre  or  two 


of  them  as  cumberers  of  the  ground.  The 
remainder  will  probably  share  a  similar  fate. 

All  the  crops  on  Mr.  Wheeler's  farm  were 
clean  and  promising.  In  strawberries  he  had 
three  acres ;  in  asparagus,  two  acres ;  In  pickles, 
five  acres ;  in  watermelons,  one  acre.  He 
keeps  quite  a  large  stock  and  "makes"  milk 
for  the  market,  but  as  the  cows  were  at  pas- 
ture I  did  not  see  them,  and  made  no  in- 
quiries as  to  quantity  or  profit. 

The  next  call  was  at  the  nursery  grounds  of 
Mr.  Albert  Stacy,  the  worthy  post  master  of 
this  town — a  gentleman  who  loves  flowers  and 
farming  as  well  as  good  old  Izaak  Walton  did 
"virtue  and  angling."  A  year  or  two  since 
he  purchased  a  "peat  hole,"  with  peat  In  it, 
and  some  scrub  oak  and  sandy  plain  land  at- 
tached. The  hole  was  drained  and  peat  thrown 
out;  scrub  oaks  cut  and  burned,  and  their 
ashes  mingled  with  the  peat  and  spread  upon 
the  land,  and  now  it  is  covered  with  the  finest 
three  acres  of  early  Valentine  beans  that  I 
ever  saw.  Along  side  of  them  are  \i  acres  of 
pop  corn,  5  acres  of  potatoes,  6000  peach 
trees  and  1000  pear  trees,  together  with  other 
varieties  of  nursery  truck.  He  has  made  more 
than  two  plants  grow  where  only  one  grew  be- 
fore, and,  one  of  these  days,  is  to  tell  the  Club 
whether  he  has  done  it  profitably  or  not. 
Our  next  call  was  at  the  farm  of 

Mr.  Charles  A.  Hubbard,  and  a  large 
farm  It  Is,  and  well  tilled,  although  large.  We 
found  him  patriotically  getting  in  hay  !  but  he 
left  all  and  followed  the  club.  He  cuts  some 
seventy-five  tons  of  hay,  keeps  a  large  stock 
of  cattle,  makes  milk  for  Boston,  rakes  some 
hundreds  of  bushels  of  cranberries,  makes 
money  at  farming  and  knows  how  to  be  liberal 
with  it  when  earned.  Had  I  not  been  called 
away,  I  should  be  more  precise  in  describing 
his  operations.  His  buildings  are  spacious  and 
In  excellent  order,  and  the  pair  of  bays  and 
comfortable  carriage  at  the  door,  were  indica- 
tions that  the  family  ride  sometimes  as  well  as 
work. 

Mr.  James  P.  Brown  has  a  large  farm,  and 
one  capable,  I  think,  of  producing  more  for 
the  same  number  of  acres  than  any  other  in 
town.  One  compact  field  directly  behind  the 
barn  contains  eighty  ^cres.  A  portion  of  this, 
where  it  seemed  to  need  it,  has  been  under- 
drained,  which  has  wrought  wonderful  changes 
on  it.  The  crops  on  it  were  very  fine.  One 
acre   in  rye  was  remarkably  stout.     He  has 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


427 


three  acres  in  corn,  and  if  we  understood  him 
rightly,  thirteen  acres  in  potatoes,  two  and 
one  half  in  pickles ;  he  cuts  some  fifty  to  sixty 
tons  of  hay,  winters  twenty-five  to  thirty  head 
of  stock,  and  was  then  making  fifteen  eight 
quart  cans  of  milk  daily.  He  keeps  fifty  fowls, 
which  yield,  by  careful  account,  a  net  profit  of 
one  dollar  each  per  year,  besides  the  conven- 
ience which  they  afford  in  eggs  and  flesh. 

Our  next  "trot"  was  to  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Elijah  Wood,  the  man  who  hauled  half  a 
cord  of  wood,  or  less,  from  the  nostrils  of  his 
ox  last  winter !  He  also  has  a  large  farm  and 
has  twenty-five  acres  under  cultivation  this 
summer,  which  is  designed  for  a  pasture  next 
year.  He  has  thirteen  acres  in  com  which  was 
sown  with  grass  seed  at  the  time  when  the 
corn  was  hoed  the  third  time.  Three  acres  of 
this  is  in  pop  corn,  and  was  manured  with 
leached  ashes  and  superphosphate  of  lime  at 
the  time  of  planting,  and  a  top  dressing  of 
the  same  at  the  time  the  grass  seed  was  sown. 
This  was  done  as  an  experiment.  Seven  acres 
in  potatoes  were  mainly  manured  with  ashes, 
superphosphate  and  salt.  Three  acres  in  cu- 
cumbers for  pickles,  and  half  an  acre  in  peas. 

Mr.  Wood  informed  us  that  a  portion  of 
this  land  had  not  received  a  load  of  manure 
upon  it  since  his  remembrance,  and  that  he  was 
experimenting  in  various  ways  to  learn  whether 
a  light,  sandy  loam  land  may  be  profitably  im- 
proved by  the  use  of  special  manures,  when 
cattle  manure  cannot  be  obtained. 

This  is  a  most  important  point  to  be  settled, 
and  one  which  will  prove  profitable  to  farmers, 
whether  it  be  in  favor  of  the  use  of  special 
fertilizers  or  not. 

Mr.  Wood  has  heretofore  made  valuable  ex- 
periments on  his  farm,  some  of  which  he  has 
communicated  to  your  columns.  All  the  other 
gentlemen  whom  I  have  named,  are  occasional 
contributors  to  the  Farjier.  They  are  prac- 
tical, skilful,  systematic  men  in  their  vocation, 
and  what  they  state  to  your  readers  is  worth 
an  attentive  consideration. 

The  perambulations  were  continued  in  the 
afternoon,  which  I  could  not  make  it  conven- 
ient to  attend.  The  last  call  of  the  Club  was 
at  the  farm  of  the  writer,  for  an  account  of 
which  the  reader  must  look  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Club,  who  has  a  sharp  eye  and  an  easy 
going  pen. 

The  attentive  reader  wiU  see  from  the  above 


statements,  how  rapidly  an  old-fashioned  farm- 
ing town,  eighteen  miles  from  Boston  is  being 
converted  into  a  market  garden.  It  is  only  a 
few  years  since  West  Cambridge,  (now  Ar- 
hngton.)  Belmont,  and  a  few  other  towns  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  furnished  nearly 
all  the  early  vegetables  that  were  consumed 
there.  Now  these  supplies  come  from  nearly 
all  the  towns  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles 
of  Boston  and  the  other  cities  near  it, — those 
towns  having  a  railroad  probably  supplying  by 
far  the  largest  portion. 

In  addition  to  the  asparagus,  strawberries, 
lettuce,  and  other  salads,  we  have  twenty-five 
acres  in  grapes,  which  are  becoming  very  pro- 
ductive, and  whose  crops  mostly  go  to  the  Bos- 
ton markets.  This  phase  of  farming,  called 
market  gardening,  is  being  gradually  extended 
feach  year,  and  if  manure  can  be  transported 
from  the  cities  at  a  paying  cost,  there  will  soon 
be  a  large  business  done  in  this  branch  of  cul- 
tivating the  soil. 

As  the  cities  of  Cambridge  and  Charlestown 
increase  in  population  and  business,  the  lands 
heretofore  occupied  for  raising  "garden  truck," 
will  become  too  costly  for  such  a  purpose,  and 
cheaper  land  further  back  must  be  taken.  So 
it  wiU  be,  we  presume,  on  all  sides  of  the 
cities,  and  the  farmers  who  have  heretofore 
raised  Only  the  grosser  crops  will  turn  their 
attention  to  fruits,  vegetables  and  flowers. 

Similar  visits  in  other  farming  towns  would 
produce,  I  think,  valuable  results ;  farmers 
would  make  more  money  for  them.  Try  it 
and  see.     Truly  yours.         Simon  Brown. 

Messrs.  R.  P.  Eaton  &  Co. 


Washing  Milk  Cans  by  Steam. — Homer 
A.  Kidd  of  Walden,  Orange  County,  N.  Y., 
writes  to  the  Utica  Herald  that  in  order  to  get 
good,  pure,  sweet  milk  at  his  factory,  he  washes 
with  steam  all  the  farmers'  cans,  both  night  and 
morning.  Forty  quart  cans  are  used,  the 
same  as  are  used  on  the  railroads  to  send  milk 
to  the  city.  He  thinks  this  extra  work  pays 
four- fold,  for  he  finds  he  cannot  trust  the 
farmers  to  keep  their  cans  sweet  and  clean. 
He  has  learned  the  importance  of  having  good 
milk  in  making  a  prime  article  of  cheese. 
With  this  washing  of  the  cans,  and  the  farm- 
ers having  tin  pails  to  milk  the  cows  in,  he 
gets  the  milk  in  much  better  condition. 


428 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Sept. 


DEVHi'S   DAKNINQ-NEEDIiE. 


This  insect  is  known 
throughout  New  Eng- 
land as  the  "Devirs 
Darning  Needle,"  and 
many  children  suffer 
much  from  fear  of  its 
sting.  They  are  some- 
times told  that  if  they 
say  naughty  words  this 
"critter"  will  come  and 
sew  up  their  mouths. 
This  is  not  only  a  reg- 
ular ghost  story,  but  it 
is  a  slander  on  the 
poor  innocent  Darnin"^ 
Needle,  which,  in  fact,  can  neither  sting  nor 
bite,  and  may  be  handled  by  the  most  del  ■ 
icate  fingers  with  perfect  safety.  Still  many 
children  are  really  afraid  of  it,  and  watch 
its  flight  with  emotions  of  pain  and  dread, 
instead  of  admiration  and  pleasure,  which 
it  should  excite.  It  is  not  only  entirely  harm- 
less, but  it  is  as  useful  as  it  is  busy  and 
active.  If  the  children,  in  place  of  running 
from  it,  would  invite  it  into  their  houses,  in- 
stead of  being  pierced  by  its  ugly  looking  jav- 
elin, they  would  wake  up  in  the  morning  with 
fewer  "  skeeter  bites,"  and  their  mother's 
breakfast  table  and  their  own  noses  would  be 
less  troubled  with  flies.  But  the  poor  thing 
has  got  a  bad  name,  and  so  it  is  shut  out  of 
our  dwellings  and  out  of  our  society. 

But,  laying  aside  our  fears  and  our  preju- 
dice, let  us  some  calm  summer  afternoon,  at 
about  five  or  six  o'clock,  sit  down  on  the  bank 
with  our  face  to  the  west  and  a  hill  of  corn  or 
some  other  growing  plant  between  us  and  the 
setting  sun.  Now  look  !  What  do  you  see  ? 
Why,  there  is  the  Dragon-fly  poised  in  the  air, 
apparently  as  motionless  as  death,  with  wings 
outstretched,  just  as  they  are  i-epresented  in 
the  engraving  above.  What  can  he  be  doing, 
so  motionless,  hanging  in  the  air !  He  is — but 
he  is  gone  !  What  could  have  struck  him  out 
of  existence  so  suddenly  ?  Look  on  the  other 
side  of  the  corn.  O,  there  he  is,  just  as  still 
as  ever.  He  is  watching  his  prey.  Now  look 
between  yourself  and  the  sun,  and  you  sec  in- 
sects darting  off  from  the  hill  of  corn,  so  small 
that  the  eye  would  not  discern  them  unless  in 
that  peculiar  light.     They  dart  from  the  corn, 


make  a  few  gyrations  and  back  again,  that  be- 
ing the  boundary  of  their  travels,  and,  alas, 
too  often  the  boundary  of  their  little  life.  The 
dragon-fly  does  not  rest  suspended  in  the  air 
without  an  object — and  every  time  he  passes 
back  and  forth,  one  of  the  tiny  dwellers  upon 
the  corn  goes  to  make  up  his  evening  meal. 

Will  not  these  suggestions  induce  many  to 
study  the  habits  of,  and  become  more  familiar 
with,  the  beautiful  and  harmless  dragon-fly  ? 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WHY   THE   BOYS   LEAVE   THE   FAKM. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  the  fiirming  por- 
tions o^  New  England  the  farmer's  sans,  in 
perhaps  most  instances,  forsake  the  occupation 
of  their  fathers,  and  leave  the  old  homestead 
to  be  tilled  by  strangers.  Many  reasons  have 
been  given  for  this  unfortunate  circumstance, 
none  of  which  seem  to  me  to  go  to  the  root  of 
the  matter. 

The  true  reason  lies  here.  Regular,  legiti- 
mate fanning  pays  perhaps  the  suiallest  profit 
of  any  business  requiring  equal  capital  and 
skill ;  hence,  active  young  men  are  a[)t  to  go 
where  they  can  or  may  do  better.  The  profits 
of  a  farm  arise  from  two  sources  :  interest  on 
the  caj)ital  invested,  and  return  for  the  labor 
expended.  The  first  will  be  low,  because  of 
the  entire  absence  of  the  element  of  lisk ;  and 
the  second  will  be  moderate,  because  it  is  the 
return  ibr — in  great  degree — unskilled  labor. 
JMoueyed  men  will  tell  you  that  tiie  interest 
paid  lor  the  use  of  money  is  regulated  by  two 
considerations, — the  actual  worth,  and  pay  for 
the  risk  tlic  lender  rims  of  losing  tlu'  principal. 
The  way  the  low  interest  on  the  value  of  a 
farm  is  brought  about  is  by  its  cost  being  high 
relatively  to  the  profit  realized.  Property  is, 
of  course,  valued  high  or  low,  according  to  the 


18G7, 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


429 


profit  which  it  yields  ;  but  where  the  liability 
is  strong  that  the  whole  may  be  lost,  this  value 
will  stand  at  such  a  point  that  the  profit  may 
constitute  a  large  per  cent,  upon  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  the  property  is  of  a  nature 
which  must,  without  fail,  yield  an  income 
while  wood  grows  and  water  runs,  the  price 
rises  so  as  to  leave  for  profit  only  the  bare 
worth  of  the  money  invested.  This  last  is 
eminently  the  case  with  money  put  into  a  farm. 

Again  as  to  the  value  of  labor.  It  is  not 
meant,  of  course,  that  small  skill  is  needed  to 
manage  a  flirm  well, — the  above  remarks  show 
plainly  that  unusual  expertness  is  requisite  to 
secure  a  handsome  return, — but  to  do  fair, 
average  farming,  to  reap  reasonable  crops, 
calls  for  little  more  skill  than  to  wield  the  hoe 
and  turn  the  furrow.  Such  labor  cannot  com- 
mand high  wages.  These  observations,  if 
carefully  considered,  will  explain  why  it  is  that 
the  boys  find  it  such  slow  work  to  pay  for  a 
farm  from  its  own  profits.  All  perfectly  safe 
investments  accumulate  slowly.  Think  how 
long  it  would  take  for  the  English  three  per 
cent  stocks  to  double  themselves,  while  money 
lent  on  "wild-cat"  secui-ity,  at  twenty-five  per 
cent.,  increases  very  fast,  if  at  all.  This  is 
the  whole  mystery. 

Do  the  boys  who  read  this,  think  it  small 
comfort  to  be  told  tliey  can  make  but  little  by 
farming,  even  if  the  reason  therefor  be  given  ? 
Yes,  there  is  comfort  in  it.  Open  the  eyes  of 
your  mind,  see  all  these  things  just  as  they  are, 
appreciate  all  the  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  both  sides,  and  then  choose ;  and 
having  chosen,  go  ahead  like  a  man. 

Now,  boys,  let  us  look  into  it.  If  you  stay 
on  the  fainn  and  do  not  load  your  land  with 
expensive,  fancy  improvements,  and  run  in 
debt  for  them,  you  will  be  sure  of  a  living  for 
yourself,  wife  and  children, — and  the  more  of 
these  "olive  branches"  you  raise  the  richer 
you  will  be, — so  long  as  the  world  endures. 
The  ground  will  always  yield  her  increase, 
and  if  you  sow  diligently  you  will  reap  abun- 
dantly— a  little  more  of  this  and  less  of  that 
in  any  given  season  perhaps — and  the  gathered 
crops  you  can  eat,  or  you  can  sell  them  with- 
out asking  the  favor  or  patronage  of  any  one. 
You  hold  the  staff  of  life  and  all  must  come  to 
you.  Wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  financial  ups 
and  financial  downs,  interest  you  simply  as  the 
news  of  the  day.  For  at  the  bottom  of  the 
whole  business  is  the  fact,  that  you  can  always, 
at  a  pinch,  live  entirely  off'  the  products  of 
your  land. 

The  shoemaker  starves  unless  some  one  will 
give  him  food  in  exchange  for  his  wares ;  but 
you  are  not  only  sure  of  a  return,  but  that  re- 
turn you  can  put  in  your  own  and  your  chil- 
dren's mouths,  and  meanwhile  laugh  moder- 
ately at  the  panics  of  your  neighbors. 

But  suppose  you  resolve  to  leave  the  farm 
and  seek  your  fortune  elsewhere.  You  in- 
stantly become  more  or  less  dependent  on  the 
favor  of  others  ;  and,  upon  investigation,  you 


will  discover  that  the  higher  the  prizes  which 
your  chosen  profession  offers,  the  less  is  your 
chance  of  winning  them.  You  look  to  the  law, 
perhaps.  A  (juarter  of  the  members  of  that 
profession  fail  utterly,  and  either  die  in  the 
midst  of  disappointment  or  seek  other  means 
of  support ;  perhaps  one-half  manage  to  live  ; 
an  eighth  do  well,  while  the  rest  run  up  from 
well  to  very  best,  acquiring  wealth  and  distinc- 
tion. Do  you  wish  to  be  a  merchant?  At 
least  one-half  who  venture  into  trade  fail  to 
make  way  for  themselves ;  of  the  other  half 
most  do  fairly;  a  few  Ijecome  "merchant 
princes,"  unless  previously  killed  by  hard 
work  and  care.  Tluis  it  is,  wherever  we  may 
look.  If  you  must  needs  be  rich  and  will  take 
the  risks  connected  with  the  pursuit  of  wealth, 
then  the  farm  is  no  place  for  you.  You  will 
never  do  its  work  with  a  hearty  good  will,  and 
had  better  not  try.  On  the  other  hand,  do 
you  wish  to  shun  the  uncertainties  of  life,  and 
desire  to  achieve  by  diligence  perfect  indepen- 
dence of  mind  and  body — preferring  certain 
moderate  success  to  the  perplexities  and  cares, 
the  ups  and  downs  of  the  outer  world, — then 
get  a  farm  on  the  best  terms  you  can,  get  a 
help  meet  for  you,  raise  up  a  fiimily,  and  con- 
sider yourself,  with  reason,  one  of  the  princes 
of  the  earth. 

If  this  essay  has  interested  and  instructed 
you,  I  may  offer  some  hints  by  which  you  may 
be  able  to  get  more  for  your  labor  on  the 
farm.  a. 

Claremont,  N.  H.,  18G7. 

Remarks. — It  is  very  common  to  assume, 
as  our  correspondent  does,  that  the  young 
man  who  has  had  an  apprenticeship  of  thrice 
seven  years  in  the  use  of  agricultural  imple- 
ments should  be  ranked  with  the  unskilful  la- 
borer; is  it  correct  to  do  so?  Put  an  axe,  a 
scythe,  a  hoe,  a  sickle,  or  even  a  bob-sled  into 
the  hands  of  a  really  "unskilful  laborer"  and 
place  him  in  the  field  or  wood-lot  alongside  of 
a  Yankee  farmer's  son,  and  then  see  if  the 
latter  has  not  the  full  advantage  of  "skilled 
labor." 

For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NOTES   ON    THE    CONNECTICUT    VAL- 
LEr.— No.  VI. 
Cultivation  of  Tobacco. 

I  am  ignorant  of  the  exact  time  of  its  first 
cultiu'e,  as  a  field  crop,  in  this  section,  but 
am  under  the  impression  that  it  dates  back 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years,  as  I  have  seen 
fields  that  have  been  referred  to  as  having 
been  used  for  growing  tobacco  that  period  of 
time.  Much  experience  is  thought  necessary 
to  success  in  this  as  in  all  other  kinds  of  busi' 
ness. 

In  the  selection  of  a  proper  locality  for  a 
seed  bed,  a  sheltered  place  with  a  southern  in- 


430 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAR]\IER. 


Sept. 


clination  is  sought  for,  in  order  to  bring  for- 
ward as  early  as  possible  the  plants  for  setting. 
A  failure  to  do  this  often  results  in  a  failure 
at  the  end  of  the  season,  by  reason  of  frost. 
The  seed  bed  is  highly  manured,  and  weeds 
are  sure  to  be  on  hand  as  soon  or  sooner  than 
the  tobacco,  and  must  be;  picked  out  when 
large  enough  to  be  laid  hold  of  with  the  fin- 
gers, or  they  will  overtop  and  destroy  the 
plants.  In  preparing  the  field  for  setting,  no 
great  diversity  of  practice  prevails.  Some, 
and  1  think  most,  plow  in  their  manure  the 
first  time  plowing,  two  or  three  weeks  previous 
to  the  last  plowing,  which  is  usually  just  before 
time  to  set  the  plants.  This  method  ensures 
the  destruction  of  many  weeds  as  well  as  the 
thorough  incorporation  of  the  manure  with  the 
soil,  wfiich  is  very  desirable  not  only  for  to- 
bacco but  all  other  crops. 

The  harrowing  comes  next  in  order,  then 
the  laying  out  in  rows.  Some  prefer  the  flat 
culture,  others  ridge  up.  The  hills  are  pre- 
pared with  the  hoe.  Many,  of  late,  use  some 
fertilizer  in  the  hill.  Phosphates  are  preferred. 
Fish  guano  is  also  extensively  used  for  this 
purpose,  and  is  also  spread  on,  either  with  or 
without  composting  with  muck  or  loam.  I 
used  the  past  season  several  tons  of  it,  com- 
posted with  plaster,  to  fix  the  ammonia,  with 
satisfactory  results. 

As  soon  as  the  plants  are  set  it  is  necessary 
to  be  on  the  constant  watch  for  worms.  The 
cut-worms  are  often  very  troublesome.  A 
single  night'' s  work  of  theirs  as  revealed  b_v 
morning  light  is  sometimes  really  surprising. 
Resetting  must  be  persistently  kept  up  until 
too  late  to  hope  lor  the  maturity  of  the  plant. 
As  soon  as,  and  even  before  the  cut-worm  is  out 
of  the  way,  the  large,  green  worm,  that  some 
call  the  tobacco  worm,  comes  upon  the  scene 
of  action,  and  if  allowed  to  have  his  own  way, 
would  soon  relieve  the  cultivator  of  all  farther 
trouble  with  his  crop,  by  rendering  it  worthhiss 
ibr  market.  The  leaf,  being  used  for  wrappers 
tor  cigars,  must  be  fved  from  lioles  and  frac- 
tures. A  single  worm  will,  in  a  very  short 
time,  destroy  several  ilollars'  worth  of  ])lants. 
Each  day,  if  plenty,  they  nuist  be  looked  uj). 
All  other  work  nuist  give  ])lace  to  this.  'J'he 
weeds  also  must  be  kept  down  and  clean  cul- 
ture secured.  All  cultivators  seem  to  recog- 
nize the  tyrannical  beiiests  of  this  croj)  and  pa- 
tiently submit  to  them. 

Two  to  three  weeks  previous  to  cutting,  the 
topping  is  done,  and  the  suckering  attended 
to.  Ex|)erience  is  necessary  lor  doing  the  for- 
mer. There  is  said  to  be  a  leaf  that  indicatcis 
where  the  top  should  be  severed.  Care  is 
requisitf;  in  handling  when  jxitting  in  and  hang- 
ing up  for  curing,  lest  the  leaf  should  get  torn. 
It  nmst  remain  on  the  poles  a  longer  or  shorter 
time  according  to  the  weallutr  before  it 
is  Sdj'ti  to  strip.  If  propt'rl)-  housed,  many 
leave  it  until  spring  Ijefbre  doing  it.  A  damp 
spell  or  a  rain  storm  is  rt!(|iiii('d  to  limber  the 
leaf  so  as  not  to  break   in   handlinjr.     Often 


delays  of  several  weeks  occur  from  the  absence 
of  such  weather. 

For  a  few  years  prices  were  very  remunera- 
tive, and  a  ready  market  at  hand.  A  great  de- 
pression in  the  market  exists  at  present,  and  a 
feeling  of  discouragement  now  prevails.  A 
prominent  farmer  here  told  me  to-day  that  he 
would  not  give  ten  dollars  an  acre  for  farms, 
if  the  tobacco  crop  was  to  be  a  failure  in  fu- 
ture. This  feeling  is  (|uite  common.  The 
South  and  West  are  regarded  as  a  refuge 
from  hard  work  and  small  returns.  It  is  well 
to  remember  the  adage  respecting  getting  out 
of  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire.  K.  o. 

East  Windsor,  Conn.,  1S67. 


GROWING   RYE    STRAW. 

The  making  of  white  print  paper  from  rye 
straw  was  conmienced  at  Fort  Edward  N.  Y., 
in  1857.  At  that  time,  rye  straw  could  not 
be  procured  in  sufficient  quantities  to  keep  one 
mill  running.  It  takes  two  tons  of  straw  for 
a  ton  of  paper.  The  farmers  began  to  grow 
the  crop  in  W^ashington  and  Saratoga  counties, 
and  now  ten  large  mills  are  in  operation,  using 
in  the  aggregate  15,UU0  tons  annually.  The 
straw  at  these  mills,  for  the  past  five  years  has 
averaged  less  than  $15  per  ton,  and  $225,000 
are  brought  into  these  counties  for  straw 
alone.  Then  there  is  the  value  of  the  grain. 
It  was  a  ])oor  farming  district  before  the  intro- 
duction ol"  rye  growing,  and  now  the  farmers 
were  making  good  incomes.  The  mills  at  Her- 
kimer are  now  using  six  tons  of  rye  straw  per 
day.  Matthew  Smith,  ot'Franklbrt,  grew  last 
year  on  an  aire  of  land  and  from  two  bushels 
of  sowing,  47  bushels  of  rye,  for  which  he  got 
$1.20  per  bushel,  and  two  tons  of  straw  which 
were  sold  at  $24.  This  makes  $80.40  as  the 
yield  from  one  acre,  which  may  be  con^idered 
a  very  profitable  crop.  Probaldy  the  farmers 
of  Ilerkuuer  would  find  it  to  their  advantage 
to  grow  r}e  in  connection  with  the  dairy.  The 
llei»lvin)cr  mills  are  using  2,000  tons  of  straw 
annually,  and  are  forced  to  get  their  supply 
li'om  fcjclieneetady.  It  comes  in  bales.  Kye 
.-traw  is  worth  from  $24  to  $.")0  per  ton  in 
Xew  York  city,  and  is  of  ready  sale.  At  the 
mills  East  they  l)ay  $20  per  ton  for  it.  The 
business  is  conlined  to  the  States  of  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland, 
Delaware  and  Illinois.  Nine-tenths  of  the 
printing  paper  made  of  straw  is  produced  in 
New  York. — Utica  Herald. 


— G.  R.  Ratlibm-ii,  Vinchuul,  Mo.,  47  miles  south 
of  St.  Louis,  on  tlic  Iron  Motuitain  Railroad,  writes 
to  the  New  Yorlv  Farmers'  Chil)  tliat  those  wlio  are 
acquainted  ia  California,  tliink  the  climate  and 
soil  of  his  section  otiual  to  the  Pacific  coast  for 
tlie  i)roiluction  of  grapes.  Five  hundred  gallons 
jier  acre  is  not  considered  an  unusual  crop,  and  so 
thoroughly  do  grapes  ripen,  that  no  sugar  is  used 
in  manuf'aeturinij  the  wine. 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


431 


MANURES. 

^^T-'-y     «i    ITHER   directly  or  indirectly, 

^lM>Y}^^  manures  are  the  motive  power 

>J -".5'>^-*'V    in    agricultural    enterprises — 

the  engine  which  propels  the  vessel. 

JNluch    and    highly    as    we    prize 

cleanly  cultivation,  it  will  avail  but 

^r£  little  on  an  impovished  soil. 

Manure  contributes  in  one  way 
or  another,  to  supply  nearly  all  the  aliment 
which  vegetation  receives,  and  it  is  to  those 
manures  which  are  furnished  by  decaying 
vegetable  and  animal  matters,  that  we  are 
principally  indebted  for  the  fertility  of  the  soil, 
and  the  capacity  it  possesses  of  jielding  those 
products  so  essential  to  the  life  of  animals, 
and  of  man. 

Every  thing  that  has  once  been  energized  by 
the  vitalizing  principle  oi  life  is,  in  itself,  qual- 
ified to  act  as  manure.  When  life  ceases,  the 
chemii'al  affinities  assume  ascendancy,  and  the 
chemical  constituents  are  released  from  the 
union  imposed  and  confirmed  by  the  vital  prin- 
ciple, and  each  acts  independently,  and  pro- 
duces phenomena  peculiarly  and  specifically  its 
own.  The  inorganic  particles  return  again  to 
the  soil  from  which  they  were  originally  de- 
rived, or  elaborated;  wuile  those  parts  which 
are  the  result  of  organic  action,  escape  into 
the  air,  or  are  absorbed  by  substances  for  which 
they  possess  affinity,  and  by  them  are  pre- 
served to  be  again  employed  in  the  economy 
of  organized  reproduction  and  life. 

The  waste  attendant  upon  the  decay  or  de- 
composition of  organic  matter,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  involves  a  heavy  pecuniary  loss 
to  the  farmer ;  the  magnitude  of  which  he  not 
unfreqnently  increases  by  the  improper  man- 
ner in  which  he  applies  such  substances  when 
appropriated  a3  manure  to  his  fields  and 
cropL.. 

Some  persons  deprecate  the  idea  that  the 
mere  gaseous  products  of  vegetable  fermenta- 
tion, can  be  of  any  essential  benefit  to  plants ; 
yet  the  experiments  of  Sir  IIumphkey  Davy 
demonstrate  that  they  are  so.  He  filled  a  re- 
tort by  inverting  it  over  a  mass  of  fermenting 
manure,  a.nd  placed  it  among  the  roots  of  cer- 
tain vegetables,  and  although  nothing  but  vapor 
escaped  from  the  beak,yet  the  vegetation  around 
it  presented  in  a  very  short  time  a  surprising 
degree  of  fertility,  and  was  far  more  energetic 
and  luxuriant  than  that  in  t!ie  same  field,  which 
was  bevond  its  infiuence. 


It  is  thought  by  some  that  at  least  one-half 
of  the  valuable,  soluble  parts  of  all  the  refuse 
material  produced  on  the  farms  of  this  comntry, 
is  lost  either  by  infiltration,  which  carries  it  be- 
low and  beyond  the  range  of  easy  appropria- 
tion by  the  roots  of  the  vegetable  tribe,  or  by 
evaporation,  which  no  less  effectually  ensures 
its  loss,  by  disseminating  it  in  the  atmosphere, 
to  be  borne  away  by  the  winds. 

When  manure  is  protected  by  roofs,  or  even 
by  a  stratum  of  mould,  while  vmdergoing  the 
process  of  fermentation,  a  very  considerable 
proportion  of  its  gaseous  products  are  pre- 
served and  retained.  "Absorbents"  and  "fix- 
ers" should  be  always  at  hand,  and  not  a  par- 
ticle of  matter  capable  of  contributing  to  veg- 
etable growth  should  be  suffered  to  escape  un- 
employed. 

A  pile  of  fresh  manure  will  shrink  in  weight 
surprisingly  in  a  short  time.  It  has  been 
tested  by  different  observers.  One  states  that 
twenty-five  cwt.  recent  dung  yield, 

At  tlie  end  of  fix  weeks, 21  cwt. 

After  ciL'ht  weeks, 20     '• 

When  half  rotted, 15  10  17     " 

When  fully  rotted, lu  to  13    " 

From  all  these  facts,  it  must  be  inferred  that 

great  care  ought  to  be  observed  in  preserving 

manure,  after  it  is  collected. 


PEACHES,  GRAPES,  AND  CURRANTS. 

We  had  the  pleasure,  a  few  days  ago,  of  go- 
ing over  a  portion  of  the  farm  of  i\ir.  Samuel 
Wilson,  of  Windham,  N.  II.,  and  of  looking 
at  the  crops  upon  it.  For  many  years  LIr. 
Wilson  was  engaged  in  the  nursery  business, 
and  produced  a  large  amount  of  most  of  the 
trees  and  flowers  that  were  in  demand  in  his 
region  of  country.  He  did  so  much,  and  did  it 
so  well,  that  he  became  widely  known  as  a  re- 
lia^'le  person  from  whom  to  order  any  thing 
wanted  in  his  line  of  business.  Latterly,  how- 
ever, he  has  abandoned  his  general  business  in 
order  to  give  more  attention  to  two  or  three 
special  crops.  To  these  special  crops  our  at- 
tention was  principally  turned. 

He  has  seven  acres,  in  peaches,  grapes  and 
currants.  On  these  seven  acres  there  are 
eight  hundred  peach  trees,  being  set  one  rod 
apart  each  way.  Those  having  stood  there 
the  longest  are  seventeen  years  old,  and  from 
that  down  to  those  but  six  years  old.  Of  the 
800  in  all,  there  was  not  a  single  tree  without 
peaches  !  and  on  most  of  them  there  was  alto- 
gether too  many.  1 


432 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAKMER. 


Sept. 


On  entering  the  orchard  the  first  thing  that 
strHck  us  with  surprise  was,  that,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  among  the  oldest  trees,  there 
were  no  dead  twigs  or  branches  to  be  seen. 
The  trees  were  about  eight  or  nine  feet  high, 
very  uniform  in  height,  and  were  clothed  with 
a  remarkably  high-colored  and  vigorous  foliage. 
"Why  are  not  these  trees  winter-killed?" 
we  inquired;  "is  that  the  reason?"  pointing 
to  a  liberal  mulcUng  of  hay  around  each  tree. 
"That  is  the  question  usually  asked  by  ob- 
serving persons,  on  entering  the  orchard,"  he 
replied. 

He  said  the  base  of  the  tree,  and  the  roots 
near  it,  must  be  protected  from  sudden  changes, 
and  in  accordance  with  that  belief  he  hauled 
four  tons  of  meadow  hay  and  straw  into  the 
orchard  and  placed  it  about  the  trees. 

In  connection  with  this  practice,  he  heads 
the  branches  in,  annually  ;  not  merely  clipping 
off  the  ends  of  the  twigs,  but  cutting  off  the 
upright  branch  just  above  where  two  side  limbs 
push  out ;  even  when  the  upright  branch  is  half 
an  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  This  induces 
other  lateral  branches  to  push  out  below,  which 
soon  give  the  tree  a  low  and  compact  form. 

The  soil  of  the  whole  seven  acres  is  ledgy 
and  stony,  and  has  a  sort  of  yellowish  color. 
When  worked,  it  is  extremely  light  and  friable, 
very  productive,  and  Mr.  W.  says,  sustains 
a  drought  better  than  heavy  clay  loams.  All 
the  plants  growing  upon  it  gave  evidence  that 
it  contained  highly  fertilizing  elements.  Do 
those  elements  come  from  the  stones,  in  a  con 


and  had  a  little  of  the  natural  grape  flavor 
both  in  the  taste  and  smell.  Several  ladies 
and  gentlemen  present  tasted  it  and  pronounced 
it  the  best  native  wine  they  had  ever  found. 
He  makes  it  in  pretty  large  quantity  and  sells 
it  at  $3  per  gallon. 

Mr.  Wilson  formerly  paid  considerable  at- 
tention to  the  culture  of  the  currant  as  a  mar- 
ket crop,  but  the  peaches  and  grapes,  have 
absorbed  his  attention  so  much  that  he  has  al- 
lowed that  pursuit  to  become  of  secondary 
consideration. 

Evidences  of  his  passion  for  trees  are  on  all 
sides  of  his  farm.  Some  splendid  black  wal- 
nuts stand  before  his  house,  the  butternut 
lines  the  roadside,  and  young  and  beautiful 
shell-barks  greatly  ornament  what  would  oth- 
erwise be  waste  places.  All  these  are  inter- 
mingled, in  some  places,  with  lofty  chestnuts, 
white  pines  and  other  forest  trees. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NEW   ENGLAND    ENTERPRISE. 
A  compact  tract  of  540  acres  of  wood  land, 
much  of  which  was  heavily  timbered,  situated 
about  two  miles  from  West  Acton  Depot,  Mass., 
has  been  known  for  many  years  as  ;he  "Inches 
Estate,"— having  been  held   by   the   heirs   ot 
Henderson   Inches,    of   Boston.     Four   years 
ao-o  this  estate  was  purchased  by  a  gentleman 
wlio  cleared  olf  the  wood  and  timber,  and  re- 
sold the  land  in  lots   to    suit   purchasers ;  an 
operation    by   which   he  is  reported  to  have 
cleared   about  fifty  thousand   dollars.     After 
the  removal  of  the  wood,  the  land  was  sold  tor 
a  hi<Th  price  for  such  land,  but 


$:iO  per  acre,     ^  —o--  r 

those  elements  come  iron,  tue  »»..=.  ... .  ™.-  ,  betag  .by  the  side  of  a  P^Wj'^;  ■:»»'!•  ^^  » /»'?j' 
side^able  degree?     When  .he  ,and  is  in  grass   ^^rrsr-LLt^ltwaslfdCand  ^ 


he  states  that  the  crops  are  usually  abundant 
Mr.  Wilson  has  a  large,  and  we  should  think, 
excellent  farm,  and  in  good  order,  but  he 
stated  to  us  that  he  can  make  more  money  from 
the  seven  acres  in  question,  than  he  could 
upon /oiir  farms  like  his.  He  does  not  suc- 
ceed, however,  in  getting  a  crop  of  peaches 
every  year,  perhaps  not  a  full  crop  oftener 
than  once  in  three  years,— but  a  partial  crop 
every  year  until  the  last,  when  he  did  not  have 
a  peck. 

Another  portion  of  this  enclosure  was  occu- 
pied with  grapes,  wildlings,  taken  from  the 
valleys  around  him,  and  a  selection  of  the  best 
made  I'rom  a  considerable  number.  They  ap- 
peared very  vigorous,  had  a  light  crop  of  fruit 
upon  them,  and  are  entirely  hardy.  The  wine 
made  from  them,  was  clear,  quite  dark  in  color. 


although  somewhat  rocky,  it  was  in  demand  as 
pasture  land. 

Amono-  the  purchasers  of  this  tract  was  ISIr. 
Luke  Blanchard,  of  West  Acton,  who  bought 
200  acres.  He  cleared  up  150  acres  of  it  the 
first  year ;  putting  100  acres  into  winter  rye, 
seeding  it  to  grass.  The  other  50  acres  being 
too  wet  for  grain,  were  drained ;  the  ditche^ 
bein"  so  arranged  that  the  water  can  be  held 
backer  let  off  at  pleasure.  Over  a  large  part 
of  it,  timothy,  rcdtop,  and  fowl  meadow  have 
come  in,  and  where  the  water  fiashes  over, 
blucjoint  is  showing  itself.  Those  who  have 
luid  experience  in  sul)duing  such  land  wil  ap- 
preciate the  amount  of  labor  that  must  have 
been  expended  upon  these  loO  acres. 

The  writer  saw  this  land  before  Mr.  Blanch- 
ard commenced  operations,  and  also  while  he 
was  at  work  upon  it.  A  more  uninviting  held 
of  labor  than  the  wet  portion  presented,  could 
not  easily  be  found;  covered,  as  it  was,  with 
limbs,  stumps  and  brush,  with  much  of  it  qmte 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


433 


wet.  Now  behold  the  contrast!  Over  this 
whole  field  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
there  is  a  beautiful  covering  of  grass.  Mr. 
Blanchard  has  ah'eady  top-dressed  several 
acres  with  loam  and  gravel  and  intends  to  im- 
prove much  more  in  the  same  manner.  A 
part  of  the  grass  is  now  cut  and  yields  a  very 
heavy  crop, — as  much  as  can  be  well  dried 
upon  the  ground. 

Other  purchasers  have  also  made  creditable 
improvements.  About  500  acres,  in  all,  have 
been  cleared,  most  of  which  has  been  enclosed 
by  substantial  stone  wall.  This  large  tract, 
varied  with  hill  and  valley,  now  presents  a 
beautiful  sight, — a  part  of  it  being  devoted 
to  mowing,  and  part  resei-ved  for  cattle,  who 
daintily  crop  its  abundant  feed, 

Mr.  Blanchard  sold  his  crop  of  rye  and 
straw  on  the  100  acres,  as  soon  as  harvested, 
for  about  $3000 ;  and  might  have  obtained 
several  hundred  dollars  more  for  the  grain  had 
he  kept  it  longer.  The  cost  of  improving  the 
150  acres,  he  estimates  as  something  more 
than  the  income  of  his  rye  crop.  He  paid  $4  per 
acre  for  cutting  the  brush  the  first  time.  The 
marketable  value  of  the  whole  would  average 
about  $75  per  acre.  Supposing  the  whole 
600  acres  now  cleared  to  be  brought  to  the 
same  degree  of  fertility  with  that  of  Mr. 
Blanchard' s,  we  have  nearly  as  much  added 
to  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the  town  as  was 
taken  from  it  by  the  sale  of  the  timber  which 
formerly  grew  upon  it.  The  taxable  valuation 
was  about  $10,000,  The  value  of  the  land  as 
improved,  is  now  nearly  equal  to  this,  and 
will  soon  be  considerably  more. 

In  this  connection  I  would  say  that  Mr. 
Blanchard  has  made  improvements  on  his  other 
land  in  West  Acton,  that  deserve  a  passing 
notice.  Nine  years  ago  he  cleared  and  brought 
under  cultivation  apiece  containing  nine  acres, 
which  was  then  very  badly  overrun  with  brush. 
Two  acres  of  it  were  wet  and  unfit  for  culti- 
vation,— the  most  of  it  moderately  elevated, 
with  soil  of  gravelly  loam.  The  next  year  he 
set  out  upon  it  three  hundred  apple  trees,  forty 
feet  apart,  with  peach  trees  between, — about 
1000  trees  in  all.  The  apple  trees  now  are  of 
good  size,  thrifty,  and  free  from  borers ;  al- 
though orchards  in  the  vicinity  have  been  very 
badly  injured  by  them. 

A  plan  adopted  by  Mr,  Blanchard,  and 
which  was  practiced  by  his  father,  the  late 
Simon  Blanchard,  for  many  years,  with  great 
success,  is  to  put  strong  green  manure  around 
the  trunks,  in  the  fall.  He  thinks  that  the 
borer  is  destroyed  for  the  want  of  air ;  or, 
perhaps,  being  tender  at  that  time  of  year,  is 
killed  by  the  strength  of  the  manure.  He  ap- 
proves also  of  the  method  lately  recommended 
in  the  New  England  Farmer,  of  placing  a 
mound  of  earth  around  the  tree.  When  the 
tree  has  been  badly  eaten  by  borers,  he  re- 
commends banking  up  with  earth ;  and  showed 
some  trees,  which,  having  been  injured  so  se- 
I'iously  as  to  begin  to  droop,  he  had  saved  in 


that  way,  and  which  were  now  flourishing  and 
of  good  size.  This  land  proved  too  low  for 
the  peach  trees.  They  suffered  from  the  wm- 
ters.  Mr.  Blanchard  says  he  would  not  set 
another  peach  orchard  on  such  low  land.  This 
year,  however,  he  will  have  a  fair  crop  of  the 
best  varieties  of  the  peach.  The  lowest  part 
of  this_  piece  of  land  has  been  drained  with 
blind  ditches,  and  yields  heavy  crops  of  ex- 
cellent grass.  The  whole  lot  is  worth  now 
some  five  times  its  former  value.  Should  a 
fiiyorable  year  for  the  apple  come  round  again, 
this  orchard  will  yield  a  very  handsome  return. 

Another  young  apple  orchard  of  three  acres, 
purchased  by  Mr.  Blanchard  three  years  ago, 
lor  a  little  less  than  thi'ee  hundred  dollars, 
would  now  bring  readily  one  thousand  dollars  ; 
the  increased  value  being  due  chiefly  to  judi- 
cious cultivation.  The  trees  are  now  very 
thrifty  over  the  whole  orchard.  At  the  time 
of  pui'chase,  a  great  many  of  them  seemed  to 
be  going  back  into  the  ground.  It  was  gen- 
erally thought  that  they  could  not  be  made  to 
grow  so  as  to  amount  to  anything.  The  land 
is  mellow,  with  a  warm  soil,  and  the  crops 
raised  between  the  trees  have  paid  well  for  all 
the  expense  of  cultivation. 

Another  tract  of  land  situated  near  his 
present  residence,  purchased  by  Mr,  Blanch- 
ard, also  illustrates  the  magical  effect  of  the 
hand  of  judicious  improvement.  Twenty-seven 
acres,  with  the  buildings  thereon,  were  bought 
two  years  ago  for  $1800.  A  large  part  of  it 
was  moss-bound  and  unproductive ;  and  was 
considered  nearly  worthless  for  cultivation, 
simply  because  it  had  lain  for  years  without 
being  tilled  ;  the  rest  of  it  was  coming  up  to 
young  wood.  Some  of  this,  having  been  bro- 
ken up,  was  planted  this  year.  Upon  it  there 
is  one  of  the  most  promising  fields  of  corn  we 
have  seen  this  season.  This  land,  thus  improv- 
ed, would  readily  sell  for  $100  per  acre  ;  and  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  owner  to  cultivate  the 
whole  in  the  same  manner.  He  has  sold  the 
house  for  $900 ;  the  barn,  with  less  than  an 
acre,  would  bring  $900  more.  If  we  reckon 
the  crops  as  paying  the  cost  of  cultivation, — 
which  Mr,  Blanchard  estimates  they  will  do, 
and  more, — there  is  a  present  gain  in  this  one 
agricultural  enterprise  of  over  $2500.  This 
land,  as  soon  as  improved,  will  be  in  quick 
demand  for  building  lots.  It  is  situated  in 
the  midst  of  a  thriving  village,  and  the  pros- 
pective value  to  the  owner  is  very  great. 

For  the  last  twenty  years,  Mr.  Blanchard 
has  been  engaged  in  the  laborious  business  of 
marketing  farm  produce ;  including  not  only 
vegetables  and  fruits,  but  calves,  poultry,  &c. 
The  village  of  West  Acton  is  said  to  be  more 
largely  engaged  in  this  trade  than  any  other 
interior  town  in  the  State,  There  are  large 
apple  houses  here,  where  several  thousand 
barrels  of  apples  are  annually  stored  ;  most  of 
which,  of  late,  have  been  purchased  in  other 
States,  by  the  enterprising  dealers  of  this 
place. 


434 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Sept. 


In  the  single  article  of  berries,  as  many  as 
200  bu.^bels  per  day  have  frequently  been  sent 
to  market  from  this  depot ;  and,  of  these,  Mr. 
Blanchard  has  sent  fully  one-half.  During 
this  time,  he  has  also  carried  on  a  large  farm, 
employing  constantly  quite  a  number  of  men. 

He  served  a  full  apprenticeship  upon  the 
farm  in  his  boyhood,  and  prides  himself  upon 
this  ^ucation  as  the  foundation  of  his  success. 
He  intends,  hereafter,  to  relieve  himself  from 
many  of  the  laborious  cares  incident  to  his  bu- 
siness as  a  n.arketman,  and  devote  himself 
more  particularly  to  farming. 

By  untiring  industry,  enterprise,  honesty, 
and  fair  dealing,  Mr.  Blanchard  has  won  the 
highest  character  in  the  community ;  and  has 
fairly  earned  the  fruits  of  his  labors,  which  he 
has  thus  liberally  obtained  while  yet  a  young 
man. 

In  speaking  of  t^ese  particular  improve- 
ments, I  would  not  be  understood  as  intimating 
that  there  are  not  other  individuals  and  other 
specimens  of  improvements  all  around  that  de- 
serve notice,  but  being  striking  and  very  cred- 
itable instances  they  are  alluded  to  as  showing 
forcibly,  what  might  be  done  in  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  other  places  in  New  England. 
Let  a  like  energy  and  enterprise,  backed  by 
capital,  and  guided  by  a  practical  farm  educa- 
tion be  directed  to  the  improvement  of  other 
waste  places,  and  many  thousands  of  acres, 
now  lying  almost  waste, — some  of  which  are 
to  be  found  in  almost  every  town,  comprising 
much  of  our  best  soil  and  within  easy  access 
to  the  best  markets, — may  not  only  be  doubled 
in  value,  but  greatly  increased  in  attractive- 
ness. Let  this  be  done,  and  our  young  men 
would  soon  discover  here  in  our  midst  mines 
more  valuable  than  those  of  California ;  situa- 
tions more  desirable  than  those  which  allure  so 
many  young  men  to  exchange  their  New  Eng- 
land homes  for  an  ideal  Eden  at  the  West  or 
South,  or  In  some  other  occupation.  w. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
"WASTE  LATSTD-MOWINGS-PASTUKES- 
lEBIGATlOK". 

No  one  can  travel  much,  even  in  New  Eng. 
land,  without  seeing  considerable  %vaste  land- 
By  waste  land  I  do  not  mean  land  naturallv 
unproductive  ;  but  land  naturally  fertile,  but 
which,  by  mismanagement,  either  produces 
nothing  valuable  or  less  than  it  might  easily  be 
made  to  produce.  With  this  definition,  waste 
land  may  be  found  everywhere, — in  close  prox- 
imity to  our  dwellings,  in  fields,  in  pastures, 
and  wood  lots.  ISometimes  a  spot  of  wa.ste 
land  may  be  found  where  the  water  rims  from 
the  sink,  or  wlure  tiie  wasli  water  is  thrown 
out.  yometimes  such  waste  sjiots  arc  cau.-cd 
by  the  sawdust,  chips,  and  otlier  debris  of  the 
wood  pile  being  left  lo  accumulate  year  after 
year.  ISouietimes  where  tiie  broken  and  worn 
out  faini  implements,  anc*  '.lie  broken  and  use- 
less household  furniture,  articles  too  numerous 


to  mention,  are  thrown  in  one  promiscuous 
heap,  or  scattered  helter-skelter  in  every  di- 
rection ;  and  sometimes  where  the  wash  of 
the  barnyard  or  hog  yard  is  too  powerful  for 
anything  to  grow  but  burdocks  and  nettle. 

In  regard  to  the  unhealthiness  and  unsight- 
liness  of  such  surroundings,  and  to  the  waste 
of  manure  caused  thereby,  each  one  may  form 
his  own  opinion.  To  say  the  least,  such  spots 
of  ground  are  wasted.  We  hoe  too  much, 
mow  too  much,  pasture  too  much,  and  thus 
encroach  upon  the  growth  of  our  forests  with- 
out obtaining  an  equivalent  benefit. 

I  have  not  found  the  first  man  who  will  con- 
tradict these  statements ;  and  yet,  most  pur 
sue  the  same  old  beaten  track  which  their 
forefathers  trod.  The  common  practice  is  to 
break  up  grass  ground,  plant  it  two  }ears, 
putting  on  about  one  half  the  proper  quantity 
of  manure,  and  seed  it  down  the  third  year 
with  grass  and  grain  without  any  manure. 
The  soil  is  thus  left  in  not  much  better  condi- 
tion than  when  first  broken  up.  In  a  few 
years  land  treated  in  this  way  will  }  ield  no 
more  than  one  half  a  ton  of  hay  to  an  acre. 
The  average  crop  throughout  New  England 
probably  is  not  more  than  that.  If  this  mode 
of  farming  is  good  under  any  clrcutustam  e-',  I 
think  it  is  not  so  where  the  land  is  good  lor 
grass,  and  is  near  a  market.  In  such  cases  I 
think  that  grass  is  the  most  ])!ofital)le  crop, 
and  that  no  one  should  be  satisfied  with  a  less 
yield  than  one  ton  per  acre.  On  some  fields, 
especially  moist  land,  top  dressing  is  doubtless 
better  than  plowing.  AVhere  we  do  y)low  we 
should  manure  highly,  and  lay  the  land  down 
in  good  heart.  If  mowing  fields  were  not  led 
in  the  fall  they  would  jjroduce  good  crops 
much  longer. 

Some  fields  might  easily  l)emade  to  produce 
more  abundant  crops  by  irrigation,  i  know 
of  a  field  of  five  acres,  which,  without  any  ex- 
pense except  turning  a  small  stream  of  water 
on  one  pare  of  it,  and  surface  draining  another 
part,  now  produces  more  hay  and  of  better 
(luallty  than  it  did  ten  years  ago.  It  seems 
tliat  water  in  some  way  eniiches  the  soil.  I 
once  knew  a  spring  of  ])ure  water  to  be  turned 
on  to  a  side  hill  only  one  summer,  witli  some 
benefit  to  the  grass.  The  next  spring  the  wa- 
ter being  turned  in  another  direction,  the  field 
was  [)lowed  and  sowed  with  oats  without  be- 
ing niaiiured.  Dui'ing  the  season  there  was  a 
striking  difference  belween  the  oats  where  the 
water  run  the  previous  year  and  the  rest  of  the 
(ield.  1  know  of  a  field  watered  by  a  s])ring 
tliat  is  dry  by  mid  summer,  whicii,  without 
bi'ing  manureil,  has  produced  large  and  un- 
diminished cro[)s  of  hay  lor  more  than  twenty 
years ;  and  I  know  of  no  reason  wliy  it  may 
not  continue  to  do  so  for  an  indefinite  period. 
A  farmer  in  Manchester,  N.  11.,  informed  me 
that  he  had  a  piece  of  sandy  ground  which 
would  not  produce  white  beans  ;  but  after  wa- 
tering it  a  few  )i'ars,  i)y  means  of  a  brook,  it 
would  produce  anything. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAKMER. 


435 


The  management  of  our  pastures  is  as  bad  as 
that  of  our  fields,  and  in  some  cases  more  so. 
They  are  fed  year  after  year  without  being 
manured.  Where  they  can  be,  they  are  some- 
times plowed  and  crops  taken  off,  but  seldom 
is  any  manure  put  on.  Sometimes  pine  and 
other  trees  are  permitted  to  grow  till  they 
cover  one-half  of  the  ground,  and  then  are 
cut  down.  Now  unless  you  mean  to  make  a 
wood  lot  of  your  pasture,  why  not  destroy  the 
bushes  before  they  are  large  ?  Sumac,  sweet 
fern,  hardback  and  whortleberry  bushes  some- 
times nearly  ruin  a  pasture.  I  have  seen  one- 
half  of  the  surface  of  some  pastures  covered 
with  what  is  variously  called  juniper,  ground 
hemlock,  &c.  Its  branches  lay  close  to  the 
ground  and  completely  kill  the  grass  so  far  as 
they  extend.  When  small  they  can  easily  be 
pulled  up.  When  large  they  may  be  destroyed 
by  burning  or  by  cutting  otF  the  branches  in 
June.  Where  pastures  can  easily  be  plowed, 
I  think  we  had  better  make  mowing  ^!elds  of 
them.  If  by  this  means  our  pastures  should 
prove  to  be  insufficient,  the  deficiency  can  be 
supplied  by  soiling.  In  this  way  we  can  keep 
more  stock  and  keep  it  better.  Where  pas- 
tures cannot  be  plowed,  all  kinds  of  bushes 
ought  to  be  kept  from  growing,  and  I  think  it 
would  pay  occasionally  to  top  dress.  Some 
different  system  in  the  management  of  our 
pastures  is  certainly  imperiously  demanded  ; 
for  they  are  every  year  growing  poorer  and 
poorer.  Even  now  pasture  land  is  half  wasted. 

Deny,  N.  H.,  1S67.  e.  b. 


WASH   FOR   BARNS. 

There  is  no  cheap  substitute  for  oil  paint. 
All  the  different  kinds  of  white-washing  are  in- 
capable of  shutting  out  moisture.  The  sides 
of  buildings  especially  exposed  to  rains,  will 
lose  a  portion  of  any  kind  of  wash  by  the  com- 
bined action  of  frost  and  moisture.  Oil  paint 
obviates  this  difficulty.  There  are  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  wash  recommended  ;  but  with 
a  single  exception  we  have  never  found  any- 
thing better  than  a  mixture  of  good  lime  and 
water.  This  exception  we  have  made  a  thor- 
ough trial  with.  A  rough  barn,  which  re- 
ceived a  coating  four  years  ago,  now  retains 
most  of  it,  although  a  considerable  portion  is 
scaled  off  on  the  most  exposed  side.  This 
wa>h  is  made  substantially  as  follows  :  One 
peck  of  fine  beach  sand,  three  pecks  of  water 
lime,  and  four  quarts  of  salt.  These  propor- 
tions might  vary  without  detriment — there 
should  be  as  much  sand  as  can  conveniently  be 
applied  with  a  brush.  A  farm  laborer  applied 
this  mixture  early  last  summer  to  two  rough 
barns,  one  about  thirty  by  fifty-five  feet,  the 
other  twenty  by  thirty,  in  three  and  a  half 
days,  consuming  two  bushels  of  water  lime, 
which  was  nearly  the  whole  cost  of  material. 
This  coating,  now  nearly  one  year's  standing, 
appears  to  be  as  good  as  the  day  it  was  put 
on.     It  will  be  perceived  that  the  expense  is 


only  about  one-tenth  the   cost  of  a  coat  of 
paint. 

Fireproof  Wash  for  Shingles. — A  wash 
composed  of  lime,  salt,  and  fine  sand  or  wood 
ashes,  put  on  in  the  ordinary  way  of  white- 
washing, renders  the  roof  fifty  per  cent,  more 
secure  against  taking  fire  from  falling  cinders, 
in  case  of  fire  in  the  vicinity.  It  pays  the  ex- 
pense a  hundred  fold  in  its  preserving  influ- 
ence against  the  effects  of  the  weather.  The 
older  and  more  weather-beaten  the  shingles, 
the  more  benefit  derived.  Such  shingles  gen- 
erally become  more  or  less  warped,  rough, 
and  cracked  :  the  application  of  the  wash,  by 
wetting  the  upper  surface,  restores  them  at 
once  to  their  original  or  first  form,  thereby 
closing  up  the  space  between  the  shingles ; 
and  the  lime  and  sand,  by  filling  up  the  cracks 
and  pores  in  the  shingle  itself,  prevent  its 
warping. 

To  Keep  Tires  on  Wheels. — Hear  a  prac- 
tical man  on  this  subject :  "I  ironed  a  wagon 
some  years  ago  for  my  own  use  ;  before  put- 
ting on  the  tires  I  filled  the  felloes  with  linseed 
oil ;  and  the  tires  have  worn  out  and  were 
never  loose.  My  method  is  as  follows  :  I  use 
a  long  cast-iron  heater,  made  for  the  purpose  ; 
the  oil  is  brought  to  a  boiling  heat,  the  wheel 
is  placed  on  a  stick,  so  as  to  hang  in  the  oil, 
each  felloe  an  hour.  The  timber  should  be 
dry,  as  green  timber  will  not  take  the  oil. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  the  oil  is  not  made 
hotter  than  a  boiling  heat,  or  the  timber  will 
be  burned.  Timber  tilled  with  oil  is  not  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  by  water,  and  is  rendered 
much  more  durable  by  this  process." 


Value  of  Grass  Land. — The  time  has  not 
yet  come  when  farmers  appreciate,  as  they 
should,  the  value  of  grass.  Every  year  dairy 
products  are  becoming  dearer,  because  the 
grass  region  is  limited,  and  only  a  few  years, 
will  be  required  to  give  any  farm  natural  for 
grass  a  value  which  now  would  be  thought  ex- 
cessive. If  I  wished  to  buy  a  farm  for  my 
posterity,  which  would  continually  increase  in 
value.  I  certainly  should  choose  it  in  the  re- 
gion of  grass.  For  I  do  know  that  during  the 
course  of  one's  life,  a  grass  farm  will  bring 
more  money  and  comfort  and  with  less  work 
than  any  other  farm,  whether  on  the  Sciota, 
the  Wabash,  or  the  Mississippi  bottoms  nor 
can  a  farm  of  ecjual  value  be  selected  and 
made  anywhere  within  the  belt  formed  by  the 
tiopics,  the  whole  world  around. — iV.  C.  M., 
in  N.  Y.  Iribune, 


— Hon.  Sidney  Clarlv,  member  of  Congress  from 
Kansas,  has  addressed  a  letter  of  inquiry  to  the 
leading  men  of  that  State  for  facts  bearing  on  the 
Texas  cattle  disease,  with  reference  to  some  ac- 
tion on  the  subject  by  Congress. 


436 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAK]\IER. 


Sept. 


^.;rJTt^^'^'^'' 


AN   IMPORTED    JEKSiDY    COW. 


The  Jersey  cattle  are  receiving  considerable 
attention  at  this  time.  Mr.  Jennings  says, 
"the  race  is  supposed  to  have  been  originally 
derived  from  Normandy,  in  the  northern  part 
of  France.  The  cows  have  been  long  cele- 
brated for  the  production  of  very  rich  milk 
and  cream,  but  till  within  the  last  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years  they  were  comparatively  coarse, 
ugly,  and  ill-shaped.  Improvements  have  been 
very  marked,  but  the  form  of  the  animal  is 
still  far  from  satisfying  the  eye. 

The  head  of  the  pure  Jersey  is  fine  and 
tapering,  the  cheek  small,  the  throat  clean,  the 
muzzle  fine  and  encircled  with  a  light  stripe, 
the  nostril  high  and  open ;  the  horns  smooth, 
crumpled,  but  not  very  thick  at  the  base,  ta- 
pering and  tipped  with  black ;  ears  small  and 
thin,  deep  orange  color  inside  ;  eyes  full  and 
placid ;  neck  straight  and  fine ;  chest  broad 
and  deep ;  barrel  hoofed,  broad  and  deep, 
well  ribbed  up  ;  back  straight  from  the  withers 
to  the  hip,  and  from  the  top  of  the  hip  to  the 
setting  of  the  tail ;  tail  fine,  at  right  angles 
with  the  back,  and  hanging  down  to  the  hocks  ; 
skin  thin,  light  color,  and  mellow,  covered 
with  fine  soft  hair ;  fore  legs  short,  straight 
and  fine  below  tlie  knee,  arm  swelling  and  full 
above ;  hind   quarters   long  and   well   filled ; 


hind  legs  short  and  straight  below  the  hocks, 
with  bones  rather  fine,  squarely  placed,  and 
not  too  close  together ;  hoofs  small :  udder 
full  in  size,  in  line  with  the  belly,  extending 
well  up  behind ;  teats  of  medium  size,  squarely 
placed  and  wide  apart,  and  milk-veins  very 
prominent.  The  color  is  generally  cream, 
dun,  or  yellow,  with  more  or  less  of  white, 
and  the  fine  head  and  neck  give  the  cows  and 
heifers  a  fawn-like  appearance,  and  make  them 
objects  of  attraction  in  the  park ;  but  the  hind 
quarters  are  often  too  narrow  to  work  well, 
particularly  to  those  who  judge  animals  by  the 
amount  of  fat  which  they  carry." 

Mr.  Flint  says,  "the  opinions  of  practical 
men  diifer  widely  as  to  the  comparative  merits 
of  this  race,  and  its  adaptation  to  our  climate 
and  to  the  wants  of  our  farmers.  The  most 
common  decision,  prevailing  among  many  even 
of  the  best  judges  of  stock,  appears  to  be, 
that,  however  desirable  the  cows  may  be  on 
the  lawn  or  in  a  gentleman's  park,  they  are 
Avholly  unsuited  to  the  general  wants  of  the 
practical  farmer." 

The  cow  from  which  the  above  engraving 
was  taken,  was  imported  by  Mr.  J.  French, 
of  Roxbury,  Mass.,  direct  from  the  Jersey 
Islands. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


437 


"V700L   AT   THE   PAKIS   EXPOSITION. 

The  good  book  informs  us  that  it  is  not 
wise  to  compare  ourselves  among  ourselves, 
or  to  think  more  highly  of  ourselves  than  we 
ought.  Perhaps  as  a  people  we  compare  our- 
selves with  others  too  seldom,  and  are  a 
little  given  to  self-glorification.  A  few  weeks 
since  we  published  a  long  account  of  the  trial 
of  mowers,  which  resulted  very  much  to  the 
credit  of  American  mechanics,  and  from  our 
former  success  in  the  exhibition  of  sheep,  we 
hoped  that  at  least  a  creditable  display  of 
American  wool  would  be  made  in  our  Agricul- 
tural department  of  the  great  Paris  show.  A 
letter  from  H.  D.  L.  Sweet,  Esq.,  Secretary 
of  the  New  York  State  Sheep  Breeders'  and 
Wool  Growers'  Association,  addressed  to  Hon. 
H.  S.  Randall,  and  published  in  the  Bural 
New  Yorker,  throws  cold  water  on  this  expec- 
tation.    Just  see  what  he  says  : — 

Of  our  own  land,  perhaps  the  least  said  the 
better.  In  all  departments  we  are  deficient, 
except  machinery,  and  the  Agricultural,  partic- 
ularly, is  a  libel  and  a  disgrace.  I  believe  some- 
body does  show  three  or  four  fleeces  in  a  glass 
case,  locked  up  in  the  grease, — stained  and 
dirty  at  that.  One  fleece  looks  very  fine,  but 
dead  like,  and  it  may  be  some  crack  fleece  five 
or  six  years  old.  I  cannot  find  any  other  sam- 
ples of  any  kind  or  quality. 

And  as  though  this  was  not  disgrace  enough 
for  one  day,  or  for  one  World's  Fair,  Mr. 
Sweet  says,  "the  worst  thing  in  the  Exposition 
for  our  wool  growers,  is  a  Yankee  invention  to 
make  Mestiza  wool  as  good  as  our  own.  It 
takes  out  the  burrs  completely,  and  so  well 
was  it  thought  of  by  the  foreign  jury,  that 
they  gave  it  a  medal  from  a  sample  of  its  work, 
without  its  having  been  run." 

From  his  remarks  on  the  collections  of  wool 
from  other  nations  we  copy  the  following : — 

In  the  French  department  I  have  not  been 
able  to  see  but  very  little.  Of  the  samples  I 
have  examined — perhaps  25  very  fine  ones — 
the  wool,  without  exception,  I  call  short  staple, 
very  fine,  usually  dry,  without  luster.  Some 
marked  "  lane  wool"  was,  perhaps,  from  four 
to  six  inches,  I  should  think  coarser  than  Mr. 
Wing's  or  Gazley's,  without  luster  and  dirty, 
but  strong  and  felt  harsh. 

In  the  English  Department  I  have  found 
nothing,  except  from  the  Colonies,  and  they  do 
exceedingly  well.  Australia  sends,  I  think,  100 
samples  in  all,  and  all  of  them  good — some 
beautiful.  The  length,  the  fineness  and  luster 
is  equal  to  any  I  have  yet  seen  here,  and  the 
strength  good.  Canada  does  well  in  both 
combmg    and  fine,  except  some  of  the   fine 


wools  lacked  strength,  but  their  combing  wool 
has  excellent  luster.  The  colonies  of  Natal  and 
New  Zealand  both  send  samples  that  are  ex- 
cellent,— but  in  no  great  quantity. 

Spain  exhibits  a  large  collection  of  fine  wool, 
short  and  dirty,  some  very  much  discolored, 
has  an  old  look.  Perhaps  it  is  some  that  has 
been  deposited  in  their  Department  of  Agri- 
culture for  years,  as  there  is  but  little  shown 
by  individuals. 

Portugal  has  but  few  fleeces  on  exhibition, 
but  of  both  fine  and  coarse,  white  and  black 
as  well.  The  fine  is  from  an  individual  flock 
of  ten  fleeces,  of  beautiful  wool,  good  length, 
fine  quality,  bright  luster,  silky  and  strong. 

In  the  Russian  Department  are  about  100 
samples  handsomely  displayed;  fine,  short 
staple,  very  oily,  some  dirty,  but  apparently 
compact  fleeces, — some  of  the  washed  fleeces 
white  and  beautiful.  The  flock  of  Amidee 
Philbert  of  Atonania,  Crimea,  took  a  gold 
medal.  The  same  flock  took  the  prize  in  Lon- 
don in  1862.  His  complete  flock  number  70,- 
000  in  all.  Russia  also  grows  some  rare  wool, 
and  what  must  be  Cashmere  goat's  hair ;  long 
wool  invariably  coarse. 

Austria  shows  her  wool  in  little,  straight 
bottles,  with  biass  caps,  from  an  inch  to  two 
inches  broad,  and  from  two  inches  to  eight 
long,  and  mostly  ungetatable.  The  wool  varies 
from  half  an  inch  to  three  inches  in  length,  all 
in  its  natural  state,  and  in  all  about  1,000  sam- 
ples. The  Duke  of  Kruman  exhibits  a  few 
fleeces  in  their  natural  state, — very  fine,  very 
oily,  very  short,  and  very  dirty.  Some  of 
these  fleeces,  about  60  in  all,  have  been  washed, 
some  one-half  of  each  fleece  washed,  and  show 
very  white  wool  and  a  strong  staple. 

Prussia  has  her  wool  in  tiat  glass  cases  for 
samples,  about  10x16  and  two  inches  deep, — 
176  of  these  with  from  20  to  32  samples  in 
each.  The  longest  I  could  find  of  fine  was  not 
three  inches,  and  of  coarse  wool  not  over  six 
inches.     There  were  62  full  fleeces  shown. 

Wurtemburg  shows  in  Prussia  fifty  washed 
fleeces,  locked  up,  that  took  a  gold  medal. 
They  appeared  to  be  washed  after  shearing. 
They  were  not  uniform  in  length  or  quality. 
Several  pictures  of  large  flocks  and  individual 
animals  grace  the  walls  of  the  room, — but  they 
seem  to  me  to  be  one-third  neck  and  head, 
and  not  squarely  built.  J.  E.  Hoft'schlaeger 
of  Weisin,  shows  a  picture  of  a  Negretti  ram 
that  looked  like  a  Vermonter. 

Egypt  makes  quite  a  display  of  black,  white 
and  tan-color, — none  of  it  that  I  could  feel  of 
but  what  was  coarser  than  spaniel  dog's  hair. 

The  Ottoman  Empire  has  a  few  samples  of 
wool  that  appear  to  be  about  one-fifth  hair,  and 
20  of  the  Angora  goat,  labelled  "DeLaine."  I 
could  not  get  at  them. 

From  South  America  the  show  in  some  de- 
partments is  good ;  in  others,  poor.  Chili 
sends  seven  fleeces  that  ought  to  have  remained 
at  home,  and  followed  our  example.  Peru 
sends  a  single  fleece,  apparently  a  good  one. 


438 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Sept. 


The  Argentine  Confederation  sends  30 
fleeces  and  100  samples  tiiat  for  length  are 
fair,  and  otherwise,  —  quality,  luster,  and 
strength,  are  first-rate.  She  also  shows  sep- 
arately her  long  wools,  that  are  good,  and  a 
few  specimens  of  the  wool  or  hair  of  the  lama. 

Arizona  seeds  30  fleeces  and  100  samples  of 
perfectly  splendid  wool.  Some  is  exceeding- 
ly fine,  but  strong,  very  long,  and  of  beautiful 
luster.  Samples  that  had  been  scoured  were 
white  as  Mwdriven  snow. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
BURNING, 

AS  A  MEANS  OF  SUBDUING  THE  ROUGH  PLACES. 

Fire  has  long  been  used  as  a  help  in  clearing 
land.  It  acts  so  quickly,  saves  so  much  time 
and  labor,  that  any  other  agent  or  process  is 
considered  slow  and  too  expensive.  But  some 
begin  to  doubt  the  policy  of  using  it  at  all. 
A  practice  which  may  be  tolerated  by  a  back- 
woodbmau  in  a  fertile  country,  may  not  be  ad- 
visable in  other  circumstances.  All  the  advan- 
tages are  temporary,  and  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  losses  ;  for  fire  is  a  great  destroyer. 
It  does  too  much ;  for,  while  it  quickly  re- 
moves from  sight,  logs,  stumps,  bushes,  and 
other  impediments  to  smooth  fields  and  thor- 
ough culture,  a  vast  quantity  of  vegetable 
matter  at  the  same  time  is  given  ta  the  four 
winds.  The  slow  accumulation  of  vegetable 
growth  for  years  is  speedily  swept  away.  In 
exchange  we  have  a  few  buthels  of  ashes,  which 
it  is  true,  are  of  easy  application,  and  power- 
ful in  effect ;  but  which  would  have  rendered 
as  much  if  not  more  benefit  as  fertilizers  along 
with  the  organic  matter  from  which  they  have 
been  produced. 

Now  the  great  want  of  our  Eastern  soils  is 
just  this  vegetable  material  that  fire  destroys. 
Instead  of  wasting  it  by  harsh  means,  it  should 
be  the  aim  of  every  cultivator  to  preserve  ev- 
ery atom  which  nature  supplies,  and  also  to  in- 
crease it  by  every  means  at  his  command. 
Stubborn  facts  are  continually  arising  to  con- 
vince the  most  casual  observer  of  this,  and  to 
show  that  the  ultimate  effects  of  burning  are 
decidedly  injurious,  and  that  the  practice  ought 
to  be  abandoned  altogether.  In  the  Eastern, 
and  in  many  parts  of  the  Western  States,  the 
rapidly  increasing  scarcity  of  timber  and  fuel 
has  given  a  market  value  to  all  kinds  of  wood 
of  any  size,  so  that  our  noble  forest  trees 
which  are  in  reality  a  great  gift  to  man,  will 
soon  be  saved  from  needless  and  ruthless  de- 
struction 1)}  lire.  With  our  ei'onomical  stoves, 
the  smaller  limbs  and  unsaleble  parts  can  be 
used  to  advantage  upon  tlie  farm.  Wlierever 
land  is  so  valuable  that  it  pays  to  pull  stumps 
and  roots,  rather  than  let  them  decay  in  the 
ground,  they  ought  to  have  some  value  as  fuel. 
Yet  still  there  is  more  or  less  refuse,  and  what 
shall  be  done  with  that,  if  fire  is  to  be  excluded 
from  clearing  the  land?  Let  it  remain  upon 
the  laud  and  decay.    Likewise,  for  the  same  rea- 


sons, bushes,  brakes,  &c..  mowed  in  pastures, 
are  allowed  to  remain.  They  do  not  materi- 
ally interfere  with  cattle  in  feeding,  while  they 
form  a  sort  of  light  mulch  which  helps  shade 
the  land  from  the  sun,  protects  it  from  wind, 
keeps  it  moist  and  warmer  in  cold  weather, — 
conditions  which  favor  the  growth  of  grass. 
Plaster  and  other  fertilizers  can  be  sown  on  the 
fallen  bushes,  and  thus  the  original  stock  of 
vegetable  matter  may  be  retained  and  increased. 
Again,  where  a  quantity  of  trash  in  the  form 
of  twigs,  trimmings  of  trees  and  coarse  vege- 
tation accumulates  in  the  orchard  or  about  the 
Iiouse,  unfit  for  stove  or  hogpen,  it  should  be 
moved  to  some  convenient  place  and  piled  up. 
By  mixing  a  little  lime,  plabter,  salt  or  ashes 
and  giving  an  occasional  overhauling,  the  whole 
will  soon  be  reduced  to  fineness,  especially  if 
made  in  a  wet  place. 

Nor  in  reclaiming  meadows  and  bogs,  even 
where  the  vegetable  matter  is  in  excess,  is  it 
expedient  to  burn  any  of  the  parings,  either 
to  get  rid  of  them  or  for  the  small  quantity  of 
ashes  they  will  yield.  The  toughest  sods  are 
needed  for  filling  holes  and  low  places  and 
making  roads  and  bridges,  and  as  the  adjacent 
upland  is  almost  always  deficient  in  vegetable 
matter,  the  more  tender  paiings  and  surplus 
muck  is  needed  to  enrich  it.  It  can  be  carted 
directly  to  it,  or  perhaps  what  is  better,  first 
worked  up  in  hogpen  or  barnyard.  The  work 
of  reducing  them  to  fineness  can  be  hastened 
by  chopping.  When  slightly  stiffened  by  frost  a 
strong  man  with  a  large  axe  can  cut  up  several 
cords  in  a  day,  and  what  was  apparently  almost 
indecomposible  without  the  assistance  of  fire 
is  thus  speedily  rendered  fit  for  use. 

In  tliese  ways  it  is  possible  to  increase  that 
black,  rich  mould  so  much  prized  in  new  land ; 
while  the  surest  and  quickest  way  of  exhaust- 
ing any  soil  is  to  burn  it  often.  Burn  fre- 
quently and  crop  continually,  and  even  our 
most  fertile  fields  can  be  converted  into  barren 
wastes.  And  what  in  nature  has  a  more 
dreary  and  desolate  aspect  than  these  parched 
and  arid  fields,  where  only  the  scantiest  vegeta- 
tion barely  exists.  No  man  has  a  right  to  burn, 
and  complain  of  the  poverty  of  his  soil ;  nor 
can  any  one  afford  to  follow  such  a  wasteful 
and  exhausting  operation,  even  if  he  is  willing 
to  buy  back  the  lost  material  in  form  of  special 
fertilizers  at  three  to  five  cents  per  pound,  and 
strawy  stable  manures  at  six  to  ten  dollars  per 
cord.  Even  if  any  one  finds  a  present  gain 
fi'oui  burning,  it  will  ultimate!}'  cost  him  or  his 
successors  years  of  patient  toil  to  restore  the 
e(|uivalent  thus  destroyed.  ]\Iost  assuredly, 
then,  fires  are  to  be  dreaded  in  the  soil,  as  well 
as  in  our  forests  or  among  our  buildings. 
July,  I8(i7.  N.  s.  T. 


—In  Florida  spring  planting  l)Cgins  Fcliruary 
first,  for  corn,  melons,  l)eans,  siiuaslies,  and  such 
things  as  will  not  l)car  frost;  wliilc  peas,  beets, 
turnips,  &c.,  do  better  to  be  sown  in  September. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR]MER. 


439 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

SUCCESSFUL   BEE-KEEPING. 

At  jilate  vif^it  to  the  apiary  of  Mr.  John  J.  Goukl, 
of  Wcnham,  Mass.,  I  saw  and  heard  so  much  that 
was  interesting  to  me,  that  I  think  a  brief  notice 
will  interest  the  readers  of  the  Faumeu.  Though 
engaged  in  the  business  of  manufacturing,  Mr. 
Gould  finds  time  to  manage  an  apiary  of  some  85 
swar.ns,  and  having  kept  bees  for  some  35  years, 
his  practices  and  suggestions  may  be  safely  re- 
ceived as  practical.  He  uses  the  Langstroth  hive, 
but  with  an  improvement  of  his  own,  which  he 
calls  the  "doul)le  hive,"  on  which  he  can  put  four- 
teen l)oxes  of  a  .-ize  to  contain  three  and  a  quarter 
pounds  each  of  honey.  He  has  also  developed  and 
made  more  practical  than  has  ever  l)een  clone  be 
fore,  an  idea  suggested  by  Mr.  Langstroth.  He 
has  a  sort  of  drawer,  about  three  inches  deep,  filled 
with  two  rows  of  corn  cobs — this  drawer  has  only 
light  slats  for  a  bottom,  just  sufflcient  to  keep  the 
cobs  in  place.  The  honey  board  is  removed  and 
this  drawer  put  in  its  place.  The  bees  will  attach 
themselves  to  these  cobs,  which  serve  the  double 
purpo-e  of  keeping  them  warm  and  carrying  off 
the  m()i-;ture.  With  this  simple  arrangement  the 
hives  remain  upon  the  stand  all  winter,  with  safe- 
ty, without  any  other  protection. 

From  forty-five  of  his  hives,  Mr.  Gould  has 
already  taken  this  season  one  ton  of  honey  !  But 
last  year,  although  he  expended  some  $200  upon 
his  bees,  tliey  laid  up  no  surplus  honey.  This 
year  he  expects  to  realize  at  least  one  thousand 
dollars.  We  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  about  two 
hundred  of  these  i)0xes  in  a  finishing  room,  where 
two  interesting  young  ladies  were  labelling  them 
for  market.  Cannot  the  Farmer  send  a  photo- 
grapher to  Wcnham  and  give  us  astocct  pi  ture, — 
one  that  will  induce  others  to  engage  in  bee-keep- 
ing? 

Mr.  Gould  has  the  Italian  Queens  and  has  been 
very  successful  in  rearing  and  transferring  them. 

w. 


[ 


SWELLING   AFTER   SCRATCHES. 

Can  any  one  tell  me  through  the  Farmer  what 
will  cure  a  swelling  on  a  horse  caused  liy  scratches. 
I  have  a  vahialjle  horse  that  has  one  of  thes^e 
swellings.  He  had  the  scratches  some  eight  or 
ten  weeks  ago,  when  his  leg  was  as  large  as  a 
common  stove  pipe,  but  the  swelling  is  noAv  con- 
siderably 1  educed.    Is  there  any  cure  ? 

Jones  Kingsland. 

Ferrisbimjh,  Vt.,  July  27,  1867. 

Remarks. — In  the  treatment  of  diseases  it  is 
very  important  to  know  the  cau^e  and  nature  of 
the  disease,  and  we  think  the  following  somewhat 
leng.liy  remarks  by  Mr.  Youatt  on  the  subject  of 
Grease,  or  Scratches,  will  interest  not  only  our 
coriesiiondent,  Ijut  all  who  have  the  management 
of  horses,  especially  those  troubled  with  this  filthy 
disorder,  which  we  believe  is  far  less  common  in 
this  country  than  in  England,  where  Mr.  Youatt 
wrote. 

In  explaining  the  cause  of  Scratches,  or  Grease 
as  it  is  called  in  England,  he  says,  "there  is  a  pe- 
culiarity about  the  skin  of  the  heel  of  the  horse. 
In  its  healthy  state  there  is  a  secretion  of  greasy 
matter  from  it,  in  order  to  prevent  excoriation  and 
chapping,  and  the  skin  is  soft  and  pliable.  Too 
of:en,  ho>vevcr,  from  liad  management,  the  secre- 
tion of  this  greasy  matter  is  stopped  or  altered, 
and  the  skin  of  the  heel  becomes  red,  and  dry, 
and  scurfy.    The  joint  still  continuing  to  be  ex.- 


tended  and  flexed,  cracks  of  the  skin  begin  to  ap- 
pear, and  these,  if  neglected,  rapidly  extend,  and 
the  heel  becomes  a  mass  of  soreness  and  ulcera- 
tion. 

The  distance  of  the  heel  from  the  centre  of  cir- 
culation, and  the  position  of  the  hind  limbs,  ren- 
der the  return  of  blood  slow  and  difficult.  There 
is  also  more  variation  of  temperature  here  than  in 
any  other  part  of  the  frame.  As  the  horse  stands 
in  the  closed  stable,  the  heat  of  this  part  is  too 
often  increased  by  its  being  imbedded  in  straw. 
When  the  stable  door  is  open  the  heels  are  nearest 
to  it,  and  receive  first,  and  most  powerfully,  the 
cold  current  of  air.  When  he  is  taken  from  his 
stable  to  work,  the  heels  are  frequently  covered 
with  mire  and  wet,  and  they  are  oftenest  and  most 
intensely  chilled  by  the  long  and  slow  process  of 
evaporation  which  is  taking  place  from  them. 
Everything  that  has  a  tendency  to  excite  inflam- 
mation in  the  skin  of  the  heel  is  a  cause  of  grease. 
No  one,  then,  can  wonder  at  the  frequency  with 
which  the  heels,  especially  the  hind  ones,  are  .it- 
tackcd  by  inflammation,  and  the  difficulty  there  is 
in  subduing  it." 

Nor  need  we  wonder  that  after  the  chaps  or 
cracks  have  healed,  that  the  legs  should  continue 
swelled.  The  horse  may  be  benefited  by  gentle 
purgatives,  or  a  few  weeks  at  pasture.  The  local 
applications  should  be  directed  to  the  abatement 
of  inflammation.  Mr.  Youatt  recommends  highly 
a  poultice  of  carrots  boiled  soft  and  mashed, 
"diligently  used  night  and  day,"  also  a  flannel 
bandage  evenly  applied  over  the  whole  of  the 
swelled  part. 

AVHAT   SHALL    I  DO   "WITH   THE   BIRDS  ? 

This  is  a  question  on  which  I  have  bestowed 
mu(h  thought.  They  took  my  early  peas,  and 
then  my  cherries  and  early  fruits  to  such  an  extent 
that  I  began  to  fear  that  I  sro(jd  a  very  small 
chance  for  a  tithing  of  the  crop.  They  were  so 
very  cool  about  the  matter,  too,  that  it  seemed  to 
me  they  supposed  the  title  was  vested  in  them, 
and  I  had  no  rights  to  cither  vegetalile  or  fruits, 
which  liirds  were  bound  to  respect.  Be  thi.-^  as  it 
may,  one  thing  is  sure,  they  were  bound  to  have 
the' first  chanc'e,  fur  however  early  I  might  appear 
upon  the  ground  I  was  sure  to  find  tluy  had  the 
start  of  me.  I  must  confess  to  ha\  ing  my  patience 
seven  ly  tried,  and  my  taith  shaken  in  the  theory 
of  their  destruction  of  in  ects  lacing  a  compensa- 
tion to  77ie  for  the  loss  1  knew  I  was  sustaining, 
fliese  los;es  were  incontrovcrtiblj  fa  ts;  tlieir 
murderous  work  on  insects  and  other  foes  to  vege- 
tation, an  open  quesiion,  so  f.ir  at  least  as  some  of 
them  are  concerned — the  robin,  cat-bird,  oriole  and 
wren,  for  instance.  1  own  to  making  UKiuiry  of 
my  son  one  e  vening  re.'-pccting  powder,  and  shot 
and  gun,  with  malice  aforethought  towards  them 
in  my  heart ;  but  the  night's  sleep  so  far  modified 
my  purpose  that  I  gave  it  up  for  the  present.  I 
have  ever  defended  the  ungrateful  rogues,  and 
begged  the  boys  to  spare  them,  contending  that 
they  paid  in  song  for  all  the  fruit  they  took,  on  the 
principle  that  the  honking  of  a  neighbor's  wild 
gander  paid  for  his  keeping !  If  a  person  happens 
to  be  located  where  not  much  fruit  is  cultivated, 
and  tries  to  raise  some  himself  he  will  find  he  is  a 
serious  sufferer,  and  will  be  likely  to  suspect 
that  the  birds  located  their  nests  just  around  him 


440 


NEW   ENGLAOT)   FARRIER. 


Sept. 


for  the  purpose  of  having  their  young  at  hand  to 
initiate  into  their  most  questionable  practices.  I 
am  not  sure  if  another  season's  experience  should 
correspond  with  the  past,  but  I  shall  have  recourse 
to  what  is  said  to  be  the  tirst  law  of  our  being — 
self-defence.  K.  0. 

Broad  Brook,  Conn.,  July  20,  1867. 


■WOOD   FOR  PIGS     TROUGHS. 

What  liind  of  wood  is  best  for  a  hog's  trough, 
and  for  the  flooring  of  their  pens  ?  My  hogs,  in  at- 
tempting to  make  improvements  in  their  pen,  not 
having  any  great  mechanical  skill,  liave  nearly  de- 
molished it.  It  must  be  reconstructed  soon.  I 
should  1)6  glad  to  receive  an  answer  to  the  above 
questions  before  I  commence  the  important  opera- 
tion. 

Suppose  an  animal's  left  eye  should  be  diseased, 
I  sliould  like  to  know  whether  Mr.  Breed  would 
apply  the  butter  to  the  left,  or  right  ear.  I  don't 
know  what  he  means  by  "opposite."  e.  b. 

Derry,  N.  H.,  1867. 

Remarks. — A  feeding  trough  for  hogs  properly 
made  of  chestnut  or  wliile  oak  plank,  and  set  up 
from  the  ground  so  that  the  air  will  pass  around 
it,  will  last  many  years ;  how  many  we  do  not 
know,  for  we  have  not  had  one  decay  yet  under 
the  above  conditions.  Our  pig  troughs  are  always 
under  cover,  and  as  the  swine  are  fed  liberally, 
and  always  come  to  the  ground  when  they  wish  to, 
the  trough  that  was  made  ten  years  ago,  is  as 
smooth  now  as  the  day  it  was  made.  It  was  made 
of  oak. 

The  treatment  which  swine  give  to  their  troughs 
depends  in  a  great  mcrfsure  upon  the  circumstances 
wliich  surround  them.  If  they  can  always  retire 
to  a  dry  bed  when  they  wish  to,  are  fed  plentifully, 
and  can  come  to  the  ground  as  they  please,  they 
will  remain  quiet  and  grow  rapidly.  As  long  as  grass 
and  other  juicy  plants  continue,  they  should  have 
them  every  day,  and  two  or  three  times  a  day  they 
would  be  eager  for  tliem . 


RAISING   TURNIPS. 

At  this  time,  (July  20),  wise  farmers  are  think- 
ing about  tlie  turnips  for  next  winter.  I  have 
tried  many  ways  to  raise  them,  and  tindahnost  un- 
varied success  in  the  plan  of  my  lastadoption.  Wlien 
my  haying  is  a  little  out  of  the  way,  I  select  a  plot 
of  ground  as  much  as  I  think  I  can  manure  well, 
and  turn  itl>ottoui  up,  usually  usingNourse's  Iron 
beam  Swivel  plow  with  the  subsoil  attachment. 
The  soil  is  well  turned,  and  ihe  siibsoil  is  well 
broken.  With  a  good  share  harrow,  the  ground 
is  thoroughly  pulverized  and  levelled.  Twenty 
loads  of  40  bushels  each  of  fine  manure  are  put  to 
the  acre.  This  is  thoroughly  mixed  with  tlie  soil 
by  harrowing  or  cultivating.  I  then  mix  one 
pound  of  purple-top  strap-leaf  turnip  seed  Avith 
sufficient  hertls  grass  aiul  red  top  for  the  acre,  sow 
it  and  l)rush  it  in,  with  a  light  brush.  The  roller 
is  then  passed  over  it,  and  the  turnips  are  left  to 
take  care  of  themselves  till  they  are  in  danger  of 
being  frozen.  They  are  then  pulled  and  put  into 
the  barn  cellar  and  barn  floor,  tops  and  all.  Boys 
are  hired  at  two  or  three  cents  \)vv  bushel  to  top 
them  an<l  put  them  into  the  root  lellar.  I  can  find 
a  use  for  them  in  large  quantities  during  winter. 
My  hogs  eat  them,  my  cows  eat  them,  my  sheep 
cat  them,  and  my  horses  are  fond  of  them.  Sown 
the  tirst  of  August,  they  are  sweet  and  hard, 
and  will  kiep  so  nearly  all  winter.  For  earlier 
use,  they  sliould  be  sown  the  first  of  July.    By 


this  arrangement  no  crop  is  lost.  The  first  season 
we  get  two  crops,  one  of  grass  and  one  of  turnips; 
tlie  second  season  a  better  crop  of  gi'ass  than  has 
gr(,'*vn  before ;  the  third  season,  a  crop  as  good  as 
need  lie,  I  would  recommend  this  method  to  all 
farmers.  It  is  a  cheap  and  sure  way  of  raising 
turnips,  which  are  very  desirable  in  the  winter. 
And  it  is  a  cheap  way  of  making  a  worn  out  piece 
of  land  into  good  grass.  This  may  appear  too  late 
to  do  much  good  this  season.  I  have  known  good 
turnips  raised  from  seed  sown  as  late  as  the  tenth 
of  August,  here  in  New  Hampshire.  My  neiglibors 
are  following'  my  example,  which  may  lie  good 
evidence  in  my  favor.  Z.  Breed. 

IVeare,  N.  H.,  1867. 

deer  and  hogs  to  keep  off  the  curculio. 

Your  correspondent,  Thomas  Ellis,  Esq.,  of 
Rochester,  Mass.,  writes  so  feelingly  on  tlie  sub- 
ject of  that  sneaking  curculio,  that  I  cannot  re- 
frain from  giving  him  my  experience,  which,  like 
that  of  a  great  many  others,  may  cost  more  than 
it  will  come  to. 

Some  twenty  years  since,  I  was  at  the  house  of 
a  friend  at  the  season  of  the  plum,  and  was  invited 
to  partalvc  of  some,  wliich  were  very  nice.  I  in- 
quired how  he  succeeded  in  raising  perfect  plums, 
and  he  at  once  told  me  the  secret.  "See  that  tub 
of  water  ?  I  throw  the  plums  that  fall  into  the 
water,  and  that  prevents  their  going  into  the  ground 
to  again  come  forth  to  do  their  work  of  mischief." 
Years  ago,  I  had  an  orchard  of  about  thirty  trees, 
mostly  of  the  Rhode  Island  greening  variety, 
which  did  well  and  bore  abundantly,  until  the 
curculio  came  for  liis  share,  which  proved  to  be 
the  whole.  I  believe  he  did  not  leave  me  a  sound 
apple.  At  this  time  I  had  an  opportunity  to  get  a 
pair  of  deer,  which  I  inqiroved,  and  after  protect- 
ing every  tree  against  tlieir  gnawing  propensity, 
and  building  a  picket  fence  six  feet  and  a  half 
high,  I  put  them  into  the  orchard,  and  by  the  sec- 
ond v'car  I  had  no  more  trouble  from  tlie  curculio. 

If  Mr.  Ellis  does  not  like  the  luxury  of  deer- 
keeping,  a  few  hungry  hogs  will  produce  the  same 
efiect.  Alfred  Baylies. 

Taunton,  Mass.,  July,  1867. 


SELLING   POULTRY. 

Farmers  are  selling  tlieir  poultry  too  cheap. 
The  middle  men,  wlio  are  traversing  the  country 
and  buying  up  lots  of  poultry,  get  tlie  best  end  of 
the  bargain.  They  grind  the  faces  both  of  the 
producer  and  the  consumer.  At  the  present  re- 
tail prices  for  beef  and  poultry,  the  latter  is  the 
cheaper  of  tlie  two,  and  fanners  sliould  hesitate 
before  tluy  sell  for  about  onu-lialf  the  price  which 
the  consumer  is  obliged  to  pay.  Besides,  poultry 
is  regarded  as  more  of  a  luxury  than  either  veal, 
jiork,  or  beef,  and  farmers  should  therefore  de- 
niaiul  for  it  relatively  a  higher  jirice  than  tliey 
usually  obtain.  A  Loveu  of  Folltry. 

W'althwm,  Mass.,  July  24,  1867. 

Remarks. — Both  among  the  producers  and 
consumers  of  poultry  there  are  some  veiy  fastidi- 
ous i)eopl(!.  And  if  the  farmer  and  his  wife,  and 
his  sous  and  his  dangliters,  or  the  consumer  and 
liis  A\ife,  and  his  sons  and  his  daughters,  happen 
to  dislike  the  job  of  dressing  a  lot  of  poultry,  we 
do  not  suppose  that  Mr.  I.over-of-Poultry,  backed 
by  the  editorial  force  of  the  Ni:w  England  Far- 
mer, can  prevent  them  from  employing  somebody 
else  to  do  it  for  them.  Still  the  questions  raised 
by  our  correspondent  are  iiertinent  and  forcible. 
The  "art  and  science"  of  marketing  is  not  suffi- 
ciently studied  by  farmers,  or  by  consumers  either, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARJklER. 


441 


and  if  any  of  our  readers  can  suggest  any  im- 
provement in  the  present  manner  of  marketing 
poultry,  or  produce  of  any  or  all  kinds,  we  shall 
be  glad  to  cive  them  a  hearing. 


AVHAT   AILS    MY   GEAPE   VINE  ? 

I  have  a  Concoi-d  vine  seven  or  eight  years  old, 
that  has  borne  well  four  years.  In  the  spring  of 
1866  it  started  to  grow  as  usual,  but  soon  a  por- 
tion of  the  leaves  began  to  turn  yellow,  and  the 
vine  did  not  seem  as  thrifty  as  usual.  It  nearly 
recovered,  however,  before  autumn,  and  I  gathered 
twenty-tive  pounds  of  grapes  from  it,  although, 
owing  to  the  unfavorable  weather,  they  did  not 
ripen  well. 

I  supposed  the  sickly  appearance  of  the  vine 
was  occasioned  b.y  the  preceding  hard  winter ;  but 
this  summer  it  looks  still  worse.  It  was  laid  down 
last  ftul,  audit  came  out  looking  well  in  the  spring. 
But  it  did  not  start  as  usual,  and  when  it  did  the 
leaves  looked  yellow  and  sickly,  and  continued  to 
appear  so. 

My  plan  of  pnming  has  been  to  cut  back  in  the 
fall  to  two  eyes,  training  two  arms  horizontally, 
and  the  new"  shoots  perpendicularly.  I  have  al- 
ways kept  it  well  watered  with  sink  water  or  soap 
suds.  The  wood  looks  healthy.  Will  some  one 
inform  me  what  is  the  disease,  and  the  remedy  ? 

L.  Varney. 

Bloomfield,  C.  W.,  7th  month,  20th,  1867. 


trials  of  superphosphate. 

A  Worcester  subscriber  in  the  Farmer  of  July 
13,  says  that  he  "wishes  to  use  superphosphate  of 
lime  on  good  ground,  where  rye  is  to  be  sown," 
and  inquires  how  much  to  use,  and  how  to  apply 
it.  I  never  had  any  experience  with  it  until  this 
season.  Last  spring  I  bought  one  barrel  of  Brad- 
ley's patent  and  sowed  upon  grass  on  a  low  mead- 
ow, leaving  some  places  (and  marking  them) 
where  none  was  applied,  so  as  to  test  it ;  Ijut  could 
not  discover  a  particle  of  diffei-ence  in  the  crop 
where  it  was  applied  and  where  it  was  not.  I  also 
bought  two  barrels  of  Bradley's  XL,  for  corn.  One 
barrel  I  used  clear,  putting  a  tablespoon ful  in  each 
hill ;  the  other  l^arrel  I  mixed  with  hen  ma- 
nure, plaster  and  loam  taken  from  under  a  stable- 
floor,  making  tive  l)arrels  of  the  mixture.  The 
most  of  lioth  kinds  I  applied  to  com  planted  in  an 
old  pasture  which  had  not  been  plowed  before  for 
forty  years.  The  corn  is  best  where  the  mixture 
was  applied.  I  staked  off  some  rows  on  good  land, 
and  used  some  of  the  phosphate  on  a  part,  clear ; 
some  of  the  nuxtnre  on  another  part,  and  put 
ashes  in  the  hill  on  another  part;  leaving  4  rows 
between  without  anything,  and  intend  to  harvest 
each  plot  separately  and  note  the  result.  But 
now,  where  I  put  the  mixture,  the  corn  is  much  the 
largest,  and  where  the  pure  superphosphate  was  used 
it  is  smaller  than  where  nothing  was  put  in  the  hill. 
From  my  experience,  thus  far,  I  would  advise  my 
Worcester  friend  to  use  very  little  superphosphate, 
and  to  reduce  it  with  as  much  hen  manure,  plaster 
and  scrapings  from  under  stables  as  he  can  get. 

Westminster,  17.,  Juli/  26,  1867.  C. 


BEE-BREAD. 

Twice  within  ten  years  a  large  portion  of  our 
bees  have  died  for  the  lack  of  sufficient  "bee  bread." 
We  arc  sure  they  died,  <md  think  the  want  of  that 
part  of  their  UNual  supplies  was  the  cause.  Syrup 
made  from  retined  sugar  is  a  substitute  for  honey. 
Will  you,  Mr.  Editor,  or  any  of  your  correspon- 
dents please  to  tell  us  of  a  substitute  for  pollen ; 
and  tell  us,  also,  if  bees  kept  in  buckwheat  dis- 
tricts ever  want  for  "bee  bread"  in  their  hives  in 
the  spring.     Bee  keeping  is    a    very    uncertain 


source  of  profit  while  we  depend  entirely  upon  the 
usual  sources  of  supply  for  lioney.  It  is  not  often 
that  a  good  swarm  will  fail  to  secure  enough  for 
itself  in  the  worst  seasons ;  yet  there  are  times 
when  good  swarms  fail  to  do  that.  They  must  be 
fed ;  the  little  they  really  need  must  be  given  to 
them,  or  they  die.  There  is  no  trouble  in  supply- 
ing honey,  and  it  can  be  done  at  any  season  of  the 
year,  but  economy  will  choose  a  time  to  feed. 
What  can  we  do  for  a  supply  of  "bee-l)read  ?" 
Tell  us  that,  and  you  have  made  bee  keeping  com- 
paratively safe ;  for  we  have  no  fear  for  the  moth, 
no  trouble  with  cold  in  winter,  no  foul  brood  or 
other  diseases  among  our  bees ;  and  we  do  not  fail 
of  a  bountiful  supply  of  honey  from  the  usual 
sources  oftener  than  we  fail  with  our  stock  or  crops 
of  any  kind.  How  to  get  through  the  hard  sea- 
sons, and  preserve  our  stock  of  bees  until  a  good 
season  will  yield  a  profit,  is  the  gi-eat  question 
Avith  bee  keepers.  r. 

Neio  Hampshire,  July,  1867. 


SHOULDER   SPRAIN    IN   HORSE. 

Will  some  of  the  contributors  to  the  Farmer 
tell  me  how  to  cure  shoulder  sprain  in  my  horse  ? 
He  will  be  a  little  lame  six  months,  and  then  well 
six  months,  and  then  lame  again.  R. 

July,  1867. 

Remarks. — Youatt  and  Spooner  say  that  bleed- 
ing from  the  vein  on  the  inside  of  the  arm  and 
mildly  blistering  the  shoulder  generally  succeeds 
in  effecting  a  cure. 


CROPS    IN   new   HAMPSHIRE. 

Our  hay  crop  is  nearly  secured,  and  is  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty  per  cent,  better  than  last 
year ;  depending  much  upon  the  amount  of  spring 
and  fiiU  feeding  to  which  the  fields  have  been  sub- 
jected. 

Potatoes  are  looking  very  well.  Grain  good, 
and  early  pieces  ready  to  be  cut.  Corn  is  gener- 
ally good,  but  late ;  some  pieces  have  not  been 
hoed  at  all,  planting  was  so  late  and  haying  so 
early,  which  farmers  were  disposed  to  attend  to, 
thoitgh  at  the  neglect  of  other  things.  We  hear 
no  complaint  for  ^he  lack  of  fruit.  Small,  wild 
fruit  of  all  kinds  are  veiy  plenty.  p. 

Mast  Yard,  N.  H.,  July  26,  1867- 


A    CASE   OF   CONSCIENCE. 

Old  Farmer  B ,  of ,  sold  a  pair  of  oxen 

to  a  man  in  a  neighboring  town,  and  agreed  to  de- 
liver them  to  the  buyer.  Having  delivered  the 
cattle  according  to  agreement,  he  was  jogging 
homeward,  when  he  suddenly  stopped  his  horse, 
and,  thinking  aloud,  remarked,  "There !  there  !  I 
forgot  to  teiniim,  after  all !  Them  cattle  are  con- 
founded rogues.  I  ought  to  go  back  and  tell  him; 
I  guess  I  will ;  no,  I  won't ;  for  he'll  find  it  out — 
he  will."  Eavesdropper. 

,  Mass.,  July  25,  1867. 


NOTES   FROM    MAINE. 

Haying  is  the  all  absorbing  work  with  the  far- 
mers just  now.  The  mowing  machines — and  many 
kinds  too — are  put  to  the  test  of  tvork,  and  admir- 
ably are  they  doing  the  i-equired  task.  Recent 
improvements  in  their  construction,  and  the  in- 
creased skill  in  working  them,  enable  them  to  be 
used  advantageously  upon  many  fields  where  it 
has  hitherto  been  thought  impracticable. 

The  drag  rake,  the  horse  I'ake,  and  the  horse 
pitchfork  are  being  pressed  into  service  Mherever 
available. 

Haymen  get  $50  to  $65  per  month,  or  $2  to 
$2.50,  and  some  $3  per  day,  fair  weather. 


442 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARjNIER. 


Sept. 


The  hay  crop  is  from  one  to  two-tenths  better 
than  last  vcar,  and  is  sellhig,  direct  from  the  fields, 
for  512  to  $16  per  ton. 

The  cultivated  crops  look  well  jrenerally,  though 
not  quite  up  to  time  in  maturity.  It  is  better 
growing  than  haying  weather,  the  last  half  of 
July. 

The  apple  crop  will  be  very  light, — not  up  to 
laf^t  year;  other  fruits,  perhaps,  a  little  better. 

The  season,  thus  far,  has  been  a  singular  one. 
Cold  wet  May  ;  June  a  fine  month  for  all  work ; 
July  hot  days  and  cool  nights;  and  so  during  all 
the  season  the  nights  have  been  cold  and  cool, 
yet  vegetation  is  luxuriant.  0.  W.  True. 

Farmmgton,  Me.,  July  30,  1867. 


WINTER   WHEAT. 

We  hear  great  stories  about  wheat  in  the  South, 
West  and  at  other  points  of  our  country.  It  seems 
to  be  a  general  time  of  rejoicing,  for  it  is  pleasant 
to  know  that  we  have  an  abundance  of  the  prime 
btaffof  life. 

Now  it  is  pertinent  to  ask  the  question,  how 
much  wheat  have  the  fanners  of  New  litigland 
raised  this  season  }  Could  they  answer,  fn'm  two 
to  four  acres  each,  they  would  have  no  occasion 
for  a  barrel  of  flour  from  the  West,  for  I  maintain 
that  four  bushels  wheat  weighing  240  pounds, 
allowing  44  pounds  tor  iiran,  is  a  lair  c-timaie  tor 
a  barrel  of  196  pounds  flour.  But  a  jiortion  of  this 
bran  would  be  consumed  by  most  families  who  con- 
sider wheat  meal  as  far  more  healthy  than  fine 
flour,  at  least  fur  a  change. 

Farmers  who  have  Ijecn  paying  four  to  four  and 
a  half  dollars  a  bushel  to  Western  farmers  the 
past  year,  you  can  afford  to  raise  wheat  for  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  With  the  exception  of 
seed,  a  wheat  crop  can  be  raised  at  the  same  cost 
and  labor  that  is  expended  on  other  crops,  ))ut 
when  harvested,  it  is  far  more  valualile.  Is  it  not 
an  object  to  try  ?  Several  (of  the  few)  that  have 
atteuipted  it,  have  come  out  with  their  statements 
of  20  to  4!)  bushels  to  the  acre.  Why,  then,  halt 
any  longer  ?  Sow  a  peck,  half  bushel,  or  a  Imsliel, 
in  oTie  corner  of  your  old  mowing  land  as  a  begin- 
ning. The  rowen  >  ou  turn  in  is  a  good  coa'ing  of 
manure, — sod  wheat  is  always  best.  Let  the  grain 
lie  in  brine  ten  hours,  rake  it  in  ashes  or  slacked 
lime.  Sow  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  per  acre,  and 
cultivate  two  or  tliree  inches  deep,  from  last  week 
in  August  to  tenth  of  September,  depending  some- 
wliat  on  the  strength  and  earlincss  of  your  soil. 
You  are  then  safe  from  winter  kill.  Get  a  good 
growth  this  fall  licfore  the  ground  freezes,  and 
yourciop  is  safe  as  winter  rye,  and  you  will  get 
double  tiie  quantity  to  the  acre  that  you  generally 
raise  (jf  rye  on  your  light,  i)oor  soils. 

Our  grain  dealers  talk  of  a  short  crop  in  Europe. 
Should  it  jirovc  so,  prices  will  not  range  low  with 
us.  Henky  Poor. 

Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Aug.  5, 1867. 

WHEAT     RAISING    BY   A   LADY    IN    M ASSACHISETTS. 

I  do  not  know  how  to  write  for  a  newspajjer,  but 
I  want  my  farmer  si^5ters,  if  not  all  f,u'iiurs,to 
have  the  licnclitof  my  experience  in  winter  wheat 
raising.  My  husband  often  talked  alioiit  it,  lint 
never  had  mllicient  hope  or  courage  to  make  tlie 
attempt.  My  crop  has  .been  very  large  this  year, 
to  my  delight,  and  I  could  not  help  sending  the 
"willow's  mite"  forthe  bcuelit  of  any  who  may  l)ein 
doubt.  1  shall  persevere,  having  had  the  sad  ex- 
perience of  jiaying  twenty  dollars  a  barrel  for 
dour  the  past  year. 

The  Isi.w  England  Farmer  is  a  treasure  to  me, 
having  learrud  from  its  correspondents  the  valua- 
ble lesson  of  wheat  raising,  as  well  as  many  others, 
to  help  mc  in  pro\  idiiig  for  my  family.    Many  a 


mother  has  to  provide  for  her  family  from  farm 
products,  and  I  wish  they  could  look  upon  my 
wheat  field,  take  courage,  go  and  do  likewise. 
Should  I  live  till  spring,  1  shall  try  spring  wheat. 
I  feel  great  delicacy  in  sending  this  letter,  but 
hope  it  mav  do  good  to  others  with  small  means. 
,  Mass.,  Aug.  6,  1867.  Mks.  Wm.  O. 

Remarks. — The  above  contribution  was  as  glad- 
ly received  as  were  the  "two  mites"  of  a  "certain 
poor  widow"  of  old.  Compared  with  the  "offer- 
ings" of  those  who  "east  in  of  their  abundance," 
this  brief  article  may  appear  small;  but  who  that 
has  the  experience  of  paying  twenty  dollars  a 
liarrel  for  flour  will  deny  that  this  modest  writer 
"hath  cast  in  more  than  they  all." 


CURE   for   HOLDFAST   IN    CATTLE. 

Having  been  successful  in  curing  two  rather  bad 
cases,  one  on  the  lower  and  one  on  the  upper  jaw 
of  different  animals,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  my 
brother  farmers  to  communicate  my  course  of 
treatment.  At  night  I  ai)plied  good  home-made 
soft  soap  to  the  swelling,  rubbing  it  thoroughly 
into  the  hair  and  comjilctely  over  the  swollen 
]>art.  The  next  morning  the  soap  was  carefully 
washed  off  and  out  of  tlie  hair  with  cold  water. 
This  followed  up  daily,  soon  removed  the  swellings 
in  both  cases  after  they  had  got  to  be  of  good  size. 
J.  H.  Marshall. 

North  Easton,  Mass.,  Aug.  1,  1867. 

Remarks. — If  this  shall  prove  as  effectual  with 
others  as  with  our  correspondent,  his  brief  state- 
ment must  lie  of  great  value  to  stock  raisers.  It  is 
commonly  believed  by  farmers  that  these  swell- 
ings, known  as  Holdfast,  Stickiast,  &c.,  are  occa- 
sioned by  the  old  teeth  being  retained  when  the 
new  ones  are  starting,  causing  the  new  teeth  to 
grow  out  of  the  side  of  the  jaw,  thus  causing  irri- 
tation, which  results  in  inflammation  and  swelling. 
It  may  be  well,  tlieref-n-e,  in  the  first  jilace,  to  see 
if  there  is  anything  wrong  with  the  teeth. 


CURE  FOR  LAMENESS  IN  A  HOKSE'S  SHOULDER. 

Several  years  since  I  bought  a  horse  in  a  condi- 
tion similar  to  thatdeserilied  by  "R.,"'  in  the  Far- 
mer of  Aug.  3.  After  standing  still  a  few  days 
my  horse  did  not  show  any  signs  of  lameness,  but 
when  driven  a  few  miles  (piick,or  when  he  became 
tired  with  travel,  he  would  1)C  quite  lame. 

I  bathed  the  entire  shoulder  with  q<\ua\  jiarts  of 
"Mustang  Liniment"  and  aleohol,  well  mixed,  and 
warmed  or  dried  it  in  with  a  hot  brick,  lieing 
careful  not  to  let  the  brick  loueli  or  burn  the  skin, 
rubbing  at  the  same  time.  A  few  ap|ilieaiions, 
on<  e  in  two  days,  letting  the  horse  have  a  loose 
stable,  and  keeping  him  as  quiet  as  (Onvcnient, 
cured  him  altera  lameness  of  eight  or  ten  months. 
The  apiilication  may  not  be  of  service  in  amther 
ca-e,  but  as  it  cured  my  horse  I  would  make  it 
known  to  "R."  and  he  can  try  it  or  not  as  be 
pleases. 

I  should  consider  the  less  blood-letiing  and 
blisteiing  the  better,  if  the  animal  was  in  good 
health  otherwise.  a. 

Montpelier,  It.,  Aug.  5,  1867. 

0.\TS   TURNING   TO   RYE. 

I  have  n't  received  any  information  through  the 
Farmer  concerning  "scattering  rye  on  oat  land," 
but  have  been  told,  however,  that  the  li  w  oats  that 
chance  to  live  in  the  ground  through  the  winter, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


413 


germinate  in  the  form  of  rye.    "N^Tiat  do  you  say 
to  that  ?  G.  S.  Bennett. 

Roijalton,  Vt.,  July  29,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  never  knew  of  oats  turning  to 
rye,  nor  of  corn  turning  to  potatoes ;  but  both  and 
all  "turn"  up  strangely  sometimes,  and  we  hardly 
know  what  they  sprang  from.  May  not  the  "scat- 
tering spears  of  rye  growing  on  land  which  the 
year  before  was  seeded  down  to  oats,"  germinate 
from  kernels  of  winter  rye  sown  with  the  oats  or 
the  grass  seed  ?  Who  can  furnish  the  desired  in- 
formation ? 


■WHEAT   TURNING   TO    CHESS. 

The  party  that  complained  of  "chess"  in  his 
winter  wheat  should  have  passed  through  his  field 
and  plucked  it  by  the  roots.  No  one  can  mistake 
it,  and  there  is  no  necessity  of  having  it.  "As  ye 
sow,  so  shall  ve  reap."  h.  p. 

Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  July  27,  1867. 


L 


LIME  AND   SALT    FOR   CURINQ   HAY. 

New  England  Farmer  Office, 
Boston,  August  1,  1867. 

Hon.  Simon  Brown, — Dear  Sir: — ^Ir. 
E.  L.  Metcalf,  (E.  L.  &  O.  F.  Metcalf)  of 
Franklin,  Mass.,  called  upon  us  to-day,  hoping 
to  have  seen  you.  lie  wishes  to  consult  you 
as  to  the  chemical  action  of  salt  and  lime  as  a 
preservative  of  green  hay  or  grass.  As  to  the 
fact  of  the  curing  properties  of  the  compound 
he  has  no  doubts.  This  he  thinks  his  experi- 
ence the  past  and  the  present  season  has  fully 
demonstrated.  But  he  wishes  to  know  how  it 
operates,  and  whether  it  can  in  any  way  prove 
injurious  to  the  stock  which  consumes  hay 
cured  as  he  is  now  curing  his.  Ilis  practice 
was  stated  substantially  as  follows  : — 

He  commences  with  one  or  two  machines, 
according  to  weather,  help,  &c.,  as  soon  as  the 
dew  is  oil',  in  tlie  morning,  and  puts  it  all  into 
the  mow  the  same  day  if  possible.  If  imprac- 
ticable to  get  it  all  in  the  day  it  is  cut,  he  puts 
it  into  cocks  which  are  capped.  This  is  carted 
the  next  day — the  cocks  never  being  opened. 
He  cuts  about  60  tons,  and  puts  in  from  4  to  8 
loads  per  day,  and  applies  a  mixture  of  about 
four  quarts  of  air- slacked  lime  and  two  quarts 
of  salt  per  ton.  The  other  day  he  commenced 
raking  before  the  machine  had  finished  cutting, 
and,  much  to  the  alarm  of  his  foreman  and 
other  hands,  put  it  directly  into  the  barn. 
Yet  with  the  application  of  the  lime  and  salt 
mixture  the  hay  thus  hurried  iu  does  not  heat, 
sweat,  nor  become  musty. 

Last  winter  he  kept  on  hay  thus  cured,  4 
cows,  6  oxen,  2  two-year-olds  and  a  horse ;  all 
of  which  did  well  and  were  healthy.     Indeed, 


he  said  the  stock  would  pick  out  this  hay  from 
that  cured  in  the  ordinary  style,  lie  sold  a 
ton  this  spring  to  an  old  farmer  in  his  neigh- 
borhood, who,  after  having  used  most  of  it, 
asked  him  how  he  happened  to  sell  rowen. 
On  being  told  that  it  was  not  rowen,  but  ordin- 
ary first-crop  hay,  and  that,  too,  which  was  cut 
rather  late  in  the  season,  his  neighbor  re- 
marked, well,  it  was  so  soft  feeling  and  fresh 
looking,  that  he  really  thought  it  was  rowen. 
After  being  told  that  the  hay  was  cut  and  put 
into  the  mow  as  above  described,  the  man  re- 
marked that  he  should  certainly  try  the  salt 
and  lime  himself,  for  he  never  had  any  hay  in 
the  spring  which  his  cattle  ate  so  greedily. 

By  way  of  experiment,  Mr.  Metcalf  ex- 
posed a  small  stack  of  hay  thus  cured  in  the 
mow  to  the  opon  air  on  the  north  side  of  his 
barn,  and  is  satisfied  that  it  resisted  the  effects 
of  the  weather  far  more  effectually  for  the 
liming ;  and  infers  that  such  hay  would  bear 
transportation  much  better  than  hay  cured  as 
usual. 

With  this  process  and  with  modern  imple- 
ments, he  says  he  can  put  his  hay  into  the  barn 
at  an  expense  of  .$2  per  ton. 

At  his  request,  I  have  submitted  the  ques- 
tion of  the  chemical  action  of  the  lime  and  salt 
on  the  large  amount  of  moisture  which  ijrass 
is  known  to  contain,  to  Dr.  James  R.  Nichols, 
who  has  promised  to  consider  the  subject,  and 
reply  in  the  next  number  of  his  Journal  of 
Chemistry . 

Mr.  J\letcalf  left  a  pressing  invitation  for 
you  to  call  and  examine  his  barnful  of  hay. 

I  have  frecpiently  salted  hay  that  I  thought 
was  rather  green,  but  have  never  tried  lime. 
I  notice  that  in  an  article,  written  by  i\lr.  X.  A. 
Willard,  of  the  Utica  Herald,  doubts  were  ex- 
pressed as  to  the  expediency  of  liming  hay. 
Have  you  ever  experimented  with  it.^ 

Yours,  &c.,  S.  Fletcher. 

On  the  Farm,  Concord,  Aug.  9,  1867. 
I  think  we  had  better  publish  the  foregoing. 
I  am  so  much  interested  in  the  statement  that 
I  have  put  down  one  scaffold  of  hay  in  the 
lime  and  salt,  and  if  opportunity  offers  shall 
be  most  happy  to  compare  results  with  the 
Messrs.  Metcalf.  We  shall  cut  about  eighty 
tons  of  fodder  this  year,  and  just  now  1  am 
exceedingly  busy ;  as  this  season,  especially, 
we  find  it  necessary  to  "make  hay  while  the  sun 
shines."     Yours,  truly,        Simon  Brown. 


I 


444 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Sept. 


The  animal  above  represented  is  the  pro- 
perty of  Joseph  A.  Ilarwood,  Littleton,  Mass., 
winner  of  the  Sweepstake  Prize  otTercd  by  the 
IMiddlesex  County  Agi  icultural  Society,  at 
Concord,  September,  18(36,  for  the  best  bull 
of  any  breed ;  also,  winner  of  the  first  prize 
as  the  best  Short  Horn  Bull,  by  the  same  soci- 
ety. Roan  Prince  was  f;ot  by  Rising  Star, 
6129,  out  of  Lady  Sale  8th,  by  Second  Prince 
of  Orange,    2183,— Lady   Sale   6th,  by  Red 


Knight,  890,— Lady  Sale  3d,  by  Imp.  Third 
Duke  of  Cambridge,  1034  (5941,)— Imp.  Lady 
Sale  2d,  by  Earl  of  Chatham,  10,176,  &c. 

The  above  picture  is  a  correct  likeness  of 
this  magnificent  animal,  as  taken  from  life, 
lie  is  now  two  years  old,  ancl  was  purchased 
by  his  present  owner  of  Hon.  Daniel  Need- 
ham,  of  Groton,  to  whom  he  was  presented 
by  the  Provincial  Societies  of  Agriculture  of 
Canada. 


18G7. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEI^rER. 


445 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

SUCCESS   IN   FARMING. 

Can  young  men  succeed  better  in  other  callings  than  as 
farmers  ? 

I  see  you  print,  (Feb.  16,  18G7,)  the  fol- 
lowing, which  is  the  concluding  sentence  of 
my  article  on  "Renting  Farms  :" — 

The  same  amount  of  study,  tact,  talent,  energy 
and  enterprise  that  sutBces  to  make  a  man  moder- 
ately successful  in  a  professional  or  a  mercantile 
career,  will  place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
tillers  of  the  soil. 

You  then  I'emark  that  it  "is  going  the  rounds 
of  the  agricultural  press,"  and  that  you  "won- 
der at  it,  as  you  do  not  believe  it  is  true." 
Also  that  you  "think  it  would  be  full  as  cor- 
rect to  transpose  the  sentence,  and  say,  "that 
the  same  amount  of  talent,  tact,  industry,  en- 
ergy, economy  and  enterprise  that  suffices  to 
make  a  man  a  moderately  successful  farmer 
would  place  him  in  the  front  rank  of  the  pro- 
fessional or  mercantile  classes." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  was 
much  surprised  to  see  this.  I  was  trying  to 
show  that  farming  was  the  best  and  surest  bu- 
siness for  farmers'  sons  to  follow.  That  "the 
professions  are  so  crowded  that  it  is  often 
many  years  before  an  opening  is  found,  and  a 
paying  business  obtained."  And  that  "these 
difficulties  have  kept  many  talented  men  in 
the  back-ground  for  years,  or  finally  driven 
them  into  other  business."  While  it  was  not 
"much  better  in  the  mercantile  business,"  as 
"every  opening  for  or  avenue  of  trade  is 
crowded  and  overdone."  And  that  both  are 
so  crowded  that  "competition  and  combination 
do  their  utmost  to  prevent  the  success  of  the 
beginner."  With  other  facts  and  arguments 
offered  to  prove  that  farming  was  the  surest 
and  easiest  to  get  started  and  succeed  in ; 
and  winding  up  with  the  sentence  incjuestion. 

Now,  am  I  mistaken  ?  Will  young  men  find 
it  easier,  and  be  surer  to  obtain  a  comfortable 
competency,  by  entering  into  trade,  or  the 
professions  ?  Remember  that  it  is  not  the  ab- 
stract question  that  I  have  in  view,  but  the 
practical ;  that  I  try  to  consider  these  matters 
as  I  find  them.  No  doubt  but  the  success- 
ful merchant  or  lawyer  gets  better  paid  in 
money  and  honor  than  many  successful  farm- 
ers. Political  economists  say  the  reason  for 
this,  is,  that  it  takes  a  costly  preparation 
in  time  and  money  to  secure  such  success. 
Many  farmers  will  say  that  the  so-called  intel- 
lectual classes  so  rule  society  as  to  secure 
better  pay  for  their  labor.  But  this  is  not  the 
point.  If  the  successful  lawyer  can  get  more 
money  for  a  fair  day's  work  than  a  farmer 
gets  for  from  ten  to  one  hundred  times  as 
much  labor,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  it  does 
not  prove  that  it  is  best  for  young  men  to  be- 
come lawyers ;  for  practically  such  lawyers  are 
the  exception ;  they  are  few  and  far  between. 
There  are  so  many  lawyers,  and  competition 
is  so  close,  sharp  and  persistent,  that  only 
those  who  have  great  talent,  tact  and  ability 


that  are  especially  adapted  to  the  profession, 
aided  by  intense  and  persistent  study,  ever 
attain  to  the  "front  rank"  in  their  profes- 
sion. And  then  such  "leaders  of  the  bar"  get 
about  all  the  best  business  ;  while  the  rest,  as 
a  whole,  have  rather  short  pickings. 

Take  this  county  for  instance.  Out  of  some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  lawyers,  there  are  only 
two  or  three  that  are  really  successfial ;  as 
many  more  moderately  successful — worth  as 
much  as  average  farmers ;  while  the  rest  are 
not  as  well  off,  nor  do  they  make  as  much 
money  as  ordinary  farmers.  Doctors  are  not 
doing  as  well  as  lawyers.  Merchants  about 
the  same ;  that  is,  a  few  succeed — many  fail. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  farmers  are  generally 
in  good  circumstances,  and  making  money. 
Farms  may  average  one  hundred  acres  each, 
and,  including  stock  and  tools,  may  be  worth 
nearly  or  quite  $100  an  acre,  while  many 
have  several  hundred  acres,  besides  several 
thousand  dollars  at  interest ;  and  this,  too,  in 
a  county  that  has  been  principally  settled  and 
cleared  up  during  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years, 
by  men  that  had  but  very  little  means  to  start 
with ;  so  that  nearly  all  the  property  now 
owned  by  the  farmers  has  been  made  by  the 
present  generation ;  while  the  failure  of  a 
farmer  of  ordinary  industry  and  economy  is 
scarcely  ever  heard  of.  So  that,  in  fiict,  farm- 
ers ai'e  nearly  all  moderately  successful,  while 
this  is  the  case  with  only  a  small  share  of  the 
lawyers,  doctors  or  merchants. 

I  know  a  farmer  not  yet  forty  years  old  who, 
with  a  capital  of  only  $500  to  $G00  to  begin 
with,  has  made  between  $30,000  and  $40,000 
by  farming ;  while  there  is  not  a  lawy-er  or 
merchant,  of  the  same  age,  in  the  county  that 
has  got  together  as  much  money.  This  farmer 
has  a  moderate  academical  education  ;  but  no 
special  study  or  preparation  for  his  business, 
more  than  other  sons  of  common  farmers, 
while  many  of  the  other  classes  have  been 
well  educated,  and  by  study  and  practical 
training,  thoroughly  prepared  for  their  busi- 
ness ;  and  some  of  them  are  men  of  superior 
ability  and  intelligence.  So  there  can  be  but 
one  reason  why  they  don't  succeed  as  well  in 
proportion  as  the  farmers,  and  that  is  they 
don't  have  the  same  chance, — they  don't  find 
the  same  opening  for  them  to  make  money  ac- 
cording to  their  tact,  talent  and  ability.  The 
farmer  found  plenty  of  business  from  the  be- 
ginning— the  others  could  not.  There  were 
enough  older,  experienced  and  well  estab- 
lished lawyers,  doctors  and  merchants,  to  do 
all  the  business,  who  had  it  in  their  own  hands  ; 
and  being  men  of  much  talent, — some  of  them 
of  decided  ability, — and  having  the  confidence 
of  the  people,  they  could  not  be  crowded  out 
nor  deprived  of  patronage.  Hence  new  aspi- 
rants, however  talented  and  thoroughly  pre- 
pared, often  have  great  difficulty  in  getting  a 
good  start  in  business. 

Again :  we  have  many  hundreds  of  moder- 
ately successful  farmers  in  this  county,  like  a 


446 


NEW   EXGLAXD    FAR:MER. 


Sept. 


neighbor  who  has  made  some  $10,000  or 
$l:i,0'JO  during  the  last  twenty  years.  He  has 
but  little  training,  and  not  a  large  amount  of 
general  intelligence,  but  is  industrious  and 
frugal ;  qualities  which  have  enabled  him  to 
become  "a  moderately  successful  farmer." 
Yet  it  would  be  worse  than  useless  to  tell  any 
one  that  is  acfiuainted  with  his  mental  ability, 
that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  attain  to  the  front 
rank  of  the  professional  or  mercantile  classes. 

If  farmers  are  thus  moderately  successful 
without  any  special  education,  study  or  train- 
ing for  tiicir  business,  how  will  it  be  when 
they  have  the  full  benefit  of  these  advantages? 
Law  and  medical  schools,  and  comnierciol 
colleges,  are  of  great  advantage  to  the  classes 
they  are  intended  for.  May  not  agricultural 
schools  be  a  great  help  to  young fiirmers,  also? 
I  believe  they  will  be,  and  that  thousands 
that  otherwise  would  be  rather  ordinary  form- 
ers, mi^fht,  with  their  help,  attain  to  the  front 
rank  of  their  calling. 

True,  men  have  succeeded  in  all  pursuits, 
"without  any  special  education  or  training  (or 
their  business.  But  while  this  has  only  been 
the  case  in  regard  to  few  and  rare  exceptions 
in  other  callings,  it  is  the  general,  if  not  uni- 
versal rule  with  farmers — that  is,  as  far  as 
success  is  attained.  In  fact,  I  believe  we  have 
no  farmers  that  have  been  thoroughly  educated 
and  trained  in  agricultural  schools  for  their 
business ;  that  we  have  yet  to  learn,  at  least 
practically,  the  full  advantages  of  such  prepa- 
ration. 

But  do  the  editors  of  the  Farmer  intend  to 
encourage  farmers'  sons  to  leave  the  farm,  by 
holiling  out  such  inducements  as,  that  it  is 
easier  to  reach  "the  front  rank  in  the  piofes- 
sional  or  mercantile  classes,"  than  to  become  "a 
moderately  successful  farmer?"  Not  only  are 
all  kinds  of  business  avocations  crowded,  but 
we  hear  of  thousands  in  the  cities  that  <*an't 
find  anything  to  do.  But  a  few  months  since 
the  Tribune  said  there  were  40,U0U  idle  men 
vainlv  S(>eking  employment  in  New  York  city. 
And  on  the  tenth  of  April  the  Weeldy  Tri- 
bune said : 

"Ami  now  let  us  once  more  exhort  the  surplus 
popiilatiim  of  this  and  every  other  great  American 
city  to  tlisptrse.  There  are  at  least  one  million  of 
them  this  day  hanging  on  where  they  are  not 
wanted,  and  are  not  likely  to  be.  'Can't  you  give 
us  somc:hing  to  do  ?'  is  their  incessant  wliiue, 
when  I  here  is  work  cnousli  and  good  pay  for  all, 
if  they  would  only  go  where  it  is  needed.  They 
cannot  (ind  work  on  a  few  square  miles  i)f  pave- 
ments, because  there  arc  tou  many  people  here 
and  too  few  on  the  farms  and  in  the  rural  factories 
and  work-hops.  The  world  does  not  need  so  many 
clerks,  salesmen,  bookkeepers,  musie-teachcrs, 
governesses,  &c.,  &c.,as  seek  employment  in  those 
capa'jitics ;  so  thousands  nmst  be  starved  back  into 
productive  labor;  and  the  sooner  this  is  done  the 
better  for  us  all." 

Now  this  i"  a  very  serious  matter  In  the  cit- 
ies;  and  yet  it  is  the  ca>e  when  help  is  very 
scarce  and  hinh  in  the  coimtry.  Here  wages 
are  about  double  the  price  paid  before  the 


war,  and  men  very  scarce  at  that,  "o  that  one 
of  the  most  serious  difficulties  farmers  have  to 
meet  is  the  scarcity  and  high  price  of  help. 
Now  does  the  Farmer  wish  to  add  to  this  dif- 
ficulty by  encouraging  a  still  greater  number 
of  young  men — liirmers'  sons — to  leave  the 
farm?  And  will  not  this  be  likely  to  be  the 
case  with  those  that  believe  there  is  a  better 
chance  to  succeed,  in  other  occupations  than 
in  farming?  But  still  as  the  general  tenor  of 
the  editorials  of  the  Farmer  has  been  in  favor 
of  "sticking  to  the  farm,"  it  may  be  there  is 
some  mistake — some  misap()rehension  in  this 
matter  that  may  be  explained.  F. 

Western  New  York.  18G7. 


Remarks. — We  admit  the  force  of  our  cor- 
respondent's strictures,  from  his  standpoint. 
We  contemplated  the  subject  under  a  different 
aspect — an  aspect  in  which  we  think  the  occu- 
pation of  the  farmer  is  too  often  contemplated 
— that  of  its  inferiority  as  compared  with  the 
other  vocations  of  life.  Our  remarks  were  the 
result  of  a  strong  conviction  that  those  who 
wish  to  satisfy  the  ambitious  young  man  with 
agriculture  would  do  well  to  pursue  some  oth- 
er course  of  argument  than  that  which  demon- 
strates the  assumption  that  "any  fool  Is  bright 
enough  forafarmer," — orthatthe  "front rank" 
of  that  profession  may  be  attained  with  a  very 
small  "amount  of  tact,  talent,  energy  and  en- 
terprise." To  such  teachings  we  trace  the  re- 
gretful remark,  so  often  made  both  by  parents 
and  children,  and  the  sense  of  degradation  it 
hnplles,  that  "William"  or  "George"  or  "Jo- 
seph" "has  no  trade,  as  he  always  had  to  stay 
at  home."  After  a  familiar  practice  of  per- 
haps thrice  seven  years  in  every  branch  of 
farming,  and  with  every  agricultural  imple- 
ment, the  poor  boy  has  no  trade, — no  "special 
education,  training  or  study  for  his  business," 
— while  he  who  drives  pegs  into  a  shoe  or 
shoves  a  plane  upon  a  board  is  entitled  to  a 
rank  several  degress  above  that  of  the  "un- 
skilled laborer." 

True,  Mr.  "F.,"  the  New  England  Far- 
mer most  heartily  advises  the  boys  to  stick  to 
the  farm,  not  because  It  is  the  place  for  block- 
heads and  dunces,  but  because  it  is  an  appro- 
priate and  promising  field  for  study,  tact,  tal- 
ent, energy  and  enterprise ;  while  at  the  same 
time  it  cautions  the  "professions"  and  all  who 
have  not  "learned  the  trade,"  against  engag- 
ing in  farming  with  the  belief  that  it  is  an  easy 
thing  to  attain  "the  front  rank  of  the  tillers 
of  the  soil." 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER, 


447 


DABK   SIDE  OF   WOOL  GROWING. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer 
says  be  was  induced  to  engage  in  the  wool- 
growing  business  from  "being  taken"  with  the 
way  in  which  the  beauties  and  profits  thereof 
Lave  been  presented  by  "Wool  Grower"  and 
other  writers  upon  the  subject,  during  the  past 
six  or  eight  years.  But  being  "superlatively 
disgusted  with  sheep  and  the  sheep  business," 
he  proceeds  to  detail  his  experiences  and  con- 
victions in  the  following  bill  of  particulars  : — 

I  did  not  buy  sheep  at  as  high  figures  as  did 
many  other  men  at  the  same  time,  but  1  bought 
better  ones  than  many  others  did  for  the  same 
money.  I  believe  I  have  fed  and  handled 
them  with  proper  care,  but  the  thing  don't 
come  o  ;t  as  I  was  led  to  expect  by  "Wool- 
Grower's"  ciphering.  He  used  to  tell  us  that  in 
a  tolerably  good  sized  flock  a  man  ought  not 
to  lose  over  tive  per  cent.,  and  in  a  large  flock 
not 'over  ten  percent.,  in  a  year.  I  started 
with  1400,  which,  perhaps,  might  be  called  a 
large  Hock ;  now  I  have  never  been  able  to 
keep  my  losses  anywhere  near  as  low  as  ten 
per  cent.  I  wonder  if  "W.  G."  ever  kept,  on 
paper,  an  account  of  every  sheep  which  he  lost 
in  a  year  ? 

As  a  fellow-sufferer  and  neighbor  says, 
"Sheep  loill  die  in  spite  of  thunder."  During 
the  summer  they  do  not  go  so  very  fast ;  in 
fact  if  you  do  not  put  each  one  down  on  paper 
the  very  day  the  carcass  is  discovered,  you 
v/ill  be  inclined  to  think,  in  the  fall, — O,  I 
have  not  lost  many ;  perhaps  a  half  a  dozen. 
In  the  early  part  of  winter  and  clear  up  to 
March,  you  will  feel  as  if  you  were  getting 
along  swimmingly,  but  don't  lay  any  flattering 
unction  to  your  soul  until  you  reach  the  Ides 
of  March,  the  same  Ides  which  Ctesar  was  to 
beware  of.  About  this  time,  perhaps,  you 
think  it  well  enough  to  begin  entering  in  your 
book,  dead  sheep.  Like  an  innocent,  you 
think,  once  April  comes  in  and  your  Hock  can 
get  a  bite  of  grass,  the  mortality  of  sheep  will 
cease.  The  next  two  months  undeceive  you 
terribly,  and  you  feel  as  if  sheep  laid  down 
and  died  from  sheer  spite. 

When  "lambing-time" — I  believe  that's  the 
word — arrives,  you  are  expected  by  all  good 
authorities  to  raise  75  per  cent.  You  are  just 
green  enough  to  keep  a  book  account  here 
again,  so  as  to  see  whether  you  are  doing  what 
is  expected  of  you.  For  awhile  you  feel  first- 
rate  ;  your  book  reads,  so  many  ewes  have 
lambed,  so  many  lambs  living ;  in  a  week  or 
so  you  have  to  go  back  to  your  book  and 
chalk  out  some  of  those  set  down  as  living,  on 
account  of  the  natural  perversity  of  tlje  whole 
sheep  kind,  which  will  persist  in  dying  without 
any  show  of  reason.  Putting  down,  rubbing 
out  and  altering,  you  run  your  now  badly 
speckled  Ijook  up  to  the  time  when  all  have 
come  and  they  are  ready  for  "trimming."     On 


finishing  this  job  you  proceed  to  count  your 
pile  of  tails;  as  the  pile  diminishes,  how  your 
face  lengthens  !  "Only  so  many  !"  in  a  mourn- 
ful tone  of  voice;  then  you  consult  your  book; 
book  says  so  many ;  then  you  recount  your 
pile  of  tails  and  continue  glancing  from  book 
to  tails  until  your  head  swims.  Worse  than 
all,  you  reflect,  they  cannot  be  considered 
raised  as  yet,  but  two  or  three  months  must 
elapse  before  weaning-time.  At  weaning-time 
you  take  a  fresh  count, — have  given  up  book 
by  this  time — and  sit  down  to  figure  your 
year's  increase.  The  number  of  increase  has 
to  be  expressed  by  the  algebraical  sio-n  of 
minus  before  it.  '^ 

But  I  won't  particularize  any  farther ;  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  in  my  four  years'  experi- 
ence, I  have  never  found  anything  to  come  out 
as  I  had  been  led  to  expect  by  enthusiastic 
wool-growers.  My  losses  have  been  greater ; 
my  percentage  of  lambs  less ;  my  weight  of 
clip  less ;  the  price  obtained  for  mv  wool  less, 
and  I  have  been  generally  and  particularly  dis- 
apppointed.  I  have  discovered,  among  other 
things,  that  no  farm  will  carry  as  many  sheep 
as  men  tell  (for  I  forget  how  many  "Wool- 
Grower"  said  a  farm  would  carry)  to  the  acre, 
and  I  have  also  learned  that  a  pasture  ought 
not  to  be  stocked  with  half  the  number  we 
meet  with  in  agricultural  papers.  Especially 
is  this  true  in  dry  seasons.  Sheep  bite  so  close 
that  when  a  drought  comes,  it  uses  up  a  pasture 
I  much  worse  than  when  the  same  pasture  is 
stocked  with  as  many  cattle  as  it  ought  to  car- 
ry. I  have  about  come  to  the  concfusion  that 
one  sheep  will  eat,  of  grass,  as  much  as  two 
steers. 

When  it  comes  to  marketing  wool  (and  I  am 
glad  I  can  agree  with  "Wool-Grower"  on  one 
point)  I  have  found  a  great  drawback,  not  as 
he  says,  "in  the  manner  of  marketing,"  but  in 
the  market  itself.  I  find  that  I  am  dependent 
on  the  mere  chance  that  one  or  two  buyers 
may  come  to  my  barn,  or  else  on  the  honesty 
of  some  commission  merchant  to  whom  I  may 
send  it  to  sell  for  me.  Even  in  the  latter  case, 
there  are  times  when,  for  two  or  three 
months  in  succession,  no  buyer  seeking  wool 
enters  his  lofts.  How  is  it  with  other*crops  ? 
I  can  sell  my  wheat  or  my  corn  to  a  dozen 
buyers,  right  at  home,  every  daij  in  the  ijear, 
or  I  can  send  it  to  any  large  market,  and  sell 
it  to  a  thousand  buyers,  on  every  day  in  the 
year.  I  can  sell  my  cattle — either  stock  cattle 
or  fat  cattle,  and  my  hogs,  twenty  times,  where 
I  can  sell  my  wool  crop,  or  a  flock  of  sheep, 
once.  My  cattle  and  my  hogs  are  not  turning 
into  "culls,"  every  two  or  three  years,  as  are 
my  sheep. 

Your  sheep  stock  is  as  fragile  as  china-ware 
and  as  perishable  as  strawberries.  As  to  your 
wool  market  you  are  not  much  better  off  than 
those  men  who  have  bought  high-priced  Cash- 
mere goats,  the  wool  of  which  is  said  to  be 
worth  from  eight  to  sixteen  dollars  per  pound 


448 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Sept. 


— if  one  could  only  find  the  man  who  buys  it. 
Some  say  it  is  Avorked  by  a  factory  in  Edin- 
burgh, some  in  Paris,  but  I  have  never  found 
the  man  who  could  tell  which. 

I  had  been  led  to  expect  great  things  of  the 
■wool  and  woolen  tarifi"  passed  last  winter.  I 
expected  more  from  it  for  the  reason  that  it 
went  into  effect  immediately.  We  see  now 
how  much  it  affects  the  price  of  wool.  Old 
sheep  men  tell  me  that  I  ought  not  to  expect 
much  from  it  this  year,  from  the  fiict  that  the 
country  was  filled  with  woolens,  previous  to 
its  passage.  They  say,  hold  on  until  next  year 
and  then  you  will  see.  I  shall  "hold  on,"  be- 
cause I  have  to,  but  I  don't  expect  to  see  any 
benefit  from  the  tariff,  because  I  calculate 
there  will  be  no  tariff  of  that  sort  a  year  from 
now. 

Next  winter  the  free  trade  interest  in  Con- 
gress will  say,  "We  passed  this  tariff  last  win- 
ter particularly  to  help  the  wool-grower ;  it  has 
not  benefited  him  the  "first  continental."  Mr. 
McCulloch  will  say,  just  so,  gentlemen,  nor 
have  I  been  able  to  get  any  revenue  from  wool 
or  woolens. 

Well,  I  have  got  sheep  to  sell,  and  so  have 
nine-tenths  of  the  sheep  owners  in  Illinois.  If 
we  can  sell  out,  or  give  out,  or  kill  out,  or  let  die 
out,  of  sheep,  I  suppose  it  will  be  all  the  better,  in 
a  year  or  two,  for  those  happy  wool  growers 
who,  it  seems  to  me,  keep  sheep,  not  because 
they  find  them  profitable,  but  because  they  are 
fascinated  by,  and  in  love  with  the  stock. — 
A.  B.  H.,  Shelhy  County,  111.,  July,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  tariff  was  opposed  mainly 
on  the  ground  that  it  would  prove  burdensome 
to  the  consumer  by  raising  the  price  of  cloth- 
ing, «fec.  We  do  not  understand  how  its  fail- 
ure to  verify  these  fears  can  add  force  to  that 
argument  in  favor  of  its  repeal. 


TOPPING    COKN. 

While  we  have  no  doubt  that  the  corn  is  in  ■ 
jured  by  this  practice,  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
recommend  it.  We  lose  something  in  the 
weight  of  kernel,  but  gain  in  thefodder;  and 
materially  in  managing  the  future  harvest ;  it 
is  worth  while,  perhaps,  to  go  a  little  more 
particularly  into  the  matter. 

The  leaves  of  plants  perform  two  important 
functions :  evaporation,  which  principally  is 
effected  by  the  lower  surface,  and  by  which 
the  water  that  has  been  absorbed  by  the  roots 
and  absorbent  vessels  is  carried  off  in  part, 
leaving  the  residue  in  the  form  of  concentra- 
ted juices  ; — and,  second,  respiration,  by  which 
carl)onic  acid  is  taken  into  the  circulation  of 
the  plant  and  performs  an  important  part  in  the 
conversion  of  the  proper  juices,  and  in  prepar- 


ing and  maturing  those  elements  which  consti- 
tute the  nutritious  quality  of  the  fruit.  This 
process  must  of  course  cease  when  the  parts 
which  perform  the  office  are  destroyed.  It 
would  seem  that  such  must  be  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  topping  corn  ;  and  though  the  proper 
process  may  still  go  on  by  means  of  the  few 
leaves  that  are  left  below  the  topping,  yet  it 
will  be  feeble  and  partial,  the  corn  will  ripen 
by  evaporation  merely ;  or  rather,  both  the 
evaporation  and  the  respiration  will  be  dimin- 
ished, to  the  consequent  injury  of  the  grain, 
which  will  have  less  of  the  nutritious  property, 
and  less  weight ;  will  be  more  liable  to  ferment, 
and  to  lose  more  in  weight  by  the  end  of  win- 
ter. By  the  process  named,  the  proper  secre- 
tions of  the  plant  are  in  ripening  rapidly  con- 
verted into  sugar ;  and  so  far  as  the  topping 
checks  the  respiration,  it  would  also  diminish 
the  saccharine  quality  and  render  the  corn  less 
agreeable  to  the  taste,  as  well  as  less  nutritious. 
But  after  having  tried  both  ways,  we  incline 
to  the  opinion  that  the  loss  is  less  to  top  it, 
than  to  suffer  the  top  to  stand,  and  dry  up  and 
realize  the  inconvenience  in  harvesting. 


AGEICULTUEAIi   ITEMS. 

— The  regular  apple-bark  lice  liave  been  found 
upon  pear  trees  in  Illinois. 

— Two  correspondents  of  the  Boston  Cultivator 
say  they  have  each  milked  twenty  cows  in  an  hour. 
One  averages  five  minutes  to  each  cow. 

— Budding  will  be  timely  as  soon  as  you  can 
procure  well  formed  buds,  and  the  bark  of  the 
stock  parts  freely  from  the  wood. 

—The  Farmer's  Advertiser  says  that  a  gi-indstone 
will  grind  cast  ii-on  faster  without  water  than  when 
is  is  wet. 

— The  keeping  of  goats  among  cattle  is  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  G.  M.  Brown,  of  Cumberland,  Va., 
as  a  prevention  of  infectious  diseases. 

— Farmers  in  Missouri  contribute  liberally  for 
the  establishment  of  manufactories  in  their  neigh- 
borhoods. 

— The  State  of  North  Carolina  offers  for  sale  all 
her  puljlic  swamp  lands,  which  consist  of  about 
one  million  and  a  half  of  aci'cs. 

— Mr.  J.  Fanium,  Uxbridge,  Mass.,  advises  tlie 
New  York  Farmers'  Club  to  apply  air  slacked 
lime  to  plants,  when  the  dew  is  on,  instead  of 
plaster,  &c.,  for  striped  bugs,  rose  bugs,  &c. 

— Col.  Bainbridge  who  has  an  apple  orchard  in 
Dc  Soto,  and  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  fruit 
growers  in  Missouri,  after  having  been  troubled 
much  by  borers  has  found  an  ettcctual  remedy  for 
botla  the  apple  and  poach  borer,  which  is,  to  make 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


449 


a  thick  whitewash  and  apply  to  the  body  of  the 
trees  in  June.  This  will  Iccep  off  the  miller,  and 
is,  besides,  an  excellent  fertilizer. 

— M.  Comaille,  of  the  Paris  Academy  of  Science, 
tested  for  a  year  the  laying  capacity  of  three  ducks 
and  three  hens,  under  the  same  conditions,  with 
this  result:  hens,  257  eggs  ;  ducks,  617  eggs. 

— Treat  your  horse  with  that  kindness  which  is 
characteristic  in  all  the  actions  of  a  merciful  man 
— no  animal  will  appreciate  it  better  or  respond  to 
it  with  more  gratitude  than  the  horse. 

— In  Utah  the  gulls  are  making  a  vigorous  cam- 
paign against  the  grasshoppers.  The  Mormons 
say  that  they  were  once  before  saved  from  famine 
in  the  same  way. 

— Last  year  red  squirrels,  cut  woi-ms,  and  cater- 
pillars were  remarkably  plenty  in  Maine,  this  year 
farmers  are  almost  entirely  exempt  from  theu' 
ravages. 

— No  man  so  well  understands  farming  as  he 
who  has  made  poor  land  rich,  and  he  will  keep  it 
rich.  He  is  like  one  who  has  earned  a  thousand 
dollars. 

— H.  C.  Farrar,  of  Richford,  Vt.,  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  the  readers  of  our  reports  of  the  cattle 
market,  has  sold  nearly  300  cows  this  season  to 
farmers  in  Vermont,  aside  from  a  lai'ge  number 
of  cattle  which  he  has  sent  to  market. 

— The  Maine  Farmer  announces  the  death  of 
Mr.  Horace  McKinney,  of  Waldo  county,  an  enter- 
prising fanner,  and  a  member  of  the  Committee 
of  the  New  England  Agricultural  Society  on  draft 
horses. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Maine  Farmer  says, 
"many  a  housewife  may  be  glad  to  know,  when 
she  has  a  piece  of  fresh  meat  she  wishes  to  keep  a 
few  days,  that  it  can  be  successfully  done  by  plac- 
ing it  in  a  dish  and  covering  it  with  buttermilk.  I 
have  practiced  the  plan  for  years." 

— A  Milwaukee  meat  thief  knocked  in  the  head 
a  fine  five  months  old  imported  blooded  bull  calf, 
belonging  to  Wm.  P.  Lynde,  and  valued  at  f  300, 
cut  otf  the  hindquarters  with  an  axe,  without 
skinning  or  otherwise  dressing  it,  and  was  ar- 
rested by  the  police  with  his  booty. 

— A  North  Carolina  paper  says  that  that  State 
ought  to  send  ^,000,000  worth  of  blackberries  to 
market.  The  county  of  Forsythe  shipped  $60,000 
worth  of  the  fruit  last  year.  The  blackberry  grows 
wild  in  great  abundance  throughout  the  central 
and  western  parts  of  the  State. 

— In  reply  to  a  correspondent  who  asks.  Can 
good  wine  be  made  from  grapes  grown  at  the 
North  ?  the  editor  of  the  American  Journal  of 
HoHicuUure  says,  We  very  much  doubt  it.  What 
are  or  have  been  called  native  wines  are  fixed-up 
stulf— grape  juice  and  water  sweetened,  not  wine. 

— The  Utica  Herald  mentions  a  cheese  factory  in 
Durhamville,  N.  Y.,  which  is  supplied  with  water 


by  a  wind  mill,  which  operates  to  the  entire  satis- 
faction of  the  manager.  For  the  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing all  taint  that  might  affect  the  cheese,  no  hogs 
are  kept  at  this  factoiy. 

— The  California  Farmer  says,  that  a  little  while 
since  a  lot  of  wheat  was  sent  from  California  to 
Fi'ance ;  it  was  then  shipped  to  Liverpool,  thence 
to  New  York,  thence  to  Chicago,  the  Great  Grand 
wheat  Depot  of  the  United  States,  and  yet  after 
all  these  long  voyages  and  repeated  shipments, 
with  added  costs,  it  paid  a  profit  all  round. 

Mr.  James  A.  Pollard,  superintendent  of  the 
State  Prison,  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  has  probably  the 
largest  hog  in  New  England.  It  measures  in  the 
girt  6  feet,  4  inches.  In  height,  3  feet,  8^  inches. 
In  length,  8  feet,  two  inches ;  age  about  sixteen 
months.    The  estimated  weight  is  about  1000  lbs. 

—An  ox  belonging  to  Mr.  Daniel  Tainter,  of 
Worcester,  died  Saturday  night.  On  investigating 
for  the  cause  of  its  death,  a  piece  of  steel  skirt 
hoop,  about  six  inches  in  length,  was  found  im- 
bedded in  the  right  side  of  the  heart,  and  forming 
an  abscess  between  the  heart  and  the  lung.  The 
indigestible  substance  had  been  taken  with  its  food. 

— At  an  exhibition  of  meat  recently  held  at 
Nancy,  France,  a  butcher  exposed  a  mare,  twenty- 
seven  months  old,  weighing  410  kilos.,  and  a  horse, 
thirteen  years  old,  weighing  520  kilos. ;  these  ani. 
mal  had  been  fattened  for  the  table,  and  were  cov- 
ered with  garlands.  The  members  of  the  Accli- 
matization Society,  awarded  the  butcher  a  silver 
medal  and  fifty  francs  in  money. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Vermont  Farmer  who 
recently  visited  the  flock  of  Dr.  H.  B.  Hathaway, 
of  Milton,  Vt.,  speaks  of  it  as  one  of  the  best  in 
the  State,  bred  directly  from  the  "pure  Hammond 
stock."  He  recently  sold  a  buck  for  $1500.  Not 
satisfied  with  fine  wool,  the  Dr.  has  laid  out  three 
trout  ponds,  believing  fish  to  be  cheaper  and  better 
than  pork,  and  is  now  preparing  a  cranberry 
meadow. 

— At  a  meeting  of  the  Warsaw,  (111.,)  Hort.  So- 
ciety, it  was  stated  that  the  birds  which  do  most 
injury  to  fruit  are  the  oriole,  robin,  thnish,  cat- 
bird, jaybird  and  cedarbird,  while  blackbirds,  blue 
birds,  hempbirds,  goldfinches,  wrens  and  swallows 
do  good.  No  conclusion  was  reached  except  that 
as  birds  generally  destroy  so  many  insects  it  was 
not  thought  safe  to  recommend  their  destruction. 
Pei'haps  the  best  remedy  for  their  ravages  is  to 
have  large  supplies  of  fruit. 

— Dr.  Trimble  stated  before  the  New  York  Far- 
mers' Club  that  since  the  introduction  of  the  Eng- 
lish sparrow,  the  canker  worm  in  New  Haven  and 
in  other  places  has  disappeared ;  also  that  the  worm 
has  another  enemy,  a  parasite,  so  small  as  only  to 
be  seen  by  the  glass,  that  lays  its  minute  eggs  in 
the  eggs  of  the  canker  worm.  Others  ascribed  the 
decrease  of  the  canker  worm  to  the  cold  winds  and  • 
rains  of  the  past  spring,  which  occurred  after  the 
eggs  commenced  hatching. 


450 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Seff. 


labks'    department. 


TWO   LITTLE   PAIKS    OF  BOOTS. 


BY  MRS.    H.   S.   PERRY, 


Two  little  pairs  of  boots,  to-night, 

Before  the  tire  are  drjing, 
Two  little  pairs  of  tired  feet 

In  a  truiidle-bed  are  lying; 
The  tracks  they  left  upon  the  floor 

Make  me  feel  much  like  sighing. 

Those  little  boots  with  copper  toes ! 

They  run  the  livelong  day  ? 
And  oftentimes  I  almost  wish 

That  they  were  miles  away  I 
So  tired  1  am  to  hear  so  oft 

Their  heavy  tramp  at  play. 

They  walk  about  the  new-plowed  ground, 

Where  mud  in  plenty  lies, 
They  roll  it  up  in  marbles  round, 

Then  bake  it  into  pies  : 
And  then  at  night  upon  the  floor 

In  every  shape  it  dries. 

To-day,  I  was  disposed  to  scold; 

But  when  I  look,  to-night, 
At  those  little  boots  before  the  fire. 

With  copper  toes  so  bright, 
I  think  how  sad  my  heart  would  he. 

To  put  them  out  of  sight. 

For  in  a  trunk,  up  stairs,  I've  laid 
Two  socks  of  white  and  blue; 

If  called  to  put  those  boots  away, 
O  God,  what  should  I  do  ? 

I  mourn  that  there  are  not  to-night, 
Three  pairs  instead  of  two. 

I  mourn  because  I  thought  how  nice 
My  neighbcir  '  cross  the  way," 

Could  keep  her  carpets,  all  the  year, 
From  gettii  g  worn  and  i:ray; 

Yet  Well  I  know  she'd  smile  to  own 
Some  little  boots  to-day  1 

We  mothers  weary  get  and  worn. 

Over  our  load  of  care ; 
But  how  we  speak  of  those  little  ones. 

Let  each  of  us  beware  ; 
For  what  would  our  firesides  be  to-night. 

If  no  little  boots  were  there. 


HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  TOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Mr.  Editor: — lam  a  faiTncr's  wife,  and  quite 
young.  I,  of  course,  take  interest  in  anything  ap- 
pertaining to  Household  Economy.  I  have  never 
seen  tliese  receipts  in  print. 

Cookies. 

Three  eggs  ;  two  cups  of  sugar ;  one  cup  of  but- 
ter; one-half  cup  sweet  milk;  one  tcaspoonful  of 
soda,  dissolved  in  the  milk.  Make  them  bard 
enough  to  roll. 

Mount  Pleasant  Cake. 

One  cup  butter ;  two  cups  sugar ;  one  cup  of 

eggs;   one  cup  of  cream,  sweet  or  sour;   one  tea- 

spoonfid  of  soda,  dissolved;  four  cups  flour;  one 

teaspoon  cream-tartar.    Bake  in  a  moderate  oven. 

Cheap  Cake. 
One  cup  thick  cream;  one  cup  sugar;  one  egg; 
•one  teaspoon  soda;    spice  to  your  taste;    flour 


enough  to  make  it  rather  thicker  than  griddle 
cakes. 

Doughnuts. 
Two  cups  new  milk ;  half  a  cup  sour  cream ;  one 
cup  sugar ;  one  egg ;  one  teaspoon  soda. 

Kailroad  Pudding. 

One  cup  molasses ;  one  cup  sweet  milk ;  one  cup 
chopped  pork;  four  cups  flour ;  one  teaspoon  soda. 
Steam  two  hours.  Josephine. 

tioidh  Acworth,  N.  H.,  1867. 

Remarks. — Brief  .and  to  the  point.  Our  corres- 
pondent will  understand  that  we  appreciate  her 
favor,  although  it  has  been  delayed  some  time  in 
appearing. 

The  Poor  Man's  Loaf. 

When  j'ou  boll  your  potatoes  for  dinner  put  in 
enough  to  make  a  pint  when  peeled  and  mashed 
As  soon  as  they  are  boiled,  peel  and  mash  as  fine 
as  possible  with  a  knife;  set  away  till  tea  time, 
then  add  a  pint  of  corn  meal,  rubbing  it  well  to- 
gether ;  then  pour  from  the  teakettle  three  pints  of 
boiling  water  on  the  whole,  stirring  well  with  the 
spoon ;  let  stand  till  cool,  and  then  add  a  gill  of 
fresh  yeast  and  stir  in  flour  till  stiff  enough  to 
mould;  continue  to  mould  until  the  dough  is  per- 
fectly smooth;  let  it  set  till  morning,  and  then 
make  out  a  pan  of  rolls  for  breakfast.  iMould  well 
the  remainder,  divide  into  equal  parts  for  pans, 
which  will  make  four  nice  loaves ;  as  soon  as  the 
rolls  arc  baked  put  the  loaves  into  the  stove  and 
bake  slowly  until  done.  Economy. 

Concord,  Mass.,  June,  1867. 


Cucumber  Catchup. 

To  three  dozen  good  sized  cucumbers  add  eight 
small  onions,  chop  them  fine ;  then  add  three- 
fourths  of  a  pint  fine  salt ;  drain  it  twelve  hours  as 
cheese  curd  is  drained,  and  then  and  one-half  tea- 
cup best  fine  pepper,  and  one  teacup  unground 
native  mustard.  Stir  it  well,  put  it  in  a  jar  and 
cover  with  strong  vinegar;  then  it  is  fit  for  use. 

J.  M.  Caskin. 

North  Chelmsford,  April  I,  18G7. 


Imitation  Cider. 

I  cannot  vouch  for  its  goodness,  as  I  have  never 
tried  it. 

Take  four  gallons  soft  water;  four  pounds  best 
l)rown  sugar;  three  ounces  tartaric  acid  ;  one  pint 
of  good  yeast.  Have  the  water  a  little  more  than 
milk  warm;  put  into  a  clean  keg;  add  the  other 
articles ;  let  it  stand  in  a  warm  place  and  work 
twenty-four  hours ;  then  bottle  and  it  is  fit  for  use. 

Dudley,  Mass.,  1867.  A  Farmer's  Wife. 

Remarks. — We  say  with  our  correspondent, 
"Wc  cannot  vouch  for  its  goodness."  As  for  oui'- 
selves,  if  wc  coidd  not  get  the  real  juice  of  the 
apple  we  should  give  all  imitations  the  cold  shoul- 
der. Ed. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIHER. 


451 


ABOUT    TOMATOES. 

Tomato  Pudding. — Pour  boiling  water  on 
tomatoes  ;  remove  the  skins.  Put  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pudiling-dish  some  brearl-crumbs, 
then  slice  the  tomatoes  on  them,  season  with 
sugar,  butter,  pepper  and  salt,  add  some  more 
brfad-crumbs,  then  the  sliced  tomatoes  and 
seasoning ;  and  if  the  tomato  does  not  wet 
the  bread-crumbs,  add  a  little  water.  Then 
for  a  small  pudding  beat  up  two  eggs  and 
pour  over  the  top.  Bake  about  twenty  min- 
utes. 

Tomato  Catsup. — Take  ripe  tomatoes,  and 
scald  them  just  sufficient  to  allow  you  to  take 
off  the  skin ;  then  let  them  stand  for  a  day, 
covered  with  salt ;  strain  them  thoroughly  to 
remove  the  seeds ;  then  to  every  two  quarts 
add  three  ounces  of  cloves,  two  of  black  pep- 
per, two  nutmegs,  and  a  very  little  Cayenne 
pepper,  with  a  little  salt ;  boil  the  liquor  for 
half  an  hour,  and  then  let  it  cool  and  settle  ; 
add  a  pint  of  the  best  cider  vinegar,  after 
which  bottle  it,  corking  and  sealing  it  tightly. 
Keep  it  always  in  a  cool  place. 

Another  way. — Take  one  bushel  of  toma- 
toes, and  boil  them  until  they  are  soft; 
squeeze  them  through  a  fine  wire  sieve,  and 
add  half  a  gallon  of  vinegar,  one  pint  and  a 
half  salt,  two  ounces  of  cloves,  quarter  of  a 
pound  of  allspice,  two  ounces  of  Cayenne  pep- 
per, three  teaspoonfuls  of  black  pepper,  five 
heads  of  garlic  skinned  and  separated ;  mix 
together,  and  boil  about  three  hours  ;  or  un- 
til reduced  to  about  one-half;  then  bottle 
without  straining. 

Green  Tomato  Soy. — To  one  peck  of  green 
tomatoes,  sliced  thin,  add  one  pint  of  salt ; 
stand  twenty-four  hours  ;  then  strain  and  put 
them  on  the  fire,  with  twelve  raw  onions,  one 
ounce  of  black  pepper,  one  ounce  of  allspice, 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  ground  mustard,  half  a 
pound  of  white  mustard-seed,  and  a  little 
Cayenne  pepper.  Cover  with  vinegar,  and 
boil  until  as  thick  as  jam,  stirring  constantly 
to  prevent  burning. 

To  Broil  Tomatoes. — Wash  and  wine  the 
tomatoes,  and  put  them  on  the  gridiron  over 
live  coals,  wit»h  the  stem  down.  When  that 
side  is  brown  turn  them  and  let  them  cook 
through.  Put  them  on  a  hot  dish  and  send 
them  quickly  to  table,  to  be  there  seasoned  to 
taste. 

To  Bake  Tomatoes. — Season  them  with  salt 
and  pepper :  ilour  them  over,  put  them  in  a 
deep  plate  with  a  little  butter,  and  bake  in  a 
stove. 

Tomato  Sovp. — Wash,  scrape,  and  cut 
small  the  red  part  of  three  large  carrots,  three 
heads  of  celery,  four  large  onions,  two  large 
turnips  ;  put  them  into  a  saucepan,  with  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  butter,  half  a  pound  of  lean,  new 
ham  ;  let  them  stew  very  gently  for  an  hour ; 
then  add  three  ([uarts  of  brown  gravy  soup 
and  some  whole  l>lack  pepper,  with  eight  or 
ten   ripe   tomatoes  ;  let  it  boil  an  hour  and  a 


half,  and   pulp   it  through  a  sieve ;  serve   it 
with  fried  bread  cut  in  dice. 

Another  Way. — One  quart  of  tomatoes  after 
they  are  sliced,  and  three  pints  of  water ;  boil 
one  hour  and  a  half.  One  tablespoonful  of 
flour ;  boil  a  few  minutes  ;  butter  the  size  of 
an  egg  and  a  coffee  cup  of  milk.  Just  before 
you  take  it  up,  salt  and  pepper.  The  addition 
of  a  little  barley  is  an  improvement. 

_  Tomato  Wine — Take  small  ripe  tomatoes, 
pick  off  the  stems,  put  them  in  a  basket  or  tub, 
wash  clean,  then  mash  well  and  strain  through 
a  linen  rag ;  (a  bushel  will  make  five  gallons 
pure;)  then  add  two  and  a  half  to  three 
pounds  of  good  brown  sugar  to  each  gallon, 
then  put  it  mto  a  cask,  and  let  it  ferment  as 
for  raspberry  wine.  If  two  gallons  of  water 
be  added  to  each  bushel  of  tomatoes  the  wine 
will  be  as  good. 


CANNING    FRUIT. 

Like  many  others,  I  tried,  again,  and  again, 
to  seal  fruit  cans  so  as  to  keep  the  fruit  with- 
out moulding  upon  the  top.  1  was  particular 
in  following  the  printed  directions  in  general 
use,  but  found  that  my  cans,  when  cold,  would 
not  be  more  than  two-thirds  full,  and  in  a  few 
days  a  white  mould  would  appear  upon  the  top. 
I  finally  applied  to  a  friend  who,  I  knew, 
canned  large  quantities  for  her  own  use.  She 
showed  me  fruit  over  a  year  old,  quite  fresh, 
the  cans  full,  and  no  mould.  I  at  once  adopt- 
ed her  plan,  which  I  have  since  followed  with 
great  success.  I  have  no  interest  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  cans,  and  believe  that  every  one 
should  do  his  own  advertising,  but  I  prefer 
that  kind  in  which  you  have  only  the  can,  glass 
cover  and  rubber  to  use.  Fruit  can  be  kept 
just  as  well  without  as  with  sugar ;  and  those 
sealed  up  lor  pies  are  better  without  any,  as 
they  will  retain  their  flavor  far  better.  Brass 
kettles  should  never  be  used.  Tin  pans  or 
kettles  lined  with  porcelain,  so  as  to  preserve 
the  most  perfect  flavor  of  the  fi-uit,  are  the 
best.  While  my  fruit  is  being  scalded,  I  put 
a  gill  of  cold  water  into  each  can,  and  fill  up 
with  hot  water,  putting  the  covers  and  rubber 
also  into  hot  water.  The  fruit  need  not  be 
cooked — only  heated  to  the  boiling  point — un- 
less in  preparing  pears  or  quinces,  or  some 
other  hard  fruits,  th;it  may  require  more  cook- 
ing, and  then  only  just  so  that  a  straw  may  be 
passed  through,  always  lielng  careful  to  have 
juice  enough  to  cover  the  fruit.  As  soon  as 
boiling  hot,  empty  a  can  and  fill ;  then  anoth- 
er, or  as  many  as  can  well  be  attended  to. 
Let  the  cans  stand  open  until  you  can  comfort- 
ably bear  the  hands  upon  them.  Meanwhile 
more  fruit  may  be  heated.  Cut  thick  writing 
paper  in  round  pieces  the  size  of  the  top  of 
each  can,  and  when  the  contents  of  the  cans 
are  cooled,  slip  a  piece  over  the  top  of  the  fruit 
in  each  can,  and  at  once  fill  up  on  the  top  of 
the  paper  with  boiling  juice  (saved  for  that 
purpose) ,  aud  put  on  the   covers   as   soon  as 


452 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER, 


Sept. 


filled,  according  to  the  directions  given.  I 
often  seal  up  cherries  and  tomatoes,  only  for 
winter  use,  in  one-gallon  stone  jars  that  are 
small  at  the  top,  prepared  just  the  same  as  for 
glass.  Leave  off  the  covers,  seal  with  melted 
rosin,  adding  a  little  tallow.  Try  it  on  a  piece 
of  cloth  ;  if  too  brittle,  add  more  tallow  and  vice 
versa.  Cut  a  paper  also  for  the  top  of  the  jar, 
just  so  that  it  will  come  over  the  edge,  and  dip  a 
piece  of  thick  cloth  into  the  Tl  sin,  only  upon  one 
side,  spread  over  the  jar  and  tie  down  ;  now 
with  a  spoon,  dip  and  spread  on  the  hot  rosin, 
until  entirely  covered,  pressing  down  the  sides 
with  the  hands  dipped  in  cold  water.  When 
cold,  if  the  jar  is  air-tight,  the  cover  will  be 
depressed  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more.  But 
if  it  is  level,  then  you  must  seal  it  over  again. 
Those  who  can  common  sour  cherries,  will 
find  them  greatly  improved  by  first  drawing  off 
all  the  juice,  and  then  covering  them  with  wa- 
ter— scald  and  drain  olF,  and  cover  again  for 
sealing,  canning,  preserving  or  drying. — Farm 
and  Fireside. 


How  TO  Train  Boys. — "E.  H.  Arr,"  in 
writing  to  the  Springfield  Republican,  gives 
some  sensible  remarks  in  regard  to  training 
up  a  boy  in  the  way  he  should  go.     She  says  : 

"Hosts  of  selfish,  thoughtless  mothers  shall 
send  upon  us  another  generation  of  listless, 
vapid  sons,  open  to  temptation.  Years  ago, 
a  son  of  my  own  was  the  object  of  pleasant 
theories  and  plans.  An  unerring  teacher  took 
him  hence  ;  yet  have  I  learned  through  him  to 
look  with  loving  eyes  on  other  women's  sons, 
and  think  what  I  would  do  for  them.  O  moth- 
ers !  hunt  out  the  soft,  tender,  genial  side  of 
your  boys  natures.  Make  the  most  of  any 
gentle  taste  or  comely  propensity.  Encourage 
them  to  love  flowers,  pictures,  and  all  the 
beautiful  things  which  God  has  made.  Talk 
with  them,  read  to  them,  go  out  with  them  into 
the  fields  and  woods,  and  hallow  pleasant 
scenes  with  holy  memories.  A  daily  minis- 
tration to  their  unfurnished  hungry  minds,  a 
daily  touch  to  their  unformed  taste,  shall  make 
them  more  comely  than  costly  garments.  They 


will  ever  bear  you  witness  in  the  character  and 
conduct  of  your  children  ;  but  your  laces  and 
embroideries  will  crumble  to  dust.  Why  don't 
mothers  teach  their  children  more,  and  dress 
them  less  ?" 


To  Preserve  Crab  Apples. — Take  off  the 
stem  and  core  them  Avith  a  pen-knife,  without 
cutting  them  open.  Weigh  a  pound  of  white 
sugar  for  each  pound  of  prepared  fruit ;  put  a 
teacup  of  water  to  each  ponnd  of  sugar ;  put 
it  over  a  moderate  fire.  When  the  sugar  is  all 
dissolved  and  hot,  put  the  apples  in  ;  let  them 
boil  gently  until  they  are  clear,  then  skim 
them  out  and  place  them  on  flat  dishes.  Boil 
the  syrup  until  it  is  thick ;  put  the  fruit  in 
whatever  it  is  to  be  kept,  in  and  when  the  syrup 
is  cooled  and  settled,  pour  it  carefully  over 
the  fruit.  Slices  of  lemon  boiled  with  the 
fruit  may  be  considered  an  improvement ;  one 
lemon  is  enough  for  several  pounds  of  fruit. 
Crab  apples  may  be  preserved  whole,  with 
only  half  an  inch  of  the  stem  on ;  three-quar- 
ters of  a  pound  of  sugar  for-  each  pound  of 
fruit. 


Cost  of  Cashmere  Shawls, — The  best 
Cashmere  shawls,  the  long  shawls  with  plain 
ground,  crimson,  purple,  blue,  green,  or  yel- 
low— green  are  best — never  cost  less  than  £135 
a  pair,  and  are  never  sold  singly.  The  next 
kind,  or  square  shawls,  much  more  frequently 
imported  into  Europe,  are  either  loom-worked 
or  needle-worked,  needle-worked  being  the 
more  original,  and  they  cost  from  £30  to  £50 
in  the  Punjaub,  without  freight  or  interest  or 
profit  to  the  importer — little  facts  which  we 
commend  to  the  attention  of  women  who  think 
they  can  buy  the  best  Cashmere  at  £15  or  even 
£10  a  shawl.  What  they  do  buy  is  either  an 
imitation  which  never  was  in  India  at  all,  or  a 
Delhi  shawl,  very  good  in  its  way,  but  no  more 
approaching  a  Cashmere  shawl  in  beauty  than 
in  durability.  A  man  might  lie  on  heather  in 
a  black  Cashmere  for  twenty  years,  and  it 
would  be  as  perfect  as  on  the  first  day,  while 
every  imitation  whatsoever  will  die  out. — Eng- 
lish Paper. 


DKVOTED  TO  AGKlCDTiTUHE,  HORTICUXTUKE,  AND  KINDRED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES. 


Boston,  October,    1867.        VOL.  L— NO.  10. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Row. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWK, 
S.  FLETCHER, 


Editors. 


OCTOBER. 

"On  bill  and  field  October's  glories  fade; 

O'er  hill  and  field  the  blackbirds  southern  fly; 
The  brown  leaves  rustle  clown  the  forest  glade, 
Where  naked  branches  make  a  fitful  shade, 

And  the  last  blooms  of  autumn  withered  lie." 

NE  of  our  most 
beautiful  wri- 
ters, and  one  of 
the  most  critical 
observers  of  the 
ever  changing 
aspects  of  Na- 
ture,our  old  cor- 
pondent,  Wilson 
Flagg,  Esq.,  says  "the 
two  most  interesting  peri- 
ods to  one  who  is  in  the 
habit  of  associating  some 
agreeable  sentiment  with 
the  phases  of  nature,  oc- 
cur when  the  trees  are 
putting  forth 
their  tender 
leaves  and  flow- 
ers in  the  open- 
ing of  the  year, 
and  when  they  are  assuming  the  variegated 
hues  that  precede  the  fall  of  the  leaf.  lience 
the  spring  and  the  autumn  have  always  been 
regarded  as  pre-eminently  the  two  poetical 
seasons, — the  one  emblemizing  the  period  of 
youth,  the  other  that  of  old  age.  But  to  the 
eye  of  the  painter  as  well  as  the  poet,  do  these 
two  seasons  olTpr  the  "reatest  attractions." 


"In  the  spring,  while  the  leaves  are  burst- 
ing from  their  hibernacles,  and  unfolding  their 
plaited  forms,  they  exhibit  a  great  variety  of 
tints,  which  are  constantly  changing  with  the 
progress  of  their  development.  In  autumn, 
during  a  space  of  about  two  weeks,  they  pass 
through  another  succession  of  hues,  and  this 
change,  connected  with  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  has 
given  rise  to  many  pleasing  sentiments,  which 
have  been  woven  into  the  poetry  of  all  nations." 

All  persons  do  not  enjoy  the  same  seasons 
alike  ;  we  cannot  tell  why.  It  can  hardly  be 
peculiarity  of  temperament,  for  in  many  cases 
those  persons  who  are  prone  to  look  upon  the 
dark  side  of  things,  find  their  highest  enjoy- 
ment in  nature  in  "the  melancholy  days,  the 
saddest  of  the  year,"  of  which  Bryant  sings. 
Some  prefer  the  month  of  May,  when  Nature 
has  burst  away  the  shackles  in  which  she  has 
long  been  bound,  and  all  the  vegetable  world 
is  expanding  into  a  new  life.  Some  give  June 
the  preference,  when  the  air  is  redolent  with 
the  perfume  of  flowers,  while  others  prefer  the 
fervid  heats  of  July,  when  the  early  harvests 
crown  the  earth  with  their  gladdening  abun- 
dance. 

The  autumn,  we  must  confess,  does  come  to 
the  soul  with  a  melancholy  touch.  While  we 
are  silent  in  admiration  of  the  praspects 
afforded  by  every  valley  and  hill-top  witliin 
our  view,  that  admiration  is  tinged  with  a  feel- 
ing of  sadness  which  we  did  not  summon,  and 
which  we  cannot  separate  from  the  enjoyment 


454 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


aflforded  by  the  charming  scenery  before  us. 
It  is  the  answering  tones  of  Nature  in  our 
hearts.  Before  us  is  an  expiring  world ;  a 
world  that  only  a  few  days  ago  was  green  and 
vigorous,  and  of  exceeding  beauty, — now  per- 
fected and  going  into  decay,  but  like  the  last 
hours  of  the  Christian,  greatly  illuminated  by 
the  perfections  of  its  former  life.  So  may  it 
be  with  us  all. 

But  it  is  folly  for  us  to  write,  when  we  can 
find  it  so  much  better  done  by  another  and  an 
unknown  hand.  Read  and  see  how  vividly  he 
brings  autumn  scenes  before  you.  The  very 
things  you  have  seen  and  done  yourselves,  and 
thought  of  a  hundred  times  since, — and  if  shut 
up  in  the  city,  that  you  have  gone  back  to  see 
and  live  your  youth  over  again  among  them. 
How  life-like  and  beautiful  is  the  following 
sketch : — 

"We  do  not  now,  and  never  did  believe  that 
autumn  days  are  'the  saddest  of  the  year.'  To 
us  they  seem  the  brightest  and  happiest  of  the 
twelvemonth.  They  come  with  their  delight- 
ful coolness  close  after  the  sweltering  summer, 
and  they  bring  with  them  the  treasure  that  the 
spring  promised  and  the  summer  toiled  to  per- 
fect. The  countless  wealth  of  the  teeming 
earth  comes  home  to  the  barns  or  hangs  pen- 
dant on  the  boughs.  The  grapes  turn  purple 
and  grow  red  in  the  face  with  the  unpressed 
wine  that  fills  their  bursting  skins.  The  nuts 
the  boys  and  girls  seek  under  the  thick  limbed 
beech,  or  beat  from  the  walnut  and  oil  nut  i 
trees,  are  waiting  to  be  gathered.  The  cider 
mill  has  its  teeth  examined,  and  its  tubs 
washed,  and  its  press  made  ready  for  the  cart 
loads  of  apples  that  are  turned  out  at  its  door. 
So  like  an  old  epicure  of  an  anaconda  that 
wakes  from  months  of  sleep  to  glut  itself  on 
the  rabbits  that  are  near  it !  And  the  squir- 
rels chirp  and  frisk  so  merrily,  with  their 
cheeks  plethoric  with  nuts  and  stolen  corn,  as 
an  honest  Jack's  with  'old  soldiers.'  What  j 
rare  sport  is  to  be  had  with  the  lOons  when 
the  harvest  or  the  hunter's  moon  plavs  at  'bo- 
peep'  with  the  sun,  raising  their  broad  faces  i 
over  the  eastern  horizon,  just  as  the  sun 
draws  his  below  the  western."  I 

And  the  month  of  the  huskings,  now  by  re-  | 
suits   of  the  husking  machine,   fast  becoming  . 
memories  of  the  past  or  only  to  be  found  in  ] 
rocky  New  England.     And  the  large  mellow 
pumpkins,  that  dot  the  corn-field  all  over  with  i 


their  rich  color,  and  seem  to  be  aching  to  be 
niade  into  luscious  pies  for  these  same  husk- 
ings,  where  rural  maidens  and  their  lovers  pop 
the  question  and  claim  the  forfeit  kiss. 

"And  what  an  event  is  the  lighting  of  the 
first  fire  in  the  sitting-room,  particularly  if  it 
be  of  wood,  and  be  in  one  of  those  smoky, 
roomy,  uncomfortable,  delightful  old-fashioned 
fire-places.  How  the  smoke  runs  into  all  the 
little  crevices  of  the  chimney,  and  then,  fright- 
ened at  itself,  draws  back  and  comes  to  the 
hearth  again,  timid  and  distrustful  of  the  world 
outside.  And  so  it  coquets  and  flirts  till  the 
flames,  getting  bold  and  blustering,  run  up  the 
chimney  and  encourage  the  smoke.  And  when 
it  does  at  last  get  over  the  top,  one  little  wave- 
let after  another,  it  loiters  for  a  minute,  un- 
certain and  irresolute,  and  then  goes  off  in 
such  volumes  and  rises  up  so  buoyantly,  and 
keeps  up  such  a  race  with  the  flames  all  the 
long  evening.  Henceforth  the  fire  absorbs  all 
Tom's  care  and  his  mother's,  and  another  is 
added  to  his  'chores,'  viz :  to  bring  in  chips 
and  wood.  The  Lares  and  Penates*  take  their 
seat  upon  the  broad  hearth-stone  for  the  win- 
ter, the  cricket  chirps,  and 

'Like  a  locust  shrills  the  imprisoned  sap, 
Hunted  to  death  in  galleries  blind.'" 

And  how  grand  is  what  we  call  Nature. 
The  gorgeous  sunsets,  the  myriad-hued  foli- 
age, even  the  bare  trunks  and  stripped  branches 
of  the  forest  are  all  alive  with  beauty.  And 
to  us  it  seems  a  gladsome  beauty.  There  is 
nothing  sombre  in  it.  The  trees  put  off  their 
lea  ves  as  the  soldier  who  has  done  his  duty 
doffs  his  uniform  when  his  work  is  done,  and 
the  victory  gained.  The  trees  have  borne 
their  fruit,  they  have  withstood  the  spring 
freshet  and  the  summer  drought.  Their  duty 
was  to  grow,  and  they  have  done  it.  They 
can  point  to  feet  of  new  twigs,  and  inches  of 
new  circumference,  and  they  lay  off  their  gar- 
ments for  the  rest  of  winter. 

"And  how  the  earth  takes  up  their  cast  off 
garments,  to  make  from  them  a  garment  for 
herself.  Driven  from  the  garden  of  sununer, 
as  Mother  Eve  was  from  the  garden  of  Eden, 
old  Mother  Earth  sows  leaves  together,  and 
makes  to  herself  an  apron  to  cover  her  lap, 
and  of  such  a  Aveb  of  many  colors  as  no  Isaac 
ever  yet  chose  for  his  Joseph." 

What  a  close  observer  the  writer  of  the 
above  must  be.     How  he  has  treasured  up  the 

*  The  household  gods  of  the  Iloinans. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


466 


scenes,  sayings,  and  doings,  and  the  sacred 
memories  of  home.  Thanks  to  the  Cincin- 
nati Gazette  for  the  pleasure  we  have  found 
in  reading  him,  and  which  we  mean  tens  of 
thousands  of  others  shall  enjoy  through  these 
columns.  Come  and  rusticate  with  us,  friend, 
in  the  "Woods  of  Walden,"  on  the  banks  of 
the  "classic"  Concord  river,  amid  whispering 
hemlocks  and  gorgeous  autumnal  scenery. 

OCTOBER  ■WORK. 

No  month  In  the  year  affords  more  pleasant 
opportunities  for  out-door  work  than  October. 
It  is  usually  dry  and  cool,  so  that  men  and 
teams  feel  lusty  and  strong.  The  days  are  not 
so  long  as  to  exhaust  either,  and  with  all 
things  in  order,  a  great  deal  may  be  done  to- 
wards permanent  improvements  on  the  farm, 
besides  attending  to  the  stock  and  the  crops. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  month  it  is  an  ex- 
cellent time  for  draining,  which  is  a  work 
greatly  needed  on  many  farms.  Needed,  be- 
cause there  are  acres  of  low,  moist  ground  on 
them  which  produce  but  one  ton  of  ordinary 
hay  each  year,  worth,  perhaps,  ten  dollars  a 
ton,  while,  with  proper  drainage,  ploughing, 
manuring  a  little  and  seeding,  they  would 
produce  a  ton  and  a  half,  and  sometimes  two 
tons  per  acre  for  ten  years  in  succession,  and 
worth  from  $10  to  $16  per  ton.  Every  second 
year  such  land  ought  to  receive  a  top  dressing 
of  well  rotted  manure,  in  order  to  keep  up  the 
fertility  which  we  have  assumed.  In  most 
cases  no  money  need  be  expended  to  reclaim 
such  lands,  excepting  for  grass  seed,  if  the 
proprietor  does  not  raise  it  himself.  The  re- 
clamation of  such  lands  will  pay  the  farmer 
twice  as  much  interest  as  the  investment  of  his 
money  will  in  railroad,  bank,  or  most  other 
stocks.  The  investment  of  their  money  in 
various  kinds  of  stocks  where  the  income  is 
small,  at  most,  and  where  dividends  are  with- 
held, and  ruinous  losses  frequently  ensue,  in- 
stead of  investing  in  the  soil  about  their  doors, 
is  an  error  which  a  great  many  New  England 
farmers  fall  into.  If  they  would  make  an  ex- 
periment upon  one  acre,  keeping  an  accurate 
account  of  the  cost  of  reclamation,  and  the 
value  of  its  products  for  five  years,  they  would 
find  that  the  products  of  the  land  would  give 
an  income  three  or  four  times  as  large  as  that 
derived  from  most  stocks.  This  income  would 
be  liable  to  few  lluctuations,  and  would  be  ab- 
Bolutely  secure  from  any  great  loss. 


Next  to  the  middle  of  June,  October  Is  the 
best  time  for  pruning  apple  and  other  trees. 
They  are  then  in  a  comparatively  quiet  state, 
and  will  not  bleed  when  they  are  cut. 

If  the  month  proves  a  particularly  dry  one, 
every  available  moment  should  be  occupied  to; 
accumulate  materials  to  increase  the  manure 
heap  throughout  the  winter.  One  of  the  best 
of  all  materials  for  this  purpose  is  peat.  In- 
deed, old,  highly  decomposed  peat  is  an  excel- 
lent manure  in  itself.  In  addition  to  this.  It 
Is  one  of  the  best  absorbents  In  nature,  and  If 
added  to  the  droppings  of  the  stock  once  a 
week,  will  store  up  and  preserve  every  pound 
of  them  for  future  use. 

Cattle  who  are  fattening  for  beef,  and 
swine  intended  for  slaughtering  in  December, 
will  require  especial  attention  while  mild 
weather  lasts.  They  will  grow  much  faster 
on  the  same  food,  than  when  the  weather  Is 
cold. 

Much  cost  of  fuel,  vexation  and  discomfort 
may  be  avoided  by  careful  attention  to  the 
buildings  before  blustering  weather  sets  in. 
From  the  saddle  boards  to  the  underpinning, 
every  part  ought  to  be  examined,  and  a  shingle 
put  in  place,  a  clapboard  nailed  down,  a  pane  of 
glasss  set,  or  a  door  righted  up  wherever 
either  are  needed.  If  the  house  needs  bank- 
ing up,  it  may  be  done  easier  and  better  with 
hemlock  or  pine  brush  laid  closely  together 
against  the  bottom  of  the  house.  The  first 
snow  that  falls  will  be  likely  to  fill  all  the 
openings  in  the  brush,  and  the  frost  will  not 
penetrate  half  as  quick  as  it  would  a  mass  of 
earth.  When  the  brush  is  removed  In  the 
spring  It  may  be  burnt  in  the  garden,  where 
the  ashes  will  afford  a  most  valuable  dressing. 

October  affords  a  good  time  to  clear  up 
under  the  walls — cut  the  bushes  and  tear  up 
the  roots,  and  if  the  loam  has  accumulated 
there,  as  it  often  does  in  the  course  of  years, 
cart  It  out  and  spread  on  the  grass  lands.  It 
will  be  as  valuable  as  a  light  dressing  of 
manure. 

Many  other  things  will  call  for  the  attention 
of  the  farmer  during  the  month,  which,  if  ne- 
glected, cannot  be  so  well  done  at  any  other 
time.  He  must  remember  that  thrift  comes 
more  frequently  from  systematic  industry  than 
from  what  Is  called  "good  luck." 


— Proper  care  of  our  horses  would  obviate  many 
painful  diseases. 


456 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


Oct. 


THE   LANDO'WNEB. 

When  I  come  within  sight  of  my  farm,  after 
having  been  away,  a  plea^^ant  sensation  rises 
within  me,  that  no  other  feeling  can  equal.  I 
-am  at  home — on  my  own  land.  These  are  my 
acres,  which  the  combined  power  of  the  coun- 
try has  guaranteed  to  me.  It  is  mine,  and  my 
heirs  forever.  Here  is  security.  If  there  is 
anything  stable  in  the  world,  this  is  it.  My 
fireside  is  therefore  built  upon  a  firm  founda- 
tion. I  and  iny  children  are  safe.  AVe  are 
not  intruded  upon  ;  no  one  has  a  right  to  do 
this  ;  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  is  ever  ready 
to  defend  us.  Here  I  have  my  worship  un- 
disturbed ;  I  attend  to  my  concerns  unmolest- 
ed.    In  a  word,  I  am  at  home. 

And  when  my  acres  wave  with  grain — that 
grain  and  those  acres  are  mine.  I  own  them, 
and  I  feel  them.  They  are  part  of  myself. 
My  cattle — not  the  cattle  of  a  thousand  hills — 
are  mine ;  /  have  raised  them,  and  I  know 
every  one,  as  I  know  mv  household — "Boss," 
and  "Brindle,"  and  "Kitty."  They  come  at 
my  call — they  know  me.  The  old  cow  has  a 
face  as  intelligent  as  many  a  person,  and  much 
more  sympathy  in  it — honest  old  face  !  1  could 
not  well  do  without  it. 

Thus  my  fields  are  stocked  with  this  intelli- 
gence, and  the  gleeful  antics  of  the  heifers  and 
steers  remind  me  of  my  own  youthful  days. 
And  for  "innocence"  the  lambs,  and  the  quiet, 
inoffensive  sheep.  Even  the  "grunter"  has 
something  I  do  not  want  to  dispense  with. 
And  the  chickt-ns,  and  the  stately  rooster  who 
is  lord  of  the  barnyard,  as  1  am  of  the  prem- 
ises.—  T.  G.  in  Rural  World. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEXES. 
To  the  charge  of  a  friend  who  recently  ac- 
cused us  of  a  mania  for  alphabetical  indexes, 
we  must  plead  guilty.  As  editor  we  use  books 
chiefly  by  way  of  reference,  and  the  want  of 
what  the  great  Unabridged  calls,  "that  which 
guides,  points  out,  or  informs ;  any  table  for 
fat-ilitating  reference  to  topics,  names,  and  the 
like  in  a  book,  usually  alphabetical  in  arrange- 
ment," has  caused  our  madness.  We  may  re- 
gret this  derangement  of  a  naturally  serene 
and  t.'asily  sati^fled  disposition,  and  try  to  for- 
get the  subj«'ct,  but  a  ghiiice  at  the  choice  vol- 
umes which  fill  the  shelves  of  our  desk,  and 
from  which  we  have  so  of  len 

— "Knton  of  the  insnno  root 
That  takes  ihu  reason  prisoner," 

and  at  once  the  worst  symj)toras  of  our  mono- 
mania return. 

Side  by  side  on  our  shelves  stand  two  vol- 
umes, wonderfully  alike  in  many  respects : 
'■'•Dairy  Vows  and  Dairy  Farmiiiy — Flint,'''' 
and  ^'Cattle  and  their   Diseases — Jennlntjs.'''' 


The  first  has  a  full  alphabetical  index,  in  some 
cases  citing  a  dozen  pages  on  which  informa- 
tion upon  a  particular  topic  can  be  found. 
The  other  volume  has  a  mere  table  of  contents. 

There,  too,  are  the  "■Practical  Shepherd — 
Randall,''''  and  the  ''American  Shepherd — 
Morrill ;"  volumes  similar  in  size  and  style. 
The  first  has  an  alphabetical  index  which  the 
wayfaring  reader,  though  in  a  terrible  hurry, 
can  use  with  perfect  satisfaction  ;  the  latter 
has  a  bulky  table  of  contents  which  only  serves 
to  make  confusion  worse  confounded. 

Between  the  degree  of  perfection  which 
marks  the  indexes  of  these  volumes,  and  the 
degree  of  pc  pularity  which  they  have  secured, 
there  is,  to  say  the  least,  a  striking  correspon- 
dence. 

During  his  residence  in  New  England,  Dr. 
G.  H.  Dadd  wrote  books  enough  to  make  a 
man  rich,  but  they  were  generally  sent  out 
with  poor  indexes.  We  are  not  well  informed 
as  to  the  degree  of  his  success,  but  our  im- 
pression is  that  for  every  dime  he  put  in  his 
purse  from  their  sales  he  ought  to  have  had  a 
round  dollar.  Here,  for  instance,  is  his  Amer- 
ican Reformed  Cattle  Doctor,  published  in 
1851,  "containing" — so  reads  the  title  page — 

The  Necessary  Information 

for 

Preserving  the  Health  and  curing  the  Diseases 

of 

Oxen,  Cows,  Shepp,  and  Swine, 

■wi'h 

A  great  Vfiriety  of  Original  Recipes, 

and 

Valuable  Inform  .tio  i  in  reference  to 

Fanii  and  Dairy  Minagcmunt; 

wh  -reby 

Every  Man  can  be  his  otvn  Catile  Doctor. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  that  we  are  put  to 
our  Avit's  and  memory's  end  almost  every  week 
for  suitable  replies  to  the  inquiries  of  the  read- 
ers of  the  Faiimer,  for  advice  as  to  the  proper 
treatment  of  the  various  ills  by  whirh  their 
stock  is  from  time  to  time  afflicted,  we  so  sel- 
dom refer  to  this  volume  that  }  ou  can  now 
write  the  word  "Index,"  or  your  own  name, 
in  the  dust  which  has  settled  undi-turbcd  upon 
the  head  of  the  very  pages  ou  whicli  all  "the 
necessary  information  whereby  every  man  (,'an 
be  his  own  cattle  doctor"'  is  spread  out  in  de- 
tail. Tlion^ih  the  volume  has  stooil  for  years 
vvitliin  a  loot  or  soot  the  spectacles  which  dig- 
nify our  anxious  countenace,  we  are  sti'l  un- 
able to  unloose  the  seals  of  that  book  True, 
there  are  six  |>ages  of  "contents;"  but  they 
are  just  about  as  u.-eful  for  the  purposes  of  an 
iiidi;.\,    as    si.x   piles   of  I'lusli   would    be    to  a 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


457 


surveyor  in  the  woods  for  the  purposes  of  a 
compass. 

AVe  remember  the  remark  of  some  essayist 
on  longevity,  that,  however  diverse,  in  most 
respects,  may  have  been  the  habits  of  life  of 
those  individuals  who  have  lived  to  a  remarka- 
bly old  age,  a  marked  uniformity  is  observed 
in  the  fact  that  all  have  been  early  risers. 
Our  own  observation  of  the  sale  and  use  of 
books  of  the  kind  under  consideration,  justi- 
fies the  conclusion,  that  however  various  may 
be  their  excellences  in  other  respects,  the  few 
popular  and  profitable  ones  uniformly  have  a 
good  alphabetical  index. 

With  the  remark  of  Daniel  Webster»  who 
once  said,  "I  never  look  at  a  book  that  has  no 
index,"  we  close  this  apology  for  our  unsound- 
ness of  mind  on  this  subject. 

While  we  do  not  offer  the  foregoing  as  a 
defence  of  unjust  criticism,  we  do  hope  it  will 
be  received  in  extenuation  of  the  apparent 
severity  of  a  late  notice  of  a  most  valuable 
treatise  on  the  cultivation  of  an  important 
crop,  in  which  prominence  was  given  to  the 
remark  that  the  work  was  sent  out  without  any 
index  at  all.  After  according  in  the  most  gen- 
tlemanly manner  "the  utmost  freedom  to  the 
critic,"  and  admitting  that,  notwithstanding 
the  careful  manner  In  which  the  topics  of  this 
book  were  arranged,  an  "Index  might  have 
been  an  improvement,"  the  author  of  the  work 
alluded  to  says,  in  a  private  note, — from  which 
we  venture  to  extract : 

"I  don't  know  as  I  have  a  right  to  make  any 
complaint  in  the  premises,  but  it  is  not  pleasant  to 
find  une's  well  meaning  neighbors  infer  from  such 
a  criticism,  that  one's  book  is  a  failure." 

That  certainly  is  an  impression  which  we 
are  sorry  to  learn  our  remark  produced.  We 
designed  simply  to  remind  author  and  pub- 
lisher that  this  fast-reading  age  demands  some- 
thing to  facilitate  reference  to  the  topics,  facts, 
&c.,  which  their  books  contain.  If  an  ingen- 
ious watch-maker  were  reminded  that  he  had 
omitted  to  furnish  a  key  with  his  time-keeper, 
should  that  be  taken  as  an  intimation  that  the 
watch  was  a  failure  ? 

"But,"  continues  our  friend,  "all  this  is  the 
publisher's  own  matter."  Now,  were  the 
publisher  to  write  up  his  objection  to  our  criti- 
cism, would  he  not  most  likely  repeat  the  same 
remark,  with  the  change  of  a  single  word,  and 
say,  "But  all  this  is  the  author's  own  matter." 

Whose  business  is  it  to  make  up  the  index  ? 


This  question  discloses  the  root  and  origin  of 
the  v/hole  difficulty.  We  see  that  It  Is  not  the 
author's  business.  The  printer,  the  binder, 
the  publisher,  severally  beg  to  be  excused. 
There  is  work  in  it ;  tiresome,  bothering  work, 
— work  that  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  tried. 
Everybody  wants  an  index  ;  everybody  admits 
its  Importance  ;  but  as  It  belongs  to  nobody  to 
make  it,  the  volume  that  embodies  the  experi- 
ence of  a  life  time,  though  written  with  care 
and  skill,  though  printed  "with  accuracy  and 
despatch,"  and  bound  In  the  finest  style  of  art, 
disappoints  the  expectations  of  all  engaged  in 
its  production.  It  don't  sell.  It  is  not  quoted. 
It  is  a  sealed  book. 

Whose  business,  then,  we  repeat.  Is  It  to 
make  indexes,  and  thus  to  prevent  the  further 
ravings  of  the  editors  of  the  New  Englajstd 
Farmer? 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
JERSEY   COWS, 

Your  article  In  the  last  number  of  the  Far- 
MRR  on  Jersey  cattle,  although  not  giving  a 
pronounced  opinion,  yet  if  we  are  to  infer 
that  you  endorse  the  statement  of  Mr.  Flint,  I 
think  the  best  farmers  of  Plymouth  county  will 
take  issue  with  you.  So  far  as  regards  this 
section  of  New  England,  I  believe  the  con- 
verse to  be  the  truth :  that  the  Jersey  cattle 
are  very  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  Plymouth 
county  farmers,  and  particularly  to  the  wants 
of  mechanics  and  small  farmers  who  reside  in 
villages,  or  whose  limited  amount  of  land  pre- 
vents their  keeping  more  than  one  or  two  cows. 
The  opinion  that  they  are  not  as  hardy  as  na- 
tives, I  do  not  think  is  borne  out  by  facts. 

It  is  now  about  fifteen  years  since  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Jerseys  in  this  county.  There 
was  at  that  time,  among  the  farmers  a  wide- 
spread prejudice  against  pure  blood.  How 
that  has  faded  out,  you  may  judge  by  the  fact 
that  at  present  there  are  from  four  to  five 
hundred  pure  blood  Jerseys  In  this  county,  with 
some  thousand  grades.  One  purpose  of  a  far- 
mer is  to  raise  calves.  Does  it  cost  any  more 
to  raise  a  Jersey  than  a  native  ?  Some  of  our 
farmers  are  sure  that  the  Jerseys  look  the  best 
on  the  same  keeping.  A  native  yearling  is 
worth  from  $20  to  $30 ;  with  a  little  Jersey 
blood  in  them,  the  price  runs  up  to  $40  and 
$50,  and  a  pure  blood  is  worth  $75  to  $125, 
It  needs  no  argument  to  prove  the  fact  that 
blooded  stock  is  the  most  profitable  to  raise. 
I  am  almost  daily  advised  by  farmers  that  have 
not  owned  pure  blood,  that  their  half  Jersey 
cows  are  the  most  valuable  they  ever  owned ,  a 
fact  the  purchaser  would  find  out  were  he  to 
ask  the  price.  Eastern  Massachusetts  is 
largely  indebted  to  Mr.  Davis  of  Plymouth, 
Noyes,  Field  &  Thompson  of  North  Bridge- 


458 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


Oct. 


water,  Stetson,  Bryant  &  Hobart  of  Bridge- 
water,  for  their  early,  persistent  and  continued 
efforts  to  introduce  the  Jersey  cattle.  New 
England  climate  has  a  peculiar  and  remarkable 
effect  on  the  imported  stock ;  their  progeny 
showing  a  marked  impi'ovement  in  form  ;  los- 
ing that  harsh  angular  foi-mation  which  charac- 
terize the  Jersey,  and  rounding  out  in  lines 
pleasing  to  the  lover  of  good  stock. 

L.  W.  Puffer. 
North  Bruhfewafer,  Mass.,  Aug.  15,  1865. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CHEMICAL   TERMS.— Wo.  II. 

Base  or  Bases. — By  these  terms  is  meant 
such  substances  as  will  combine  chemically 
with  acids,  and  form  salts.  Thus  in  com- 
mon salt, — which  is  a  chloride  of  soda,  or  soda 
chemically  combined  with  chlorine, — the  soda 
is  the  base.  In  sulphate  of  lime  or  gypsum,  the 
lime  is  the  base.  In  sulphate  of  iron,  o.xide  of 
iron  is  united  with  sulphuric  acid.  In  this  in- 
stance the  oxide  of  iron  is  the  base.  A  base 
may  be  an  alkali  or  an  oxide  of  a  metal. 

Redaction. — When  the  elements  of  a  chem- 
ical compound  are  separated  from  each  other, 
and  restored  to  the  condition  in  which  they 
existed  before  their  union,  they  are  said  to  be 
reduced.  This  may  be  effected  by  the  force 
of  chemical  affinity,  by  heat,  and  by  galvan- 
ism. Thus,  if  to  a  solution  of  sulphate  of 
iron,  ammonia  be  added,  the  oxide  of  iron 
will  separate  from  the  sulphuric  acid,  and  fall 
to  the  bottom,  and  the  acid  will  combine  with 
the  ammonia  for  which  it  has  a  stronger  affin- 
ity than  it  has  for  the  oxide  of  iron.  In  this 
case  the  iron  is  said  to  be  reduced.  Heat  a 
small  quantity  of  red  oxide  of  mercury  in  a 
tube  over  a  lamp,  and  the  oxygen  will  be 
driven  off,  and  may  be  collected  in  a  receiver, 
and  the  mercury  will  be  found  attached  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  tube,  in  the  form  of  metallic 
coating,  and  may  be  collected  into  a  globule. 
The  mercury  is  said  to  be  reduced. 

Neutralization. — When  sulphuric  acid  and 
lime  are  brought  together,  a  new  substance, 
plaster,  or  gjpsura,  is  formed,  which  is  neither 
alkaline  nor  acid.  The  alkali  and  acid  just 
balance  each  other,  and  neither  of  these  pro- 
perties is  any  longer  apparent.  'Ihey  are 
both  neutralized.  They  are  not  absolutely 
destroyed,  for  the  plaster  or  sulphate  of  lime 
may  be  reduced,  when  the  lime  and  acid  will 
exhibit  the  same  properties  which  they  did  be- 
fore tliey  were  united. 

Filtration. — is  the  straining  of  a  liquid 
through  porous  paper,  as  blotting  paper.  This 
C!onsists  of  the  fibres  of  linen  or  cotton  mat- 
ted together.  Writing  papc^r  will  not  do,  be- 
cause its  pores  are  filled  with  glue  or  starch. 
This  process  is  employed  to  separate  from  a 
solution  all  undissolved  particles  and  impuri- 
ties, and  leave  the  solution  clear  and  trans- 
parent. 

Combustion. — By  combustion  is  understood 


the  union  of  combustible  bodies  with  oxygen, 
and  the  process  may  be  regarded  as  one  of 
oxidation.  The  process  may  be  rapid  or  slow, 
complete  or  incomplete.  AVhen  the  process  is 
incomplete,  particles  of  uncombined  carbon 
are  removed  by  the  current  of  heated  air,  and 
form  soot  and  lampblack.  The  products  of 
combustion  are  chiefly  in  the  form  of  gas. 
When  coal  and  wood  are  burned,  water  in  the 
form  of  vapor,  carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide, 
♦fee,  are  formed.  When  sulphur  and  pho>pho- 
rus  are  burned,  sulphurous  acid  and  phospho- 
rous acid  are  the  result.  Ashes  are  the  in- 
combustible portions  found  in  bodies  exposed 
to  combustion. 

Capillary  Attraction. — If  a  piece  of  char- 
coal is  dipped  into  cold  water,  it  will  diink  up 
more  than  Its  weight  of  water.  The  charcoal 
is  porous  or  spongy — that  Is,  the  solid  matter 
is  divided  by  hundreds  of  spaces  or  minute 
tubes.  Could  these  spaces  or  tubes  be  laid 
open  and  laid  side  by  side,  they  would  cover 
a  surface  perhaps  a  thousand  times  larger  than 
the  piece  of  charcoal  can  cover.  AVhen  a 
smooth  surface,  as  of  glass  or  wood  is  dipped 
Into  water,  a  certain  portion  of  the  warer  will 
adhere,  showing  that  they  have  an  attraction 
for  each  other.  In  the  case  of  the  charcoal 
or  other  porous  body,  the  immense  surface 
requires  a  large  amount  of  +luld  to  moisten  it. 
If  a  glass  tube  with  a  fine  bore  be  dipped  into 
water,  the  water  will  rise  In  it  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  into  which  it  Is  dipped.  It 
will  rise  in  proportion  to  the  fineness  of  the 
bore.  Capillus  means  hair,  and  any  fine  tubes 
are  called  capillary  tubes.  The  sides  of  small 
tubes  are  supposed  to  aid  each  other  in  draw- 
In<ij  up  liquids  Into  the  tubes.  It  Is  this  power 
of  attraction  that  causes  oil  to  rise  In  a  lamp 
wick,  and  water  to  spread  In  paper,  sugar, 
sand,  &c. — which  causes  salt  to  be  diffused 
through  a  piece  of  meat.  By  means  of  this 
power,  aided  perhaps  by  vital  force,  the  root- 
lets and  sap  vessels  of  plants  attract  water  and 
various  solutions  from  the  soil,  and  convey 
them  through  the  trunk  and  branches  to  the 
leaves. 

In  my  next  I  shall  give  definitions  of  vari- 
ous chemical  substances.  R. 

Concord,  Mass..  Sept.  5,  1867. 


For  the  Kmo  England  Farmer. 
PROCESS   OP   "WINTER   BUTTER- 
MAKING. 

Sometime  m  the  month  of  January,  1866,  I 
sent  you  a  conunnnication  signed  "Ruby," 
promising  to  write  again,  on  making  winter 
butter.  But  a  multitude  of  caivs  and  a  change 
In  our  business  relations,  have  prevented  me 
from  fulfilling  that  promise,  until  the  present 
opportunity,  wiilch  I  embrace  with  pleasure. 
Since  then  my  husband  has  sold  out  his  farm  In 
Paxton,  and  purchased  a  small  ])lace  In  Wor- 
cester, consisting  of  a  house,  barn,  and  one 
acre  of  land.      The   dairy  —  except  the  old 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


459 


brindle  cow,  the  favorite  of  the  herd — that  I 
have  taken  so  much  pride  in  tending,  the 
cheese  tub,  the  churn,  and  all  things  pertain- 
ing to  the  farm,  have  been  sold  under  the 
hammer  of  the  auctioneer.  Being  a  flirmer's 
daughter,  and  for  twenty  years  having  the 
cares  and  responsibilities  of  a  farmer's  wife, 
this  change  seems  like  stepping  aside  from  the 
regular  course  of  our  lives.  But  I  hope  it  is 
for  the  best.  The  sample  of  butter  I  send  you 
is  from  the  last  churning  and  production  of 
Madam  Brindle,  and  the  final  winding  up  of 
my  dairying  career. 

My  process  for  winter  butter-making,  is  as 
follows :  As  soon  as  the  milk  is  brought  into 
the  house,  it  is  immediately  strained  into  clean 
pans  and  set  away  for  twelve  hours,  after 
which  it  is  set  over  a  kettle  of  boiling  water, 
and  warmed  to  about  blood  heat,  when  it  is 
again  set  away,  and  allowed  to  stand  from 
twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours  before  skim- 
ming. This  is  done  to  hasten  the  process  of 
churning,  and  to  render  the  butter  solid  and 
compact,  like  that  made  in  the  earlier  parts  of 
the  season.  After  the  cream  is  taken  from  the 
milk  it  is  kept  secure  from  frost,  as  I  think 
freezing  is  injurious.  As  daily  additions  are 
made  to  the  cream  pail,  care  is  taken  to  keep 
the  whole  well  stirred.  My  time  in  keeping 
cream  is  from  seven  to  nine  days,  and  it  should 
not  be  kept  much  longer.  I  allow  cream  to 
stand  twenty-four  hours  after  the  last  gather- 
ing is  stirred  in  before  churning.  In  prepar- 
ing the  cream  for  the  churn,  I  warm  it  to  the 
temperature  of  fifty-six  degrees — preferring 
this  temperature  to  a  higher  or  a  lower  one — 
the  churn  is  made  ready  by  putting  in  hot 
water  succeeded  by  cold.  I  then  press  the 
juice  from  the  gratings  of  four  common  sized 
carrots,  also  warmed  to  fifty-six  degrees.  This 
is  a  quantity  sufBcient  for  a  churning  of  eight 
or  ten  pounds.  Mix  the  carrot  and  the  cream 
together,  and  put  it  into  the  churn.  The  time 
usually  spent  in  churning  during  the  winter  is 
from  ten  to  thirty  minutes.  The  carrot  I  use 
is  the  Early  Horn.  I  think  this  kind  excels 
any  I  have  ever  used  for  butter ;  being  deep 
colored,  juicy  and  sweet.  When  the  butter  is 
churned,  it  is  taken  out  and  worked  thoroughly 
before  salting;  then  weighed,  and  one  and 
one-fourth  ounces  of  salt  added  to  the  pound. 
This  quantity  is  sufficient,  without  any  farther 
salting.  It  is  then  set  away  until  the  next 
morning,  when  it  is  reworked,  and  about  one 
tablespoonful  of  nice  white  sugar  added  to  every 
five  pounds  of  butter ;  then  formed  into  small 
lumps  for  the  table,  and  it  is  done.  By  this 
process  the  sample  I  send  you  was  made,  which 
I  forward  by  express.  Ruby. 

Paxton,  Mass.,  March  9,  1867. 


Remarks. — The  sample  of  the  last  churning 
of  the  cream  from  the  milk  of  Madame  Brin- 
dle was  duly  received,  but  as  the  above  date 
indicates,  it  was  not  until  after  the  time  for  I 


winter  butter-making  had  passed.  As  our 
pigeon-holes  were  then  well  filled  with  the  fa- 
vors of  our  practical  correspondents,  on  sub- 
jects relating  to  the  work  of  the  opening  season, 
we  concluded  to  delay  the  publication  of  this 
communication,  till  Jack  Frost  should  open 
the  hearts  of  our  readers  to  receive  Mrs. 
Ruby's  directions  for  making  lumps  of  butter 
in  the  winter  season,  almost  as  yellow  and 
solid  as  that  put  down  in  June. 

We  appreciate  the  feelings  of  this  farmer's 
daughter  and  farmer's  wife  as  the  hammer  of 
that  auctioneer  fell  on  old  Brindle,  the  utensils, 
and  the  home  with  which  she  had  been  so  long 
familiar,  and  as  she  herself  stepped  aside  from 
the  regular  course  of  her  life.  Most  sincerely 
do  we  join  in  the  hope  that  "it  is  all  for  the 
best."  May  the  attractions  of  the  new  home 
prove  an  ample  compensation  for  the  loss  of 
that  enjoyment  which  resulted  from  "the  cares 
and  responsibilities"  of  the  old ! 

We  shall  be  glad  to  be  informed  of  our  cor- 
respondent's success  in  carrying  out  the  plans, 
to  which  she  alluded  in  a  private  note,  for 
gardening  and  fruit  raising  on  the  grounds  of 
her  new  residence. 


Apple  Crop. — We  make  a  few  extracts 
from  our  exchanges  in  respect  to  this  impor- 
tant crop.  Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y., — 
"Apple  crop  a  fair  one."  Buchanan  county, 
Mich., — "Fruit  appears  to  be  plenty,  espec- 
ially apples  and  pears."  Hudson,  Mich., — 
"The  apple  crop  will  hardly  be  an  average 
one."  Wilmington,  Vt., — "Apple  crop  will 
be  light."  Hampton  Falls,  N.  H.,— "Apples 
scarce."  Readington,  N.  J., — "Fruit  crop 
one  half  as  large  as  usual."  Waynesville, 
N.  C, — "Apple  crop  very  fine — rotting  on 
the  ground  for  want  of  consumers."  Keene, 
N.  H., — "Though  not  an  apple  year,  there 
will  be  a  moderate  abundance."  Cedar  Co., 
Iowa, — "Our  crop  of  apples  and  plums  is  quite 
light,  although  the  blossom  was  the  largest 
ever  known  in  this  region."  Polk  county, 
Iowa, — "Orchards  that  are  large  enough,  are 
loaded  with  fruit."  Champaign  county.  III., 
— "The  apple  crop  will  be  unusually  light." 
Cecil  county,  Md., — "Apples  will  be  a  light 
crop." 

— ^By  burning  a  small  quantity  of  sulphur  in  and 
near  places  infested  by  ants,  it  is  said  they  may 
be  driven  off. 


460 


NEW    ENGLAOT)    FARIMER. 


Oct. 


THE   BARTLETT  PEAR. 


Notwithstanding  the  great  variety  of  new 
fruits  which  have  been  introduced  of  late,  and 
highly  extolled  for  their  superior  excellence, 
the  Baldwin  Apple,  Hovey's  Strawberry,  and 
the  Bartlett  Pear  are  still  favorites  in  the  Bos- 
ton market.  The  Bartlett  pear,  as  it  succeeds 
well  when  dwarfed  by  being  grafted  on  quince, 
and  thus  comes  into  bearing  much  sooner  than 
when  grown  as  a  standard,  is  a  very  desirable 
fruit.  Taking  into  consideration  its  rapidity 
of  growth,  hardiness,  size,  form,  flavor,  and 
market  value,  the  continued  popularity  of  the 
Bartlett  pear  is  not  at  all  surprising.  Mr. 
Downing  says  this  fruit  originati'd  in  Berkshire, 
England,  about  1770,  and  was  there  known  as 
the  Williams.  It  was  imported  into  this  coun- 
try in  1799  by  Enoch  Bartlett,  Esq.,  of  Dor- 
chester,  Mass.,   from  whom  it  received  its 


American  name.  Mr.  Cole  says  it  is  liable  to 
be  affected  by  hard  winters,  and  that  more 
hardy  native  kinds  are  better  adapted  to  the 
northern  part  of  New  England. 

Fruit  of  large  size,  irregularly  pyramidal. 
Skin  very  thin  and  smooth,  clear  yellow,  (with 
a  soft  blush  on  the  sunny  side,  in  exposed 
specimens,)  rarely  marked  with  a  faint  russet. 
Stalk  one  to  one  and  a  half  inches  long,  stout, 
inserted  in  a  shallow,  flat  cavity.  Calyx  open, 
set  in  a  very  shallow,  obscurely  plaited  basin. 
Flesh  white,  and  exceedingly  line-grained  and 
buttery  ;  it  is  full  of  juice,  sweet,  with  a  highly 
perfumed,  vinous  ilavor.  (In  damp  or  un- 
favorable soils,  it  is  sometimes  slightly  acid.) 
Ripens  from  the  last  of  August  to  the  middle 
and  last  of  September. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAR]\IER. 


461 


SPECIAL   MANURES. 

OMJiON  acceptance  seems  to 
^v,  have  attached   lo   the    term 
y  special  manure,  the   idea  or 

\'  meaning  of  something  used  as  a 
fertilizer,  or  as  a  stimulant,  that  is 
not  accumulated  through  the  ordi- 
nary resources  of  the  farm, — that 
is  from  the  fodder  and  the  stock. 
It  is  a  common  practice  to  use  considerable 
manure  in  the  months  of  August  and  Septem- 
ber, in  stocking  down  lands  to  grass,  and  in 
various  other  ways, — and  in  speaking  of  special 
manures  now,  and  as  we  purpose  occasionally 
to  do,  it  will  be  with  the  intention  of  stating 
what  they  are  and  hoiv  they  are  generally  used, 
rather  than  to  recommend  them,  preferring  to 
leave  that  matter  to  the  cultivator  himself.  It 
ought  to  be  stated,  however,  that  we  firmly  be- 
lieve two  things, — 

1.  That  every  farmer  ought  to  exhaust  all 
his  resources  for  making  manure  at  home,  with 
his  own  means,  and, 

2.  When  this  has  been  done  he  can  profita- 
bly use  genuine  special  manures  under  very 
many  circumstances. 

It  is  only  within  a  comparatively  short  period 
that  any  considerable  use  has  been  made  of  the 
special  articles  that  are  now  quite  commonly 
employed  as  manures.  Some  of  the  old  Ro- 
man writers  frequently  spoke  of  the  value  of 
ashes  and  lime,  but  seem  not  to  have  had  the 
remotest  idea  of  many  of  the  substances 
whii-h  have  been  broui^ht  to  act  an  important 
part  in  husbandry,  and  which  do  actually  in- 
crease the  value  of  many  of  our  crops  to  a 
con-iilerable  extent. 

One  after  another,  these  special  agents  have 
been  discovered  and  introduced,  and  by  some 
are  ihouiiht  iiidi.^pensable  agents  in  high  farm- 
ing. That  some  of  them  are  of  great  value, 
giving  not  only  a  pre.-ent  but  a  permanent 
power  of  increase  to  the  soil,  there  can  be  no 
dniihr.  Such,  among  others,  is  the  use  of  bones. 
Tliis  fact  was  long  ago  learned  by  the  farmers 
of  Eiigland,  who  increased  their  wheat  crop, 
by  the  agency  of  bones  and  thorough  drain- 
age. fio;n  the  low  standard  of  fifteen  bushels 
per  acre  up  to  forty,  with  an  average  of  about 
thirty.  So  great  was  the  demand  for  them, 
that  they  s^oon  became  an  important  article  of 
commerce,  and  British  ships  navigated  every 
sea,  and  visited  the  remotest  lands,  to  secure 


cargoes  of  bones.  Our  own  shores  were 
stripped  of  thousands  of  tons  that  went  to  fer- 
tilize the  British  Isles,  while  they  impoverished 
as  many  of  our  own  acres  that  were  starving 
for  them.  They  not  only  visited  the  hunting 
grounds  of  Africa,  but  gathered  up  the  bones 
of  countless  herds  of  cattle  on  the  Pampas  of 
South  America,  that  had  been  killed  for  their 
tallow,  hides  and  horns  alone  !  Even  battle- 
fields, where  men  and  brutes  found  a  common 
grave,  were  carefully  gleaned,  and  the  de- 
caying relics  of  unnumbered  soldiers,  or  of 
horse  and  rider,  found  a  too  early  resurrection 
and  were  exchanged  for  British  gold !  All 
these  were  transferred  to  the  soil,  and,  with  an 
improved  husbandry  in  other  respects,  gave  it 
a  productive  power  which  it  had  never  had  be- 
fore. And  it  was  not  a  spasmodic  power,  but 
a  permanent  and  reliable  one,  that  has  brought 
the  most  luxuriant  crops  for  more  than  half  a 
century.  The  example  of  our  trans-Atlantic 
friends  at  length  awakened  our  own  people  to 
a  sense  of  the  importance  of  bones  as  food  for 
plants,  and  some  of  them  have  been  gathered 
and  converted  into  superphosphate,  bone  meal 
and  bone-flour,  to  be  used  both  as  a  fertilizer 
and  to  be  mingled  with  the  food  of  our  do- 
mestic animals. 

The  testimony  of  chemists  is  well  expressed 
by  ]\Ir.  Hocher,  in  his  work  entitled  "Science 
for  the  School  and  Family,''''  that  "the  powder 
of  bones  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  manure, 
as  one  can  readily  see  it  would  be  from  ob- 
serving the  composition  of  bone.  A  bone  is 
composed  of  an  animal  part,  gelatine ;  and  a 
mineral  part,  nine-tenths  of  which  is  phosphate 
of  lime,  and  one-tenth  the  carbonate.  The  gel- 
atine is  of  great  value  as  a  fertilizer  for  any 
crop,  because  of  the  nitrogen  which  it  contains  ; 
and  the  phosphate  of  lime  is  especially  favor- 
able to  the  development  of  seeds ;  and  there- 
fore bone-dust  is  particularly  appropriate  as  a 
manure  for  grain-fields.  It  is  on  account  of 
this  phosphate  of  lime  that  bone-dust  is  so 
beneficial  to  dairy  land.  Milk  and  cheese  b-  th 
contain  this  substance.  There  is  about  half  a 
pound  of  it  in  ten  gallons  of  milk.  Bone-dust 
is  also  an  excellent  manure  for  wheat,  for 
though  this  be  a  silica  plant,  that  is,  a  plant  in 
who.-e  ashes  sand,  or  silicate  of  lime,  abounds, 
the  presence  of  phosphate  in  the  soil  is  essen- 
tial to  the  formation  of  the  seeds.  If  the  soil 
be  rich  in  silicates  but  deficient  in  phosphates, 


462 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Oct. 


excellent  straw  will  be  obtained,  but  the  grain 
will  be  small  in  amount ;  it  will  be  a  crop  bet- 
ter calculated  to  make  bonnets  than  bread. 
It  is  calculated  that  one  hundred  pounds  of 
bone-dust  are  equal  to  twenty-five  or  thirty  hun- 
dred pounds  of  stable-manure.  Although 
bones  contain  such  fertilizing  materials,  they 
must  be  well  pulverized  in  order  that  they  may 
be  immediately  available  for  the  nutrition  of 
of  plants.  It  takes  often  even  twenty  or  more 
years  for  the  soil  to  disintegrate  fragments  of 
bone  of  the  size  of  a  hazel-nut  or  a  pea,  and 
yet  such  fragments  are  frequently  seen  in  the 
bone-dust  of  commerce."  Happily,  means  have 
been  discovered  to  reduce  them  to  paste  or 
flour,  of  which  we  shall  speak  hereafter. 

As  auxiliaries  or  helps,  in  the  management 
of  soils,  we  have  said  that  genuine  special  ma- 
nures may  be  in  some  cases  profitably  used. 
No  exact  rules,  however,  can  be  prescribed  for 
their  employment.  The  nature  of  the  soil,  its 
texture,  or  mechanical  condition,  the  degree  of 
moisture  It  has,  the  state  of  the  season  and  the 
time  of  application,  all  have  so  much  to  do 
with  them,  that  exact  rules  would  often  prove 
inapplicable  if  they  were  given.  The  farmer 
will  remember  that  plants  feed  only  upon  mat- 
ter in  solution, — that  is,  the  bone,  plaster, 
potash  or  ashes,  must  be  dissolved,  and  in  the 
form  of  liquid,  before  the  roots  can  avail 
themselves  of  its  nutriment.  If,  therefore, 
any  of  the  special  manures  are  applied  to  a 
soil  so  lacking  in  moisture  as  not  to  render 
them  soluble,  they  remain  inactive  in  the  soil, 
and  the  plant  derives  no  benefit  from  them. 
So  if  a  soil — for  the  want  of  drainage — is  con- 
stantly charged  with  cold  water,  which  keeps 
the  temperature  so  low  that  putrefaction  can- 
not take  place,  plants  derive  but  little  benefit 
from  manure  of  any  kind,  even  if  a  redun- 
dance of  it  were  applied. 

These  simple  statements  will  illustrate,  per- 
haps, why  so  many  experiments  with  special 
manures  are  set  down  as  failures.  They  are 
used  uuder  such  circumstances  as  to  render 
them  completely  inoperative. 

When  these  are  applied,  therefore,  they 
should  be  upon  soils  that  are  porous  and  fine, 
so  that  atmospheric  action  will  be  free  among 
the  particles,  warming  and  moistening  them. 
Under  these  circumstances,  the  fine  grains,  or 
flour,  of  bone,  guano,  superphosphate,  or  any 
of  the  special  manures,  soon  become  softened 


by  the  dampness  of  the  soil,  then  warmed  by 
the  genial  rays  of  the  sun, — which  easily  pen- 
etrate it  because  it  is  light  and  fine, — and  its 
nutritive  powers,  by  the  process  of  fermenta- 
tion and  putrefaction,  are  soon  converted  into 
a  soluble  form,  all  ready  to  be  appropriated 
by  the  roots  of  the  plants. 

Treated  in  this  way,  special  manures  are 
quick  in  their  action,  giving  plants  an  early  and 
vigorous  start,  and  pushing  them  rapidly  for- 
ward, until  their  roots  find  new  means  of  sup- 
port in  the  soil  which  they  penetrate  in  all  di- 
rections. In  rows  of  corn  or  vegetables  where 
they  are  applied,  the  foliage  will  be  found  more 
luxuriant  and  of  a  richer  and  deeper  color 
than  in  rows  where  none  had  been  placed. 
These  conditions  must  be  observed,  or  they 
will  frequently  prove  a  failure.  They  should, 
also,  be  near  the  surface,  where  they  will  be 
kept  moist  by  the  dampness  of  the  atmosphere 
and  summer  showers.  Even  when  these  con- 
ditions are  observed,  it  will  be  well  to  apply 
them  to  the  soil  just  before  a  fall  of  rain,  in 
misty  weather,  or  during  a  gentle  shower. 


LIME  AND  SALT  FOK  CTJKIWQ  HAY. 
We  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  the 
following  answer  to  the  inquiry  of  Mr.  Met- 
calf  in  respect  to  the  views  of  chemists  as  to 
the  supposed  action  of  salt  and  lime  in  coun- 
teracting the  natural  tendency  of  imperfectly 
cured  hay  to  heat  and  spoil  in  the  mow.  Al- 
though Dr.  Nichols  does  not  assign  a  philosoph- 
ical reason  for  the  curative  properties  of  the 
mixture  which  is  ascribed  to  it  by  Mr.  Metcalf, 
the  readers  of  the  Farmer  will  thank  liim  for 
his  prompt  response. 

150  CoxGRESs  Street, 

Boston,  Aug.  16,  1867. 

Mr.  S.  Fletcher, — Dear  Sir  : — I  have 
just  read  in  the  Farmer,  your  letter  to  Mr. 
Brown  regarding  Mr.  Metcalf's  method  of 
curing  hay  by  the  employment  of  lime  and 
salt.  I  was  so  very  busy  when  you  called  at 
our  counting  room,  I  failed  to  learn  the  true 
import  or  nature  of  your  inquiries.  It  is  ev- 
ident considerable  interest  will  be  awakened 
in  this  subject,  and  therefore  I  hasten  to  pre- 
sent to  your  readers,  a  chemical  view  of  the 
matter,  which  I  trust  is  reliable. 

If  the  quantities  of  salt  and  quick  lime  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Metcalf  were  mixed  together, 
and  sprinkled  with  water,  double  decomposition 
would  result,  and  caustic  soda  and  chloride  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


463 


calcium  would  be  formed.  A  mutual  destruc- 
tion takes  place  between  the  lime  and  salt, 
and  birth  is  given  to  these  new  bodies.  Caus- 
tic soda  would  be  very  hurtful  to  animals, 
even  if  afforded  in  small  quantities.  It  is  a 
powerful  caustic  irritant.  Chloride  of  Calcium 
is  a  deliquescent  salt  used  in  the  arts, 
and  in  medicine.  This  also,  would  un- 
doubtedly be  harmful  to  animals.  If  no  fur- 
ther chemical  changes  resulted,  Mr.  MetcalPs 
lime  and  salt  mixture  upon  hay,  would  cer- 
tainly prove  an  unhappy  discovery.  But  the 
two  new  bodies  tend  strongly  towards  further 
changes  ;  the  caustic  soda  has  a  powerful  ap- 
petite for  carbonic  acid,  which  it  finds  in  the 
air  diffused  through  the  hay ;  a  union  is  formed, 
and  carbonate  of  soda  results.  But  this  is 
not  all.  Carbonate  of  soda  and  chloride  of 
calcium  cannot  remain  separate, — they  rush  to- 
gether, exchange  ingredients,  and  lo !  we  get 
back  to  salt  again,  common  salt  and  hard,  in- 
soluble carbonate  of  lime  remain  in  Mr.  Met- 
calf  s  hay-mow  after  the  play  of  chemical  affin- 
ities is  fairly  over. 

It  is  presamed  that  lime  and  salt  mixed  and 
strewn  upon  moist  hay,  would  be  influenced 
chemically,  in  a  way  similar  to  that  which 
takes  place  when  they  are  mixed  and  sprinkled 
with  water.  It  is  possible,  a  body  of  hay  be- 
ing porous,  unequal  diffusion  of  the  carbonate 
of  soda  and  chloride  of  calcium  occurs  from 
a  point  where  they  are  formed,  so  that  they  do 
not  unite.  In  this  case  carbonate  of  soda  and 
chloride  of  calcium  remains  in  the  hay  instead 
of  salt  and  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is  not  prob- 
able, however,  that  decomposition  stops  short 
of  the  ultimate  results,  salt  and  chalk. 

With  this  view,  no  advantages  result  from 
mixing  lime  with  salt  in  curing  hay,  as  the  pro- 
duction of  chalk  (carbonate  of  lime)  in  con- 
nection with  the  salt,  affords  no  additional 
preservative  agent.  All  the  gases  involved  in 
the  changes  are  used  in  the  new  bodies  formed, 
so  that  no  agent  of  this  nature  is  set  free,  to 
act  as  an  antiseptic  or  destroyer  of  ferment. 
Hay  treated  in  this  way  would  be  harmless  to 
animals,  as  salt  and  chalk  are  perfectly  innoc- 
ous.     Very  truly  yours, 

Jas.  R.  Nichols. 


— 0.  Aylworth,  Fabius,  N.  Y.,  wrote  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Chib  that  a  teaspooufiil  of  turpen- 
tine placed  in  a  barrel  of  water  will  kill  the  wig- 
glers  which  hatch  into  mosquitoes. 


SUMMER. 

Dancing  along  the  lands 
Green-gown 'd  Summer  lias  come,  her  robe  spread  out 

in  lier  hands; 
And  to  see  her  the  morn  wakes  soon,  and  the  evening  is 

loth  to  go, 
While  the  stars  crowd  thick  in  the  sky  to  watch  her  in 

sleep  below. 

To  prepare  for  her  coming,  the  Sun 
Work'd  with  a  burning  touch,  and  to-day  all  his  work 

is  done — 
The  fields  with  their  flowers  are  dress'd,  the  grasses  are 

long  and  soft; 
The  birds  have  their  song  in  the  bushes,  the  bees  their 

drone  in  the  croft. 

You  meet  her  in  earliest  dawn 

Breathing  most  fragrant  breath  by  the  side  of  the  blos- 
soming th  rn : 

Laughins;  along  by  the  streams,  or  pausing  in  valleys 
still, 

Or  painting  with  tender  tints  the  bare  brown  rocks  on 
the  hill. 

Oft  in  the  noontide  heat 
She  turns  to  the  antique  woods  where  the  dew  lies  fresh 

for  her  feet ; 
Where  the  green  lights  fall  through  the  leaves  on  couches 

of  mounded  moss, 
And  the  sway  of  a  wind-swung  bough  throws  shadow 

and  sunshine  across. 

Then  at  the  end  of  the  day. 
Out  of  the  efige  of  the  sea  where  the  waves  plash  cool 

in  the  bay ; 
Anil  a  pathway  of  gold  Is  traced  from  the  Palace  of 

Sunset's  door 
Far  over  the  heaving  tide  to  the  smooth  wet  sand  on  the 

shore. 

Quickly  wherever  she  goes 
Comes  a  warmer  waft  to  the  wind  and  a  richer  red  to 

the  rose ; 
On  the  wave  a  bluer  surge,  in  the  orchard  a  whiter 

bloom, 
A  brightening  Ughtfor  the  sky  and  greener  grass  for  the 

tomb. 

Ever  in  full-flush'd  health. 
Gifts  unstinted  she  flings  forth  from  her  broad  bosom'd 

wealth — 
Good  for  the  sons  of  men  ;  whilst  Heaven,  with  vaults 

serene. 
Loops  up  its  curtain  of  cloud  and  smiles  on  the  smiling 

scene. 

Oh,  for  the  summer  heart ! 
Large  and  tranquil  and  glad,  forever  bearing  its  part 
In  a  whirling,  wildcr'd  world,  whose  groanings  shall 

some  day  cease, 
And  a  King  shall  rule  over  all  in  a  Kingdom  of  Love 
and  Peace. 
— Alfred  Norris,  in" Good  Words" for  August. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
NEWSPAPER   ARTICLES— IMPROVE- 
MENT  OP    STOCK. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  written  to  an 
editor,  and  feel  that  I  may  be  intruding  now, 
but  I  have  been  a  constant  reader  of  the  Far- 
mer for  a  long  time,  and  am  very  much  inter- 
ested in  the  articles  of  your  valuable  paper; 
more  so,  perhaps,  because  I  am  acquainted 
with  very  many  of  your  contributors,  and  have 
had  the  pleasure  of  looking  over  the  farms  and 
stock  of  others.  I  sometimes  wish  that  those 
who  write  would  strive  rather  to  present  things 
as  they  are,  than  to  produce  articles  that  sound 
well.  I  remember  of  travelling  several  miles 
out  of  my  way,  some  years  ago,  to  see  the 
farm  of  one  that  used  frequently  to  furnish 
articles  for  a  Boston  agricultural  paper,  ex- 


4ti4 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Oct. 


pecting  to  find  a  perfect  pattern  of  neatness 
and  order.  But  the  first  thing  that  met  my 
eye  was  an  old  wall  in  front  of  the  house  near- 
ly covered  with  wild  brush,  briers,  weeds  an<l 
everything  that  looked  repulsive  to  the  sight. 
This  was  about  a  fair  specimen  of  his  farm, 
with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  acres.  He 
wrote  a  statement  in  regard  to  a  cow  he  had  ; 
giving  the  number  of  persons  in  the  family 
provided  with  butter  and  milk,  the  number  of 
pounds  of  butter  sold  per  week,  besides  sell- 
ing two  quarts  per  day — making  an  extraordi- 
nary production  for  one  cow, — when  the  facts 
of  the  case  were,  that  the  family  never  used 
any  butter,  and  the  milk  sold  was  skim  milk  ! 
Consequently  those  who  were  acquainted  with 
the  facts,  had  no  confidence  in  his  articles,  and 
many  condemned  all  newspaper  articles  as  be- 
ing of  the  same  class.  But  there  are  many 
worthy  exceptions.  There  are  those  who  give 
us  facts,  and  facts  alone. 

Few,  however,  like  to  make  a  record  of  the 
failure  of  any  experiment,  whether  in  field 
crops  or  stock  raising,  although  these  are  of- 
ten far  more  instructive  than  successes  which 
farmers  are  so  willing  to  detail.  It  is  not 
enough  to  know  what  to  do.  What  not  to  do, 
should  also  be  understood  ;  and  to  be  under- 
stood, it  should  be  taught  by  precept  and  ex- 
ample. How  many  pronii>ing  colts,  calves 
and  lambs  have  been  injured  by  improper 
feeding,  or  by  injudicious  management.  And 
yet  those  who  have  learned  wisdom  in  this 
dear  school,  are  very  reluctant  to  make  a  clean 
confession.  I  could  cite  instances  and  call 
names  in  illustration  of  these  remarks,  if  prop- 
er to  do  so. 

Still  there  is  evident  progress  in  agriculture, 
especially  in  the  improvement  of  stock.  Hav- 
ing had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  with  my  own 
eyes  many  of  the  finest  herds  of  horses,  cattle 
and  sheep,  both  in  New  England  and  the 
Provinces,  I  am  certain  there  has  been  a  very 
great  change  for  the  better,  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  in  stock  and  stock  raising.  This 
must  be  apparent  to  all  who  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  attending  our  agricultural  Fairs  dur- 
ing that  pel  iod.  Should  any  one  object  to  the 
evidence  afibrdcd  of  such  improvement  by  the 
.exhibitions  at  these  Fairs,  let  them,  as  they 
may  have  opportunity,  call  on  Mr.  C'henery, 
of  JlJehuunt.,  Mr.  H.  G.  White,  of  South  Fraiii- 
inghain,  Mr.  Lincoln,  of  Worcester,  or  on 
any  caicfid  modern  breeder  in  the  vicinity  of 
Barre,  Mass.  ;  on  I'eter  .Jones  of  Amherst. 
N.  IL,  or  on  Dr.  Henry  Loynton,  of  VVooil- 
stock,  Vt..  and  on  hundreds  of  others  in  vari- 
ous p;irts  of  New  Eniiiand,  all  of  whom  will 
take  ])U'asuic  in  showing  their  fine  horses,  cat- 
tle, sliccp.  hogs,  &c.,  and  then  say,  if  he  will, 
that  tliere  has  been  no  iuipiovement,  no  change 
for  the  better,  ** 

Ma^-ion,  N.  U.,  Aug.,  1867. 

Rkmaiiks. — If  our  correspondent's  doubting 
friend  should  object  to  those  breeders,  as  well 


as  to  cattle  shows,  as  interested  witnesses  of 
stock  improvement,  let  him  attend  that  disin- 
terested umpire,  the  Brighton  market,  some 
Aveek  when  the  best  farmers  in  Maine  send  up 
their  perfectly  matched  working  oxen,  or  their 
mammoth  fat  bullocks,  or  when  the  Meeches, 
and  other  farmers,  of  the  Champlain  valley 
send  their  Durham  steers,  which,  as  to  form 
and  quality,  rival  the  stock  of  Kentucky  and 
Illinois,  and  do  this  in  company  with  some  one 
who  remembers  the  quality  of  stock  which 
came  from  these  sections  twenty  years  ago. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
FAKMING-  IN  WEST   VIRGINIA. 

Messrs.  Editors  : — You  requested  me  to 
give  jou  the  mode  of  farming  and  rotation  of 
crops  in  my  neighborhood,  which  I  will  do,  as 
near  as  I  can,  to  do  justice  to  all  parties.  Cat- 
tle and  corn  are  the  principal  articles  raised. 

•Cattle. — It  does  not  cost  much  to  raise 
cattle  up  to  three  years  old,  as  they  are  turned 
out  into  the  ridges  to  graze  in  the  summer,  and 
are  not  brought  up  until  late  in  the  fall.  They 
are  wintered  upon  rough  feed.  When  three 
years  old  they  are  sold  to  the  speculators. 

Corn. — The  farmers  (or  those  who  call  them- 
selves such)  plow  their  ground  in  the  spring, 
most  of  them  shallow,  and  harrow  its  lightly  ; 
then  they  take  a  shovel-plow  and  lay  it  off,  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  feet  each  way,  and 
from  three  to  four  inches  deep,  and  plant  in 
those  crosses.  After  the  corn  comes  up  big 
enough  to  plow,  they  take  a  shovel-plow,  run 
it  as  close  to  the  coi  n  as  they  can  without  cov- 
ering much  of  it,  with  some  boys  or  girls,  or 
both,  if  they  have  them,  to  follow  the  plow,  to 
uncover  what  happens  to  get  covered  up,  to 
chop  out  what  briers  the  shovel-plow  does  not 
cut  up.  Next,  in  about  ten  days,  they  cross  it 
in  the  same  manner.  The  third  and  last  time 
time  they  generally  plow  the  same  way  as  they 
(lid  the  first  time,  but  put  three  furrows  be- 
tween the  rows  of  corn  ;  too  often  leaving  their 
shovel-plows,  and  the  big  plow,  too,  where 
they  finished,  until  wanted  for  the  next  crop. 
When  the  corn  is  ripe  enough  to  harvest,  they 
cut  it  up  into  shocks  of  sixteen  hills  square, 
IMost  of  the  fanners  let  it  stand  in  the  shocks 
until  winter,  before  they  husk  it.  The  corn 
generally  averages  from  twenty  to  thirty  bush- 
els [)er  acre ;  that  is,  without  any  plaster  or 
manure  of  any  kind.  There  is  no  system  of 
rotation  of  crops  here.  Often  a  piece  of 
gioun<l  is  farmed  in  corn  for  two  or  three  crops 
in  succession,  before  they  sow  it  into  wheat. 

WiiiCAT. — Soon  after  cutting  the  corn,  wheat 
is  sown.  Many  take  a  sliovel-i)lovv  and  at  once 
plow  in  the  wheat ;  others  break  up  the  land 
with  a  big  plow,  after  they  (!ut  up  their  corn, 
then  sow  tiicir  wheat,  and  take  a  shovel-plow 
and  plow  it  in.     They  generally  get  from  five 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


465 


to  ten  bushels  per  acre.  But  where  they  break 
up  sod-ground  and  let  it  lay  until  the  sod  has 
become  thoroughly  rotted,  and  sow  by  the 
tenth  to  the  tifteenth  of  September,  they  get 
from  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre  of  tha 
first  quality  of  wheat.  But  where  they  sow 
after  corn  it  is  generally  of  the  second  or  third 
quality.  What  wheat  is  raised  in  this  valley  is 
raised  after  corn. 

Oats. — Some  oats  are  raised  here.  This 
crop  is  generally  raised  on  corn  stubble. 
Most  sow  their  oats  and  plow  them  in  with  a 
shovel-plow. 

Buckwheat. — This  is  put  on  sod,  which  is 
broken  up  with  a  big  plow,  sowed,  and  har- 
rowed in. 

GiiASS. — There  is  some  grass  cut  here,  but 
it  is  generally  allowed  to  stand  until  the  heads 
have  turned  brown,  and  often  until  it  is  dead 
ripe.  It  will  average  about  a  ton  per  acre. 
The  farmers  depend  more  upon  their  corn-fod- 
der and  straw,  fed  out  in  the  fields,  to  winter 
their  stock  on.  Few  take  any  pains  to  make 
or  save  manure. 

We  are  thirty  miles  from  Winchester,  which 
is  our  main  market.  Wheat  Hour  in  the  mills 
now  l)rings  five  cents  per  lb. ;  corn,  one  dollar 
per  bushel ;  bacon,  10  cents  per  lb. ;  butter, 
\.'2h  cents  per  lb.  ;  eggs,  10  cents  per  dozen; 
lat)oring  hands  on  the  farm,  50  cents  per  day 
and  board ;  mechanics,  fi'om  $1.00  to  $1.50 
per  day  and  board.     Yours  respectfully,      P. 

Waidensville,  Hardy  Co.,      \ 
West  Va.,  Aug.  2,  1867.  S 


THE    DAIRY   IIST   ILLINOIS. 

The  Fox  River  Valley  in  Illinois  is  well 
adapted  to  the  dairy  business,  as  it  has  streams, 
springs,  and  the  soil  is  favorable  to  grasses. 
Like  most  other  portions  of  the  West,  it  was 
for  many  years  after  its  settlement  devoted  to 
grain  growing.  It  is  only  about  twelve  years 
since  farmers  turned  their  attention  to  stock 
growing  and  dairying.  On  the  19th  of  June, 
a  convention  of  the  dairymen  of  this  section 
was  held  at  Elgin,  at  which  it  was  stated  by 
Judge  S.  Wilco.x,  that  within  a  radius  of  five 
miles  of  that  {)lace,  2,000,000  gallons  of  milk 
are  produced,  bringing  to  that  community  from 
$20(1,000  to  $250,000  annually. 

From  the  report  of  the  Chicago  Bepublican, 
we  make  the  following  extracts  of  the  re- 
marks made  b\'  several  of  the  dairymen  pres- 
ent: — 

Mr.  iMcLean  said  : — The  factory  with  which 
I  am  connected  was  commenced  the  1st  of  May, 
1866.  We  worked  last  year  95,000  gallons  of 
milk  in  five  months.  We  are  increasing  all 
the  time.  We  sold  83,000  pounds  of  cheese 
last  jear,  averaging  about  ten  cents  per  pouml. 
We  are  manufacturing   1,000  gallons  of  milk 


per  day  now.  In  May  we  worked  15,550  gal- 
lons of  milk,  and  made  14,079  pounds  of 
cheese.  The  amount  of  the  present  month 
will  be  larger  proportionally,  for  when  the  air 
is  clear,  and  the  days  bright,  we  get  more  milk 
and  make  better  cheese  than  on  wet,  lowery 
days.  It  required  about  9  08-IO')  pounds  of 
milk  to  make  one  pound  of  cheese  in  May  ;  in 
April,  about  9-h  pounds,  I  think. 

The  amount  and  quantity  of  the  product  of 
milk  depends  largely  upon  the  degree  of  kind- 
ness to  cows.  1  have  learned  that  if  we  get 
one  or  two  cows  irritated,  and  put  their  milk 
with  that  of  other  cows  that  have  been  kept 
quietly,  it  will  sour  very  quickly.  This  will 
account  for  the  fact  that  milk  so  often  sours  in 
transporting  to  Chicago,  when  the  u-ual  pre- 
cautions are  taken  to  prevent  it,  while  it  does 
not  sour  with  only  the  same  care  in  other  cases. 

Milk  should  be  put  into  the  water  as  soon  as 
it  can  be  after  it  comes  from  the  cow.  The 
cover  should  be  taken  from  the  can  at  first. 
You  should  not  stir  the  milk  while  cooling  it. 
If  milk  has  to  be  taken  any  great  distance  to  a 
cheese  factory,  it  should  be  cooled  first. 

A  gentleman  made  the  following  statement 
concerning  the  Hanover  factory,  two  and  a  half 
miles  east  of  Elgin  :  It  is  owned  by  three  men. 
We  commenced  the  1st  of  April  with  330  gal- 
lons of  milk;  this  morning  we  had  1,308  gal- 
lons. In  April  we  received  13,000  gallons  of 
milk,  and  made  13,780  pounds  of  cheese.  In 
May  we  received  30,000  gallons  of  milk,  and 
made  29,836  pounds  of  cheese.  A  portion  of 
the  milk  received  was  not  manufactured. 

The  weather  has  something  to  do  with  the 
amount  of  cheese  to  be  got  from  a  given 
amount  of  milk ;  but  a  skilful  dairyman  will 
adapt  his  process  to  the  change  of  atmosphere, 
and  will  make  about  the  same  quant  iiy  and 
quality  of  cheese  from  the  same  amount  of 
milk,  every  day  in  the  year.  This  gentleman 
was  asked  if  he  could  communicate  the  process 
in  words.  He  replied  that  he  could  not ;  it 
was  only  to  be  attained  by  practical  experience. 

RELATIVE   PROFITS   OF   BUTTER    AND    CIIEE.SE. 

'  Mr.  Wilcox  stated  there  were  some  advan- 
tages in  selling  the  milk,  as  compared  with 
carrying  it  to  the  factory  for  cheese  manufac- 
ture. 

j\Ir.  Treadwell  had  been  sending  milk  to 
Chicago  ten  years.  Latterly,  he  had  been 
trying  to  convert  his  herd  of  cows  into  a  sum- 
mer dairy.  He  is  satisfied  that  it  will  cost  far 
less  to  keep  his  stock  in  winter,  will  d  minish 
the  expense  for  labor  in  the  ag^^re^ate  fur  the 
\ear,  and  that  the  aggregate  prollt  for  the  year 
from  the  same  number  of  .cows  kept  as  a  sum- 
mer dairy,  would  be  greater  than  if  milked  Ijoth 
summer  and  winter.  He  had  found  the  profit 
(ieriyed  from  his  milk,  when  sent  to  the  cheese 
faetory.  to  be  full  four  cents  per  gallon  greater 
than  when  shij  ped  to  Chicago ;  the  extra  ex- 
pense for  cans,  the  freights,  the  loss  of  whey, 
which  prevents  the  raising  of  calves  and  pigs, 


466 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


Oct. 


are  considerable  items  in  favor  of  the  cheese 
factory. 

Mr.  Wilcox  reminded  the  advocates  of  the 
summer  dairy  system  that  if  it  cost  more  to 
make  and  dispose  of  milk  in  winter,  they  also 
got  a  greater  price  for  it.  He  milked  on  an 
average  twenty-nine  cows  last  year.  He  sold 
from  them  16,486  gallons  of  milk,  which 
brought  him  $2, 544.  He  raised  and  sold 
calves  which  brought  him  $125 — a  total  of  $2,- 
669  from  his  dairy.  During  five  months  he 
shipped  his  milk  to  Chicago  ;  the  balance  was 
sold  at  the  condensing  factory  here.  He  fed 
his  cows  pretty  strong.  When  he  first  com- 
menced in  the  business,  he  thought  it  would 
answer  to  feed  them  on  hay  and  corn-stalks. 
He  soon  learned  differently,  and  added  bran 
to  the  feed.  Found  this  increased  the  milk, 
but  ran  down  the  cows.  He  then  commenced 
grinding  corn  and  oats,  using  one  part  oats 
and  two  parts  corn.  Finally,  he  added  to 
these  one  part  of  bran,  and  fed  four  quarts  of 
this  bran  to  each  cow,  twice  a  day.  This  pro- 
duced a  steady  flow  of  rich  milk,  and  kept  the 
cows  in  excellent  condition  and  healthy.  He 
was  satisfied  it  was  profitable  to  feed  cows  well. 
Other  gentlemen  testified  in  favor  of  the 
summer  dairy  system,  and  conceded  the  great 
benefits  derived  from  the  creation  of  a  home 
market  for  their  milk,  by  diverting  a  part  of  the 
product  from  Chicago. 

J.  M.  Treadwell  had  been  in  the  business 
ten  years.  He  had  been  particular  to  buy 
young  cows;  can  get  more  milk,  of  better 
quality,  and  at  less  cost,  from  them  than  from 
old.  Milks  at  regular  hours ;  aims  at  this 
time  of  year  to  finish  before  sunrise  in  the 
morning ;  in  winter,  gets  through  milking  be- 
fore five  o'clock  ;  divides  the  day  nearly  etiual- 
ly  as  to  time  of  milking ;  does  not  allow  milk- 
ers to  wet  cows'  teats  when  milking ;  it  is  a 
dirty  practice,  and  has  turned  off  milkers  who 
persisted  in  doing  it;  washes  and  wipes  his 
cows'  bags  when  they  need  it  before  milking  ; 
uses  tin  pails  to  milk  in  ;  does  not  use  wood  ; 
examines  carefully  all  utensils  before  using 
them,  to  see  that  they  are  not  tainted ;  uses  a 
sieve  strainer  with  a  white  worn  fiannel  be- 
neath it :  does  not  use  cotton  strainers ;  pre- 
fers worn  iliUUK-l  because  it  does  not  full  up  ; 
is  particular  about  the  cans  ;  washes  them  in- 
side and  out  with  soap  and  soft  water,  and 
then  scalds  them  thoroughly  with  hot  water; 
is  carelul  to  scald  the  neck  of  the  can,  because 
that  is  where  the  taint  is,  if  there  is  any ;  boils 
the  cover  some  minutes  in  cleansing;  with 
these  precautions  he  loses  no  milk. 

He  cools  the  milk  before  shipping  It;  has  a 
vat  of  cool  water  in  which  he  sits  it ;  takes  the 
covers  from  the  cans  during  cooling  process; 
does  nut  stir  It  wliile  cooling ;  does  not  mix 
warm  milk  and  cool  milk  together;  water 
passes  around  and  beneath  the  cans  In  the  vat; 
salts  cows  every  five  days  in  summer;  aft(!r 
salting,   the  milk  increases  from   two  to  five 


gallons ;  cows  will  not  eat  salt  much  oftener 
than  once  in  four  days. 

He  fed  his  cows  bran  all  last  summer,  with 
profit ;  last  winter  fed  barley  meal  and  bran ; 
has  no  fixed  rule  in  feeding,  but  feeds  each 
animal  an  amount  proportionate  to  her  size, 
the  amount  of  milk  she  yields,  and  his  esti- 
mate of  the  requirements  of  her  nature  ;  such 
as  need  most  he  gives  most ;  feeds  one  part 
barley  meal,  or  corn,  and  one  part  oats,  and 
adds  one  part  bran  ;  oat  meal  yields  the  most 
milk ;  barley  meal  Is  as  good  as  corn  meal ; 
aims  so  to  feed  as  to  keep  the  cows  thriving ; 
the  better  humor  cows  are  kept  in,  the  more 
milk  they  give,  therefore  feeds  just  before 
milking,  and  sometimes  during  milking ;  never 
allows  a  cow  to  be  whipped ;  does  not  milk 
cows  out  of  doors,  summer  or  winter ;  can 
milk  them  in  less  time  when  in  the  stanchions. 
A.  D.  Gifford,  of  the  Hanover  factory,  stat- 
ed that  he  found  no  difference  in  breeds  as  to 
milking  qualities  ;  cuts  hay  when  it  is  In  blos- 
som ;  Tikes  corn-stalks,  if  cut  early  and  well 
cured ;  would  as  soon  have  half  clover  as  all 
timothy ;  second  growth  of  clover  makes  the 
most  and  best  milk  of  any  hay  he  ever  used ; 
is  going  to  raise  his  own  cows,  breeding  to 
sires  of  good  milking  families ;  finds  there  is 
only  about  one  good  cow  for  sale  to  every 
three  dairymen  who  want  her;  regards  the 
fact  that  the  sire's  parents  were  of  good  milk- 
ing breed  important  in  breeding;  believes  it  is 
as  well,  or  better,  to  have  heifers  come  in  at 
two  years  old,  if  the  feed  given  them  is  suffi- 
cient to  keep  them  thriving,  as  it  should  be. 
Two  years  ago,  winter  milking  was  profitable, 
because  feed  was  cheap  and  milk  high ;  but 
those  who  fed  and  milked  last  winter  barely 
paid  expenses ;  would  have  a  cow  go  dry  at 
least  two  months. 

ISIr.  B.  Duff,  from  Huntley,  stated  that  the 
farmers  in  his  neighborhood  had  tried  to  in- 
duce men  of  experience  In  the  cheese  dairy 
business  to  start  a  factory,  offering  them  in- 
ducements to  do  so.  Failing,  twelve  of  them 
gave  $100  each,  built  a  factory,  and  were  now 
receiving  more  milk  than  they  could  manufac- 
ture, and  had  that  morning  been  compelled  to 
refuse  to  receive  a  large  (juantlty. 


HOW    TO    MAKE   TTJKKEYS   USEFUL. 

In  Normandy,  France,  where  the  Crevc 
Coeur  hens  are  j)rlncipally  raised,  they  have 
a  curious  fiishion  of  hatciilng  the  eggs.  As 
the  hens  are  seldom  intliurd  to  sit,  and 
are  at  l)est  only  ordinary  mothers,  the  good 
women  of  the  peasantry  have  a  fashion^  of 
])ressiiig  yotmg  lien  tiirke\  s  Into  the  service. 
This  they  do  In  the  following  way:  Take  a 
leinale  turkey  of  the  preceding  year  that  has 
never  laid,  and  put  her  In  a  basket  containing 
jilaster  eggs.  Cover  this  basket  with  a  strong 
linen  cloth.  It  will  be  from  four  to  six  days 
before  she  will  overcome  her  natural  disincli- 
nation to  set,  and  become  attached  to  the  eggs, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


467 


or  as  the  French  have  it,  "take  an  affection" 
for  them.  When  the  prejudice  is  entirely 
overcome  they  place  the  real  eggs  under,  she 
easily  covering  18  or  20  of  them.  The  cover- 
ing is  removed  and  the  innocent  turkey  ac- 
complishes the  task  assigned  her  without  fur- 
ther trouble,  save  that  it  is  necessary  to  remove 
her  once  a  day  that  she  may  partake  of  re- 
freshments. If  this  is  not  done  these  "sitters" 
sometimes  starve  to  death,  rather  than  volun- 
tarily leave  their  charge,  so  great  is  this  forced 
affection.  After  hatching,  the  little  chicks  are 
placed  in  charge  of  another  turkey  that  may 
not  have  all  she  can  raise  and  which  is  kept  for 
bringing  them  up,  and  the  original  turkey 
mother  supplied  with  a  new  lot  of  eggs,  con- 
tinues her  "mission."  These  young  turkeys 
are  thus  made  to  hatch  three  or  four  "litters" 
in  a  season. — Paris  Cor.  Prairie  Farmer. 


IMPORTS  OP  ■WOOL  IN  1866  AND  1867. 

We  have  been  able  to  obtain  from  an  official 
and  perfectly  reliable  source  the  following  here- 
tofore unpufjlished  statistics,  giving  the  quan- 
tity and  class  of  wool  entered  at  the  New  York 
Custom  House  during  the  first  six  months  of 
1866  and  1867  respectively : — 

FIRST  SIX  MONTHS,  1868. 

Class  1,  "Clothing  Wool," 23,692,043  lbs. 

Class  2,  "Combing  Wools," 

Class  3,  "C;iipc't  Wools,  and  other  similar 

wools," 4,839,533  " 

Total 28,531,576  lbs. 

Noils 13,737  " 

Camel's  Hair 408,417  " 

FIRST   SIX  MONTHS,  1867. 

Class  1,  "Clothing  Wool," 4,346,183  lbs. 

Class  2,  "Combing  Wools," 122,796  " 

Class  3,  "Carpet  Wools,  &c.," 8,240,652  " 

Total 12,709,631  lbs. 

Camel's  Hair  ...    • •    ....       163,839  " 

We  are  authorized  to  say  that  "most  all  of 
Class  1,  imported  since  the  present  tariff  went 
into  operation,  was  entered  in  bond,  and  it  is 
presumed  either  remains  in  bond  or  has  been 
shipped  out  of  the  country." 

We  need  not  remind  our  readers  that  Class 
1  embraces  all  the  foreign  wools  which  com- 
pete with  any  kind  of  icool  grown  in  the  United 
States,  except  "combing  wools  of  English 
blood."  During  two  months  of  1867  (Janua- 
ry  and  February)  the  present  tariff  was  not  in 
operat  ion.  Yet  considerably  less  than  one-Jifth 
as  nmch  "clothing  wool"  was  imported  in  the 
first  half  of  1867  as  in  the  first  half  of  1866  ; 
and  most  of  the  small  amount  imported  in 
1867,  as  has  been  stated,  remains  in  bond,  or 
has  been  exported  to  other  countries  !  It  has  not 
been  brought  into  competition  in  market  with 
our  own  wools.  Who  now  shall  say  that  the 
tariff  has  not  been  as  effective  in  shutting  out 
foreign  competition  as  was  expected,  or  as  can 
be  reasonably  desired  by  the  great  mass  of  the 
wool  growers  of  our  country  ! 

There  is,  it  is  true,  a  gain  in  the  import  of 
"combinji  wools" — but  the  amount  is  inconsid- 


erable. Very  probably  the  wool  was  entered 
before  the  passage  of  the  tariff.  At  all  events, 
the  imports  of  this  class  of  wools  into  all  our 
different  ports,  especially  those  of  the  Cana- 
dian frontier,  will  fall  off  during  the  year 
probably  in  about  ecjual  proportions  with  those 
of  "clothing  wools."  Our  foreign  supplies 
were  mostly  drawn  from  Canada,  and  it  is  no- 
torious that  the  last  clip  of  that  country  is  un- 
sold— that  the  market  is  utterly  flat — and  that 
the  impression  is  now  prevalent  there  that  un- 
der present  duties  the  English  market  will  prove 
a  better  one  for  them  than  ours. 

The  import  of  "carpet  wools"  nearly  doubled. 
These  compete  with  no  wools  now  grown  in  the 
United  States,  and  their  increased  import  there- 
fore does  not  affect  our  growers,  provided  no 
frauds  are  practiced — provided  other  wools 
are  not  invoiced,  and  pass  our  Custom  Houses 
under  that  name.  Are  such  frauds  practiced? 
Not,  in  our  opinion,  in  New  York.  John  A. 
Baush,  who  appraises  every  invoice  of  wool 
entered  at  that  port,  is  an  old.  experienced, 
perfectly  competent,  and  we  believe  thorough- 
ly upright  officer — the  very  man  we  would  put 
in  the  place,  were  the  appointment  made  by 
us.  VVe  have  made  inquiries  in  respect  to  the 
officer  at  Boston,  who  has  the  appraisement  of 
wools  under  his  charge.  We  learn  that  he  has 
not  had  an  experience  on  the  subject  extend- 
ing much  beyond  two  years — a  thing  certainly 
much  to  be  regretted — but  he  is  regarded  among 
the  business  men  of  Boston  as  a  man  of  integ- 
rity, and  he  has,  it  is  said,  an  official  under  him 
in  this  department  who  is  a  very  experienced, 
judge  and  appraiser  of  wool.  With  this  aid, 
and  the  aid  of  the  standard  samples,  an  up- 
right man  can  discharge  his  duties  faithfully. 

These  are  the  pi'incipal  ports  of  entry  for 
foreign  wool,  but  there  are  others  which  de- 
serve attention.  We  trust  our  friends  who 
have  any  opportunities  for  ascertaining  the 
character  and  conduct  of  wool  appraisers,  in 
any  of  them,  will  keep  the  officers  of  the  Na- 
tional Wool  Growers'  Association  informed  of 
the  facts.  It  is  one  of  the  most  obvious  duties 
of  these  officers  to  keep  watch  and  ward  on 
the  subject  of  a  fair  and  just  administration  of 
the  law,  and  to  expose  any  fi-auds  piacticed  by 
its  administrators.  We,  for  one,  are  prepared 
to  do  the  latter  with  a  will,  should  occasion  de- 
mand it. — Rural  Neio  Yorker. 


Hungarian  Hay  for  Sheep. — My  experi- 
ence in  feeding  Hungarian  hay  to  sluep  i:<  rather 
limited ;  however  1  have  made  close  enough 
observation  to  conclude  that  it  is  injurious, 
unless  great  care  is  taken,  as  it  affects  sheep 
as  it  does  many  horses.  If  it  is  fed  cautiously, 
perhaps  it  could  not  hurt  them,  but  I  fed  sev- 
eral tons  of  it  hist  winter,  to  my  sheep,  twice 
a  day,  and  they  looked  well,  but  after  a  while 
quite  a  number  of  them  began  to  get  stupid, 
and  would  not  keep  with  the  flock,  and  lingered 
along  for  several  days,  and  a  number  of  them 


468 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


died.  Not  having  any  idea  of  the  cause  of 
their  death,  I  made  a  post  mortem  examination 
and  found  them  the  fattest  sheep  that  1  ever 
dressed.  When  I  came  to  the  intestines  I 
found  them  in  a  very  bad  condition  ;  apparent- 
ly imder  the  inner  lining  of  the  intestines  there 
had  formed  hard  balls  of  various  sizes,  which 
proved  upon  examination  to  be  Hungarian  seed, 
and  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  that  occa- 
sioned their  death.  Many  of  them  would  hun- 
ger along  for  a  week  or  ten  days  and  finally 
recover.  My  Hungarian  was  ripe  when  I  cut 
it. — S.  M.  Y.,  in  Prairie  Farmer. 


AGRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 
— It  is  estimated  that  Sauk  countj',  Wis.,  will 
yield  $2,000,000  wortli  of  hops  this  year. 

— Mr.  Oliver  Wilkinson,  of  Townsend,  Vt.,  has 
a  ewe  sheep  that  has  had  and  raised  twenty-two 
lambs  in  eleven  years. 

— Mr.  Horace  Hurlbut,  of  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt., 
Bhearcd  sixty-seven  sheep  in  one  day  this  season 
for  Mr.  Moses  Huntley,  and  he  did  the  work  well. 

— In  the  upper  part  of  New  Hampshire,  the 
storekeepers  pay  farmers  but  a  shilling  a  pound 
for  excellent  butter. 

— Harvest  hands  get  $2  a  day  in  Marion  county, 
Iowa,  and  reaping  machines  get  $1  an  acre  for 
cutting. 

— Less  skill  is  required  to  make  whiskey  than 
vinegar.  In  Germany,  they  have  a  vinegar  school 
where  the  students  graduate  in  four  months. 

— L.  Lindley,  Connellsville,  Fayette  County,  Pa., 
says  that  his  father  always  kept  on  hand  pickled 
pork  as  a  preventive  of  the  ague,  while  families 
which  did  not  have  a  supply  had  the  disease. 

— There  are  now  in  the  State  of  New  York  more 
than  500  cheese  factories,  using  the  milk  of  over 
200,000  cows.  P'rom  Herkimer  county  alone, 
18,172,913  pounds  of  cheese  were  shipped  last  year. 

— The  term  "spare  rib,"  as  applied  to  the  rib  of 
a  hog,  is  of  English  origin.  The  custom  there  of 
cutting  the  sides  of  a  hog  lengthwise  into  "flitches," 
close  to  the  ribs,  leaves  the  ribs  very  sparely  sup- 
plied with  meal ;  hence  the  term. 

— G.  W.  IIowc,  Mt.  Vision,  N.  Y.,  assures  the 
New  Y(n-k  Farmers'  Club  that  he  has  not  known 
the  following  prescription  to  fail  of  curing  bots  in 
a  single  CISC  for  over  thirty  years : — One  pint  of 
lard  a  little  above  milkwarm  and  poured  down  a 
a  horse. 

— In  rc;ily  to  a  correspondent  at  the  North,  who 
asks  to  liHow  the  best  place  at  the  South  to  raise 
small  fruits  for  market,  ISIr.  Meeker  of  the  Tribune, 
says,  "Stay  where  you  arc.  The  earliest  cucum- 
bers ill  New  York  arc  not  from  the  South,  but 
from  Boston.  Let  those  who  will,  languish  with 
fevers,  and  long  for  the  cooling  stream,  where 
insects  (ill  the  air  and  drop  from  the  ceiling;  let 
who  will,  crush  cabbage  worms  by  the  hour ;  start, 


while  at  work,  from  the  hiss  of  the  adder,  and 
anxiously  look  to  the  south  west,  over  parched 
fields  for  signs  of  rain;  but  let  us  cling  to  the 
grassy  horizon  of  the  North." 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  says 
that  throughout  the  corn  region  of  Central  Illinois, 
the  riding  or  wheel  cultivators  are  fast  becoming 
unpopular,  and  the  walking  double  cultivators  are 
taking  their  place.  An  improved  double-shovel 
plow  is  becoming  very  popular  there,  and  it  is 
thought  will  prove  of  great  value  in  cotton  and 
tobacco  fields. 

— Mrs.  M.  W.  Hayward,of  Natick,Mass.,  ^^Tites 
to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  that  some  of  her 
neighbors  have  been  paying  a  dollar  fortius  recipe 
for  washing  fluid :  2  lb.  of  sal  soda,  |  lb.  of  un- 
slaked lime,  2  gallons  boiling  water.  Let  it  stand 
till  perfectly  clear,  then  put  in  bottles.  Soak  the 
clothes  over  night — half  pint  fluid  to  a  boilerful — 
soap  them  and  boil  an  hour.    It  is  good. 

— One  beet  sugar  establishment  in  Germany  has 
a  capital  of  f  16,000,000,  employs  3000  operatives, 
and  occupies  buildings  which  cover  twelve  acres 
of  land.  European  makers  annually  dispose  of 
400,000  pounds.  The  importance  of  the  attempts, 
in  this  country,  to  encourage  this  branch  of  indus- 
try is  illustrated  by  the  statement  that  during  the 
year  ending  July  1,  sugars  valued  at  $39,595,677 
in  gold,  were  imported  into  the  United  States. 

— Texan  papers  assert  that  the  various  patent 
processes  for  preparing  beef  fur  northern  markets» 
by  canning,  infiltration,  &c.,  have  practically  failed. 
By  the  introduction  and  use  of  ice  machines,  by 
which  ice  is  manufactured  on  the  premises, the 
atmosphere  of  the  rooms  in  which  the  beef  is 
packed,  is  kept  so  cool  that  the  meat  docs  not  spoil 
during  the  operation,  and  cattle  may  now  be 
slaughtered  during  the  warmest  months  of  the 
year,  at  which  time  they  are  in  the  best  condition. 

— A  contributor  to  the  Farmer's  Adcertiser,  says 
that  l)y  feeding  young  colts  a  considerable  amount 
of  grain,  in  conjunction  with  hay  and  other  light 
articles  of  food,  they  thrive  better,  and  their  liuibs 
liecome  better  knit  than  when  fed  only  on  light 
food.  If  a  pi'oper  supply  of  food  be  withheld 
while  an  animal  is  young,  it  will  be  injured  in  its 
constitution,  and  conseiiueiitly  in  its  value,  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  any  saving  that  can  be  etloeted 
in  its  feed. 

— Man's  inhumanity  to  cows  is  often  illustrated 
by  abuse  of  the  animal  for  restlessness  caused  by 
tlie  i)ain  inflicted  in  milking  by  sharp  finger  nails. 
Mr.  J.  F.  Furman.  Segel,  Iowa,  writes  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club  that  one  of  his  co-.vs  had  al- 
ways been  very  sensitive,  but  that  affter  he  com- 
meneed  milking  by  clasping  his  fingers  clean 
around  her  teats  so  that  his  nails  could  not  hurt 
her,  she  become  gentle.  Sonic  cows  will  bear  the 
Itressurc  of  the  finger-nails  and  not  resent  it,  while 
others  will  flare  upon  the  first  grasp,  and  knock 
the  pail  across  the  yard;  then  comes  pounding  and 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER, 


469 


kicking.    Let  us  be  careful  with  our  cows,  and  not 
act  witliout  thinking. 

—A  correspondent  of  tlie  Rural  American  gives 
the  following  directions  for  making  cheap  "hoxcs" 
to  put  around  vines  to  keep  otF  hens  and  bugs :  go 
to  the  woods,  cut  down  Ijiisswood,  measure  off 
six  feet,  cut  ruund  the  tree,  split  open  the  bark  on 
top,  pcal  the  bark  off,  and  take  it  to  the  house ; 
saw  across,  in  pieces  aljout  six  inches  long;  bore 
a  small  hole  close  to  the  edge  where  split  open ; 
tie  a  string  to  keep  it  fron  rolling  up,  from  heat  of 
the  sun,  and  the  boxes  are  done. 

—Dr.  Hull,  of  Alton,  Illinois,  who  recently  vis- 
ited the  southern  portion  of  the  State  known  as 
Egypt,  found  orcharding  carried  on  to  an  extent 
that  bids  fair  to  overstock  the  whole  West  with 
fruit.  He  passed  from  orchard  to  orchard— two 
to  twenty  thousand  trees  were  common ;  one  man 
had  planted  15,000  pears  the  past  spring,  and 
would  plant  30,000  more  this  fall.  Strawberries 
had  paid  enormously ;  250  bushels  to  the  acre, 
netting  §5.75  per  bushel,  was  not  an  exceptional 
case. 

—After  the  Solons  of  the  New  York  Farmers' 
Club  had  gravely  decided,  at  a  recent  deljate,  that 
the  only  practical  means  of  protecting  fruit  from 
the  fiital  sting  of  the  curculio  was  to  jar  them 
upon  sheets  and  destroy  them  piecemeal,  Mr.  Rob- 
inson said:  "Nothing  but  thunder  and  lightning 
would  jar  my  apple  trees,  for  they  are  fifty  feet 
high.  Nor  could  I  hire  help  enough  for  .$200  to 
catch  the  curculio  among  the  thick  grass,  §100 
worth  of  which  would  be  destroyed ;  but  even  if  I 
should  go  into  all  this  business,  I  do  not  see  what 
good  it  would  do,  for  they  would  coine  from  my 
neighbors'  trees,  and  then  where  would  I  Ije  ?" 

—In  a  note  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  Mr. 
Storrs  Burrows,  of  Oneida  County,  N.  Y.,  says 
the  past  May  was  the  worst  lor  the  farmer  in  47 
years ;  the  greatest  number  of  rainy  days  and 
the  least  sunshine  in  any  May  since  1820.  It  has 
thundered  three  different  days.  White  frost  the 
10th,  16th,  21st,  and  27th.  Snow  the  14th.  On 
the  4th,  ground  froze  sufficiently  hard  to  bear  up 
ahorse.  We  have  had  7  and  46-100  inches  of 
rain ;  4-100  of  snow.  It  rained  from  the  5th  to  the 
9th,  from  the  13th  to  the  15ih,  from  the  17th  to  the 
20th,  and  from  the  22d  to  the  31st,  every  day. 
Cows  :  re  not  giving  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
usual  quantity  of  milk.  Our  cheese  factories  com- 
plain of  lignt  yields. 


EXTRACTS   AND    HEPLIES. 

GRAFTING    THE    GRAPE     VINE.— EGGS    ON    SQUASH 
VINES. 

How  shall  I  graft  my  grape  vines  ?  When  and 
where  shall  I  cut  off  the  top  ?  When  set  the  sci- 
ons and  how  many  buds  on  them  ?  Will  the  eggs 
that  are  on  the  niidcr  side  of  squash  vines  mature 
if  scraped  off  with  the  nail  on  to  the  ground ' 
How  prevent  maggots  from  destroying  squash 
vines  ?  How  get  rid  of  witch  (or  joint)  grass  in 
the  walk,  border  and  lawn  ?    One  of  my  neighbors 


says,  keep  it  from  going  to  seed  and  it  will  die,  like 
asparagus,  and  that  it  will  not  come  up  from  the 
seed,  but  neither  seem  reasona'ile.  Unc  more, 
when  and  how  set  slips  from  ciin-ants  ? 

A  New  SinsciaiiKii. 
Campello,  Mass.,  Aug.,  1867. 

Remarks.- We  have  never  grafted  the  grape 
vine,  and  shall  be  glad  to  have  some  ex;  eiienced 
person  enlighten  uur  correspondent. 

We  think  scraping  the  eggs  of  the  squash  bug 
from  the  under  side  of  the  vine,  and  dropping 
them  upon  the  ground,  would  destroy  them,  as 
being  attached  to  the  leaf  is  their  natural  po.^iion. 

We  cannot  inform  you  how  to  prevent  the  mag- 
got from  entering  and  destroying  squash  vines. 

See  recent  discussions  on  witch  grass  in  the 
Farmer. 

To  multiply  currant  bushes,  cut  slips  of  the  ncAV 
shoots  next  spring,  and  insert  them  in  moist  soil 
to  the  depth  of  six  to  ten  inches,  leaving  two  or 
three  buds  out.  It  is  better  to  dig  a  hole  with  a 
trowel  than  to  make  one  by  thrusting  a  stick  d<jwn, 
because  that  makes  the  sides  of  the  hole  very 
hard,  and  young  roots  will  not  strike  into  the  soil 
so  readily  as  when  it  is  lighter. 


CLAY    ox   sandy   AND    GRAVELLY   SOIL. 

A  neighbor  of  mine,  Mr.  H.,  has  a  piece  of  land 
of  a  gravelly  and  sandy  soil.  It  is  warm,  quick 
land,  and  will  produce  good  corn  and  grain  by 
IJUtting  on  a  large  supjily  of  manure  every  year. 
I  have  been  acquainted  with  the  land  tor  twent}-- 
five  years.  Near  it  there  is  a  Ijank  of  clay,  which 
is  very  convenient  for  carting.  For  the  last  six 
years  Mr.  H.  has  licen  dressing  this  hungry  soil 
with  this  clay,  with  remarkably  good  effect.  He 
says  he  had  rather  have  a  hundred  loads  of  clay 
than  a  hundred  loads  of  manure  on  that  land. 
The  manure  may  prc/duce  the  largest  eroi)  one  or 
two  years,  but  the  clay  is  more  permanent  in  its 
effects,  and  in  four  or  live  years  will  produce  moi-e 
than  the  manure. 

I  saw  the  land  and  examined  the  crops  on  it 
last  week,  and  believe  Mr.  H.  is  correct  in  his 
statements.  The  corn  had  been  badly  injured  by 
the  worms,  but  the  oats  were  splendid.  He  said 
that  he  could  keep  the  land  in  good  heart  with  the 
clay  dressing.  It  should  Ite  plowed  up  in  the  fiiU 
and  exposed  to  the  operation  of  f lost  during  win- 
ter. It  then  becouies  tine,  is  easily  slioveleil,  and 
readily  mixes  with  the  soil.  He  tips  up  a  load  in 
a  place,  spreads  and  plows  it  in.  As  there  is  plenty 
of  such  light  soil  in  New  England,  and  as  I  be- 
lieve such  beds  of  clay  or  other  suitable  material 
are  more  frequent  than  is  generally  supposed,  I 
have  thought  this  statement  of  my  neighbor's  suc- 
cess in  the  improvement  of  his  field,  might  benefit 
others.  Wherever  the  situation  is  such  that  twenty 
loads  per  day  can  be  carted  by  one  team,  such 
dressing  will  prove  a  good  investment.  We  can- 
not much  longer  subsist  without  replenishing  our 
lands  in  some  way.  O.  Foster. 

Tunbridge,  Vt.,  Aug.  11,  1867. 

Remarks.— Such  brief  hints  from  actual  farm 
practice  are  the  cream  of  our  agricultural  papers. 
Much  has  been  written  about  manures,  and  much 
more  must  be  written  before  the  subject  of  plant 
nutrition  is  fully  understood.  The  mechanical 
effect  of  a  dressing  of  heavy  soil  upon  a  light  one, 
or  of  sand  and  gravel  upon  a  heavy  soil,  is  more 
readily  understood  than  is    the    chemical  effect 


470 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


often  witnessed  from  the  mere  commingling  ofi 
soils.    To  farmers  who  are  so  situated  as  to  be  un- 1 
able  to  buy,  or  to  make  the  manure  necessary  to 
keep  up  the  fertility  of  their  fields,  the  subject  is  | 
one  of  interest. 

WILD  PIGEON. — Columba  Migratoria. 
This  well  known  bird, commonly  called  the  pas- ; 
senger  pigeon,  is  remarkable  fur  the  great  rapidity  j 
and  elegance  of  its  Hight.  It  is  supjioscd  to  l)e 
capable  of  moving  through  the  air  at  the  rate  of  a 
mile  a  minute.  The  most  singular  fact  in  the  nat- 
ural history  of  the  pigeon  is  their  countless  num- 
bers. Audul)on  saw  a  flock  that  coniaincd  "one 
Viillion,  one  hundred  sixteen  millions."  One  may 
live  many  years  and  \wl  sec  such  a  tiock  as  tliis, 
though  once  a  year  you  may  see  pigeons  enough  to 
astonish  you.  "The  passenger  is  smaller  than  the 
common  "house  pigeon.  Its  color  is  nearly  a  uni- 
form slate.  The  colors  are  deeper  in  the  male, 
and  the  neck  feathers  present  the  same  change- 
able hues  common  to  all  birds  of  this  species.  It 
is  only  when  freshly  caught  or  killed  that  these 
brilliant  tints  of  green  and  gold  can  be  seen  to  per- 
fection. They  fade  immediately  after  the  bird  is 
shot.  A  pigeon  roost  is  a  curiosity  well  worth  see- 
ing, and  no'laniruage  can  give  a  perfect  idea  of  the 
appearance  of  the  place  when  occupied  by  its  ten- 
ants. They  come  ijy  thousands  in  a  Hock,  and  set- 
tle upon  the  trees  around,  and  the  confusion  is  in- 
creased by  the  upper  limbs  breaking,  owing  to  their 
gi-eat  \vcil;ht,  and  falling  with  a  crash  upon  those 
who  have  alighted  beneath,  carrying  death  and  de- 
struction with  them.  A  noisy  scene  it  is.  The  clap- 
pin"-  of  a  million  pair  of  wings  sounds  like  the  roar 
of  thunder.  The  passenger  pigeons  breed  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States,  and  they  are  often  found 
as  far  north  as  Hudson's  Bay.  The  nests  are  built 
upon  high  trees,  resembling  immense  rookeries. 
The  e^-^-s  are  generally  two  in  number  and  pure 
white.°°Like  the  common  kind,  they  breed  several 
times  in  a  season.  h.  m. 

Northampton,  Mass.,  1867. 

Rem  AUKS. —When  a  boy,  we  used  to  see  pigeons 
enough  eveiy  spring  to  "astonish"  one.  We  have 
seen  but  few  of  late  years. 

LUNAR  INFLTIENCE. 

I  recollect  hearing  people  talk,  when  I  was  quite 
a  lad,  about  killing  pork,  sowing  gram,  cutting 
bushes  and  herbs,  and  doing  various  other  kinds 
of  labor  at  a  particular  time  in  the  age  of  the 
moon.  The  idea  always  seemed  absurd  to  me, 
and  as  I  grew  to  the  age  of  retlection,  I  concluded 
there  was  no  ground  for  such  a  belief.  I  com- 
menced a  series  of  practical  observations  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining,  if  possible,  the  truth  ot 
the  i)revalent  theory.  .         ^  ,„  t    <.,„„ 

When  I  began  to  do  business  for  myself,  I  often 
took  some  pains  to  do  such  work  as  was  said  to  be 
aflected  by  the  moon,  at  the  reputed  wrong  time, 
and  I  have  never  l)ccn  able  to  discover  any  diflcr- 
encc  in  my  crops,  in  cither  field  or  garden,  nor  be- 
tween my  own  crops  and  those  of  my  neighbors, 
other  circnmstanccs  bring  ccpial. 

I  have  always  found  that  those  farmers  succeed 
best,  who  plow  their  land  well,  and  sow  and  idant 
when  the  ground  is  in  a  proper  condition  to  receive 
the  seed,  witluuit  any  reference  to  the  lunar  orb  ; 
in  otiier  winds,  that  farming  on  the  earth  is  more 
relialilc  than  fanning  in  the  wooH. 

Among  the  many  whims  al)ont  lunar  innuence, 
is  one  which  I  heard  last  siiring.  The  weatiier 
had  liccii  very  wet  for  son  e  lime,  and  some  peo- 
i)le  licgan  to  i)e  desponding.  Calling  at  a  shop  to 
transact  some  l)usiiiess,tlie  good  lady  of  the  house 
said,  "Do  you  know  wc  arc  to  have  twenty  days 


of  rainy  weather  in  succession  ?"  I  replied,  "No, 
and  asked  the  reason.  "Because,"  said  she,  "the 
monn  changed  on  Saftirdatj .'"  I  was  furtln  r  in- 
formed that  a  change  very  seldom  oci  urs  on  that 
day.  Upon  further  inquiry,  I  ascertained  thtot 
this  profound  knowledge  was  obtained  from  the 
Almanac !  1  was  somewhat  surprised  at  so  much 
ignorance,  buc  made  no  reply.  I  came  home,  and 
at  the  first  opportunity.  I  examined  the  Almanacs 
for  several  years  past,  and  ascertained,  what  I  had 
no  reason  to  doubt,  that  the  new  moon  occurs  once 
or  twice  on  that  day  of  the  week  nearly  every 
year.  I  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  look  far- 
ther back  than  1860.  In  that  year  tivo  changes 
occurred  on  the  ill-omened  day  ;  in  1861,  three ;  in 
1862,  two;  in  1863,  one;  in  1864,  two;  in  1865, 
two;  in  1866,  one;  in  1867,  two;  fifteen  times  in 
eiqht  years.  By  this  it  will  appear  that  a  new 
nioon  on  the  last  day  of  the  week  is  no  great 
rarity.  I  believe  it  occurs  as  often  on  that  day  as 
on  any  other.  Now  in  regard  to  the  weather  fol- 
lowing such  changes.  I  find  liy  reference  to  a 
meteorological  record  which  I  have  kept  nearly 
twenty  yelirs,  that  in  the  twenty  days  next  su  > 
cecdiiig  each  of  the  al)oye  mentioned  changes,  not 
more  ihan  eight  were  at  anytime  attended  by  rain, 
until  this  year,  when  after  the  change,  5th  mo.  4th, 
rain  fell  in  eleven  days.  ,      .  i 

Like  the  belief  in  ghosts  and  witches,  the  idea 
that  the  moon  exerts  a  powerful  inlluenee  over 
animal  or  vegetable  life  must  yield  to  the  light  of 
knowledge,  and  will  ere  long  be  remembered  as  a 
relic  of  superstition. 

I  resolve  the  whole  theory  of  lunar  influence 
upon  vegetation  into  moonshine,  thus :  the  moon 
is  just  aslarge  one  day  as  another,  and  its  mean 
distance  from  the  earth  is  nearly  the  same,  hence 
the  force  of  its  attraction  must  he  about  the  same 
at  all  times,— this  is  shown  to  be  the  case  l)y  the 
reo-ularity  of  the  tides.  Now  the  dittcrent  phases 
of  "the  moon  are  caused  by  a  greater  or  less  amount 
of  light  reflected  from  that  luminary;  conse- 
quently, if  the  chauge,  quarter  or  full,  exerts  the 
influence  claimed  by  some,  it  must  be  caused  by 
the  amount  of  reflected  light ;  in  other  words,  by 
moonshine .' 

Reflect  upon  this,  ye  who  deem  pale  Cynthia  so 
puissant!  Lay  aside  your  prejudices,  and  exer- 
cise your  reason.  Never  take  an  assertion  for 
fact  even  though  it  may  have  descended  as  an 
heir-loom,  through  a  long  line  of  venerable  an- 
cestry. L.  Varney. 
Bloomfield,  C.  W.,  1th  mo.,  1867. 


SUBSTITUTE   FOR  TOLLEN. 

Your  New  Hampshire  correspondent  "F"  wishes 
for  a  substitute  for  "l)ee  bread."  I  would  like  to 
copy  an  article  from  Langstroth's  work  on  the 
honey  bee,  for  him.  „      ,       ,        , 

"Though  the  importance  of  pollen  has  long  been 
known,  it  is  only  of  late  that  any  attempts  have 
been  made  to  furnish  a  substitute.  Dzierzon,  early 
in  the  spring,  observed  his  bees  bringing  rye  meal 
to  their  hives  from  a  neighboring  null,  l)efore  they 
could  procure  any  pollen  from  natural  supplies.  1  he 
hint  was  not  lost;  and  it  is  now  a  conimou  prac- 
tice in  Europe,  where  lice-kecping  is  extensively 
carried  on,  to  supply  the  bees  early  in  the  season 
with  this  article.  Shallow  troughs  are  set  in  trout 
of  the  apiaries,  tilled  about  two  inches  deep  with 
finelii-nround,  dry,  unbolted  rgc  meal.  Thousands 
of  liees,  when  the  weather  is  favoral)lc,  resort 
eagerly  to  them,  and  rolling  themselves  in  the 
meal,  return  heavily  laden  to  their  hives.  In  hue. 
mild  weather,  they  "labor  at  this  work  with  great 
industry,  preferring  the  meal  to  the  old  pollen 
stored  in  the  coml)s.  They  thus  breed  early,  and 
rapidly  recruit  their  numbers.  The  feeding  is  con- 
tinued till  the  blossoms  furnishing  a  preferable  ar- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


471 


tide,  they  cease  to  carry  off  the  meal.  The  aver- 
age consumption  of  eacii  colony  is  about  two 
pounds." 

I  have  used  rye  meal  for  two  years  with  good 

success.  SELltAilC. 

IVorcester  Co.,  Mass.,  Aug.,  1867. 

TO    CURE    MILDEW    ON    GRAPE   VINES. 

One  pound  whale  oil  soap,  dissolved  in  one  quart 
hot  waicr.  Add  to  this  one  j)ound  pulverized  sul- 
phur and  eight  gallons  soft  water.  Let  it  stand 
from  six  to  eight  hours,  stirring  from  the  bottom 
of  barrel  or  tub,  three  or  four  times,  ■when  it  will 
be  ready  for  use.  Stir  well  before  using,  and  ap- 
ply with  garden  syringe.  Do  not  fear,  for  it  will 
not  injure  tlic  vine  or  fruit.  Let  every  leaf  have 
a  dose,  and  the  enemy  is  defeated.  It  is  a  cheap 
and  relialile  remedy.  I  have  used  it  with  success 
this  season  on  one  hundred  and  eighty  vines,  after 
all  other  "cures,"  as  they  are  termed,  had  failed. 
East  Walpole,  Mass.,  Aug.  10,  1867.  J.  M. 


THE    RANGE   OF    BEES'   FLIGHT. 

This  is  a  subject  of  great  importance  to  bee- 
keepers, as  it  has  been  supposed  that  bees  fly  only 
about  three  miles  when  collecting  honey,  conse- 
quently there  was  a  fear  of  overstocking  an  apiaiy. 
Having  ascertained  that  there  were  no  bees  on 
Kelly's  Island  (Lake  Erie),  in  the  spring  of  1866 
we  established  an  ajjiary  of  the  Italians  there,  for 
the  purpose  of  rearing  pure  queens  and  ascertain- 
ing the  flight  of  the  Italians  for  feed.  In  less  than 
a  week  after  they  commenced  to  fly,  they  were  bu- 
sily at  woi'k  on  the  other  end  of  the  island,  more  than 
/ive  miles  from  the  apiary.  This  season  we  intend  to 
carry  some  of  the  bees  in  a  boat  off  on  the  water, 
and  put  them  to  work  on  feed,  and  ascertain  just 
how  far  they  will  work  from  the  hives.  We  are  of 
the  opinion,  however,  that  they  will  not  fly  as  far 
across  the  water  as  on  the  land,  where  there  is  a 
continuous  supply  of  flowers  to  call  them  from  the 
hives.  We  will  report  further  on  the  matter  at  the 
close  of  the  season.         W.  A.  Flanders  &  Co. 

Shelby,  Ohio,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  shall  be  happy  to  publish  the 
result  of  your  experiments.  Such  statements  of 
facts  are  worth  far  more  than  mere  theorizing. 


SALT  THATCH  TO  COVER  STRAWBEhRY  PLANTS. 

Will  you  inform  me,  through  the  Farmer, 
whether  salt  thatch  would  be  good  covering  for 
strawberries  in  winter  ?  A.  Green. 

Amesbiiry,  Mass.,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  have  no  doubt  it  would.  All 
covering  should  be  slight,  and  whatever  saline 
matter  was  washed  from  the  thatch  would  be  very 
slight,  and  we  should  think  would  prove  useful. 
However,  we  have  never  known  it  used,  and  would 
cdvise  to  employ  it  cautiously. 


about  1100  times  in  one  year,  so  that  the  saving 
of  labor  witli.  stanchions  is  quite  an  item,  especially 
as  small  children  or  women  can  occasionally  take 
care  of  the  cattle,  who  could  not  if  they  were  fas- 
tened with  chains.  Cattle  get  very  dirty  in  chains 
by  lying  in  the  manure,  getting  wet  and  uncom- 
fortable, while  in  my  stanchions  they  lie  to  one 
side  of  where  they  stand  and  keep  themselves 
much  cleaner.  a.  l.  w. 

Hope,  Me.,  Aug.  2,  1867. 


STANCHIONS   FOR   CATTLE. 

I  noticed  an  article  some  time  since  In  the  Far- 
mer, written  by  "C.  H.  W."  of  Wiscasset,  oliject- 
ing  to  stanchions  as  "barbarous,"  &e.  I  will  allow 
that  the  stationary  ones  are  so,  but  I  am  using,  as 
are  many  others  in  this  section,  a  kind  that  are  as 
easy  as  chains,  while  they  are  more  safe,  conven- 
ient, and  much  better  every  way.  There  are  many 
disadvantages  in  the  use  of  chains.  They  are  not 
safe,  cattle  often  getting  badly  hurt  or  killed ; 
they  break  and  let  the  cattle  loose ;  they  are  un- 
safe for  children  to  tie  with,  and  inconvenient  for 
any  one.  I  turn  out  my  cattle  twice  each  day  in 
winter,  and  once  a  day  in  summer,  which  makes 


CUTTING    GRAIN. 

Having  a  piece  of  grain  so  badl.y  beat  down  and 
crippled  by  the  late  storms,  that  "we  were  unal)le 
to  cut  it  with  the  cradle,  we  determined  to  try  it 
with  the  mower;  raking  oif  by  hand  each  swath 
as  fast  as  cut  liy  the  machine. 

We  found  this  plan  to  succeed  quite  well,  and 
the  grain  was  gathered  in  bundles,  as  nearly 
straight,  perhaps,  as  could  have  been  done  in  any 
other  way,  from  the  bad  condition  the  storms  had 
left  the  field. 

There  was,  however,  one  serious  objection  to 
this  plan.  The  team  had  to  stand  still  much  the 
larger  part  of  the  time  ;  the  two  rakers  not  being 
I  al)le  to  gather  near  as  last  as  it  fell  from  the  knives 
i  of  the  machine.  There  were  about  three  acres  of 
the  rye,  and  after  spending  two  or  three  hours  on 
it  we  found  the  field  was  not  cut  by  considerable. 

Another  expedient  was  then  hit  upon,  which 
succeeded  somewhat  beyond  our  expectations, 
and  we  have  thought  that  some  account  of  it 
might  perhaps  furnish  a  hint  to  some  reader  of  the 
Farmer,  in  like  circumstances. 

The  plan  was  as  follows  :  a  piece  of  stout  rope, 
some  five  or  six  feet  in  length,  was  procured.  One 
end  of  this  was  made  fast  to  the  outside  shoe ;  the 
other  end  was  knotted  and  slipped  into  the  slot  of 
the  "bar  latch."  Another  rope,  a  little  longer  than 
the  first,  was  then  attached  to  the  machine  in  like 
manner.  The  shorter  rope,  as  the  grain  pressed 
on  it,  was  kept  about  a  foot  or  so  above  the  longer 
one.  The  longer  one  was  kept  on  the  ground  by 
the  weight  of  a  stick  four  feet  in  length  and  about 
the  size  of  a  fork  handle ;  the  stick  having  a 
short  fork  or  crotch  on  the  end  next  the  straw. 
This  served  to  gather  the  grain  by  sweeping  it 
along  with  the  machine  as  it  fell. 

When  a  good  lot  of  it  was  thus  gathered — say 
fifty  to  a  hundred  pounds — the  machine  was  stop- 
ped, backed  up  a  little,  and  the  gi-ain,  with  but 
little  trouble  or  delay,  taken  up  and  laid  in  bunches 
ready  for  binding.  The  straw  falling  in  one  di- 
rection was  swept  along  as  fast  as  cut,  the  butts 
coming  together  nicely,  while  the  heads,  from  lay- 
ing in  all  directions,  were  necessarily  gathered  in 
about  the  same  positions ;  though  occasionally  a 
lot  was  found  wonderfully  straight  and  even. 

Now,  neighbor  farmers,  we  don't  pretend  that 
this  will  serve  every  purpose  just  as  well  as  a  reap- 
ing machine,  though  the  reaper  is  far  from  being 
as  perfect  a  machine  as  the  mower.  But  one  thing 
is  certain,  we  shall  not  wait  very  long  "for  the 
man  to  get  ready  to  come  to  do  our  cradling"  an- 
other year.  r. 
Chestnut  Hills  Farm, 
Norfolk,  Mass.,  Aug.  15,  1867. 


bee-bread — MANAGEMENT   OF   BEES. 

Your  correspondent,  "F.,"  must  be  mistaken  in 
supposing  that  his  bees  died  from  the  lack  of  liee- 
bread.  I  have  kept  bees  for  ten  years,  but  I  never 
heard  of  bees  dying  from  this  cause  before.  I 
know  that  bee-bread  alone  will  not  keep  bees  alive ; 
and  I  also  know  that  honey  will,  as  long  as  they 
can  get  it.  Many  colonies  starve  every  winter, 
even  when  there  is  plenty  of  honey  in  the  hive, 
owing,  in  part,  to  the  way  the  comb  is  built  in  such 


472 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


hives.  Bees  sometimes  build  their  combs  down, 
without  leaving  any  holes  to  puss  through  from 
comb  to  comb,  and  if  the  owner  fails  to  malie  any 
winter  passages  in  the  fall,  three  colonies  out  of 
five  will  die  l)efore  spring. 

Now  I  contend  that  all  bee-keepers  should  know 
how  the  combs  are  built  in  this  respect.  He  should 
aho  see  to  it  tliat  they  have  plenty  of  lioney,  a 
good  queen,  and  are  free  from  worms,  &c.  Any 
Ijee-keeper  who  has  the  frame  hives  in  common 
use,  can  know  all  al)out  his  bees  at  any  time  dur- 
ing the  winter  or  summer,  and  if  he  does  not  at- 
tend to  these  things  he  will  proljably  lind  bee- 
keeping unprofitable.  We  are  using  a  frame  hive 
liere  (in  Essex  County,  Mass.,)  which  is  as  near 
perfect  as  a  hive  can  be,  for  wintering  bees.  We 
have  wintered  bees  in  tliem  for  the  last  two  sea- 
sons, and  when  these  liives  were  opened  in  the 
spring,  tliey  were  found  to  be  free  from  mould  or 
moisture,  and  the  combs  were  as  clean  and  bright 
as  at  any  time  during  the  summer.  Bees  in  these 
hives  do  not  consume  near  so  much  honey  during 
the  winter,  as  those  do  which  are  in  coujmon  hives. 
The  hives  were  described  by  your  correspondent 
"W."  in  the  Faumek  of  August  10. 

Mr.  John  Gould,  of  VVenham,  had  fifty-one 
stocks  last  spring;  twelve  of  which  were  in  the 
hives  alluded  to,  and  these  colonies  were  the  lirst 
ones  to  swarm,  and  the  colonics  whicii  made  tlie 
largest  amount  of  sur|ilus  lunicy.  These  hives 
are  so  constructed  that  corn  cobs  can  be  placed  in 
the  winter  directly  over  the  bees,  which  keeps 
out  the  colli,  preserves  the  heat,  absorbs  ail  the 
moisture  wliicli  rises  from  the  bees,  and  secures 
good  winter  passages  for  the  bees  to  pass  from  one 
com  I)  to  another. 

If  your  correspondent  had  such  a  hive  as  this, 
he  would  lose  less  bees,  and  have  better  success, 
generally,  in  keeping  them.  H.  Alley. 

Wenham,  Mass.,  Aug.  20,  1867. 

MURIATE   OR   Bl'TYK    OF   ANTIMONY. 

Has  any  one  ever  used  Butter  of  Antimony  for 
foot  rot  in  sliec)),  so  that  they  can  tell  us  whether 
it  will  cure,  without  any  thing  else,  if  applied  to 
the  foot,  and  whether  it  as  good  as  vitriol  r 

Roxbury,  Vt.,  Aug.  20,  1«67.  Y.  f. 

REiLiRKS. — We  are  not  certain  what  our  corres- 
pondent means  by  the  expression,  "without  any 
thing  else."  Water  will  put  out  fire,  "without  any 
thing  else."  But  if  a  fire  is  kindled  in  the  ceiling 
of  your  hoiujc,  floods  of  water  dashed  against 
the  outside  clapboards,  or  the  inside  walls,  might 
not  quench  it.  The  experienced  fireman,  in  such 
case,  would  at  once  make  an  opening,  and  "play 
away"  directly  upon  the  fire.  When  the  heat  and 
blaze  were  subdued,  he  might  "hold  on,"  but  he 
would  carefully  examine  for  some  smouldering 
heap,  or  mere  sparli,  which,  having  escaped  his 
stream  of  water,  might  kindle  into  a  new  confla- 
gration. Thus  with  the  inflamed  foot  of  the  sheep ; 
the  remedy  must  be  applied  directly  to  the  dis- 
eased part,  and  so  thoroughly  as  to  "put  out"  every 
spark  or  germ  of  the  disease,  or  a  radical  cure  will 
not  be  efiected.  It  is  diflicult  to  do  this  when  the 
disorder  has  secured  a  lodgment  under  the  hoof 
and  about  the  claws  of  the  poor  sheep.  And  it  is 
idle  to  expect  that  any  "application  to  the  foot"  of 
the  best  medicine  in  the  world,  "without  any  thing 
else,"  will  infallibly  cure  so  insidious  a  disease 
as  the  hoof-rot.  With  the  proper  preparation  of 
the  foot,  and  the  necessary  subsequent  care,  we 


presume  that  butyr  of  antimony  is  a  reliable  rem- 
edy. A  correspondent  of  the  Ohio  Farmer  says 
that  he  has  cured  over  four  hundred  sheep  by  its 
use.  He  pares  tlie  hoofs  of  those  that  are  alfected 
very  closely,  cutting  away  carefully  every  diseased 
part,  then  with  a  feather,  or  small  brush,  applies 
the  antimony  very  thoroughly.  He  also  brushes 
in  a  little  between  the  hoofs  of  those  which  show 
no  signs  of  the  disease.  He  overhauls  all  his 
sheep  once  in  two  weeks,  and  generally  finds  five 
or  six  applications  to  remove  the  disease  entirely. 
After  specifying  ten  recipes  that  are  in  common 
use,  the  most  popular  one  in  Central  New  York 
being  1  lb.  vitriol,  5  to  ^  lb.  verdigris,  1  pint  lin- 
seed oil,  and  1  quart  of  tar.  Dr.  Randall  says  "any 
of  these  remedies,  and  fifty  more  that  might  be 
compounded,  simply  by  combining  caustics,  stim- 
ulants, &c.,  in  diflfcrent  proportions  and  forms,  will 
prove  suthcient  for  the  extirpation  of  hoof-rot, 
with  proper  preparatory  and  subseqtient  treatmeyit. 
On  these  last,  beyond  all  question,  principally  de- 
jlends  the  comparative  success  of  the  application." 
Consequently,  we  cannot  i-ecommend  the  butyr  of 
antimony  "without  any  thing  else." 


GARGET   IN   COWS. 

Will  you  or  some  of  your  numerous  correspon- 
dents, tell  me  what  I  shall  do  for  my  cow  ?  She 
has  what  is  called  the  garget  in  her  I)ag.  What  is 
the  cause  of  it,  and  how  shall  I  treat  it  ?  By  re- 
plying to  the  aliove  you  will  much  oblige  one  who 
has  taken  the  Farmer  as  many  years  as  any  other 
person.  p. 

Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  Aug.  21,  1867. 

Remarks. — This  disorder,  which  it  is  feared  is 
on  the  increase  in  our  dairies,  is  ascribed  to  vari- 
ous causes.  It  is  sometimes  produced  by  exter- 
nal injury.  It  is  often  ascribed  to  colds  contracted 
by  exposure  to  the  changes  and  storms  of  our  cli- 
mate. While  others  believe  that,  like  the  gout  in 
the  human  foot,  garget  in  cows  often  results  from 
high  feeding,  and  from  the  preternatural  develop- 
ment of  the  lacteal  organs  produced  by  such  high 
feeding,  and  by  a  long  course  of  breeding  for  the 
special  purpose  of  securing  a  race  of  deep  milkers. 
Two  years  ago  the  subject  was  somewhat  exten- 
sively discussed  in  our  columns,  but  as  we  did  not 
then  print  a  monthly  edition  of  the  valuable  sug- 
gestions of  our  practical  correspondents,  and  as 
we  furnish  no  index  to  our  weekly  sheet,  few  of 
our  readers  will  be  able  to  refer  to  the  courses  of 
treatment  then  recommended.  One  writer  who 
does  not  object  to  medicines,  cither  external  or  in- 
ternal, if  you  cannot  get  along  without  them,  says 
that  whenever  a  cow  comes  home  affected  with  the 
garget,  he  puts  her  in  the  cow-house  where  she 
has  a  warm  dry  bed,  feeds  her  on  dry  ha)',  and 
allows  her  to  go  to  pasture  but  a  short  time  the 
next  day — in  one  word,  as  another  correspondent 
said,  he  treats  her  as  jjatients  should  be  treated 
with  a  cold  and  inflammation,  believing  that,  in 
the  particular  case  alluded  to,  the  cow  had  actu- 
ally taken  cold  from  lying  upon  the  damp  ground. 
P'requent  milking,  with  gentle  and  patient  rubbing 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMT^R, 


473 


and  kneading  of  the  bag,  and  washing  with  warm 
water ;  or  spirits  and  water ;  or  camphor  and  vine- 
gar; or  soft  soap  diluted  in  water;  or  lime  water, 
about  as  tliick  as  white-wash,  mixed  witli  an  equal 
quantity  of  flax  seed  oil,  well  beaten  together 
wiih  a  knife,  as  an  ointment;  ortincture  of  arnica, 
M'ith  twice  as  much  water,  or  rum  and  water;  or 
bitter  sweet  ointment,  or  any  similar  application 
that  requires  or  encourages  much  rubbing  and 
working  of  the  bag.  To  move  the  bowels,  a  good 
mess  of  potatoes,  or  garget  root,  or  horseradish, 
or  from  four  to  eight  drops  of  tincture  aconite 
dropped  on  a  piece  of  bread,  and  mixed  with  her 
feed,  or,  as  was  confidently  recommended,  by  Mr. 
G.  W.  Steams,  of  Brookline,  Mass.,  a  heaped 
spoonful  of  saltpetre  well  mixed  with  any  "mess" 
the  cow  will  eat,  may  be  administerea. 

AVAS    IT   A   "FAILURE  ?" 

H.  Griffln,  Esq.,  Essex  Junction,  Vt.,  says: 
"That  winter  wheat,  that  I  told  you  I  was  going  to 
sow  last  spring,  which  was  frozen  and  sprouted 
before  sowing,  as  well  as  some  I  sowed  in  the  field 
dry,  proved  a  failure."  Should  Mr.  G.  sow  his 
spring  oats  and  garden  seeds  in  the  fall,  we  should 
call  it  a  blunder,  not  a  "failure."  Winter  wheat- 
is  not  to  l)e  sown  in  spring.  We  cannot  tamper 
with  natural  laws.  h.  p. 

Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Aug.  23,  1867. 

■WHAT   WE    WILL   DO. 

But  though  part  of  our  time  should  be  given  to  mirth. 
A  part,  too,  we'll  spend  in  improving  the  earth, 

For  we'll  rise  with  the  dawn, 

Plant  squashes  and  corn, 

Potatoes  and  roots, 

And  all  kinds  of  fruits; 

Keep  bees  for  their  honey. 

And  thus  save  our  money 
To  provide  us  with  plenty  in  seasons  of  dearth. 

SuBSCaiBER, 

Dedham,  Mass.,  Ang.  7,  1867. 

STEAWnr.KRIES. 

I  intend  trying  to  raise  a  few  strawberries,  also 
a  few  blackberries,  in  my  garden  next  year,  if  I 
can  procure  scune  nice  plnnts.  Can  you  iiiform  me 
the  lest  kinds  to  cultivate,  and  how  to  cultivate 
the  same.  Whore  can  they  be  obtnined,  and  at 
what  prices  ?  What  time  of  year  is  best  to  set 
thi'in  ?  C".  INI.  Mansfield. 

West  Berkshire,  Vt.,  Aug.  23,  1867. 

Remarks. — In  common  with  many  others  in 
this  latitude,  we  have  had  poor  success  in  ripening 
the  Lawton  and  other  "garden  blackberries." 
Strawberries  are  as  easily  raised  as  potatoes  or 
cabbnges,  if  you  keep  the  chickens  and  weeds  out 
of  the  bed.  Hovcy's  Seedling  is  still  popular  with 
our  maiket  gardeners.  Probably  some  of  your 
village  neighbors  can  ^upllly  you  with  plants.  All 
nursery  men  have  them  for  sale.  Spring  is  per- 
haps the  licst  time  for  transplanting,  but  then  you 
must  wait  till  the  next  year  for  fruit.  August  is 
a  good  time,  if  rainy,  or  September  will  answer. 
Take  well  rooted  runners  in  preference  to  old 
stumps,  and  don't  let  the  roots  dry.  The  land 
should  be  in  good  order  for  a  large  crop  of  corn. 
The  rows  may  be  three  feet  or  so  apart,  and  the 
plants  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches  in  the  row. 


We  have  practiced  the  plan  of  working  up  a  slight 
ridge  in  the  centre  of  the  furrow  or  trench  for 
rows,  over  which  the  roots  are  spread  and  covered, 
leaving  the  plants,  if  the  soil  is  rather  dry,  a  little 
below  the  general  surface.  A  sjjrinkling  of  ashes 
is  very  good.  A  mulch  of  leaves,  or  other  mate- 
rials without  the  seeds  of  weeds  or  grass,  applied 
in  the  fall,  will  protect  the  plants  and  make  a  clean 
bed  for  the  fruit. 


LIME    AND    SALT   FOB   HAY. 

Last  season  the  Secretary  of  the  Little  Falls, 
N.  Y.,  Fanners'  Club,  and  editor  of"  the  Utica 
Herald,  opposed  very  decidedly  the  practice 
of  using  salt  or  lime  in  curing  hay.  lie  con- 
fessed that  he  Lad  bad  no  experience  in  liie  use 
of  lime,  but  said  that  salt  injures  stock  by 
compelling  the  animals  at  times  to  eat  more 
salt  than  the  system  needed.  He  had  seen 
cows  fed  on  hay  salted  in  the  mow,  and  appa- 
rently of  good  quality,  which  produced  very 
bad  results,  running  the  stock  down  thin  and 
poor,  and  necessitating  an  entire  abandonment 
of  its  use.  A  correspondent  of  the  Country 
Gentleman  who  had  abandoned  the  use  of  salt 
after  six  years'  trial,  alluded  to  the  above  arti- 
cle as  pleasing  evidence  that  one  sensible  man 
agreed  with  him  on  that  subject. 

On  the  contrary,  another  writer  for  the 
Country  Gentleman,  stated  that  he  had  for 
some  twenty  years  used  about  six  quarts  of 
salt  to  a  ton  of  hay,  and  it  was  free  from  must, 
and  was  bright  and  fragrant  as  tea.  One 
year,  his  hay  being  cut  without  a  drop  of  rain, 
the  salt  was  omitted,  and  musty  and  inferior 
hay  was  the  result. 

A   correspondent   of    the     Western    llural 

makes  the  following  statement : — 

My  hay  was  rather  moist  when  I  put  it  in  the 
mow.  Isaltcd  it,  as  I  always  do,  and  limed  it  with 
iiir  slacked  liuuv,  putting  on  two  or  three  quarts  to 
the  ton,  at  intervals,  as  when  salting  hay.  The 
hay  when  fed  out  in  winter  had  no  must  at)oiit  it, 
and  was,  in  quality,  equal  to  any  that  had  been 
put  up.  The  kind"  was,  in  part,  a  mixture  of  tim- 
othy and  redtop,  and  one  lot  was  made  up  of  tim- 
othy and  clover. 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Irasburg,  Vt.,  Far- 
mers' Club,  the  following  statement  was 
made  by  Mr.  S.  K.  Locke  of  Irasburg,  who 
keeps  250  sheep,  20  head  of  cattle  and  three 
or  lour  horses. 

Some  of  the  hay  was  put  in  so  green  that, 
under  ordinary  circumstances  it  woukl  have  been 
nearly  spoiled  by  heating;  but  he  api'licd  fVom 
two  to  four  quarts  of  salt,  and  an  equal  quantity 
of  slacked  lime  to  each  ton  of  hay,  and  the  hay 
was  fdutul  uninjured  and  in  good  condition,  and 
all  the  stock  did  well,  and  the  horses  especially 


474 


NEW   ENGLAND   FAEMER. 


Oct. 


gained  flesh.  The  hay  in  the  pitehingplacc,  where 
pressed  hard,  came  out  uninjured.  Salt  and  lime 
do  no  good  where  the  hay  is  dry,  as  moisture  is 
required  to  change  them  and  give  them  preserving 
power.    He  thinks  they  are  healthy. 

At  a  late  discussion  of  the  subject  of  hay- 

makinff,  by  the  Little  Falls,  N.  Y.,  Farmers' 

Club,  Mr.  Joslyn  stated  that  he  had  been  very 

successful  in  treating  hay  with  lime  and  salt 

mixture. 

To  four  quarts  of  salt  add  two  quarts  of  lime ; 
mix,  and  of  the  mixture  use  three  quarts  per  ton 
of  hay  ;  scatter  over  the  hay  in  the  mow  when  the 
load  is  half  off,  and  again  when  the  load  is  otf. 
Commenced  using  this  mixture  iReven  years  ago, 
and  since  that  time  has  not  had  a  sick  horse  or 
cow.  The  hay  can  be  put  in  green  and  comes  out 
green,  and  with  no  dust.  Horses  fed  on  such  hay 
do  not  have  the  heaves ;  his  horses  used  to  be 
troubled  with  heaves,  but  have  not  had  any  of  this 
trouble  since  he  commenced  using  the  salt  and 
lime. 

SOILS   BUriTNING   OUT. 

"It  is  plain,  we  think,  that  lands  will  not  run 
out  of  themselves, — but  there  is  no  doul)t  but  they 
may  be  run  out.  An  incessant  cropping  without 
any  return  will  reduce  theirfertility.  They  cannot 
forever  satisfy  the  cry,  give,  giNC,  unless  some- 
thing be  given  back  again.  Yet  Mother  Earth  is 
generous  other  Ijounties,  and  gives  more  than  she 
requires.  She  will  kindly  loan  us  the  whole  of 
her  productions,  if  we  will  return  them  after  using. 
By  a  strict  compliance  with  this  requirement, 
we  may  secure  her  bounties." 

Some  farmers  appear  to  favor  the  belief  that 
there  is  a  natural  and  incorrigible  tendency  in 
all  soils  to  "run  out,"  or  grow  annually  less 
and  less  productive,  however  great  may  be  the 
attention  and  care  bestowed  upon  them.  This, 
however,  is  an  error.  That  land  has  "run 
out,"  and,  indeed,  is  perpetually  seen  to 
be  doing  so,  under  the  careless  management 
of  many  who  style  themselves  farmers,  is  a 
position  too  apparent  to  admit  of  a  doubt ;  but 
that  this  waste  of  productive  energies  is  at- 
tributable to  any  innate  tendency  to  "run  out," 
or  become  unproductive  when  properly  man- 
aged, we  can  no  more  believe,  than  that  the 
atmosphere  is  annually  becoming  less  capable 
of  sustaining  animal  life.  The  quantity  of 
oxygen  contained  in  the  latter  is  always  the 
same ;  and  in  all  cases  fully  adequate  to  the 
performance  of  the  offices  and  functions  as- 
signed to  it;  yet,  if  we  should  confnie  our- 
selves to  a  room  containing  only  so  many  gal- 
lons of  oxygen,  and  which  might  suffice  to  sus- 
tain life  for  a  day  only,  we  should  not  expect 
to  enjoy  health,  or  to  retain  life,  after  it  had 
been  exhausted. 

So  with  the  soil.  If  a  course  of  severe 
cropping  is  adopted,  we  find  that,   after  a  cer- 


tain time,  and  after  a  certain  amount  of  staple 
has  been  abstracted  from  it,  its  resources  be- 
gin to  fail,  and  finally  become  exhausted.  It 
has  produced  all  it  is  capable  of  producing, 
and  to  ensure  a  continuance  of  productiveness, 
that  of  which  it  has  been  deprived  must  be 
returned  in  the  form  of  manure. 

Could  all  the  vegetable  matter  perfected  by 
an  acre  of  land  be  returned  to  it,  it  would, 
with  the  working  which  cultivated  soils  gener- 
ally receive,  be  more  than  competent  to  retain 
it  in  its  pristine  health  and  vigor, — for  plants 
of  all  kinds  derive  a  portion  of  their  suste- 
nance from  other  sources  than  the  earth,  as 
from  the  atmosphere,  for  instance,  and  perhaps 
from  other  sources  also, — but  this  is  not  done, 
and,  as  a  purely  natural  and  strictly  inevita- 
ble result,  the  soils  "run  out." 

In  one  of  our  agricultural  publications,  a 
writer,  after  some  very  judicious  and  well- 
toned  remarks  on  the  subject  of  manuring 
says : — 

"I  still  maintain  that  lands  will  not  run  out 
of  themselves.  If  left  in  the  state  of  nature, 
or  after  having  been  cleared,  if  left  uncropped, 
it  is  well  known  they  will  fully  retain  their  nat- 
ural state  of  productiveness.  It  is  even  as- 
serted, and  with  good  reason,  that  lands  left 
uncropped  will  actually  gain  in  fertility.  And 
why  should  they  not  ?  Vegetables  derive  con- 
siderable part  of  their  nutriment  fi'om  the  at- 
mosphere, if  therefore  they  are  left  to  rot  on 
the  ground  they  will  return  to  it  not  only  all 
they  derived  from  it,  biit  also  that  portion 
which  was  derived  fr^i  the  atmosphere,  ex- 
cept what  may  escape  during  their  decomposi- 
tion in  the  form  of  gas,  which  is  doubtless 
considerable.  But  if  instead  of  being  left  to 
rot  on  the  ground  the  crop  be  ploughed  in, 
then  the  soil  will  be  enriched  by  the  whole 
amount  of  nutriment  which  the  plants  derived 
from  the  atmosphere.  It  would,  therefore,  be 
of  service  to  know  what  crops  deri\e  the 
greatest  proportion  of  their  noin'ishmcnt  from 
the  atmosphere,  as  there  would  be  an  advan- 
tage in  selecting  those  for  green  crops  to 
plough  in." 


13^  The  farmers  in  Amesbury,  Salisbury, 
and  West  Newbury,  have  been  deceived  and 
sold  by  a  dashing  fellow  who  has  been  visiting 
them  with  a  splendid  team,  selling  patent  ma- 
chines by  which  great  weight  could  be  lifled — 
a  load  of  hay  or  a  ton  of  stones  at  one  time — 
and  put  in  any  desired  location.  The  ma- 
chines were  to  be  delivered,  and  their  notes 
were  taken  in  payment.  The  notes  were  sold 
in  Ilav(;rhill  and  in  second  hands  become  good 
against  the  givers,  while  no  value  is  or  ever 
will  be  received. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


475 


A    VEBMONT   REPORT    ON   SCOURED    MERINO   FLEECES. 


Owners'  Names. 


"3 
a 
o 

1 

9 

1 

ZftS.   00. 

lbs.    OS. 

/6s.  o». 

2 

116 

17   8 

7   8^ 

2 

120   8 

18   8 

6   12 

4 

123 

20   8 

6 

1 

74 

12 

4    4 

2 

127 

20 

4 

1 

113 

15   4 

6   13^ 

1 

90 

12 

6   16| 

2 

60 

9  12 

5   14i 

3 

85 

9   8 

5   if 

3 

79 

10   8 

4   11 

1 

69 

9 

4   9 

2 

62 

12   8 

4   9 

3 

76   8 

10   8 

4   31 

3 

68 

9 

4   4 

1 

49 

5 

3   15| 

2 

53 

8 

3   14 

1 

45   8 

8 

3   14i 

1 

45 

9 

3   11^ 

2 

50 

7 

3   lOi 

2 

60 

8 

4   13 

1 

58 

8   8 

4   8 

1 

70 

12   8 

4   11)1 

2 

81 

10 

4   3i 

2 

60   8 

7   8 

3   lui 

1 

45   8 

8   4 

4   3| 

1 

60   8 

7   8 

3   10^ 

^^ 


c  g 
<5 


<3 


ifams. 

Wiley  &  Bo.-worth,* 
Kdwin  Piper,*.  .  .  , 
H.  &  N.  Locke,*  .   .   .   , 

D.  ]).   Williaivs,*.   . 
Henry  Saft' inl,*  .   .   .   , 
J.  n.  Walker,  .   .   .   .   , 
N.  P.   Wliite,  .   .   .   .   , 

Ewes. 
C.  Horace   Hubbard,*  , 
C.  Horace   Flubbard,*  , 

E.  X.  Pierce,* 

J.  (>»  Davis,* 

M.  C.  Houiidv,*  .  .  .  . 
C.  Hora.e  Hubbard,*  . 
C.  Horace  Hubljard,*  , 
O.  W.Pdlcifer,*.  .  .  . 
M.  C.  Koundy,*  .  .  .  . 
Arthur  Williams,*  .  , 
George  Wiley,*  .  .  .  . 
M.  C.  Houiidy,*  .  .  .  . 
Leverett  Drown,  .  .  , 
Jamert  E.  White,  .  .  . 
liBverett  Hrown,  .  .  . 
James  R.  Walker,  .  .  , 
C.  W.  Pulcifer,  .  .  .  . 
C.  &  L.  G.Ellis,.  .  . 
C.  &  L.   G.  Ellis,  .   .   . 


369 
355 
365 
3-(0 
360 
360 
370 

362 
365 
348 
365 
3H9 
365 
369 
365 
369 
370 
390 
369 
3ci5 
366 
335 
365 
329 
375 
375 


7.449 
6.940 
6 

4.C78 
.055 
.924 
.8»7 

5.9.54 

6.0r)3 

4.915 

4,562 

4.522 

4.'.il8 

4.203 

3968 

3  832 

3.754 

3.390 

3.307 

6  304 

4.S 

4.312 

4.217 

4.021 

3.923 

3.741 


.0642 
.0575 
.0487 
.0551 
.0319 
.0524 
.0354 

.0991 
.0599 
.0622 
.0773 
.0729 
.0551 
.0618 
.0813 
.0723 
.0825 
.07  53 
.C661 
.1048 
.0775 
.0616 
.0520 
.0664 
.0.^84 
.0668 


f6.75 

63.51 

70.73 

64.58 

80 

57.82 

50.26 

39.42 
46,39 
55.35 
49.30 
63.49 
59.S2 
62.77 
20.62 
51.62 
62.43- 
58.68 
47.76 
39  84 
47.05 
62.74 
57.82 
51.66 
48.86 
51.25 


I 


The  foregoing  tabular  statement  embodies 
the  results  of  the  scouring  of  twenty-six  fleeces 
of  wool  under  the  direction  of  the  spirited  ag- 
ricultural society  of  the  town  of  Springfield, 
Vt.,  of  which  C.  Horace  Hubbard  is  President. 
These  sheep  were  publicly  shorn  April  25th, 
under  the  superintendence  of  a  committee 
consisting  of  Hon.  J.  W.  Colburn,  Messrs.  H. 
M.  Arms,  B.  F.  Dana,  aftSfl  L.  R.  White.  The 
sheep  were  weighed  to  half  a  pound,  and  the 
fleeces  to  half  an  ounce.  The  fleeces  were 
tied  with  a  uniform  quantity  of  twine,  which 
was  included  in  the  gross  weight  of  the  fleeces, 
but  not  in  that  of  scoured  wool.  Si.x  of  the 
fletJCGS  were  scoured  at  the  mill  of  Holmes, 
Whittemore  &  Co.,  in  Springfield,  and  the 
other  twenty  at  the  mill  of  James  Tilton,  iii 
Cavendish,  and  all  under  the  immediate  per- 
sonal supervision  of  Henry  M.  Arms  of  the 
committee,  and  were  vm i form ly  and  thoroughly 
cleansed,  and  carefully  weighed. 

By  way  of  explanation  of  the  foregoing 
table,  the  committee  in  their  report,  published 
in  the  Country  Gentleman,  append  the  follow- 
ing remarks : 

The  first  five  fleeces  in  the  ram  list,  and  the 
first  twelve  in  the  ewe  list,  (marked  *,)  are 
from  thoroughbred  Spanish  Merinos,  the  others 
from  grades.  The  weights  of  carcass,  of 
fleeces  unwashed  and  scoured,  are  stated  in 


pounds  and  ounces ;  the  other  weights  in 
pounds  and  decimals. 

]t  is  found  that  the  average  shrinkage  of  the 
Merino  rams'  fleeces,  "shorn  in  the  dirt,"  is 
67  76-100  per  cent.,  and  of  Merino  ewes' 
fleeces,  is  51  32-100  per  cent. ;  that  of  grade 
ewes'  fleeces  52  25-100. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  to  the  Society 
the  relative  character  of  its  sheep  for  the  pro- 
duction of  "real  wool,"  we  take  the  liberty  to 
compare  a  few  of  the  fleeces  with  those  of  the 
New  York  State  Society,  at  Rochester,  in  1866. 
The  heaviest  ram's  fleece  of  that  Society  is 
6.653  pounds  scoured  wool.  Wiley  &  Bos- 
worth's  fleece,  above,  is  7.449  pounds,  and 
Mr.  Piper's,  6.91  pounds  ;  and  Messrs.  Locke's 
is  more  than  47-100  of  a  pound  heavier  than 
any  of  the  14  New  York  ram  fleeces,  with  the 
one  exception  above.  ]\Ir.  Hubbard's  heavi- 
est ewe  fleece  is  64-100  of  a  pound  heavier 
than  any  of  the  New  York  ewe  fleeces. 

In  analyzing  the  tables  showing  the  product 
of  scoured  wool  in  proportion  to  time  of 
growth  and  live  weight,  we  find  the  greatest 
weight  of  wool  in  a  year  by  one  pound  of  ani- 
mal, at  the  New  York  shearing,  to  be  .083  of 
a  pound.  IMessrs.  Ellis's  fleece  gives  .088, 
[.086  ?] ,  Mr.  Hubbard's  .099,  and  Mr.  Brown's 
.  104,  [.106  ?] ,  or  more  than  one  pound  of  wool 
to  every  ten  pounds  of  carcass. 

In  closing  the  report,  we  congratulate  the 
Society  upon  the  result  of  this,  our  first,  effort 
in  this  direction.  Comparing  the  weight  of 
our  scoured  fleeces  with  those  of  other  socie- 
ties, shows  that  the  breeders  of  our  town  make 
at  least  a  respectable  appearance. 


476 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
APPLES   IN   "WESTERN   NEW   YOBK. 

During  tbe  past  ten  or  twelve  years,  the 
apple  crop  of  Western  New  York  has  assumed 
an  importance,  as  a  market  fruit,  that  could 
hardly  have  been  considered  possible  at  any 
previous  time.  The  section  having  been  set- 
tled and  cleared  up  during  the  last  fifty  or 
eixty  years,  the  first  orchards  set  out  are  still 
in  full  vigor.  As  they  were  set  for  family  u?e, 
■with  little  reference  to  distant  markets,  they 
were  not  large,  averaging,  perhaps,  two  acres. 

Fifteen  years  ago  a  large  share  of  these  or- 
chards were  natiual  fruit.  While  of  the  grafted 
trees  many  were  set  to  inferior  or  unproduc- 
tive ^  ai  ieties,  and  many  to  coarse  sweet  ap- 
ples for  feeding,  that  have  had  to  be  grafted 
over  again.  As  the  demand  became  more 
constant,  farmers  turned  their  attention  to  the 
cultivation  and  grafting  of  such  kinds  as  were 
most  called  for,  and  they  begun  to  set  out  new 
and  larger  orchards, — some  of  from  ten  to 
twenty  acres.  A  lew  of  these  new  orchards 
have  commenced  bearing,  while  many  have 
only  been  set  from  one  to  five  years. 

The  cot-t  of  picking,  barrelling  and  taking 
to  market,  may  range  from  twenty  live  cents 
to  one  dollar  a  i)arrel ;  var\  ing  with  the  yield 
and  condition  of  the  fruit,  and  the  distance 
from  market ;  but  probably  averaging  about 
fifty  cents.  On  low  trees,  that  hang  full  of 
fair  fruit,  needing  little  sorting,  a  good  hand  , 
Avill  pick  and  put  up  fiom  ten  to  twenty  bar-  ' 
rels  a  day.  Where  the  fruit  is  thin  and  needs 
sorting,  from  five  to  eight  barrels  will  be  a 
day's  work.  AVith  a  suitable  rack,  a  team  will 
draw  f'lom  eighteen  to  twenty  barrels  of  apples 
at  a  load.  Railroads  and  canals  being  con- 
venient, it  very  seldom,  if  ever,  takes  more 
than  one  day  to  go  to  maikot ;  and  often  sev- 
eral Iliads  are  diawn  in  a  day.  I 

Altliough  in  some  seasons  a  few  hundred 
barrels  ol'  apples  could  be  sold,  as  long  ago 
as  twenty  or  ivvcnty-livc  years,  it  was  often  the 
case  that  the  finest  kinds  could  not  be  soli 
at  any  price ;  but  had  to  be  taken  lor  cider, 
or  (cd  out.  Some  lificen  years  ago  there  be- 
gun to  i»e  a  legular  demand,  and  the  apple 
trade  a.v-uuicd  tlie  proportions  of  a  regular 
busiiie>s.  Atlirstthe  price  was  fifty  cents  to 
one  doil.u'  a  hand  ;  and  on>-e  or  twice  going 
up  tit  irom  one  dollar  twent\ -live  to  one  dol- 
lar I. ft  \  lor  the  apples  ;  the  buyer  finding  the 
barr<  1  oi-  paying  for  it,  as  is  always  the  case 
here.  Hut  during  the  last  ten  jears,  the  aver- 
age prices  liave  largely  advaneeil.  The  aver- 
age ibr  the  last  ten  jears  being  from  one  dol- 
lar lifiy  to  two  dollars  ;  fur  the  last  five  years 
from  two  dollais  fifty  to  three  dollars,  and  the 
last  two  years  between  four  and  five  dollars  a 
barrel. 

Tin-  demand  for  Western  New  York  apples 
is  wry  iaige,  and  widely  extended.  From  a 
small  loi-al  di  niaiid,  to  supply  the  cities  and 
vilhiges  iiere,  the  marlvct  has  not  only  ex- 
t'  ndL;d  to  Ciii.ago,  St.  Louis,  and  many  other 


I  places  west ;  to  many  of  the  cities  and  towns 
in  Canada ;  to  Boston,  Providence,  and  most 
;  of  the  other  cities  in  New  England ;  as  well 
as  to  New  York,  and  vicinity,  but  a  large  por- 
i  tion  are  sent  to  Pliiladelphia.  Baltimore,  and 
I  many  places  in  the  Southern  States,  as  well  as 
;  to  the  West  India  Islands  and  Europe.     The 
'  Southern  and  foreign  export  trade  is  said  to  be 
,  very  large,  and  only  limited  by  the   supply. 
;  To  a  very  large  extent,  this  is  also  the  case 
j  with  the  home   demand.     Downing  says  that 
American  apples  are  equal  if  not  superior  to 
!  those  of  any  other  part  of  the  Avorld.     And  in 
no  part  of  this  country  are  apples   grown   su- 
perior to  those  of  AVesternNew  York  for  pro- 
ductiveness, fiiirness,  and  good  quality    as  to 
flavor  and  long-keeping.     Keeping  longer  than 
AVestern  apples,  they  are  wanted   in  Chi^-ago 
and  other  places  west  for  the   spring  trade. 
Being  earlier  and  better  than  Canada  apples, 
a  considerable  portion  goes  to  the  Provinces. 
The  demand  in  New  England  is   partlv  gov- 
erned by  the  local   supplies,  and  partly  by  the 
quality.     In  New  York  the  demand  and  price 
is   probably   governed  by   the  supply  in  the 
country  generally,  and  the  demand  for  export. 
South,  the  demand  must  be  governed  l>y  the 
supply  and  the  means   to  buy   with.     For,  aa 
they  cannrt  raise  apples  that  will  keep  through 
the  winter  and  spring,  their  supplies  of  this 
fruit  must  come  from   the  north.     While  it  is 
said  (American  Fruit  Cultuiist  page   18)  that 
"large  portions  of  the  Eastern  continent  would 
gladly  become  purchasers  as  soon  as  sufficient 
quantities  should  create  facilities  for  a  reason- 
able supply." 

But  it  is  not  our  best  apples  only  that  are 
wanted.  Last  fall  fifty  cents  a  bushel  were 
paid  for  culls  and  inferior  fruit,  to  send  to 
some  place  near  Boston — as  I  was  told — to 
make  eider.  And  a  writer  in  the  Rural  New 
Yorker  says  :  "Extensive  buildings  and  cellars 
have  been  erected  along  the  eastern  jjortion  of 
the  Erie  canal,  and  other  plai-es,  for  man- 
ufacturing tne  best  fjuality  of  cider.  To  sup- 
ply these  with  apples  to  manufacture  several 
thousand  barrels  each,  cider  ap])les  are  bought 
as  high  as  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  along  the 
canals  and  railroads,  ami  moved  one;  to  two 
hundred  miles.  The  cider  is  retined  and  put 
up  in  casks  and  bottles,  and  sent  south  and  to 
the  cities,  and  sold  at  a  large  profit — such  a 
profit  as  must  increase  the  luimber  of  these 
estal)lishments." 

In  regard  to  the  amount  of  apples  grown 
in  AVestern  New  York,  I  am  sorry  my  data  is 
so  meagre.  But  still,  with  such  as  I  have  at 
hand,  approximate  results  at  least  may  be 
reached.  According  to  the  census  of  \i>'A), 
the  value  of  the  orchard  pi'oducts  of  this  State 
was  $1,701,950.  In  ISGO  it  was  !t!;;,72G.:!8(_) ; 
making  an  increase  of  nearly  $:i,(K )(),()( )0  in 
ten  years.  AVhile  this  includes  other  orchard 
fruits,  like  ])cars  and  peai-hes,  the  following 
refers  exclusively  to  ajiples.  Such  (la*^a,  as  I 
have  been  able  to  collect,   being  mostlv  ob- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


477 


tained  from  local  papers  and  dealers,  that  as- 
certained the  several  amounts,  partly  by  finding 
out  the  amount  sent  off  by  canal  and  railroad, 
and  partly  by  dealers  comparing  notes  of  pur- 
chases and  sales  in  different  places — and  prob- 
ably as  correct  as  the  census.  I  say  this  data 
renders  it  very  probable  that  the  most  if  not 
all  of  the  above  increase  was  realized  in  some 
eight  counties  in  Western  New  York.  The 
amount  returned  for  these  counties — $1,566,- 
388 — ^eing  over  42  per  cent,  of  all  produced 
in  the  State  in  1859.  The  same  data  also 
shows  that  there  has  not  only  been  a  large  av- 
erage increase  over  the  amount  returned  by 
the  last  United  States  census,  but  as  the  price 
has  largely  increased,  there  has  also  been  a 
great  increase  in  the  amount  of  money  re- 
ceived. As*  for  instance,  it  has  been  pretty 
reliably  ascertained  that  in  1863  the  amount 
received  in  Orleans  county  for  apples,  was  not 
far  from  $500,000,  the  crop  being  very  large 
and  the  price  averaging  nearly  two  dollars  a 
barrel.  While  in  1865,  when  the  price  went 
up  to  five  dollars,  it  was  found  that  some 
$700,000  was  paid  to  the  farmers  of  this  county 
for  apples.  In  I860  the  Rochester  Democrat 
sent  reporters  to  all  of  the  markets  in  Monroe 
to  ascertain  the  amount  of  apples  sold  in  that 
county.  The  conclusion  reached  by  this  in- 
vestigation was,  that  "the  entire  crop  of  Mon- 
roe county  for  the  past  year  (1863)  has  prob- 
ably reached  a  value  of  not  less  than  $1,000,- 
000."  As  the  price  has  been  so  much  higher 
for  the  last  two  years,  there  has  probably  been 
one  or  more  years,  that  the  value  of  the  apple 
crop  greatly  exceeded  this  amount ;  but  how 
much  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  But 
enough  is  known  to  show  that  the  apple  crop 
of  the  eight  counties  referred  to,  has  reached 
a  value  at  least  three  times  as  great  as  the 
amount  returned  by  the  last  United  States 
census  ;  or  from  four  and  a  half  to  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars  a  year. 

Now  this  is  a  greater  income  and  profit  from 
fruit,  it  is  believed,  than  was  ever  before  real- 
ized on  the  same  investment  of  lal)or  and  cap- 
ital. For  the  principal  part  of  this  great 
amount,  is  for  fruit  grown  on  the  common 
farm  orchards,  set  and  kept  for  farm  use.  and 
with  little  idea  of  growing  apples  for  market. 
Yet  in  this  county,  which  is  small,  having  only 
nine  towns,  the  crop  of  apples  must  average 
between  $250  and  $300  to  each  farm,  while 
numerous  cases  might  be  given  where  sales 
range  from  $500  to  $3000  in  a  single  year. 

Western  New  York,  1867.  f. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
THE    GARDEN"    FOR    SEPTEMBER. 

The  gardener's  labors  are  constantly  vary- 
ing from  February  to  December ;  but  this  suc- 
cession by  no  means  dispenses  with  the  necessi- 
ty of  labor  and  watchfulness.  You  may  recol- 
lect the  story  of  the  result  arising  from  "the 
want  of  a  pin  in  the  bars"  ;   of  equal  impor- 


tance is  it  that  there  be  no  want  of  a  pin  to 
admit  of  the  bars  being  let  down  in  the  gai'den 
operations ;  as  a  single  want,  or  neglect,  may 
be  the  means  of  a  failure  in  some  important  crop. 
September  work  of  the  garden  consists  main- 
ly in  gathering,  storing,  or  marketing,  &c. 
Much  good  judgment  and  energy  are  called 
into  action  in  order  to  enable  us  to  reap  maxi- 
mum profits.  Much  also  may  be  done  toward 
forwarding  another  year's  crops,  in  prepara- 
tion. Considerable  of  the  spring  labor  with 
hot  beds  may  be  saved  by  starting  many  of  the 
plants  most  in  demand  in  spring,  during  this 
month,  and  pricking  them  out  into  cold  frames 
when  well  started ;  or  they  may  remain  and  be 
covered  with  leaves,  boards,  &c.,  for  winter 
protection.  They  will  thus  be  found  ready  to 
transplant  and  grow,  as  soon  as  the  frost  leaves 
the  ground  in  spring,  and  it  is  fit  for  culture. 
The  beds  to  start  such  plants  in  should  be 
made  in  a  warm,  moist  location,  and  plenty  of 
moisture  may  be  found  almost  anyAvhere  this 
season,  so  far.  They  should  be  well  forked 
over,  mixing  in  a  good  coat  of  well  rotted  ma- 
nure, and  the  surface  thoroughly  fined  with 
the  steel  rake-:— no  danger  of  getting  it  too  fine ; 
then  sow  your  seed  in  drills  about  six  inches 
apart,  if  to  be  covered  in  with  a  cold  frame ; 
a  foot  apart,  if  to  remain  in  the  open  ground 
and  covered  with  mulch,  &c.  If  the  plants 
are  likely  to  get  large,  transplant  to  check 
growth ;  as  too  much  fall  growth  will  tend  to 
cause  them  to  run  up  to  seed  in  the  spring. 
Cabbage,  lettuce,  onions,  spinach,  &e.,  may 
be  started  in  this  way  and  be  ready  for  early 
spring  with  little  trouble. 

Beans. — Gather  and  put  in  a  dry  place  as 
fast  as  they  ripen  ;  when  well  dry,  shell  and 
put  away  in  boxes,  after  spreading  and  drying. 
Label  those  for  seed  with  variety  and  date  of 
growth.  Lima  beans  not  ripe,  if  picked  and 
ciried  before  frosts,  make  a  very  acceptable 
dish  for  the  table  in  winter. 

Blackberries. — Cut  out  the  old  canes  and 
the  weaker  young  shoots,  leaving  one  or  two 
of  the  strongest  for  next  year's  fruiting. 

Celery. — Earth  up  the  advancing  crop, 
when  dry  ;  being  careful  to  close  the  leaves  to- 
gether so,  that  no  dirt  will  get  in  the  centre. 
Be  careful  not  to  cover  the  centre  bud  or  get 
any  dirt  in  it. 

Cauliflowers. — See  that  they  do  not  get 
too  far  advanced  before  gathering,  as,  also, 
broccoli. 

Corn. — The  earliest  ripe  ears  should  be 
saved  for  seed  for  future  use.  Braid  them  up 
in  tresses,  by  the  husks,  and  hang  in  an  airy, 
dry  place. 

CucuJiBERS. — Pick  every  day  for  pickle, 
and  put  down  in  salt  in  a  suitable  tub  or  cask ; 
putting  a  sprinkling  of  salt  and  then  a  layer  of 
pickles,  and  so  on  till  full ;  the  pickles  will 
furnish  juice  sufficient  for  brine.  Properly 
salted  and  stored  they  will  keep  two  or  three 
years,  and  furnish  good  pickles,  after  soaking 
and  freshening ;  an  operation  which  will  re- 


478 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


store  them  from  their  shrunken,  withered  ap- 
pearance. Make  sweet  pickles  of  the  ripened 
cucumbers  not  wanted  to  go  to  seed. 

Grapes. — Unless  good  attention  has  been 
pfiven,  they  will  have  mildewed,  more  or  less, 
from  the  unusual  wet  and  cold  of  the  season. 
Gather  when  fully  ripe  and  preserve  for  fami- 
ly use,  or  market ;  use  care  in  gathering,  not 
to  rub  or  bruise  them  ;  preserve  the  bloom  on 
them  to  the  fullest  possible  extent,  as  it  adds 
much  to  their  attractiveness. 

Hops. — Gather  before  frosts,  dry  and  pre- 
serve in  boxes  or  barrels  for  use.  It  is  better 
to  remove  them  without  cutting  the  vine  till 
fully  dry,  as  the  vine  will  bleed  and  injure  the 
root  for  future  bearing. 

Manure. — Saving  and  making  all  that  can 
be  turned  into  usefulness  is  always  in  order; 
too  much  can  hardly  be  had  for  profit. 

Raspberries. — Cut  out  the  old  bearing 
wood  and  tie  up  the  young  canes ;  hoe  and 
clean  them  out  thoroughly. 

Squash. — Pick  and  pack  away  where  they 
will  keep  dry  and  safely  before  frosts  touch 
them.  Being  a  tropical  plant,  they  will  not 
bear  even  a  moderate  frost  without  injury. 

Tomatoes. —  Make  pickles  of  the  green 
ones,  together  with  peppers,  small  cucumbers, 
string  beans,  nasturtions,  &c.  A  slight  pro- 
tection from  the  first  early  frost  will  contmue 
the  vines  fresh  and  in  bearing  some  weeks,  fre- 
quently. Can  and  make  catsup  from  the  ripe 
ones. 

Continue  to  gather  and  save  all  seeds  as 
they  ripen,  also  all  vegetables  and  fruits  as 
they  arrive  at  perfection.  Cut  sage  and  other 
herbs  as  needed.  W.  H.  White. 

South  Windsor,  Conn.,  Aug.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

ABOUT   FLIES. 

"Flies,  flies,  flies,  flies  1 

From  pools,  and  fens,  and  bogs,  and  sties, 

As  in  Egypt  of  old,  the  swarms  arise. 

Darkening  the  windows  and  clouding  the  skieB, 

Covering  earth  with  their  dark  disguise, 

Filling  the  air  with  their  hungry  cries; 

In  at  our  mouth  and  nose  and  eyes, 

Making  us  mad,  however  wise, 

At  the  plague  of  the  flies,  flies,  flies, 

Flies,  flies,  flies,  flies  1" 

So  sang  the  distracted  poet,  probably  some 
warm  September  aflernoon,  when  the  swarms 
were  peculiarly  thick  and  troublesome.  '  'Where 
do  they  all  come  from  ?"  is  the  thousand  times 
repeated  (juestion.  Perhaps  a  brief  reply 
may  not  be  una<'ceptable. 

It  was  formerly  taught  that  flies  "are  be- 
gotten of  dung  and  of  any  other  filthy  matter 
putrefied  by  heat  in  summer  time."  Many 
people,  even  at  the  present  day,  believe  and 
write  such  nonsense,  and  it  Avould  not  be 
surprising  if  the  incjuiry  should  call  out  sun- 
dry letter-writers  who  will  gravely  maintain 
tliat  flies  are  produced  from  decaying  vegeta- 
ble and  animal  matter,  and  call  otlier  people 
iools  for  not  believing  them.     The  old  adage, 


fully  believed  now  by  every  scientific  man, 
^'Omne  vivtim  ex  ovo,''''  ^'everything  living 
comes  from  an  egg,"  is  sufficient  to  refute  all 
such  mistaken  beliefs.  "Spontaneous  genera- 
tion" is  a  myth,  whether  with  reference  to  fly- 
maggots  in  a  dunghill  or  pollywogs  in  a  mud- 
hole,  or  oaks  upon  a  prairie.  The  only  thing 
spontaneous  about  it  is  the  idea  itself,  and  that, 
in  fact,  is  hatched  from  the  big  egg,  Ignorance. 

So,  whatsoever  some  may  believe  or  teach, 
it  is  certain  that  wherever  there  is  a  maggot, 
there  was  an  egg,  and,  before  that,  a  fly  to  lay 
the  egg.  The  eggs  of  the  common  house  fly, 
however,  are  always  deposited  in  dung  or  some 
other  decaying  substance,  and  in  that  sense  it 
is  true  that  flies  come  from  decaying  matter. 
These  eggs  are  very  small,  cylindrical  in  shape, 
and  shining  like  pearl.  If  a  little  decaying 
wheat  be  placed  in  a  tumbler  in  the  summer. 
eggs  will  generally  be  deposited  upon  it,  and 
their  curious  transformations  may  very  read- 
ily be  followed. 

In  about  twenty-four  hours,  varying  some- 
what according  to  the  weather,  the  eggs  will 
be  hatched,  and  the  little  white,  footless  ma<r- 
gots  will  appear.  Their  heads  are  provided 
with  two  small  hooks  with  which  they  cling  to 
their  food,  or  perhaps  tear  it  in  pieces.  1  hey 
live  on  the  tilth  with  which  they  are  surrounded, 
eat  greedily  and  grow  rapidly  to  the  length  of 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more.  In  al)out  a 
fortnight  the  little  maggot  ceases  to  eat.  its 
skin  becomes  brown,  and  it  becomes  a  pupa, 
and  remains  at  rest  for  another  two  weeks, 
when,  having  perfected  its  changes,  it  bursts 
its  shell  and  comes  out  an  active,  buzzing  fly. 

Such  is  the  simple  biography  of  our  much- 
despised  best  friend.  For,  with  our  notorious 
carelessness  in  regard  to  decaying  refuse,  sur- 
rounding our  houses  with  tilthy  cess-pools,  and 
stench-breeding,  pestilence-breeding  ofl'al,  as 
we  do,  what  woidd  become  of  us  Avere  it  not 
for  these  myriads  of  flies  and  other  insects  that 
live  in,  and  devour,  such  substances,  ridding 
us  of  the  tilth  that  we  are  not  neat  enough  to 
rid  ourselves  of?  And  if,  as  Dr.  Harris  well 
observes,  "these  filthy,  dung-bred  creatures 
swarm  in  some  houses,  covering  every  article 
of  food  by  day,  and  absolutely  blackening  the 
walls  by  night,  in  others  comparatively  few  are 
found  ;  for  the  tidy  housekeeper  takes  care  not 
to  leave  food  of  any  kind  standing  about  to 
entice  them  in,  and  makes  a  business  of  driv- 
ing out  the  intruders  at  least  once  a  day." 

Dr.  Harrises  fiy-poi son  may  be  of  service  to 
some  readers,  inasmuch  as  it  is  as  certain  death 
to  flies  as  tiie  most  a])proved  "fly-papers," 
and  is  very  simple,  and  harmless  to  all  human 
kind,  being  nothing  more  than  well  sweetened 
green  tea. 

The  above,  however,  is  but  little  of  the  sto- 
ry of  the  fly  ;  for  take  him  in  all  his  modes  of 
life,  his  structure,  and  the  curious  adaptation 
of  the  various  parts  of  his  body  to  his  needs, 
he  is  one  of  the  most  curious  things  in  nature. 
The  feet  are  provided  with  two  little  hooks. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAKMER. 


479 


and  between  them  is  a  soft  cushion  covered 
with  hiiirs,  by  means  of  which  the  fly  is  enabled 
to  walk  up  the  ceiling,  or  head  downward,  or 
wherever  else  it  pleases.  It  was  formerly 
thought  that  this  cushion  on  the  foot  acted  like 
a  sucker,  so  that  when  the  air  was  exhausted 
beneath,  the  insect  was  held  suspended  by  the 
pressure  of  the  air  outside.  But  it  was  found 
that  the  (iy  could  cling  as  well  where  there  was 
no  air  at  all ;  and  later  investigations  have  shown 
that  many  of  the  minute  hairs  with  which  this 
cushion  is  covered,  are  little  tubes,  exuding  a 
gummy  substance  by  means  of  which  the  Hy 
sticks  to  the  wall  or  window-pane.  The 
hair  feet  serve  another  important  purpose  also, 
as  all  have  seen,  being  used  as  brushes,  in 
keeping  wings,  face,  and  other  parts  clean. 

The  general  appearance  of  the  tongue  is 
well-known  to  every  one — a  short  tube  or 
sucker  with  a  fleshy  knob  or  disk  at  the  end. 
This  disk  is  I'idged  and  covered  with  hairs, 
making  a  sort  of  rasp  of  it.  It  is  the  rubbing 
of  this  that  causes  the  tickling  sensation  of  the 
fly's  bite,  and  aided  by  a  saliva  that  it  secretes, 
enables  it  to  devour  sugar  and  other  hard  sub- 
stances. In  a  groove  in  the  tongue  are  two 
little  sharp  bristles,  which  can  be  thrust  down 
like  a  lancet  into  anything  which  the  fly  is  eat- 
ing. In  the  fly  which  oftens  torments  us  so 
during  stormy  days  in  summer,  these  sharp 
bristles  become  almost  needles  in  size  and 
strength  ;  and  in  other  insects,  as  the  mosquito, 
their  number  is  increased  to  five  or  six,  often 
with  little  hooks  at  the  end,  Avhich  are  broken 
off  and  left  in  the  wound  when  the  tormentor 
is  suddenly  driven  away.  The  irritation  from 
the  bites  of  flies  and  other  insects,  is  generally, 
however,  produced  by  a  slightly  poisonous 
saliva  injected  into  the  bite. 

When  we  consider  the  enormous  number  of 
young  that  flies  produce — some  single  blow- 
flies, for  instance,  depositing  20,000  maggots, 
which,  in  twenty-four  hours,  increase  to  two 
hundred  times  their  original  size,  and  in  a  few 
days  arrive  at  maturity,  each  in  turn  ready  to 
repeat  the  process — we  can  readily  credit  the 
saying  of  Linnaeus,  that  "three  flies  will  de- 
vour the  carcass  of  a  horse  as  quickly  as  a 
lion,"  and  we  can  appreciate,  in  some  sort, 
tlie  important  position  they  hold  as  the  scav- 
engers of  nature.  We  are  also  more  readily 
disposed  to  believe  the  accounts  of  the  enor- 
mous swarms  of  flies  that  have  sometimes  ap- 
peared— covering  every  part  of  a  vessel  at 
sea  and  leagues  of  ocean  around,  raining  down 
before  the  wind,  as  in  Lincolnshire,  in  1699,  "so 
that  people  had  to  turn  their  backs  to  them  as 
to  a  storm  of  hail ;"  destroying  hundreds  of 
cattle,  and  even  depopulating  whole  countries, 
as  has  happened  repeatedly  in  the  Levant. 

Some  of  the  whims  and  superstitions  of  peo- 
ple in  regard  to  flies,  recorded  by  Cowan, — 
"Curiosities  of  Insects," — are  curious  enough. 
The  tail  of  a  wolf,  buried  in  a  house,  will  keep 
out  flies.  To  dream  of  flies  denotes  enemies  ; 
to  dream  that  they  went  into  on'i's  mouth  or 


nostrils  forbodes  great  sorrow.  A  multitude 
of  flies  denotes  a  plague.  If  one  fall  into  the 
J  glass,  as  a  person  is  drinking,  great  good  luck 
will  surely  befall  the  drinker.  Flies  dying  in 
great  numbers  in  a  house  betoken  the  death 
of  some  member  of  the  family.  If  flies  bite 
harder  than  usual  there  will  be  rain  (which 
seems  to  be  true.)  Pliny  says  that  flies'  heads 
are  a  specific  for  baldness,  and  Mucanius,  who 
was  thrice  a  consul,  used  to  carry  a  live  fly 
about  with  him  as  a  preventive  of  ophthalmia ! 

The  Philistines  and  Canaanites  worshipped 
Beelzebub,  the  god  of  flies.  The  ancient 
Peruvians  made  sacrifices  of  flies  to  the  sun. 
In  Scotland  a  tutelary  fly  presided  one  of  the 
fountains,  and  another  large  blue-bottle  was 
currently  believed  to  be  a  witch.  Among 
some  of  the  ancients,  punishment  was  inflicted 
on  criminals  by  smearing  them  with  honey  and 
exposing  them  to  the  stings  of  flies,  till  their 
flesh  putrefied  and  they  were  eaten  up  by  mag- 
gots. 

The  famous  Regiomontanus  of  Nuremberg, 
it  is  said,  made  an  iron  fly  that  would  dart  out 
from  his  hand  and,  taking  a  round,  return  and 
alight  again..  One  of  the  bishops  of  Naples, 
however,  performed  the  most  remarkable  feat 
we  have  any  account  of,  for  he  not  only  made 
a  brass  fly,  but  he  placed  it  on  the  gates  of  the 
city  and  trained  it  so  that  like  a  shepherd's 
dog,  it  prevented  any  other  fly  from  entering 
Naples ;  so  much  so,  that  for  eight  years  the 
meat  exposed  for  sale  in  the  market,  was  never 
once  tainted !  v. 

Dec.  10,  1866. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE    CROPS    ON   THE    SEABOARD. 

Thus  far  the  season  has  proved  most  unpro- 
pitious  for  that  class  of  farmers  whose  fanning 
lies  close  akin  to  market  gardening. 

With  the  exception  of  the  very  earliest  of 
the  early  varieties  of  potatoes,  the  rot  pre- 
vailed to  a  degree  of  fatality  that  has  never 
been  excelled  in  all  our  experience,  if  ever 
equalled.  About  all  the  early  crop,  of  Se- 
bec  and  Orono,  (usually,  but  erroneously, 
called  Jackson  Whites,)  are  gone  by  the  board. 
Some  tracts  of  several  acres  in  extent,  that 
have  received  the  highest  culture  possible  have 
been  offered  in  return  for  a  single  barrel  of 
sound  potatoes.  Some  farmers  with  four 
hands  at  work,  get  out  eight  barrels  of  sound 
potatoes  after  a  day's  digging,  which  have 
brought  them  from  $1.25  to  $2  a  ban-el,  after 
having  been  carried  fifteen  miles  to  market. 

The  Jackson  White,  (the  true  Jackson  White 
is  nearly  a  round  potato,)  has  fared  somewhat 
better  than  the  Sebec,  but  still  is  sorely  af- 
flicted. 

The  early  Goodrich,  though  growing  side 
by  side  with  the  Sebec,  has  thus  far  been  but 
little  affected  by  the  rot.  Our  farmers  don't 
like  the  early  Goodrich,  as  an  early  variety, 
on  account  of  its  small  size,  when  compared 


480 


NEW   ENGLAOT>   FARMER. 


Oct. 


with  the  Sebec,  and  because,  though  it  is  as 
early  as  the  Sebec,  yet  it  does  not  attain  to 
market  size  as  early  as  that  very  prolific  variety. 
Last  season  the  early  Goodrich,  grown  side  by 
side  with  the  early  Sebec,  matured  about  a 
week  earlier,  but  this  season  they  are  full  as 
late  as  the  Sebec,  and  to  those  who  do  not 
make  fair  allowance  for  the  early  blighting  of 
the  Sebecs,  appear  to  be  even  later.  The 
less  degree  of  liability  to  rot,  on  the  part  of 
the  Goodrich,  must  tell  powerfully  in  their 
favor. 

Onions,  carrots,  late  cabbages,  squashes  and 
late  cucumbers  promise  poorly.  The  maggot 
has  worked  much  more  than  usual  in  the 
onions  this  season,  so  that  we  shall  not  have 
more  than  two-thirds  a  crop  under  present 
auspices,  and  should  this  enemy  continue  his 
attack  as  late  as  some  seasons  heretofore,  then 
we  cannot  have  over  half  a  crop.  Carrots  are 
generally  thin,  very  few  plots  being  free  from 
many  blank  spaces. 

Previous  to  the  recent  heavy  rains,  late  cab- 
bages looked  very  unpromising, — most  of  them 
being  covered  with  the  plant  louse  ;  but  these 
rains  have  washed  them  clean,  and  with  propi- 
tious weather  I  think  one-half  or  two-thirds 
may  rally  and  give  us  fair  heads. 

The  squash  crop  until  within  a  fortnight  prom- 
ised to  be  as  near  and  not  a  failure  as  was  ever 
known  ;  now  it  looks  better  and  promises  to 
yield  from  one-third  to  one-half  an  average, 
though  there  are  many  tracts  that  do  not  now 
promise  a  ton  to  the  acre.  The  long  cold  and 
wet  spell,  bugs  innumerable  and  more  persis- 
tent in  their  attacks  than  I  ever  knew  them  to 
be  before,  and  a  bountiful  supply  of  maggots 
at  the  roots,  have  given  the  poor  vines  a  hard 
battle  of  it.  Such  squashes  as  have  set  thus 
far,  make  but  a  slow  growth,  and  promise  to 
be  of  small  size  when  matured. 

The  first  cut  of  hay  has  been  remarkably 
abundant,  especially  upon  upland,  and  the 
promise  for  a  good  second  cut  was  never  bet- 
ter. On  the  range  of  meadows  back  of  where 
I  reside,  as  often  as  not,  three  crops  of  hay  are 
cut  annually, — the  second  and  third  crops 
combined,  ecjualling  the  first, — which  is  about 
as  much  as  can  be  made  on  the  ground.  These 
meadows  are  usually  heavily  dressed  with  rock- 
weed,  two  years  out  of  three.  Apples  in  town 
promise  better  than  for  several  years  ])ast. 

On  the  whole,  without  croaking,  our  farmers 
are  having  a  hard  year  of  it. 

J.  J.  H.  Gregory, 

Marblehead,  Mass.,  Aug.,  1867. 


Effects  of  our  Climatk  on  Grapes. — 
The  St.  Louis  Valley  Farmer  comments  as 
follows  on  this  subject : — 

The  extreme  variations  in  the  temperature 
of  the  State  (Missouri)  and  throughout  the 
country  generally,  is  an  important  item,  fre- 
quently amounting  to  70°  in  twenty-four  hours. 


The  rapidly  succeeding  alternations  from  heat 
to  cold,  frost  to  thaw,  and  the  intensity  of  the 
sun's  rays  from  12  to  3  P.  M.,  form  another 
great  item ;  and  not  least  (though  least  ob- 
served) ,  we  have  the  awfully  drying  winds  in 
winter  and  spring,  rendering  this  one  of  the 
most  trying  climates  on  the  vital  force,  in  ani- 
mal or  vegetable,  that  exists. 

In  summer,  our  dry  and  wet  spells — our 
sudden  changes  from  hot  to  cold  nights — our 
arid  winds  and  intense  suns  in  July  and  Au- 
gust— impair  or  destroy  the  foliage :  and  with 
diseased  lungs  and  digestive  apparatus,  how 
can  wood,  or  buds,  or  fruit  be  sound,  or  con- 
stitutional vijxor  be  maintained  ? 


From  Once  a  Week. 
A   MA]Sr-OF-V?"AR   IN   THE    ACORN. 


An  oak  tree,  wrestling  with  the  wind, 
Shook  down  an  acorn  where  I  stood; 

I  turned  aside,  I  would  not  crush 
That  little  orphan  of  the  wood. 

It  was  as  smooth  as  the  brown  egg 

That  prisons  In  the  nightingale, 
By  fairy  files  was  notched  and  barred, 

Its  cup  symmetrical  as  frail. 

In  bowls  like  ihla,  the  moonlit  dew 
Elves  gather  from  the  violet  flowers. 

Or  from  the  hawthorn  shake  the  drops 
Remaining  from  the  noonday  showers. 

A  spirit  showed  me,  hid  within 

The  acorn's  little  dusky  shell, 
A  floating  tower,  perhaps  to  ride. 

Three  centuries  hence,  on  waves  that  swell 

Around  the  iceberg's  sapphire  clilTs, 
Or  the  rough  Baltic's  storm  swept  strand; 

Pei'haps  to  threaten  with  Its  fire 
Some  bastion  of  the  Eastern  land. 

Yes  1  see  above  the  bulwarks  smile 

Frank,  sunburnt  faces,  as  the  guns 
"Vomit  their  thunder-burst  of  flame — 

Those  cheers  are  from  old  England's  bocb  I 

See,  down  go  colors,  spars  and  mast, 
Blood-spiiuting  like  a  dying  whale, 

The  rival  ship  has  struck,  and  now 
The  dear  old  Hag  flaunts  in  the  gale. 

Then  once  more  rings  the  lusty  shout, 
And  once  more  rings  the  stirring  cheer, 

O'er  the  dark  blue  rolling  waves, 
That  smites  the  proud  foeman's  heart  with  fear. 

Sail  on,  brave  ships,  spread  nobler  faith, 

A  truer  creed,  a  wider  love; 
For  on  your  sails,  from  opening  skies, 

Glance  rays  of  glory  from  above  I 

Sail  on,  sail  on,  ye  winged  towers  I 
Far  be  your  angry  thunders  hurled, 

And  bear  our  Heaven  lighted  flag 
Around  a  subjugated  world. 

The  vision  fades.    Now  let  me  plant. 
With  reverent  hand,  the  acorn  seed, 

Deep  in  the  kindly  English  soil. 
On  which  the  oak  loves  best  to  feed. 

May  b:iiipy  summers  nurse  the  bud. 
Anil  ApVilV  l)iightest,  softest  showers, 

Widen  tliis  germ  to  nobler  life, 
And  give  its  limbs  a  giant's  powers  I 

Rock,  but  rend  not,  ye  winter  storms  I 
fcJpare,  spare,  the  helpless  little  tree; 

Earth,  nurse  it  kindly  till  it  float. 
Bulwark  of  llome  and  Liberty  I 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


481 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
SUSTGULAK   FREAK   OF   LIGHTNING. 

A  correspondent  sends  us  the  following  ac- 
count of  a  somewhat  wonderful  freak  of  light- 
ning .— 

During  a  thunder  shower  in  Methuen,  Mass., 
in  June  last,  the  lightning  struck  upon  three 
large  oak  trees  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Irving 
Stevens,  about  forty  rods  from  his  house.  Mr. 
Stevens,  who  was  standing  near  his  dwelling, 
was  nearly  lifted  from  his  feet  and  partially 
stunned.  The  trees  were  not  much  injured. 
It  only  broke  the  twigs  on  the  branches,  and 
took  off  the  bark  about  a  foot  square  from  the 
trunk  of  each  tree  where  it  passed  to  the 
ground,  on  every  one  following  a  seam.  It 
then  struck  upon  a  wall  by  the  side  of  these 
trees,  along  which  it  ran  for  six  or  seven  rods, 
scattering  the  rocks  on  each  side  ;  throwing  a 
rider  nearly  two  rods ;  making  a  gap  in  one 
place  through  which  a  pair  of  cattle  might 
pass,  and  plowing  a  good  sized  furrow  the  en- 
tire distance.  It  then  passed  off  at  an  acute 
angle,  making  a  smaller  furrow  for  about  a 
rod.  But  what  was  marvellous  in  this  occur- 
rence, the  lightning  in  its  course  broke  large 
rocks  in  several  places  into  fragments.  A 
large  foundation  stone,  that  would  require  a 
yoke  of  cattle  to  move,  was  broken  into  small 
pieces  as  though  it  had  been  under  a  hammer. 
This  stone  was  very  hard,  being  a  sillcious 
Iknestone.  It  was  broken  across  the  grain 
into  irregular  pieces.  I  send  you  some  speci- 
mens, which  prove  very  clearly  that  facts  are 
stranger  than  fiction. 

Here  we  have  a  tangible  exhibition  of  the 
intensity  of  one  of  the  forces  of  nature.  If, 
in  this  instance,  it  could  break  the  solid  rock, 
we  can  easily  understand  how,  under  other 
circumstances,  nothing  in  the  so4id  earth  could 
■withstand  its  power.  Prof.  Agassiz  says,  the 
forces  of  nature  that  have  caused  such  won- 
derful formations  in  the  crust  of  our  globe, 
are  the  same  forces  that  we  find  operating  now ; 
only  they  operated  in  much  greater  intensity 
during  the  periods  that  preceded  the  existence 
of  man.  As  the  Creator  gradually  fitted  the 
earth  for  man's  abode,  he  confined  the  giant 
forces  with  which  it  was  made,  each  within  its 
own  limits ;  and  so  mollified  the  dispositions 
of  each  (so  to  speak)  that  mankind  could  by 
degrees  get  the  mastery  and  control  of  them. 
Electricity  or  lightning,  heat,  light,  air,  water, 
steam,  the  gases  and  others  are  all,  now,  his 
obedient  servants. 

We  need  not  go  back  to  nursery  tales  or 
the  days  of  mythology  to  excite  our  imagina- 
tion with  the  deeds  of  giants  and  demigods. 
We  live  in  the  days  of  the  giants ;  and  every 
day  makes  us  more  familiar  with  them.  Here 
is  one,  who,  in  a  playful  mood  rends  the  solid 
rocks  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  The  heavens 
tremble  with  the  roar  of  his  thunder,  and  man, 
shocked  by  his  brilliant  light,  stands  dumb, 
feeling  his  weakness.     And  yet,  this  is  a  harm- 


less giant,  destined  to  lend  his  great  power 
and  speed  for  the  service  of  man.  He  has,  as 
yet,  no  competitors  on  the  race  course ;  for 
his  speed,  of  which  every  one  who  has  heard 
of  a  telegraph,  has  some  idea,  is  even  greater 
than  that  of  light ;  and  completely  puts  Old  Fa- 
ther Time  in  the  shade.  But  his  gi-eat  strength, 
is,  perhaps,  not  so  generally  known  to  your 
readers,  because  not  so  generally  used.  Let  me 
give,  therefore,  a  single  instance,  by  way  of 
illustration. 

With  a  small  porcelain  battery,  that  could 
be  put  into  a  man's  hat,  electricity  has  been 
produced  that  has  propelled  a  boat  on  the 
Hudson,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  with  four 
men  in  it,  and  against  the  current,  at  the  rate 
of  twelve  miles  an  hour.  This  giant  is  much 
stronger  than  his  brother  Steam.  In  fact, 
there  seems  to  be  no  measureable  limit  to  his 
strength.  He  is  also  much  safer ;  for,  although 
very  quick,  he  is  not  subject  to  such  sudden 
explosions  when  in  service  as  the  other,  whose 
irascible  temper,  when  ill  treated,  has  cost  many 
a  valuable  life. 

There  is  only  one  hindrance  to  this  powerful 
helper  lending  his  aid  in  all  the  daily  avoca- 
tions of  man.  That  is  the  great  cost  attend- 
ing the  construction  of  batteries.  Those  of 
the  kind  I  have  mentioned,  require  platinum 
in  their  structure,  a  metal  that  is  more  costly 
than  gold.  Whenever  science  surmounts  this 
difficulty,  we  shall  have  the  aid  freely,  of  this 
most  powerful  friend.  The  thunders  of  his 
voice  reverberate  now  harmlessly  among  the 
clouds,  as  if  he  were  calling  upon  men  to 
hasten  to  make  use  of  his  mighty  strength. 

August  17,  1867.  Eldon. 


TRANSPLANTING    HOP    SUCKERS, 

Since  the  missing  hills  of  a  large  number 
of  the  last  year's  planted  hop-yards  are  des- 
tined to  be  filled  with  suckers  from  the  re- 
maining hills  of  the  same  yard  this  season, 
and  the  time  for  setting  is  at  hand,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  inexperienced,  a  few  hints  are 
herewith  suggested. 

Those  shoots  putting  forth  below  the  top  of 
the  crown,  and  further  down,  and  in  nearly  a 
horizontal  course,  reaching  the  surface  ten 
and  twenty  inches  from  the  main  root,  are  the 
ones  to  be  selected  for  planting.  The  time  of 
planting  must  not  be  deferred  till  the  tops  of 
the  shoots  have  reached  a  growth  of  more 
than  four  or  six  inches — from  one  to  four  in- 
ches being  the  best  age.  Within  this  period 
the  tops  are  in  the  process  of  leafing,  are 
pulpy,  bulky  at  the  base,  and  taper  symmetri- 
cally to  the  ends  ;  the  bodies  of  the  roots  port- 
ly, juicy,  of  a  healthy  whitish  color,  supplied 
with  a  germ  of  rough  fibres  on  the  most  fleshy 
parts  near  the  base  of  the  tops,  with  a  diminu- 
tive, shrivelled,  rusty  appearance  at  point  of 
juncture  with  the  main  roots,  denoting  but  a 
feeble  connective  circulation ;  explaining  the 
fact  already  learned  by  experience,   i.  e.  that 


482 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Oct. 


the  suckers  within  this  age  are  in  the  best 
condition  for  forming  self-sustaining  roots, 
and  that  after  having  grown  twelve  to  thirty 
inches,  according  to  the  length,  the  roots  be- 
come smaller  and  tougher,  less  juicy,  and  more 
vigorous  and  thicker  at  the  point  of  connection 
with  the  main  roots,  the  root  fibres  weaker, 
the  tops  leaner  and  wiry  ;  and  accordingly, 
the  plant  more  nearly  approaches  the  nature  of 
the  bearing  vines  ;  becomes  more  dependent  on 
the  main  plant  for  support,  and  proportionately 
loses  its  root-germinating  powers.  From  this 
evident  fact  will  be  seen  the  necessity  of  trans- 
planting the  suckers  at  their  earliest  age. 

Carefully  removed  from  the  main  root  by 
cutting  or  breaking,  without  bruising,  when 
the  tops  are  not  more  than  one  or  four  inches 
long,  and  planted  early  in  a  damp  time,  suck- 
ers are  superior  to  seed  roots  planted  in  the 
spring,  and  with  nice  care,  planted  soon 
enough,  will  bear  half  a  crop  the  first  season. 
The  older  suckers  having  materially  lost  the 
inherent  property  of  establishing  a  healthy, 
self-supporting  root,  when  transplanted  will 
grow  and  often  do  very  well ;  but  will  seldom 
attain  a  mediocrity,  and  most  generally  amount 
to  nothing.  Those  missing  hills  that  have  been 
filled  out  with  aged  suckers,  with  an  idea  that 
the  older  they  are,  the  better,  has  proven  this 
fact  at  a  dear  cost  to  the  owners  of  the  yards. 

In  planting,  dig,  four  or  five  inches  deep,  two 
longitudinal  holes  leading  away  from  the  cen- 
ter of  the  hill,  in  opposite  directions,  and  put 
one  good  plant  in  each  place,  with  the  tops 
near  together  at  the  centre,  and  roots  leading 
away ;  and  first  cover  with  a  tier  of  fine  fresh 
dirt,  and  then  fill  up  and  press  with  the  feet. — 
Dell  Pilot,  in  Prairie  Farmer. 


Kelly  Island  Grapes. — In  giving  an  ac- 
count of  a  late  visit  among  the  Islands  of  Lake 
Erie,  the  editor  of  the  Ohio  Farmer  found 
cultivators  very  anxious  as  to  the  grape  crop. 
He  says  : 

Last  year  we  found  a  light  set  of  fruit,  and 
that  little,  half  destroyed  by  rot.  This  year 
there  was  a  monstrous  set  of  fruit,  with  but 
little  appearance  of  disease  up  to  the  second 
week  m  August ;  then  came  a  i'ight  smart 
touch  of  rot.  If  the  disease  should  make  no 
furtlier  progress,  there  will  be  left  to  ripen,  as 
great  a  burden  of  fruit  as  the  vines  can  carry. 
What  discourages  and  confounds  the  grape 
growers  in  this  instance  is  that  the  rot  should 
make  its  appearance,  under  circumstances 
hitherto  considered  the  most  favoral)le  for  a 
healthy  condition  of  the  fruit.  If  the  grape 
growers  could  have  had  the  making  of  the 
weather,  they  could  not  have  made  it  more  to 
their  mind,  and  to  have  their  grapes  rot  under 
such  circumstances,  upsets  all  their  philoso- 
phy. The  rot  is  much  the  worst  in  the  Cataw- 
ba, but  we  saw  touches  of  it  in  the  Concord 
also.  The  Delaware  shows  but  little  sign  of 
the  disease. 


STONES    ON   CULTIVATED    LANDS. 

We  have  more  than  once  given  our  theory 
as  to  the  value  of  stones  on  cultivated  lands. 
Not  only  with  regard  to  stones  that  are  so 
large  as  to  impede  the  operation  of  imple- 
ments used  upon  the  farm,  but  those,  also, 
which  lie  broadcast  upon  the  surface,  or  bedded 
in  profusion  just  below  it.  The  large  and  fast 
ones  certainly  ought  to  be  sunk,  as  it  is  too 
expensive  to  travel  over  or  around  them,  and 
the  small  ones  are  too  much  in  the  way  of  the 
hoe  and  scythe.  Bury  them  in  the  earth.  It 
costs  no  more  to  sink  the  large  ones  than  to 
get  them  out,  haul  away  and  Jill  the  holes 
which  they  leave.  If  small  ones  are  exceed- 
ingly numerous,  some  of  them  maybe  used  to 
fill  holes  where  large  ones,  wanted  for  walls  or 
building  purposes,  have  been  taken  away. 

Some  one  may  inquire  why  stones  are  not 
needed  on  intervales  or  loams,  where  they  are 
not  found?  We  are  not  quite  certain  why 
they  are  not  needed.  Such  loams  are  highly 
charged  with  vegetable  substances,  and  in  low 
lands  have  probably  been  receiving  mineral 
matter  from  the  wash  of  the  hills  for  thousands 
of  years.  Or,  if  the  loams  are  on  high  lands, 
they  are  made  up  from  disintegrated  rock  that 
contained  various  minerals — but  especially  pot- 
ash— which  had  been  crumbling  to  pieces  for 
untold  ages. 

The  point  is  this  :  is  land  that  abounds  with 
stones  benefited  or  injured  by  taking  most  of 
them  away  ?  It  is  clear  to  us  that  it  is  in- 
jured, — 

1.  By  lowering  the  level  of  the  land. 

2.  Leaving  it  compact,  heavy  and  inactive, 
by  obstructing  the  natural  drainage  of  the  soil. 

3.  By  taking  away  a  portion  of  mineral 
supply  to  the  soil.  Geologists  and  chemists 
tell  us  that  a  granite  soil  will  consist  chiefly  of 
silica,  (that  is,  flint,  sand,)  alumina,  (that  is, 
the  pure  earth  of  alum,)  and  potash  ;  and  in 
addition  to  these,  a  trap  soil,  (that  is  a  soil 
made  up  mostly  from  green-stone,)  will  con- 
tain much  lime,  magnesia,  and  oxide  of  iron, 
or  iron  rust.  If  the  variety  of  trap  consist 
chiefly  o^ hornblende  (which  is  itself  a  combi- 
nation of  silica,  magnesia,  lime  or  iron,)  as  is 
sometimes  the  case,  the  soil  formed  from  it 
will  have  nearly  250  pounds  each  of  lime, 
magnesia  and  oxide  of  iron,  in  every  ton  of 
decayed  rock ! 

"When  the  two  minerals,  hornblende  and 
felspar  are  mixed,  as  they  are  in  the  variety  of 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


483 


trap  called  greenstone,  the  soil  formed  from 
them  must  be  still  more  favorable  to  vegetable 
life.  The  potash  and  soda,  of  which  the  horn- 
bk'nde  is  nearly  destitute,  is  abundantly  sup- 
plied by  the  felspar ;  while  the  hornblende 
yields  lime  and  magnesia,  which  are  known  to 
exercise  a  remarkable  influence  on  the  progress 
of  vegetation." 

These  references  show  the  importance  of 
stones  to  the  land  where  they  lie,  and  they  also 
show  why  the  subsoil,  taken  from  a  foot  or  two 
below  the  surface,  and  used  as  a  top-dressing, 
often  answers  a  better  purpose,  even,  than  rich, 
nitrogenous  manures.  It  is  full  of  mineral 
matter,  that  has  been  exhausted  from  the  sur- 
face soil  by  a  succession  of  crops.  It  fre- 
quently happens  that  a  top  dressing  of  yellow 
loam  will  bring  a  luxuriant  crop,  where  com- 
mon manures  have  failed.  We  have  seen 
wheat  fields,  dressed  with  barn  manure,  where 
the  growth  of  stem  and  leaf  was  very  rank, 
but  produced  no  seed.  Had  they  been  dressed 
■with  line  gravel,  sand,  or  yellow  loam,  we  have 
no  doubt  they  would  have  produced  twenty  to 
twenty-five  bushels  of  excellent  wheat  to  the 
aci-e. 

For  the  reasons  given  above,  it  is  best  to 
keep  most  of  the  stones  that  are  on  or  near 
the  surface  in  the  soil.  If  the  subsoil  is  not 
filled  with  them  digging  will  be  easy,  so  that 
they  can  be  placed  below  as  cheaply  as  they 
can  be  carted  away.  Large  ones  may  be  sunk 
•whole,  or  split  with  wedges  or  blasted  and 
then  sunk. 

The  article  below  is  to  the  point,  and  was 
published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  Eng- 
land, as  long  ago  as  1773.  It  is  well  worth 
reading  and  remembering. 

"It  has  been  long  known  to  experienced  farmers, 
that  taking  away  very  small  stones  and  flints,  is 
detrimental  to  plowed  lands  in  general;  but 
more  particularly  so  to  thin,  light  lands,  and  all 
lands  of  a  Ijiuding  nature.  It  was,  however,  never 
imagined  that  the  damage  could  be  so  great,  as  it 
is  now  found  to  be,  since  unusual  quantities  of 
flints  and  other  stones  have  been  repeatedly  gath- 
ered for  the  use  of  turnpike  and  other  roads. 

In  the  parish  of  8tcrenage,  in  Hertfordshire 
there  is  a  field  known  iiy  the  name  of  Chalkdell 
field,  containing  aliout  200  acres ;  the  land  in  this 
field  was  Ibrmerly  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  most 
lands  in  that  county ;  but  lying  convenient  for 
the  surveyors  of  the  roads,  they  have  picked  it 
so  ofccu,  and  stripped  it  of  the  flint  and  small 
stones  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  is  now  inferior  to 
lands  that  were  formerly  reckoned  not  much  over 
half  its  value,  acre  for  acre.  Nor  is  it  Chalkdell 
field  alone  that  has  materially  suffered  in  that 
county  by  the  above  mentioned  practice ;  several 
thousand  acres  bordering  on  the  turnpike  roads 
from  Wellwyn  to  Baldock,  have  been  so  much 


impoverished,  that  the  loss  to  the  inheritance  for- 
ever must  be  computed  at  a  great  many  thousand 
pounds. 

What  puts  it  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  prodigious 
impoverishment  of  the  land  is  owing  to  no  other 
cause  but  picking  and  carrying  away  the  stones, 
is,  that  those  lands  have  generally  Ijeen  most  im- 
poverished which  have  been  most  often  picked; 
nay,  I  know  a  field,  part  of  which  Avas  picked,  and 
the  other  part  ploughed  up  before  they  had  time 
to  pick  it,  where  tlie  part  that  was  picked  lost 
seven  or  eight  parts  in  ten,  of  two  succeeding 
crops;  and  though  the  whole  field  was  manured 
and  managed  in  all  respects  alike,  yet  the  impov- 
erishment was  visible  where  the  stones  had  )«eeu 
picked  off,  and  extended  not  an  inch  farther ;  an 
incontestible  proof  of  the  benefit  of  the  stones." 


MARKET    GARDENING. 

The  bright  side  of  this  subject  has  been  of- 
ten presented  in  city  papers,  and  the  envy  of 
country  farmers  may  have  been  excited  some- 
times by  the  big  figures  which  have  been  used 
in  expressing  the  income  from  single  acres. 
In  a  late  number  of  the  Boston  Cultivator  a 
"Middlesex  Farmer"  draws  a  darker  picture, 
by  alluding  to  some  of  the  expenses  and  un- 
certainties of  the  vegetable  business.  After 
stating  that  land  which  twenty  years  ago  could 
have  been  bought  for  $25  to  $100  per  acre, 
now  sells  for  $1000  to  $2000,  he  says,  in  or- 
der to  carry  on  this  business  with  any  prospect 
of  success,  a  young  man  wants  a  large  capital 
to  start  with  if  he  intends  to  compete  with  old 
and  experienced  growers  ;  some  of  whom  have 
$50,000  in  land,  buildings,  teams,  tools,  glass, 
mats  and  other  coverings  for  hot-beds,  fences, 
manures,  &c. 

To  illustrate  the  uncertainty  of  the  business 

he  says : — 

When  spring  is  opening,  the  most  anxious 
thought  of  the  farmer  is,  What  will  be  the  best 
paying  crop  this  year?  One  year  potatoes 
pay  best,  next  year  a  failure ;  one  year  squashes 
pay  best,  the  next  a  failure  ;  one  year  cucum- 
bers pay  well,  next  year  nothing;  one  year 
onions  $6  a  barrel,  next  year  $1;  one  year 
pickles  12dc  per  100,  the  next  they  go  to  a 
high  figure.  So  the  farmer  is  in  a  quandary ; 
he°sees  his  neighbors  selling  hay  at  $10  to  $50 
a  ton,  and  no  great  trouble  or  risk  to  raise  it ; 
so  he  about  makes  up  his  mind  he  will  raise 
hay  ;  while  talking  about  it,  the  pickle  dealers 
come  to  him  and  coax  him  to  raise  so  many 
acres  of  pickles,  they  promising  to  advance 
the  price  to  14c  a  100.  Many  farmers  dread 
a  change  in  crops,  system  or  help  ;  so  they  go 
on  in  the  old  track  with  but  little  variation. 
Many  of  the  farmers  a  few  miles  farther  from 
Boston  contract  to  raise  pickles  every  year. 
Last  year  they,  hearing  that  squash-raisers  got 
$30  to  $40  per  ton  for  their  squashes  the  year 
before,  concluded  to  raise  squashes  last  year; 


484 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Oct. 


result :  squashes  could  not  be  sold  for  $10  a 
ton,  while  pickles  were  short  and  prices  higher. 
This  year  in  spite  of  skill,  the  squash  crop  is 
very  small ;  last  year  the  potato  crop  paid  a 
good  profit ;  this  year  disease  attacked  them 
before  they  were  grown  enough  to  dig  for 
market,  and  the  disease  spread  so  rapidly  that 
this  crop  was  nearly  a  failure ;  many  patches 
did  not  pay  for  digging ;  all  the  labor  put  upon 
the  crop  is  lost :  the  difference  of  $8  a  barrel 
last  year  to  $1  or  $1.50  this,  is  a  great  item 
to  the  raiser. 

The  cost  of  raising  early  potatoes  and  other 
vegetables  has  been  greatly  increased  of  late 
by  the  necessity  of  sprouting  them  in  manure 
or  hot  beds,  and  then  transplanting,  as  in  case 
of  cabbages.     The  following  case  is  cited. 

Last  spring  a  worthy  farmer  purchased  100 
bushels  of  Chenery  potatoes,  cost  $300  ;  about 
the  same  amount  for  the  Sebecs  ;  the  land  and 
seed  were  the  best,  and  all  necessary  labor 
was  bestowed  on  the  field  of  about  16  acres. 
A  few  days  ago  a  large  gang  of  men  were  set 
to  digging  the  potatoes  ;  result  of  one  day's 
work,  one  barrel  of  potatoes,  that  might  rot 
in  12  hours  afterwards.  The  owner  has  di- 
rected (so  reported)  to  plough  in  all  the  crop 
and  sow  grass  seed.  Last  year  the  crop  on 
the  same  land  sold  for  $1700.  In  another 
case,  last  year,  from  about  the  same  number  of 
acres,  the  crop  sold  for  over  $2000 ;  this  year 
at  the  present  time  it  promises  as  good  results. 


Fodder  Corn. — A  large  proportion  of  the 
farmers  of  Massachusetts,  and  many  in  other 
parts  of  New  England,  cultivate  a  patch  of 
com  to  be  fed  green  to  their  cows  after  the 
pastures  begin  to  fail,  as  they  usually  do  late 
in  the  season.  Animals  eat  it  greedily,  both 
when  green  and  when  partially  dried.  What 
has  been  the  experience  of  the  readers  of  the 
Farmer,  as  to  the  state  in  which  it  should  be 
fed  ?  Many,  we  know,  feed  it  immediately  af- 
ter cutting ;  others  allow  it  to  become  more  or 
less  wilted  before  it  is  given  to  them.  The 
editor  of  the  Utica  Herald  advises  cutting  in 
the  morning  after  the  dew  is  off,  and  allowing 
it  to  remain  till  evening,  by  which  time  a  por- 
tion of  the  large  amount  of  water  it  contains 
will  have  evaporated.  When  thus  fed,  he  says 
a  better  quality  of  milk  is  obtained  than  when 
fed  green. 

The  Oxides  of  the  Metals. — Observing 
recently  in  a  meadow  the  wide  diffusion  of  the 
oxide  of  the  metal,  iron,  resulting  probably 
from  tiu!  decomposition  of  iron  pyrites,  and 
that  the  water  of  the  brooks  was  freely  used 
by  a  larfije  herd  of  cattle,  the  thought  came  up. 


that  of  all  the  metallic  oxides  that  of  iron  is 
almost  the  only  harmless  one.  If  the  oxides 
of  copper  or  lead  were  as  widely  ditiused  the 
result  would  be  most  disastrous.  The  daily 
absorption  into  the  system  of  even  minute 
quantities  of  most  of  the  metals  is  I'ollowed  by 
consequences  of  a  fearful  kind.  So,  too,  of 
the  carbonates,  and  other  salts.  If  carbonate 
of  baryta  were  as  abundant  as  carbonate  of 
lime,  animated  life  would  probably  fail  before 
its  deadly  influence.  The  wise  adjustment  of 
substances  with  regard  to  their  sanitary  indu- 
ence  upon  men  and  animals  is  a  matter  which 
can  hardly  be  overlooked  by  an  observing 
mind. — Journal  of  Chemistry  and  Pharmacy . 


AMERICAN"   GRAIN"   AT    THE   EXPO- 
SITION. 

After  the  gratifying  accounts  of  honor  which 
American  mowers  and  harvesters  reaped  at  the 
great  World's  Fair  at  Paris,  we  are  somewhat 
taken  down  by  the  result  of  our  show  of  cereals. 
We  are  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  United  States  as  the  granary 
of  the  world,  and  of  young  Chicago  as  stand- 
ing high  among  the  grain  marts  of  the  world. 
We  also  understood  from  our  Western  papers 
that  measures  had  been  taken  for  a  creditable 
display  of  the  productions  of  the  fertile  soil  in 
our  grain  growing  States  of  the  Mississippi 
valley.  AVe  are,  therefore,  a  little  disappointed 
by  the  award  of  premiums  in  the  grain  depart- 
ment of  the  Paris  Exposition,  and  by  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  of  the  intelligent  correspon- 
dent of  the  Prairie  Farmer  upon  this  part  of 
the  exhibition. 

In  the  amount  of  specimens  in  this  depart- 
ment, which  embraces  "cereals  and  other  eata- 
bles, farinaceous  products,  with  their  deriva- 
tives," we  were  as  well  represented  as  other 
nations,  though  our  arrangement  for  showing 
them  was  inferior.  Yet  this  writer  says,  "were 
Indian  corn  and  a  ievf  samples  of  wheat  out  of 
a  great  number,  especially  those  from  Califor- 
nia, excluded,  we  should  have  but  little  left  to 
show  the  fertility  of  our  soil,  or  the  adapta- 
bility of  our  climate  to  the  production  of  ani- 
mal food,  or  the  skill  of  our  fanners  as  evinced 
in  the  tilling  of  the  soil. 

Lest  some  may  consider  me  as  doing  injus- 
tice to  our  country,  continues  this  writer,  let 
them  look  at  the  award  of  premiiuns  upon  col- 
lections of  cereals,  just  made.  They  will  find 
the  gold  medals  distril)uted  as  follows  ;  Russia, 
three  ;  Prussia,  five  ;  France,  four  ;  Portugal, 
two;  Spain,  one  ;  English  Colonies,  (Austra- 
lia) one  ;  Duchy  of  Mecklenburg,  one  : — none 
going   to   the   United   States.     Of  the   silver 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


485 


medals,  one  goes  to  the  United  States  (Cali- 
fornia) the  rest  as  follows  :  Great  Britain,  one  ; 
France,  one  ;  Belgium,  three  ;  Austria,  seven  ; 
Spain,  three  ;  Italy,  four ;  Chili,  one  ;  Egpyt, 
one;  English  Colonies,  (Canada,)  two.  Among 
the  bronze  medals  we  figure  to  the  extent  of 
six,  while  France  carries  off  seventeen  ;  Greece, 
one  ;  Sweden,  two  ;  Italy,  seven  ;  English  col- 
onies, twenty-four ;  Belgium,  five ;  Prussia, 
ten ;  Turkey,  two ;  Portugal,  six ;  Russia, 
nine  ;  Sweden,  one ;  Morocco,  one ;  Brazil, 
one. 

Among  the  Honorable  Mentions  we  find  two 
awarded  to  the  States,  while  the  remainder  are 
distributed  in  about  the  same  proportion  as  the 
silver  medals,  among  other  countries. 

With  the  exception  of  Duryea's  preparation 
of  corn,  called  Maizena,  and  well  known  in 
the  States  as  an  article  for  puddings,  «S:c., — 
very  nearly  the  same  thing  as  corn  starch,  but 
superior — I  think  all  the  higher  awards  for  the 
preparation  of  farinaceous  matters  go  to  other 
countries. 

Indian  corn,  is,  I  find,  grown  more  or  less 
in  almost  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  few  places, 
however,  do  the  larger  varieties  approach  the 
products  of  the  Western  States.  In  Australia 
we  have  the  most  successful  competitor.  In- 
deed all  her  cereals  are  of  very  fine  quality. 
The  valley  of  the  Rhine  also  contributes  quite 
creditable  displays.  But  for  the  entire  conti- 
nent, where  it  grows  at  all,  they  must  depend 
upon  the  smaller  varieties  of  fiint  corn. 

The  people  here  are  gradually  being  educated 
up  to  acknowledge  the  fact  that  maize  may 
be  really  a  palatable  and  healthful  article  for 
diet.  Each  year  will  witness  an  increase  in 
the  demand  of  our  corn  for  human  food,  as 
well  as  food  for  beasts.  Where  grown,  it  now 
forms  a  large  share  of  the  food  of  the  peasantry. 

In  regard  to  other  cereals  it  is  difficult  to 
state  from  whence  come  the  best  specimens. 
The  case  of  English  Pedigree  wheat  is  very 
fine,  the  heads  being  of  gigantic  size,  but  it 
hardly  excels  in  many  respects,  that  from  Cal- 
ifornia, while  it  must  be  admitted  that  Southern 
Illinois  and  Michigan  send  most  excellent 
samples.  The  Surprise  Oats  of  Illinois  find 
competition,  successful  perhaps,  in  the  New 
Market  Oats,  weighing  fifty  pounds  to  the 
bushel,  ami  in  the  samples  from  Sweden.  The 
most  uniform  grain  on  exhibition  is  barley. 
Almost  every  country  presents  it,  and  it  is  uni- 
formly good.  In  the  French  and  German  de- 
partments we  find  most  beautiful  samples  of 
beans,  in  great  variety.  Much  more  attention 
is  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  this  crop  here  than 
in  the  States.  Of  course  beans  form  an  im- 
portant article  of  diet  all  over  Europe,  but  one 
nowhere  meets  with  the  "baked  beans"  of 
New  England.  A  large,  Vhite,  kidney  bean, 
called  Haricot,  is  to  be  had  at  all  times  at 
French  restaurants,  especially  in.  those  of  sec- 
ond rate  character. 

From  all  I  can  learn,  I  should  judge  that  rye 
is  every  year  becoming  a  less  important  crop. 


both  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  continent. 
The  samples  I  have  noticed  are  in  no  wise  re- 
markable, either  at  the  exhibition  or  growing 
in  the  fields.  It  is  very  certain  that  the  spe- 
cimens from  our  own  country  are  not  of  unex- 
ceptionable character.  Much  of  it  is  but  very 
indifferently  cleaned. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CHEMICAL  TERMS. 

By  the  alchemists  and  earlier  chemists,  ar- 
bitrary terms  were  applied  to  the  substances 
which  they  treated.  Nothing  was  taught  re- 
specting their  composition  or  properties,  by 
the  names  by  which  they  were  known.  Such 
terms  conveyed  no  definite  meaning  to  the  un- 
initiated. Indeed,  they  were  often  given  for 
the  express  purpose  of  concealment.  The 
whole  subject  of  chemistry  was  then  involved 
in  mystery,  which  has  hardly  yet  been  dissi- 
pated from  the  minds  of  persons  who  have  paid 
no  attention  to  the  subject. 

A  simple  thought  which  was  seized  by  the 
French  chemists  in  the  latter  part  of  the  last 
century,  and  made  the  basis  of  a  system  of 
nomenclature,  did  much  to  remove  the  veil  of 
mystery  in  which  chemistry  was  involved,  and 
from  that  time  it  took  its  place  among  the  fixed 
and  definite  sciences.  This  thought,  which 
has  wrought  such  a  wonderful  change  in  the 
whole  subject,  was  simply  that  the  name  given 
•to  any  substance  should  describe  its  composi- 
tion. The  chemical  names  now  in  use  do  actu- 
ally describe,  so  far  as  is  possible,  the  elements 
which  enter  into  the  composition  of  the  bodies 
to  which  they  are  given.  The  adoption  of  this 
system  of  naming,  introduced  a  new  era  into 
chemical  science,  and  rendered  it  one  of  the 
most  delightful  and  fascinating  studies. 

Some  knowledge  of  chemistry  has  now  be- 
come a  necessity  to  agriculturists.  Chemi- 
cal terms  are  now  found  in  all  treatises  upon 
agricultural  subjects,  and  it  is  important  that 
all  cultivators  should  know  precisely  what  is 
meant  by  these  terms.  I  think,  Mr.  Editor, 
it  will  be  useful  to  your  readers  who  have  not 
had  an  opportunity  to  study  the  elements  of 
chemistry,  to  give  a  definition  of  some  of  the 
terms  in  common  use  in  agricultural  papers, 
books  and  discussions.  Without  a  clear  and 
definite  understanding  of  the  terms  used  in 
discussing  any  subject,  we  cannot  have  dis- 
tinct ideas  respecting  the  subject  itself. 

As  I  do  not  propose  to  define  chemical  terms 
in,general,  but  to  confine  myself  to  those  which 
are  most  commonly  used  in  agricultural  works, 
I  shall  not  attempt  any  special  classification  of 
them,  but  shall  speak  of  them  as  they  occur  to 
me.  Two  or  three  short  articles  will  include 
all  I  have  to  say  upon  the  subject. 

I  will  begin  by  giving  definitions  of  some  of 
the  terms  used  in  chemical  operations  and 
manipulations. 

Analysis. — This  is  derived  from  two  Greek 
words  which  signify  to  loosen,  to  divide,  to  let 


486 


^'EW    EXGIAXD    FARMER. 


Oct. 


go.  Bv  this  tenu  is  meant  the  division  of 
oompound  bodies  into  the  siuipU>  substanees  of 
■which  they  are  compounded.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  analysis,  the  proiimate  and  ultimate. 
Bv  proximate  analysis  is  meant  the  separation 
of  bodies  into  the  more  obvions  and  sensible 
substances  of  which  they  arc  composed.  By 
the  proximate  analysis  of  a  plant,  it  is  i-educed 
to  woodv  tibre,  sug:ir.  staivh.  siluten,  albumen, 
oil.  resin,  coloring  matter.  i!cc.  These  sub- 
stances are  called  proximate  elements.  By 
the  ultimate  analysis  these  proximate  elements 
ajv  reduced  to  cjirbon.  oxygen,  hydrogen,  ni-  j 
trogen.  phosphorus,  «S:c.  These  are  called  ul- 
timate elementji,  because  the  reduction  can  be  ! 
carried  no  tarther.  and  we  have  reached  the 
simplest  or  ultimate  substances  which  enter 
into  the  composition  of  the  several  parts  of  the 
plant. 

Syxthksis  is  the  opposite  of  Analysis.  It , 
is  derived  from  two  Greek  words  which  me.in 
to  put  together.  It  means  to  reconstruct  by 
putting  together  the  substances  of  which  a 
compound  body  is  composed  ;  to  re-unite  the 
separated  elements  in  their  proper  propor- 
tions. 

Chemical  ArrnaTY  is  that  property  which 
disposes  bodies  to  seize  upon  .and  unite  with 
each  other,  forming  new  bodies  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  either  of  them  before  they  were 
united.  If  also  keeps  them  united  until  some 
substance  is  presented  which  has  a  stronger 
alhnity  for  one  of  them  than  they  have  for 
each  "other.  When  this  happens,  a  divorce 
t.akes  place  between  the  substances  that  had 
been  previously  married,  and  a  new  union  fol- 
lows, imder  tlie  influence  of  this  same  law  of 
atfinitv  between  the  new  substance  presented 
and  one  of  the  others,  while  the  remaining  one 
is  left  in  a  widowed  condition,  and  ready  for  a 
new  union.  Thus,  if  to  a  solution  of  sulphate 
of  iron,  which  is  sulphuric  acid  combined  with 
oxide  of  iron,  you  add  a  quantity  of  potash, 
the  sulphuric  acid,  having  a  stronger  affinity 
for  potash  than  it  has  for  the  oxide  of  iron, 
will  leave  the  oxide  of  iron  and  unite  with  the 
potash,  forming  sulphate  of  potash,  and  the 
oxide  of  iron  will  be  left  in  the  form  of  a 
brown  powder,  or  rust. 

SonTTiox. — ^Vhen  a  solid  body  is  dissolved 
in  a  liquid,  so  as  .to  become  clear  and  trans- 
parent, it  is  called  a  solution.  In  this  case. 
no  chemical  union  takes  place,  but  merely  a 
division  of  the  particles  of  the  solid  body, 
which  are  diffused  in  the  liquid.  The  particles 
are  so  minutely  divided  that  they  are  not  per- 
ceptible by  the  eye.  The  change  that  has 
taken  place  is  mechanical,  not  chemical. 

SOLVEXT. — Any  tluid  that  will  perfectly  dis- 
solve a  body  is  called  a  solvent.  Water  will 
dissolve  gum.  but  it  will  not  dissolve  resin. 
Alcohol  will  dissolve  resin,  but  will  not  dis- 
solve gum.  ^Vater  then  is  a  solvent  of  gum : 
alcohol  is  a  solvent  of  resin.  In  most  cases 
the  power  of  solvents  is  limited ;  that  is,  they 


will  dissolve  only  a  certain  proportion.  If 
more  is  added,  it  eirher  falls  to  the  bottom  or 
renders  the  thiid  turbid;  because  the  particles 
are  imperfectly  divided  and  merely  tloat  about 
in  the  solvent. 

Pi!ECiriTATiox. — If  to  a  solution  of  any 
solid  anotiier  body  is  added,  that  causes  the 
particles  of  the  solid  to  separate  from  the 
liquid  and  fall  to  the  bottom,  these  particles 
are  said  to  be  precipitated,  and  the  process  is 
called  precipitation ;  and  the  substance  which 
thus  falls  to  the  bottom  is  called  a  precipitate. 

Concord.  Miiss..  Aug.  '2o,  18G7.  R. 


[ 


For  the  AVir  Enghuid  Farmer. 
NEED    OF    BETTER    FARMING. 

I  am  not  a  farmer,  and  do  not  presume  to 
instruct  members  of  that  most  ancient  craft. 
I  simply  seek  for  intbrmation. 

I  have  seen  a  field  of  which  one  portion 
produced  b.'-.rely  a  half  a  ton  of  hay  to  the 
acre,  while  another  portion  yielded  three  half 
tons  or  more  per  acre.  1  said  to  myself, 
somethint;:  is  wrong  here.  If  that  soil  is  good 
for  three  half  tons,  wherefore  is  the  owner  con- 
tent with  one-third  that  amount  ?  Is  it  good 
husbandry  or  patriotic  ? 

"We  have  not  time  to  break  up  the  whole 
piece."  Have  not  time  to  cultivate  your  land  ? 
Wherefore,  then,  have  you  the  land?  The 
earth  is  given  fbr  the  support  of  God"s  crea- 
tures, and  are  you  guiltless  if  simply  to  be  the 
proud  possessor  of  broad  acres,  you  hold  on 
to  that  which  you  cannot  use  ? 

"We  cannot  afibrd  to  manure  highly  and 
farm  thoroughly."  Do  you  really  mean  to 
say  that  skill,  intelligence  and  the  use  of  cap- 
ital are  thrown  away  in  the  care  of  the  soil .'' 
If  so.  yours  is  the  only  craft  of  which  that  can 
be  tnjly  affirmed. 

Where  is  the  farmer  who  can  truly  say  he 
gives  to  each  and  every  acre  of  his  farm 
the  attention  necessary  to  develop  their  best 
and  entire  resources  ?  Yet  why  stop  short  of 
that  point  ?  I  know  of  one  farm,  not  a  bad 
specimen  either,  where  field  after  field  is 
scraped  over  year  in  and  y?ar  out  at  the  low- 
est possible  rate  of  production.  The  man 
bought  his  land  and  paid  for  it,  and  is  content 
with  reaping  but  one-third  the  proper  crop. 
What  would  be  thought  of  one  who  should  erect 
a  ten  thousand  dollar  dam  across  Connecticut 
River  and  then  occupy  the  whole  with  a  one- 
horse  shingle  shop  ?  You  would  say  it  was  a 
foolish  operation.  Is  he  wise  who  avails  him- 
self of  but  one-third  the  "power"  of  his  farm? 
Yet  I  fear  there  are  many  such.  I  know  farms, 
which  I  think  could  be  divided  into  several 
parts  and  each  part  yield  a  profit  equal  to  that 
of  the  whole,  as  noi*  carried  on. 

This  whole  matter  may  admit  of  explana- 
tion, which  will  show  that  everything  is  done 
rightly,  but  it  looks  otherwise  to  me.  It  seems 
unpatriotic  in  this,  that  land  is  occupied  that  is 
not  adequately  improved ;  thereby  depriving 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


487 


the  countn-  of  a  portion  of  its  rightftil  re- 
sources. The  owner  will  neither  till  the  soil 
himself  nor  part  with  a  portion  to  one  who 
will. 

1  have  been  told  that  a  certain  man  used 
to  be  obliged  to  go  twice  to  Boston  to 
ma'-ket,  with  his  pork,  dire,  every  year: 
but  that  now  one  horse  could  draw  all  that  the 
entire  district,  where  he  lived,  has  to  spare. 
Such  a  state  of  thinofs  tends  directly  to  indi- 
vidual and  national  impoverishment.  I  do  not 
like  to  think  that  the  art  of  the  agriculturist  is 
behind  others  in  this  age.  I  do  not  believe  it 
is.  But  there  are  some  things  that  need  re- 
form. You  will  hear  it  said  that  no  farmer 
can  make  money  who  hires  his  work  done,  or 
who  has  a  farm  so  large  as  to  need  much  hired 
help.  Perhaps  he  cannot,  but  he  ought  to, 
just  as  much  as  in  any  other  department  of 
business.  True  one  who  invests  a  thousand 
dollars  in  a  farm,  and  hires  all  his  work  done 
ought  not  to  make  more  money  than  men  do 
in  other  business  managed  in  the  same  way ; 
yet  to  say  that  hired  labor  is  necessarily  un- 
profitable is,  or  ought  to  be,  incorrect. 

It  seems  to  me  that  our  farmers  should  not 
be  content  with  half  a  crop  of  any  sort,  when 
the  full  one  is  attainable.  If  more  or  better 
maehiner)'  is  needed,  let  it  be  had,  and  as 
cheap  as  possible,  but  by  all  means  let  our 
farms  be  better  tilled.  a. 

New  HampsTcire,  1867. 


For  the  Xeir  England  Farmer. 
HEDGES   FOB   KATLHOAD    FENCES. 

In  an  interesting  letter  from  India,  the  wri- 
ter says,  that,  in  many  localities,  the  railroads 
are  fenced  with  hedges  of  the  Cactus  and 
Prickly  Pear.  They  form  an  effective  barrier 
against  cattle,  and  are  grown  so  thickly  that  a 
bird  can  scarcely  fly  through  them  :  and  when 
in  bloom  their  rich  and  gay  colors  greatly  en- 
hance the  beauty  of  the  scener}-.  As  we  see 
these  plants  tenderly  cultivated  in  green  houses 
or  in  conservatories,  we  hardly  realize  the  pro- 
fusion and  luxuriance  in  which  they  grow  in 
their  native  soil,  or  that  they  can  be  made  so 
useful.  As  the  subject  of  fences  is  becoming 
a  matter  of  grave  importance  in  the  older 
States  and  in  the  Western  upon  the  open 
prairies  and  woodless  plains,  cannot  our  rail- 
road companies  take  a  hint  from  this  custom, 
and  seek  among  the  gifts  of  nature  material 
for  live  fences,  that  shall  be  durable  and  at 
the  same  time  ornamental  ?  I  wonder  why 
well  e?tablished  companies  do  so  little  towards 
improving  the  appearance  of  their  roads, 
when  they  are  so  lavish  in  fitting  up  pas- 
senger cars  and  in  ornamenting  locomotives  ; 
whv  the  rough  banks  are  not  smoothed  down, 
the  unsightly  places  cleared  up  and  some  kind 
of  vegetation  encouraged  to  grow  to  cover  the 
fre^h  gravel  and  sand,  and  keep  down  the 
dust.  It  could  not  be  said  such  work  was 
done  solely  for  the  pleasure  and  comfort  of 


the  travelling  public,  for  it  would  materially 
benefit  the  railroafl  companies.  A  thick  mat 
of  grass  would  effectually  prevent  the  washing 
and  gxdlying  of  steep  banks  which  continually 
occur  in  their  unprotected  state.  The  land 
along  the  track  could  not  be  turned  to  a  better 
purpose  than  to  producing  live  fences.  There 
is  ample  room  for  double,  triple  and  quadru- 
ple rows  and  even  belts  of  trees.  I  do  not 
know  as  this  climate  will  afford  such  showy 
and  formidable  barriers  as  the  tropics.  In  the 
South  and  Southwest,  the  Cherokee  Rose  would 
make  a  cheap  and  effec-tive  fence.  In  the 
Northern  States  selection  can  be  made  from 
hardier  plants,  as  the  Buckthorn,  the  ever- 
greens,— Hemlock,  Spruce,  Arbor  Vit^e,  and 
White  Pine,  in  double  and  triple  rows,  and 
well  trimmed  when  young,  would  be  pleasing 
additions  to  the  landscape.  Their  bright  and 
cheerful  green,  all  the  year,  would  compare 
favorably  with  the  brilliant  Cactus  of  the  tro- 
pics. 1  have  seen  high  and  tight  board  fences 
erected  along  the  banks  of  deep  cuts  to  pre- 
vent snow  from  drifting  in, — a  belt   of  ever- 

'  greens  would  be  as  effective.  The  great  di- 
versity of  soil  through  which  some  roads  pass, 
gives  an  opportunity  for  a  variety  of  hedges, 
and  avoids  the  monotony  of  a  single  kind. 
The  undulating  surfaces,  curves  and  straight 
lines  afford  still  further  opportunities  for  grace- 
ful and  pleasing  arrangements   of  varieties, 

j  sizes  and  groups. 

I      I  am  aware  that  live  fences  have  fallen  some- 
1  what  into  disfavor.     This  arises  partly  fi-om  a 
bad  selection  of  plants,  inexperience  in  their 
management,  and  in  growing  them  in  gardens 
that  are  too  small  for  them  to  look  well  or  even 
thrive   well  without   encroaching   upon  other 
things   more  valuable.     But  these    objections 
would  be  of  no  weight  with  railroad  companies, 
because  their  land  is  of  no  profit,  and  their  hedg- 
es would  be  on  a  scale  to  warrant  skilful  and  com- 
petent care.  AH  companies  are  anxious  to  induce 
travellers  to  patronize  their  particular  routes, 
I  and  can  they  not  offer  the  additional  attraction 
of  having  everything  about  their  roads  present 
'■  a  neat  and  finished  appearance  ?    Certainly  the 
'  well-to-do  companies  can  afford  something  for 
:  gratifving  the  eye.  but  when  an  improvement 
'  claims  both  utility  and  beauty  there  is  a  two- 
j  fold  reason  for  its  consideration  and  adoption. 

!      Lawrence,  Mass.,  Aug.  20,  1867. 


.  Remakks. — By  mentioning  "curves"  and 
"undulating  surfaces,"  our  correspondent  pos- 
siblv  su<T<Tests  one  objection  that  will  be  urged 
against  thick  side  hedges — the  obstruction  to 
the  view  of  the  track  which  they  would  inter- 
pose to  the  engineer.  On  some  lines,  consid- 
erable labor  is  annually  expended  for  the  re- 
moval of  bushes,  &c.,  which  intercept  such 
view,  and  serve  as  hiding  places  for  stray  ani- 


488 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


Oct. 


mals  that  might  suddenly  dash  upon  the  track 
in  front  of  the  train.  But  there  is  one  thing 
of  which  abutters  have  a  right  to  complain. 
We  allude  to  the  growth  on  railroad  banks  of 
noxious  weeds,  such  as  the  ox-eye  daisy  and 
Canada  thistle.  We  have  watched  for  some 
years  the  gradual  increase  of  a  plantation  of 
the  latter  pest  in  the  town  of  Somerville  on 
the  Boston  and  Lowell  railroad,  which  we 
think  should  be  abated. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
rODDEK  CORN  AND  SUGAR  BEETS. 
We  are  indebted  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Irasburg,  Vt.,  Farmers'  Club,  Z.  E.  Jameson, 
Esq.,  for  the  following  report  of  the  discussion 
by  the  members  of  this  society  of  the  relative 
profit  of  fodder  corn  and  sugar  beets.  By 
sustaining  these  weekly  meetings  the  farmers 
of  Irasburg  are  an  example  which  may  be 
safely  commended  to  every  neighborhood  in 
New  England. 

N.  H.  Stiles  remarked  that  when  a  farmer 
steps  aside  from  the  regular  course  of  farming, 
to  raise  a  crop  that  will  increase  the  amount  of 
food  for  his  cattle,  he  naturally  inquires  what 
is  most  profitable.  Fodder  corn  is  well  adapt- 
ed to  summer  feeding,  and  if  properly  cured 
would  be  a  great  addition  to  the  winter  stores  ; 
but  sugar  beets  will  probably  yield  a  crop  of 
equal  or  greater  value  by  the  acre,  require 
no  curing,  and  can  be  fed  not  only  in  the  fall, 
but  all  through  the  winter  and  spring,  when 
such  succulent  food  proves  very  beneficial  to 
all  kinds  of  stock.  One  thousand  or  fifteen 
hundred  bushels  of  beets,  besides  the  tops, 
from  an  acre,  must  afford  such  an  amount  of 
food  as  to  give  a  decided  profit. 

G.  B.  Brewster  had  had  no  experience  with 
beets,  but  did  not  doubt  their  excellence  for 
winter  feed.  He  believed  fodder  corn  good  for 
cows  at  all  times.  He  had  now  fed  fodder  corn 
one  week,  and  his  twenty-five  cows  have  gained 
two  pails  (six  or  eight  gallons)  of  milk  a  day, 
over  the  amount  they  gave  before,  and  his 
cheese  are  an  inch  thicker  than  those  made 
previously  to  feeding  this  corn.  Without  this 
fodder,  the  cows  would  have  diminished  in 
milk.  Another  thing  :  this  food  causes  the  cat- 
tle to  keep  in  better  condition.  He  mows  a 
swath  about  seven  feet  wide  and  twenty  long, 
morning  and  night, — feeding  twice  a  day.  As 
there  is  a  larger  increase  in  the  size  of  his 
cheese  than  the  extra  cjuantity  of  milk  would 
lead  him  to  expect,  he  thinks  the  quality  is  im- 

S roved  in  a  greater  ratio  tiian  the  (juantity. 
Ir.  Brewster  sowed  two  bushels  of  VVestern 
dent  corn  on  about  half  an  acre  on  which  he 
had  v'lrded  his  cows  when  milking,  and  the 
growth  was  enormous. 


Wm.  L.  Locke,  Jr.,  said  he  sowed  five 
pecks  of  Western  corn  in  drills,  and  he  thought 
of  curing  it  for  winter  fodder,  as  his  cows  are 
doing  well  in  their  pasture,  and  he  had  heard 
that  one-fourth  of  an  acre  sowed  with  Western 
corn  will  produce  enough  to  winter  a  cow. 

S.  Yaw  observed  that  he  had  fed  corn  stalks 
to  cattle  with  decided  benefit. 

Z.  E.  Jameson  said  that  he  sowed  one  and 
a  half  bushels  of  Western  corn  broadcast  on 
about  a  third  of  an  acre  the  28th  day  of  June, 
and  e.xhibited  a  single  stalk  which  weighed  one 
and  a  fourth  pound.  He  also  showed  a  sugar 
beet,  planted  five  weeks  earlier,  which  weighed 
three  and  a  half  pounds.  A  beet  occupies 
about  a  foot  squre  of  ground,  while  several 
stalks  of  corn  grow  on  a  square  foot.  He  had 
fed  his  cows  just  one  week  with  corn  stalks, 
and  they  have  gained  three  pints  each  per  day 
in  milk,  and  a  pint  each  in  the  quantity  of 
cream  saved  during  the  week.  He  thinks  it  is 
more  work  to  sow  and  hoe  beets,  br.t  less  work 
to  harvest  and  store  them  safely,  than  fodder 
corn. 

J.  B.  Fasset  stated  that  the  field  of  corn 
owned  by  Mr.  Brewster  suited  him.  He  had 
never  raised  any  himself.  The  idea  of  sowing 
in  drills,  and  hoeing  had  heretofore  rather  de- 
terred him,  but  if  it  can  be  sowed  broadcast, 
like  oats,  and  yield  such  a  crop,  it  must  be 
profitable. 

Mr.  Brewster  feeds  out  about  one  square 
rod  a  day,  and  the  gain  in  cheese  is  perhaps 
seven  pounds,  and  the  gain  in  condition  of  the 
cows  must  be  about  a  dollar  a  day,  which 
would  be  $160  per  acre.  It  is  ready  for  use 
just  at  the  time  when  there  is  usually  a  scarcity 
of  feed  in  the  pastures.  Next  year  he  shall 
endeavor  to  have  both  fodder  corn  and  roots. 

Wm.  L.  Locke,  Jr.,  said  he  had  several 
times  sent  to  B.  K.  Bliss,  Springfield,  Mass., 
for  seed.  This  year  he  ordered  one-quarter 
of  a  pound  of  Skirving  purple  rutabaga  seed. 
He  thought  every  seed  was  good,  as  there 
were  plants  enough  for  an  acre.  It  was  a  job 
to  hoe  and  thin  them  out.  They  are  doing 
well  now.  The  land  where  he  planted  them 
did  not  yield  last  year  over  500  lbs.  of  hay 
per  acre.  He  plowed  it  in  the  spring  and  put 
on  the  scrapings  of  the  barn-yard,  and  har- 
rowed it  in ;  then  marked  the  drills  with  a 
plow,  and  scattered  in  the  drills  the  droppings 
of  the  hen  roost,  of  which  he  had  a  wagon 
load.  He  then  covered  this  manure  with  a 
little  dirt,  and  dropped  the  seed  in  hills  a  foot 
apart. 

For  ihe  Xew  England  Farmer. 
FARMING.— THE    TRUE    POLICY. 

Having  seen  and  read  numerous  agricultural 
papers,  I  conclude  that  they  are  each  and  all 
but  diirerent  versions  of  the  same  sul)ject: — 
Agriculture — being  devoted  mainly  to  the  de- 
tails of  farming,  under  various  conditions  and 
circumstances.     Still,  notwithstanding  the  ben- 


1 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


489 


efits  and  satisfaction  to  be  derived  from  readi 
ing  agricultural  papers,  but  a  small  proportion 
of  farmers  read  them.  The  condition  and  cir- 
cumstances of  landholders  are  so  diverse,  with 
respect  to  nearness  to  good  markets,  pecunia- 
ry ability,  and  many  other  things  too  numerous 
to  mention,  that  our  farmers  will  for  the  future, 
as  they  have  in  times  past,  do  what  seemeth 
right  in  their  own  eyes.  However  desirable 
smooth  and  well  cultivated  fields,  highly  im- 
proved farms,  large  and  abundant  crops,  choice 
breeds  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  swine  and  fowls 
may  be,  they  are  not  attainable  by  all.  A  con- 
siderable amount  of  land  is  encumbered  by  a 
mortgage,  whose  owners  are  cramped  for 
means.  Others  push  forward  improvements 
vigorously,  which  add  little  or  nothing  to  the 
annual  income  of  the  land,  or  to  its  real  mar- 
ket value,  while  still  others  divide  their  time 
between  cultivating  their  farms  and  attention 
to  other  pursuits. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  immediate  profits 
of  flirming  are  small,  when  compared  with 
many  other  vocations,  while  it  is  not  subject  to 
the  fluctuations,  the  ups  and  downs,  incident  to 
some  other  callings.  The  fact  must  be  admit- 
ted that  farmers,  to  meet  their  numerous  fam- 
ily and  ether  expenses,  must  obtain  considera- 
ble money,  either  by  way  of  revenue  from  their 
farms,  or  some  other  source. 

Political  economy  teaches  that  human  beings 
are  the  subjects  of  expense  during  infancy, 
childhood  and  youth  ;  and  also  during  the  de- 
cline of  life.  Hence,  if  during  the  period  of 
health,  strength  and  active  labor,  sufficient 
funds  are  not  accumulated  to  equal  the  expense 
of  support  in  infancy  and  old  age,  we  do  not 
"act  well  our  part,"  but  are  a  burden  to  oth- 
ers. A  farmer  who,  while  enjoying  health  and 
strength  and  reason,  is  not  accumulating  a  sur- 
plus, is  in  fact  indirectly  wasting  his  estate.  We 
are  at  all  times  liable  to  contingent  expenses. 
Sickness,  accidents,  and  misfortunes  may  oc- 
cur at  any  moment ;  buildings  are  constantly 
going  out  of  repair ;  implements  are  wearing 
out ;  horses  and  carriages,  as  well  as  all  the 
fixtures  of  a  farm  establishment,  are  continu- 
ally depreciating  in  value. 

As  the  country  grows  older,  and  the  popu- 
lation more  dense,  the  various  professions  and 
trades  will  be  compelled  to  submit  to  a  more 
severe  competition ;  diminished  opportunities 
will  exist  for  enterprise ;  poverty,  want,  and 
even  pauperism,  will  increase,  and  farming  will 
have  to  be  conducted  in  a  more  skilful  and  sci- 
entific manner.  The  taxes  on  real  estate  must 
for  years,  if  not  for  ages,  be  high,  because  it 
has  to  represent  an  undue  proportion  of  the 
valuation  of  the  country,  since  a  vast  amount 
of  public  and  private  securities  pay  no  tax 
whatever.  Buying  cheap  and  selling  high, 
however  commendable,  will  avail  but  little  if 
not  conducted  discreetly.  Some  of  our  larg- 
est insolvent  debtors  were  the  keenest  at  a 
trade. 

One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  devel- 


opment of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the 
country,  is  a  lack  of  means  on  the  part  of  pri- 
vate individuals.  This  may  be  imputed  to  nu- 
merous causes,  such  as  shiftle^sness,  prodigali- 
ty, unstable  habits,  vice  in  its  many  forms, 
continuous  small  and  trifling  expenses,  neglect- 
ing to  sell  surplus  produce,  accidents,  losses 
and  misfortunes  beyond  human  control.  Al- 
most every  man  of  mature  or  advanced  age 
has  earned  or  done  business  enough,  if  the 
avails  of  it  were  judiciously  disposed  of,  to 
make  a  respectable  fortune,  or  at  least  a  com- 
petency. A  few  facts  and  figures  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here.  The  small  sum  of  twenty 
cents  per  week,  unnecessarily  expended,  or  in 
any  manner  wasted,  as  for  tobacco,  for  fifty 
years,  say  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  seventy, 
will,  at  six  per  cent,  compound  interest,  amount 
to  upwards  of  $2900.  The  sum  of  $25  per 
annum,  or  less  than  fifty  cents  per  week,  which 
is  exceeded  by  many  families  in  the  two  arti- 
cles of  ardent  spirits  and  tobacco,  exceeds 
$7250.  After  having  indulged  in  such  need- 
less expense  for  so  long  a  period,  what  returns 
have  we  therefor  ?  Neither  the  consciousness 
of  having  done  right,  nor  security  for  the  fu- 
ture, nor  health,  honor  or  respectability.  My 
distinct  meaning  is,  that  however  desirable 
highly  improved  and  well  stocked  farms,  judi- 
cious buying  and  selling,  persistent  industry, 
extreme  economy,  may  be  on  the  part  of  agri- 
culturists,— either  or  all  of  these  will  not 
fulfil  their  expectations,  if  honor,  or  strict  in- 
tegrity, or  a  severe  morality,  are  not  rigidly 
adhered  to.  A.  Leavitt. 

Chichester.  N.  H.,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
S'WATfS.  GEESE,  &c. 

On  passing  the  pond  in  the  Public  Garden, 
I  have  watched  of  late,  with  some  anxiety,  the 
white  swan  which  has  been  sitting  quietly  in 
the  rustic  enclosure  near  the  bridge,  hoping  to 
see  for  the  first  time  the  young  cygnets.  But 
this  morning — August  5th — I  noticed  that  she 
had  abandoned  the  nest.  In  company  with  the 
obliging  superintendent,  the  eggs,  three  in 
number,  were  examined,  and  all  Ibund  to  be 
rotten,  with  no  visible  formation  in  either; 
showing  the  great  difficulty  attending  the 
propagation  of  the  swan  in  this  latitude. 

The  swan  attains  to  a  great  age.  I  was  as- 
sured by  an  old  gamekeeper  that  one  was  kept 
upwards  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years 
upon  one  of  the  old  estates  of  England.  Think 
of  a  bird  that  had  been  watched  by  five  gener- 
ations of  men!  There  is  a  sort  of  "solitary 
grandeur"  about  the  swan  that  belongs  to  no 
other  bird ;  and  their  grace  and  beauty  upon 
the  water  has  been  the  theme  of  all  time. 

They  lay  but  few  eggs — from  three  to  six — 
and  propagate  at  intervals  of  from  two  to  ten 
years,  according  to  age,  &c.  It  will  be  seen 
that  God  has  other  purposes  for  these  birds 
than  to  administer  to  the  physical  wants  of 


490 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


man  ;  and  that,  like  the  gorgeous  birds  of  the 
tropics,  and  the  wonderful  plants  that  blossom 
but  once  in  a  century,  they  constitute  in  part 
the  poetry  of  nature. 

All  birds  of  their  species,  such  as  geese, 
ducks,  &c.,  in  a  state  of  nature,  migrate  to  a 
northern  latitude  to  propagate.  It  will  be 
recollected  that  Dr.  Kane  found  the  islands 
and  cliffs  of  Labrador  and  those  of  "Weary 
Man's  Rest,"  literally  swarming  with  them. 
Nature  teaches  them  to  provide  against  rep- 
tiles, birds  and  beasts  of  prey,  and  hot  weath- 
er. Those  that  have  watched  them  on  their 
camping-grounds  tells  us  that  they  begin  to  lay 
their  eggs  soon  after  their  arrival  at  the  North. 
They  make  their  nest  upon  the  ground,  with 
no  covering  but  the  canopy  above.  When 
they  begin  to  sit,  the  male  bird  takes  his  turn 
at  incubation,  while  the  female  is  off  gathering 
food — thus  exhibiting  a  wonderful  instinct,  by 
which  the  eggs  are  prevented  from  getting 
chilled,  where  snow  and  rain  are  often  failing. 

"Nature  in  all  things,"  was  Thoreau's  mot- 
to ;  and  acting  upon  a  suggestion  from  him,  I 
obtained  a  most  valuable  hint  in  the  hatching 
of  domestic  fowls. 

But,  Mr.  Editor,  I  began  to  write  about  wa- 
ter birds,  and  at  some  future  time  will  give 
some  suggestions  concerning  the  rearing  and 
marketing  of  domestic  poultry.  H. 

Boston,  Aug.  5,  1867. 


Remarks. — In  the  Farmer,  Sept.  1,  1866, 
we  gave  some  account  of  the  swans  on  the  pond 
in  the  Public  Garden,  of  Boston,  with  an  illus- 
tration of  a  pair  of  these  graceful  birds.  To 
those  of  our  readers  who  were  interested  in 
that  article,  the  foregoing  will  be  acceptable. 


TOP-DRESSING    MEADOWS. 

At  a  late  discussion  of  the  best  way  and 
time  to  top-dress  meadows,  by  the  Herkimer 
County,  N.  Y.,  Farmers'  Club,  the  general 
opinion  seemed  to  be  that  the  best  results 
were  obtained  by  using  well  rotted  dung,  ap- 
plied immediately  after  haying,  using  a  brush 
to  brush  it  down  fine,  so  that  it  may  be  dis- 
tributed evenly  and  reach  all  the  plants.  If  a 
sprinkling  of  plaster  be  sown  immediately  up- 
on this  top-dressing,  it  fixes  the  ammonia  and 
prevents  loss.  The  manure  also  served  to 
protect  the  roots  of  grass  from  the  rays  of  the 
sun,  which  often  acted  injuriously  upon  mead- 
ows after  the  grass  was  cut.  Judge  Owen 
made  the  following  statement : — 

Some;  }cars  ago  he  owned  twelve  acres  of 
Mohawk  Ihits ;  it  had  been  severely  cropped, 
and  was  poor — {)erhaps  the  poorest  piece  of 
land  on  tlie  JMuluiwk.  lie  purchased  four  luui- 
hred  loads  of  btable  manure,  and  applied  it  in 


a  fresh  or  raw  state,  and  with  but  little  im- 
provement to  the  soil  or  crops.  Then  he 
looked  about  for  another  course  of  treatment, 
and  purchased  a  thousand  yards  of  well  rotted 
dung.  It  was  all  in  one  pile,  and  had  been 
accumulating  for  five  years.  It  was  at  a  barn 
that  stood  six  feet  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  the  manure  had  been  thrown  out 
until  the  accumulation  had  reached  the  sills  of 
the  building.  Straw  had  from  time  to  time 
been  thrown  upon  the  excrement  of  s4ock,  and 
this  had  prevent  evaporation,  making  a  solid 
mass  of  rich  manure.  This  material  was  cart- 
ed upon  the  land,  and  we  saw  the  effect — it 
turned  the  field  into  a  garden.  This  experi- 
ence convinced  him  of  the  value  of  rotted  over 
unrotted  manures. 


CHARCOAL  FOR  "WHEAT. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  those  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  cultivating  wheat — either  spring  or  win- 
ter— will  not  neglect  to  give  this  article  a  fair, 
patient,  and  impartial  trial,  and  note  carefully 
the  result. 

Charcoal,  it  is  well  known,  possesses,  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  the  power  of  attracting 
and  fixing  ammonia,  very  considerable  quanti- 
ties of  which  are  always  present  in  rain  water, 
as  well  as  in  the  snow  which  falls  during  winter. 
It  also  condenses  other  nutritive  gases  which, 
in  their  action,  are  highly  beneficial  to  wheat 
and  other  crops.  Twenty  bushels  of  finely 
pulverized  charcoal  would,  in  all  probability, 
be  an  ample  allowance  for  an  acre  of  wheat — 
that  is,  so  far  as  the  absorption  and  fixing  of 
these  aereform  substances  are  involved ;  al- 
though it  would  not,  of  course,  of  itself,  un- 
assisted by  putrescent  manure,  immediately 
transform  poor  soil  into  rich,  and  cause  it  to 
produce  an  affluent,  or  even  medium  crop  of 
grain. 

We  would  by  no  means  advocate  the  institu- 
tion of  expensive  experiments,  yet  we  are  san- 
guine that  the  time  has  already  arrived  when 
the  value  of  this  substance  for  manurial  pur- 
poses ought  to  be  thoroughly  and  accurately 
ascertained. 

As  it  possesses  the  power  of  absorbing 
ninety  times  its  weight  of  ammonia — alter- 
nately attracting  and  giving  out  (his  most  effi- 
cient agent  of  vegetable  life — and  as  this 
economy  is  continued  uninterruptedly  through- 
out the  vegetable  year,  there  can  be  no  (jues- 
tion,  we  think,  that  its  application,  in  certain 
given  (juantities,  would,  in  most  instances,  be 
highly  economical,  and  of  decided  benefit  to 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


491 


the  crop.  Such  as  may  not  feel  disposed  to 
enter  largely  into  experiments  of  this  descrip- 
tion, from  an  apprehension  of  loss  or  failure, 
may  try  it  on  a  small  scale, — say  on  a  quarter 
or  an  eighth  of  an  acre. 

It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader  to 
see  the  result,  in  this  connection,  of  certain 
organic  analyses  of  wheat  made  in  the  labora- 
tory of  M.  Boussmgault.  The  wheat  upon 
which  he  experimented,  was  previously  dried 
at  230  degrees  in  vacuo,  and  was  found  to 
contain, — 

Carbon, 46.1 

Oxygen, 43.4 

Hydrogen, 5.8 

^Nitrogen 2.3 

Ash, 2.4 

Total, 100.0 

In  charcoal  we  have  a  fair  representative  of 
carbon,  while  water  is  the  representative  of 
both  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  the  two  next  im- 
portant elements  in  wheat. 

"Azote,  or  nitrogen,  in  the  form  of  ammo- 
nia," says  a  distinguished  writer  on  geoponical 
science,  "or  nitric  acid,  (^aquafortis,)  and  the 
incombustible  part  of  plants  are  the  elements 
which  least  abound  in  soils,  and  should,  there- 
fore, be  husbanded  with  the  greatest  care." 

If  our  farmers  would  give  a  little  more  at- 
tention to  applying  what  is  termed  concentra- 
ted manures  in  the  cultivation  of  their  lands, 
we  should  soon  perceive  the  beneficial  re- 
sults of  such  a  practice,  not  only  in  its  im- 
mediate influence  upon  the  crops,  but  in  its 
permanent  action  on  the  soil.  But  the  fer- 
tilizers must  be  genuine. 

Charcoal,  for  instance,  is  a  substance  nearly 
indestructible.  When  buried  in  the  earth — no 
matter  what  may  be  the  physical  character  or 
condition  of  the  latter — it  rarely  undergoes 
any  perceptible  change  or  alteration  for  a  pe- 
riod of  many  years.  Old  coal  hearths  which 
have  been  cropt  for  generations,  are  still  found 
to  retain  their  opaque  color,  and  to  contain 
pieces  of  charcoal,  the  fractures  of  which  are 
to  all  appearance  as  perfect  as  when  drawn 
from  the  kiln. 

Charring  wood  is  well  known  to  increase 
greatly  its  durability,  if  charred  after  the  wood 
i  i  seasoned  ;  if  before  the  wood  is  seasoned, 
the  sap  cannot  readily  escape  and  the  centre 
of  the  wood  perishes  rapidly.  If  the  timber 
is  dry,  charring  greatly  increases  its  capacity  of 
resisting  atmospheric  action,  whether  above  or 
under  ground. 


Seasoned  posts,  which  have  been  prepared  by 
charring  that  portion  of  them  which  is  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  soil,  before  "setting," 
last  much  longer  than  the  same  kind  not  charred. 
So  that  the  farmer  who  applies  an  adequate 
dressing  of  charcoal  to  his  wheat  crop  this 
season,  may  expect  to  derive  important  advan- 
tages from  it  as  long  as  he  lives.  Charcoal  is 
also  valuable  in  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  par- 
ticularly the  plum  and  peach. 

Large  quantities  of  charcoal  dust  may  be 
obtained  from  various  portions  of  New  Eng- 
land, where  coal  is  made  for  market,  or  the 
coal  itself  may  be  ground  at  moderate  cost. 


FARMERS'    CLUBS. 

At  the  Farmers''  Institute,  N.  Y.,  a  few 
days  since,  Mr.  Daniel  F.  Rogers,  of  111., 
said, — "It  seems  to  be  a  question  what  sub- 
jects are  proper  for  discussion  at  the  Farmers' 
Club  meetings.  In  my  opinion,  there  is  no 
subject  of  any  considerable  importance  to  man- 
kind, a  liberal  and  intelligent  discussion  of 
which  is  not  within  the  proper  limits  of  any 
farmers'  club.  Many  farmers  seem  to  think 
that  farmers'  talk  should  be  only  of  farm  stock 
— pigs,  poultry,  plowing  and  manure. 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  occupation  of  a 
farmer  that  makes  it  necessary  that  he  should 
grovel  in  the  dirt ;  nothing  in  the  occupation 
of  a  farmer  to  prevent  his  being  an  educated 
man.  Intelligence,  with  them,  should  be  as 
free  and  glowing  as  the  sunshine  and  air  in 
which  we  live." 

This  sentiment  elicited  warm  applause,  as  it 
should.  The  more  practical  knowledge  the 
farmer  has — knowledge  that  can  be  applied  to 
his  business  in  all  its  bearings,  and  that  will 
embrace  nearly  all  the  sciences  and  arts — ^the 
more  he  will  enjoy  his  profession,  and  the  more 
power  he  will  possess  to  make  that  profession 
profitable  in  a  money  point  of  view,  as  well  as 
agreeable  to  his  tastes. 

It  is  entirely  an  error,  from  beginning  to 
end,  to  say  that  the  farmer  need  not  be  an 
educated  person.  No  business  on  earth,  it 
seems  to  us,  needs  it  more,  because  Jiis  busi- 
ness is  the  source  and  support  of  all  other 
business. 

— In  the  Mississippi  swamps  herds  grass  has 
been  found  which  was  five  feet  three  inches  high, 
with  heads  eiglit  inches  long.  The  seed  was  from 
forages  scattered  during  the  war. 


492 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Oct. 


->&m.-^vvv®^-«as\^'!<—' 


GIFFOBD    MOKGATT   COLT. 

We  present,  herewith,  the  above 
engraving  of  the  four-year-old  Gif- 
ford  Morgan  colt,  "Vermont,"  which 
received  the  first  premium  in  its  class 
at  the  State  Fair  in  Brattleboro',  Vt., 
in  September,  1854.  He  was  then 
owned  by  J.  H.  Peters  &  Co  ,  Brad- 
ford, and  was  claimed  to  be  the  most 
thorough-bred  Morgan  then  living ; 
being  a  descendant  of  the  old  Gilford 
and  Green  Mountain  Morgans.  The 
distinguishing  characteristics  of  these 
horses  are  neatness  and  compactness 
of  form,  hardiness  of  constitution, 
soundness  of  wind  and  limb,  strong 
digestive  organs,  enabling  them  to 
live  on  little  food,  good  action,  and 
a  high  degree  of  intelligence  and 
spirit. 


-WOOL   GRO^WTNG   AT   THE   LATEST. 

The  article  entitled  "Dark  Side  of  Wool 
Growing,"  which  we  copied  a  few  weeks  since 
from  the  Prairie  Farmer,  has  drawn  out  sev- 
eral replies  from  other  correspondents  of  that 
paper.  One  farmer  in  Iowa,  whose  experi- 
ence agrees  with  the  writer  "A.  R.  H.,"  so 
far  as  the  Merinos  are  concerned,  changed  his 
flock  for  Cotswolds  two  years  ago,  and  is 
much  pleased,  both  as  to  the  production  of 
mutton  and  wool,  with  his  experiment  thus 
far. 

A  farmer  in  Du  Page  County,  Illinois,  who 
still  adheres  to  the  "little,  nasty,  greasy,  black 
Spanish  sheep,"  figures  up  a  very  satisfactory 
income  from  his  flock  during  the  past  five 
years,  and  says  he  finds  no  trouble  in  selling 
sheep  or  wool,  and  does  not  know  of  a  man  in 
his  section  that  will  be  likely  to  give  his  sheep 
away  or  even  sell  them  at  much  of  a  reduction 
from  last  year's  prices. 

And  in  the  last  Prairie  Farmer  we  have  a 
lengthy  rejiponse  from  "Wool  Grower"  him- 
self, whose  "cyphering"  and  teaching  was  so 
severely  (criticised  by  the  writer  of  the  "Dark 
Side  of  Wool  Growing."  We  have  not  space 
to  pi-int  in  full  "Wool  Grower's"  replies  to 
the  complaints  of  this  writer  about  his  failures 
in  realizing  his  expectations  as  to  the  propor- 
tion of  lambs  raised  ;  to  the  weight  of  fleeces ; 
to  the  numl)er  of  sheep  a  farm  will  carry;  to 
the  unfavorable  effect  of  sheep  upon  pastures ; 


to  the  price  of  wool ;  to  the  tendency  of  the 
flock  to  degenerate  into  "culls,"  &c.  But  we 
must  copy  his  reply  to  the  remark  by  "A.  R. 
H.,"  "I  have  got  sheep  to  sell,  and  so  have 
nine-tenths  of  the  farmers  of  Illinois  :" — 

So  have  I  got  sheep  to  sell ;  I  sell  my  culls 
every  fall  and  wsually  a  lot  of  wethers  every 
year.  If  he  means  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
sheep  owners  in  the  State  wish  to  sell  out  of 
sheep,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  I  think  him  very 
badly  mistaken.  No  man  could  buy  at  any 
very  low  price  the  crop  of  lambs,  or  the  ewe- 
flock  of  any  of  our  long-time  flock  masters,  the 
class  he  distinguishes  by  the  epithets  "enthu- 
siastic" and  "fascinated."  I  can  tell  you  what 
the  enthusiasm  and  fascination  consist  in  ;  they 
consist  in  good,  large  and  well-improved 
farms,  growing  richer  every  day,  having  been 
"sheeped"  until  the  soil  is  better  than  the  day 
the  prairie  plow  rolled  the  sod  over.  They 
consist  in  good,  well-bred  flocks  of  sheep  ;  in 
good  teams,  and  plenty  of  farming  tools  and 
machinery ;  in  barns,  sheds  and  other  out- 
buildings ;  in  large,  comfortably, — and  in 
some  cases — luxuriously  furnislied  houses ;  in 
books,  newspapers  and  educated  children ; 
and  last,  but  not  often,  in  a  good  big  credit 
account  in  bank.  Who  would  not  be  enthusi- 
astic and  fascinated  on  those  terms  ? 

Our  Shelby  county  friend  takes  his  skite  at 
our  taritf.  He  shows  very  plainly  by  liis  own 
language  th.at  he  knows  very  well  icliji  it  is  not 
helping  the  price  of  wool  more  at  the  present 
time.  He  knows,  in  his  secret  thoughts,  that 
it  is  literally  true,  that  the  country  has  been 
rammed  full  of  woolen  goods.  Let  hi\H  ask 
any  manufacturer  here  at  home,  in  any  of  our 
larger  towns,    how  stands  the  case  with  him. 


1867, 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


493 


One  of  our  largest  manufiicturers  in  Central 
Illinois  said  at  sLearing-time  that  for  the  first 
time  in  a  factory-business  of  twenty  years,  he 
could  not  pay  cash  for  any  wool,  but  must  ex- 
change goods  for  what  he  bought.  I  have 
known  him  well  for  about  sixteen  years,  and  I 
am  satisfied  that  necessity,  not  policy,  brought 
him  to  that  decision.  Added  to  it,  perhaps, 
was  an  unwillingness  to  make  the  wool-grower 
as  petty  oifers  for  his  wool,  in  cash,  as  his  ne- 
cessities would  compel.  He  said  it  was  the 
first  time  he  had  ever  been  able  to  make  as 
many  goods  as  he  could  sell  at  home,  but  was 
then  scattering  them  around  the  central  part 
of  the  State  to  try  to  work  them  oIF  Of 
course  it  was  in  a  measure  his  own  fault,  or 
his  misfortune,  whichever  you  please,  as  he, 
like  all  manufacturers  both  Eastern  and  West- 
ern, had  doubled  his  machinery  during  the  last 
two  years  of  the  war.  During  the  same  peri- 
od, importers  imported  as  if  there  was  not  a 
factory  in  the  land.  In  addition  to  the  large 
amount  of  woolens,  as  affecting  the  price  of 
wool,  we  may  put  down  the  fact  that  we  wool- 
growers  are  now  crowding  all  the  large  mar- 
kets of  the  country  with  wool,  under  instruc- 
tions to  sell  it  "immediately,  if  not  sooner." 

A.  R.  H.  says  the  tariff  has  not  helped  the 
wool-grower  the  firfet  continental ;  rather  he 
puts  the  language  into  the  mouths  of  free  trade 
Congressmen.  I  beg  to  differ  with  him.  I 
feel  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  moral  force 
exerted  by  the  mere  fact  of  having  such  a 
tariff,  we  should  have  seen  a  panic  in  wool 
matters  equal  to  that  of  1861,  when  the  first 
Bull  Run  battle  scared  manufacturers  so  badly 
that  they  bought  much  Western  wool  at  28 
cents  per  pound.  He  need  not  borrow  any 
trouble  about  that  tariff  being  knocked  in  the 
head  next  winter — not  if  wool-growers  can 
exert  any  influence.  I  think  the  wool-grow- 
ers of  the  country  have  worked  too  hard  for 
two  or  three  years  past  to  get  this  tariff,  not 
to,  if  necessary,  work  still  harder  to  keep  it. 

Before  I  leave  this  matter  of  the  tarifr,  I 
would  like  to  ask  "A.  R.  H."  (inasmuch  as  he 
has  put  some  very  pointed  questions  to  me) 
whether  he  ever  gave  a  dollar  or  a  day's  time 
to  help  secure  the  tariff?  I  discover,  that,  in 
a  general  way,  the  men  who  exhibit  the  most 
querulousness  with  regard  to  the  tariff — the 
m£n  who  think  it  won't  do  any  good — that  the 
manufacturers  have  got  the  big  end — that  they 
even  framed  our  end  of  the  tariff,  &c.  &c.,  are 
the  men  who  don't  come  down  with  "the 
stamps." 

Having  reviewed  "A.  R.  H.'s"  chapter  of 
disappointments,  I  would  like  to  address  my- 
self for  a  short  time  to  the  whole  class  of  sick, 
supremely  disgusted,  four-year-old  sheep  men 
— a  sort  of  "application,"  as  the  preachers 
would  call  it — of  the  preceding  discourse. 

My  Very  Dear  Friends  : — You  all  claim 
to  be  very  sick  of  sheep.  I  have  no  doubt  you 
are,  and  most  possibly  with  reason  ;  but  the 
trouble  is  in  yourselves  and  not  in  the  business 


of  wool-growing.  Some  of  you  claim  to  be 
converts  of  mine.  I  have  sown  much  sheep- 
seed  in  the  last  seven  or  eight  years,  and  I  see 
that  in  your  cases  it  has  fallen  in  stony  ground  ; 
the  stalk,  after  four  year's  weakly  growth,  has 
withered  away,  because  it  had  not  nuich  root. 
I  have  always  said  that  not  all  nn-n  were 
called,  or  fit,  to  liandle  sheep ;  that  the  busi- 
ness of  sheep-raising  required  plenty  of  watch- 
fulness, every-day  care  and  hard  work.  Some 
of  you  who  took  up  the  shepherd's  crook,  are 
Reubens, — unstable  as  water,  ye  shall  not  ex- 
cel. You  are  the  class  which  make  fre(|uent 
changes  of  business, — every  change  involving 
a  loss.  It  always  so  happens  that  when  it 
rains  your  dishes  are  not  right  side  up.  You 
could  not  see  any  money  in  sheep  until  old 
culls — mere  dead  sheep — and  hard-driven  Mi- 
chijran  sheep,  sold  at  from  four  to  six  dollars 
each.  I  have  said  to  you  that  you  might  come 
out  right,  even  in  this  case,  if  you  would  hang 
on  long  enough,  and  well  enough,  to  grow  a 
young  flock  out  of  them.  But  the  luing-on 
isn't  in  you,  and  as  you  went  into  sheep  just 
when  they  were  highest,  so  you  must  needs 
supplement  your  foolishness  by  going  out  of 
them,  when,  perhaps,  they  are  lowest.  The 
sicker  you  grow  of  the  stock,  the  less  care 
you  take  of  your  flock — thus  hastening  your 
descent  down  the  broad  road  that  leads  to 
cholera  hogs  and  tew-cent  corn.  As  a  heathen 
poet  has  expressed  it, 

"Facile  descensus  Averni." 

I  know  the  present  situation  looks  rough — 
that  wool  should  be  only  thirty-five  to  forty 
cents  per  pound,  with  gold  at  140,  and  with 
taxes  and  expenses  at  fever  heat,  but,  my  dear 
friends,  are  you  going  to  gain  any  thing  by 
giving  away  your  sheep  ?  I  gi'ant  you  this  is 
the  hardest  season  wool-growers  ever  saw,  but 
I  say  to  you  that  in  sixteen  years  I  never  saw 
two  hard  years  for  wool-growers  come  to- 
gether. 

Again,  my  friends,  sick  as  you  now  are  of 
sheep,  you  are  very  much  inchned  to  view 
other  specialties  and  pursuits  of  farming  as  if 
surrounded  and  enveloped  with  a  golden  at- 
mosphere. Look  at  wool-growing  ;  won't  the 
profits  of  it  average,  or  more  than  average, 
with  those  of  other  kinds  of  farming  for  the 
past  ten,  or  fifteen,  or  thirty  years  ?  Have 
you  come  to  feel,  in  your  supreme  disgust, 
that  there  are  no  drawbacks  to  other  kinds  of 
agriculture  ?  Have  you  forgotten  that  here  in 
Central  Illinois  men  sowed  whole  counties,  al- 
most, in  quarter-sections  fields  of  winter  wheat 
from  '57  to  '62  inclusive,  and  did  not  harvest 
their  seed  through  all  those  years  ?  Have  you 
forgotten  those  three  years  of  ten  to  fifteen 
cent  corn  ?  Have  you  not  known  a  number  of 
years  in  the  past  sixteen  when  men  purchased 
stock  hogs  in  the  fall,  fed  their  crop  of  corn 
to  them,  and  sold  the  pork  for  less  than  they 
gave  for  the  hogs  ?  Have  you  not  known  men 
to  feed  cattle  with  the  same  results  ? 


494 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


Have  you  not  known  men's  entire  herds  of 
hogs  to  die  with  the  cholera,  not  for  one  year 
only,  but  for  two  or  three  in  succession  ?  Men 
and  brethren !  if  you  have  not  seen  all  these 
things  take  place,  I  have,  in  the  sixteen  years 
I  have  sojourned  in  this  glorious  prairie  State. 

In  conclusion,  dear  friends,  allow  me  to 
hope  that  you  will  gird  on  the  armor  anew, 
stiffen  up  the  upper  lip,  pull  off  the  coat  and 
roll  up  the  sleeves,  feed  well,  breed  well,  take 
good  care  of  your  sheep,  so  that  next  year — if 
our  tariff  holds  its  anchor — we  all  may  find 
ourselves  Western  Argonauts,  safe  in  the  port 
of  Colchis  and  taking  off  the  golden  fleece  ! 
Wool  Grower 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

WORMS    IN    HORSES. 

Can  any  of  the  readers  of  the  Farmer  inform 
me  of  an  effectual  method  of  desti-oying  worms  in 
horses  ?  Some  recommend  arsenic,  but  is  this  not 
too  deadly  for  any  living  creature  to  swallow  ? 

West  Matisjleld,  Mass.,  1867.  A  Reader. 

Remarks. — This  trouble,  to  which  horses  are 
quite  often  subjected,  is  frequently  a  serious  one, 
and  spoils  the  usefulness  of  the  animal.  It  also 
causes  him  great  annoyance,  makes  him  weak, 
and  gives  him  a  shabby  and  discreditable  appear- 
ance. In  a  majority  of  cases  these  troubles  are 
occasioned  by  the  parsimony,  or  at  least  by  the 
injudicious  treatment  of  the  owner. 

In  the  first  place,  the  animal  probably  begins  life 
with  a  hereditary  taint,  and  this  is  aggravated  by 
neglect,  abuse,  overworking,  and  a  scanty  supply 
of  miserable  fodder. 

When  the  worms  are  of  the  taenia,  or  tape-worm 
kind,  competent  veterinary  skill  should  at  once  be 
called  in,  and  active  measures  pursued,  until  the 
terrible  plague  is  destroyed.  It  will  be  only  addi- 
tional suffering  to  the  poor  animal  for  inexperi- 
enced persons  to  practice  upon  it. 

When  the  worms  are  the  small,  white,  tapering 
kind,  which  are  often  voided  with  the  excrements, 
and  are  called  ascarides,  they  may  be  dealt  with 
by  most  persons  owning  horses,  and  usually  with 
success,  by  the  employment  of  remedies  that  are 
simple  and  always  at  hand.  The  first  of  these 
should  I)e  moderate  labor  and  generous  feeding, 
and,  instead  of  dry  hay  all  the  time,  feed  that  is 
cut  and  moistened,  or  a  mash  of  bran,  ground  oats, 
barley,  or  corn  meal,  with  cut  hay. 

The  presence  of  these  little  tormentors  may  be 
known  by  the  appearance  and  actions  of  the  ani- 
mal :  the  breath  is  sometimes  feted ;  the  liair  be- 
comes dull  and  frowzy ;  the  animal  sometimes 
rubs  its  nose  against  any  object  near  it,  or  strains 
it  upwards,  and  the  eyes  are  unnaturally  bright. 
The  appetite,  too,  instead  of  failing,  becomes  more 
than  good. 

On  examination  of  the  parts  around  the  anus, 
little  white  strips  of  tenacious  mucus  may  be  seen, 
which  arc  occasioned  by  the  worm,  when  voided, 
not  fill  ling  directly  to  the  ground  with  the  excre- 


ment, but  adhering  to  the  skin  and  sliding  along 
down,  and  leaving  this  whitish  track  where  it 
passed. 

When  these  evidences  are  apparent,  a  gill  of 
sifted  wood-ashes,  mixed  with  the  cut  feed,  and 
administered  every  other  day  for  a  week,  will  usu- 
ally effect  a  cure.  If  it  fails,  give  two  drachms  of 
tartarized  antimony,  in  a  mash,  every  morning, 
until  the  worms  are  expelled. 

But  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  the 
health  and  efficiency  of  the  horse  depends  upon 
his  being  moderately  worked  and  generously  and 
regularly  fed. 

ox   KILLED    BY  EATING   WILTED    CHERRY  LEAVES. 

I  would  like  to  know  through  the  Farmer,  if 
any  one  can  tell,  M'hat  was  the  matter  with  an  ox 
which  one  of  my  neighbors  lost  last  week.  The 
symptoms  of  illness  were  first  noticed  in  his  eyes, 
which  discharged  a  watery  substance,  as  they  do 
when  they  have  been  hurt.  The  next  day  they 
turned  a  bluish  white,  and  the  ox  was  entirely 
blind,  and  appeared  to  be  in  great  pain,  and  did 
not  eat.  His  mouth  began  to  swell  and  corrupt, 
with  an  offensive  smell.  He  grew  worse  for  seven 
days,  and  then  died.  He  was  a  nice,  seven  j'cars  ' 
old,  fat  ox,  and  had  never  worked  hard.  His  jaws 
were  set  the  third  day  after  he  was  taken.  The 
day  before  he  was  taken  he  ate  some  black  cherry 
sprouts  that  had  Ijeen  mowed  for  hay.  Some  peo- 
ple think  that  the  cause  of  his  sickness  and  death. 

Gilsum,  N.  H.y  Aug.  19,  1867.  n.  o.  n. 

Remarks. — In  the  Monthly  Farmer  for  Octo- 
ber, 1852,  M'c  published  the  statement  of  a  farmer 
in  Plymouth  County,  Mass.,  that  he  had  known 
three  cows  killed  in  one  day  by  eating  the  wilted 
leaves  of  a  wild  cherry  tree  that  had  been  blown 
down  in  the  pasture  ;  also  an  account  of  the  inju- 
rious effect  on  the  milk  of  cows  from  browsing  the 
green  leaves  of  the  cherry,  which  overhung  the 
wall  of  the  pasture. 

In  the  August  number,  1855,  there  is  a  statement 
of  the  death  of  a  fine  calf  in  Bolton,  Mass.,  that 
was  tethered  under  a  cherry  tree,  and  remained 
healthy  and  thrifty  until,  in  picking  the  fruit, 
some  of  the  twigs  were  broken  off  and  fell  to  the 
ground.  After  which  the  calf  sickened,  became 
blind,  and  died,  although  two  doses  of  lamp  oil 
and  several  injections  were  administered. 

In  a  late  number  of  the  Boston  Weekly  Adver- 
tiser, Mr.  H.  C.  Merriam  gave  the  particidars  of 
the  poisoning  of  a  premium  steer  by  eating  a  few 
wilted  leaves  attached  to  cheiTy  trees  or  logs 
l)rought  into  his  yard  for  firewood,  and  said  he 
had  known  of  several  deaths  from  the  same  cause. 
He  thought  cherry  trees  on  the  farm  should  be  as 
careful  13^  watched  and  cautiously  managed  as  arse- 
nic in  the  house.  Cattle  eat  them  very  greedily  if 
they  can  get  at  them. 

Cold  water  administered  externally,  or  in  the 
form  of  a  bath,  is  recommended  as  a  cure  for  prus- 
sic  acid,  which  poison  the  cherry  leaves  arc  sup- 
posed to  contain.  When  an  animal  has  been  poi- 
soned in  this  way,  cold  water  should  be  dashed 
over  its  body  by  bucketfuls,  from  the  pump  or 
well. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


495 


STIFLED    HORSES. 

Please  inform  nie,  if  you  can,  what  will  cure  a 
horse  that  is  stifled,  and  olilige,  L.  J.  Day. 

Bristol,  Vt.,  Aug.  23,  1S67. 

Remarks. — The  stifle  joint  in  the  horse  answers 
to  the  knee  in  man,  and  the  "patella"  to  the  knee- 
pan.  This  bone  in  the  horse,  as  in  man,  is  liable 
to  be  misplaced,  in  which  case,  it  must  be  "re- 
duced" or  set.  We  presume  that  with  Mr.  Day's 
horse  the  trouble  is  a  mere  sprain,  to  which  this 
joint  is  liable  from  violent  exertion  or  sudden 
slip,  or  from  injury  from  the  kick  of  another  horse, 
or  from  coming  in  contact  with  some  hard  sub- 
stance. In  these  cases,  says  Mr.  Youatt,  there 
will  generally  be  sufficient  heat,  tenderness  and 
swelling  ou  the  part  to  point  out  the  seat  of  injury. 
The  animal  will  also  step  short  on  the  affected 
limb,  being  unable  to  extend  it.  The  treatment 
should  consist  in  resting  the  animal,  applying 
warm  fomentations  to  the  part,  and  administer- 
ing a  dose  of  physic.  If  the  inflammation  runs 
very  high,  it  may  be  further  relieved  by  bleeding 
from  the  femoral  vein, — the  principal  artery  of  the 
thigh.  When  the  acute  symptoms  have  subsided, 
a  blister  may  be  applied  to  the  part.  In  relation 
to  fomentations  the  same  writer  observes  that  the 
effect  depends  on  the  warmth  of  the  water  instead 
of  the  wormwood,  vinegar,  tobacco,  urine,  juniper 
berries,  camomile  flowers,  &c.,  which  may  be 
steeped  or  added  to  it.  Fomentations  are  there- 
fore seldom  continued  long  enough.  They  should 
be  applied  bj'  means  of  flannel  several  times  fold- 
ed, and  wrung  dry,  with  the  heat  as  great  as  the 
hands  will  bear,  and  when  removed  the  part  should 
not  be  left  wet.  Mr.  Allen  says  that  half  an  hour 
should  be  devoted  to  the  operation, — the  water 
being  kept  warm  by  the  addition  occasionally  of 
that  boiling  hot. 


ANOTHER   LADY   WHEAT   GROWER. 

I  was  pleased  to  see  an  article  on  Wheat  Raising 
in  last  week's  Farmer  by  a  sister  farmer;  but 
was  sorry  she  did  not  tell  how  much  she  raised. 
I  raised  six  bushels  this  year ;  both  the  grain  and 
..Btraw  very  tine.  Another  year  I  shall  raise  more. 
Will  you  please  ask,  through  your  paper,  if  any 
one  in  this  vicinity  has  used  the  cow  milking  ma- 
chine ;  if  so,  with  what  success  ?  I  have  gained 
much  information  by  reading  the  Farmer,  and 
found  many  of  its  receipts  very  useful,    m.  a.  c. 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  Aug.  23,  1867. 

Remarks. — In  the  early  settlement  of  New 
England  our  farmers  raised  wheat  in  abundance. 
And  it  always  affords  us  pleasure  to  publish  state- 
ments which  show  that  our  soil  has  not  "forgot 
its  cunning"  in  this  respect.  But  when  ladies 
send  us  the  details  of  their  successes  in  cultivat- 
ing this  staple,  we  accept  it  as  evidence  of  another 
fact, — one  more  encouraging  perhaps  than  the 
demonstration  of  the  possibility  of  growing  wheat 
on  our  old  farms, — the  fact  of  a  growing  interest 
in  the  great  subject  of  agriculture  on  the  part  of 
Miss  and  Mrs.  Young  America.  Our  countrymen 
who  travel  in  the  rural  districts  of  England,  es- 
pecially those  in  search  of  information  on  agri- 


cultural subjects,  often  speak  of  the  interest  man- 
ifested l)y  the  ladies  in  everything  pertaining  to 
the  farm ;  of  the  intelligent  manner  in  which  they 
converse  upon  all  agricultural  subjects,  and  of  the 
readiness  and  familiar  manner  with  which  they 
exhibit  to  strangers,  in  the  absence  of  the  propri- 
etor himself,  everything  of  interest  about  the  es- 
tate, whether  pertaining  to  stock,  the  dairy,  field 
crops,  drainage,  or  general  farm  management. 

When  factory  and  shop  life  for  girls,  and  village 
and  city  life  for  mothers  are  better  understood,  we 
are  confident  that  the  farm  home  and  its  interests 
will  be  better  appreciated  by  females.  We  hope, 
therefore,  that  the  wheat  raising  communications 
of  these  two  Massachusetts  ladies  is  evidence  of  a 
"change  in  the  fashions"  that  is  much  needed,  and 
that  other  women  will  adopt  the  same  style  of  in- 
fluence and  the  same  cut  of  practice. 

Will  some  correspondent  reply  to  the  inquiry 
about  the  eow-milker  ? 

AN  OLD  subscriber  AND  A  QUEER  FELLOW. 

Please  find  $2.50  to  pay  for  the  Farmer  another 
year. 

There  cannot  be  a  pole  bean  found  in  '67,  but 
what  climbs  the  pole  against  the  sun.  This  is  the 
town  where  the  white  huckleberries  grow,  and 
where  the  town  fails  to  raise  money  enough  to 
keep  the  public  school  six  months,  as  the  law  re- 
quires.- 

Rain  and  rotten  potatoes  plenty.  I  was  one  of 
the  first  subscribers  for  the  Saturday  Rambler,  22 
years  ago.  Horace  Lawton. 

Mansfield,  Mass.,  Aug.,  1867. 

Remarks. — Twenty-two  .years  ago,  and  his  cash 
has  come  as  regularly  as  the  months  themselves. 
If  all  his  townsmen  had  done  the  same  thing, 
there  cannot  be  a  doubt  but  the  puljlic  school 
would  have  been  continued  twelve  months  in  the 
year,  with  a  suitable  vacation  only  for  Thanksgiv- 
ing, and  for  picking  the  white  huckleberries !  But 
the  pole  beans — the  incorrigible  beans,  that  insist 
upon  running  against  the  sun,  instead  of  an  easy 
climb  along  with  it.  Bless  us.  What  a  town 
Jl/«ns-field  must  be.  We  wish  all  its  people  were 
like  our  correspondent  in  one  respect,  at  least, 
then  Mansfield  would  blossom  as  the  rose,  the 
huckleberries  be  sweet,  if  not  black,  and  the 
schoolmaster  and  schoolmistress  find  ample  op- 
portunity for  labor  all  the  year.  We  must  go  and 
see  Mansfield, 

SPECIMENS   OF   WHEAT. 

Enclosed  is  a  specimen  of  spring  wheat,  raised 
by  us  the  present  season.  The  specimen  ts  some 
that  shelled  out  while  being  drawn  from  the  field. 
We  think  it  is  a  desirable  quality,  as  it  can  be 
grown  in  this  valley,  where  wheat  raising  has  be- 
come nearly  obsolete.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy 
rain  through  Friday  and  Saturday,  and  the  large 
growth  of  straw,  the  wheat  was  cut  with  a  cradle, 
on  Monday,  without  any  inconvenience  from  be- 
ing lodged.  R.  Burnham  &  Son. 

South  Strafford,  Vt.,  Aug.  26,  1867. 

Remarks. — Large,  plump  and  handsome  berries. 
We  have  also  received  a  specimen  of  whesK  grown 
by  Mr.  S.Pratt,  of  Chelsea,  Mass.,  within  sight  of 


496 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Oct. 


the  steeple  of  the  "Boston  Meeting-house;"  but 
as  we  have  the  promise  of  a  stateraeut  of  the  erop, 
which  is  a  good  one,  after  threshing,  we  will  now 
merely  remind  the  wheat-raisers  in  other  parts  of 
New  England  that  they  may  look  out  for  a  "grist" 
from  the  tide-water  farmers  of  the  old  Bay  State. 


TURKEY   DISEASE. 

Can  any  one  tell  me,  through  the  Farmer, 
what  it  is  "that  causes  young  turkeys,  from  two  to 
three  months  old,  to  lose  their  appetite,  droop 
about  for  a  day  or  two,  and  then  die.  I  have  a 
flock  of  turkeys  that  went  along  well  until  two 
months  old,  but  since  that  they  die  off  every  few 
days  ;  can  any  one  inform  me  what  is  the  cause, 
and  if  there  is  any  remedy,  what  it  is  ?    g.  e.  h. 

Shreivsburt/,  Mass.,  Any.  26,  1867. 

Remarks.— In  connection  with  the  foregoing 
inquiry,  we  take  much  pleasure  in  pul^lishing  the 
following  interesting  communication  from  a  cor- 
respondent in  Illinois.  Although  the  flesh  of  fowls 
is  heir  to  a  great  variety  of  ills,  it  is  possible  that 
the  presci-iption  of  Mr.  Whatmore  for  chicken  dis- 
ease, may  prove  efficacious  for  the  sick  turkeys. 
chicken  disease. 

Having  lost  several  hundred  chickens  by  the 
complaint  which  for  two  years  has  been  making 
sad  inroads  amongst  the  ponltry  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  I  have  studied  the  disease  by  opening  a 
great  many.  I  have  examined  the  throat,  craw, 
liver,  gall,  heart  and  gizzard,  and  invariably'found 
them  healthy,  and  of  good  color ;  but  the  guts 
were  always  cramped  and  contracted,  and  hard, 
like  a  piece  of  English  whip-cord,  or  the  fourth 
string  of  a  flddle.  I  therefore  conclude  that  the 
disease  is  a  kind  of  fever.  After  trying  a  great 
many  remedies,  I  made  a  strong  decoction  of  white 
oak  and  hazlcnut  leaves,  boiling  them  together  in 
a  large  iron  pot.  When  cold,  this  is  put  in  pans 
for  tiie  chickens  to  drink,  adding  to  it  a  little  asa- 
fcEtida  and  black  pepper,  prepared  by  putting  ten 
cents'  worth  of  asafoetida  into  a  two-quart  bottle, 
and  filling  up  the  bottle  with  water  in  which  a 
good  supply  of  ground  black  pepper  has  been 
boiled.  After  putting  a  little  of  this  into  each 
pan,  it  should  be  well  stirred  with  a  stick.  When- 
ever a  chicken,  young  or  old,  sickens,  I  pour  down 
its  throat  ahoutateaspoonful  of  the  asafoetida,  one 
or  two  days.  The  chickens  wont  drink  the  decoc- 
tion if  they  can  get  other  water,  which  must  be 
kept  from  them.  Since  I  have  used  the  decoction 
my  dead  chickens  wont  average  three  a  week ; 
while  before  I  buried  eight  and  ten  in  one  day. 
Any  person  wishing  further  information  can  have 
it  l)y  sending  a  ready  directed  envelope,  stamped, 
with  paper,  for  a  reply.    Address 

John  Whatmore. 
Bridgnorth  Farm,         ) 

Dunleith,  ill.,  Au{i.  26,  1867.  ) 

A    CLAY    soil    benefited    BY   SAND. 

I  have  just  read  in  the  Farmer,  an  account  of 
the  results  of  applying  clay  to  sandy  soil.  In  the 
fall  of  I860,  I  had  occasion  to  make  some  ditcaes 
in  a  low,  sandy  soil,  on  the  bank  of  a  river,  which 
overflows  every  spring.  I  spread  the  sand  from 
these  ditches  on  a  white  clay  meadow,  tcu  loads 
to  the  acre.  It  unfortunately  froze  up  in  iiiics,  so 
that  I  could  not  si)rcad  it  until  spring.  The  grass 
started  early  on  the  edges  of  the  heaps,  liut  for  tlie 
year  1866  iVlid  not  perceive  much  benelit.  This 
year,  however,  the  grass  started  early,  grew  luxu- 
riantly, t*id  produced  twice  as  much  as  adjoining 
land,  where  it  was  not  applied.    After  it  was  cut, 


and  until  the  present  time,  there  is  a  large  increase 
of  the  second  crop.    The  land  contains  a  large  per- 
centage of  mica,  which  is  known  to  be  rich  in  pot- 
ash. H.  A.  Sheldon. 
Middlebury,  Vt.,  Aug.  22, 1867. 


superphosphate  on  new  and  old  land. 

Why  does  plaster  and  superphosphate  show  more 
marked  effects  on  what  we  term  l)rukcn-ui)  ground 
than  on  old  ground,  or  ground  that  has  been  cropijed 
one  year  ?  If  superphosphate  is  a  manure,  why 
do  wc  not  realize  the  same  beneflt  on  Ijoth  ?  Who 
can  tell  ?  W.  B.  Weeks. 

Gilford,  N.  H.,  Aug.  26,  1867. 

Remarks. — Is  it  a  fact  that  superphosphate  does 
show  "more  marked  etfects"  on  new  land  than  on 
old  ?  Such  has  not  been  our  experience.  Would 
not  the  same  result  be  noticed  on  such  lands 
from  the  use  of  common  manure  ?  The  new  ground 
has  elements  of  production  of  which  the  old  has 
been  partially  exhausted,  and  it  is  probably  the 
influence  of  those  elements  that  gives  the  crops  on 
the  new  ground  their  better  appearance. 

Superphosphate  is  certainly  a  manure.  Any- 
thing is  a  manure  that  causes  plants  to  grow, 
which  makes  land  productive,  although  it  may  do 
it  indirectly,  by  stimulating  other  substances  into 
action.  Plowing,  hoeing,  and  stirring  the  land  in 
any  way,  is  manuring,  in  one  sense.  To  cultivate 
by  manual  labor  is  to  manure,  because  it  develops 
by  culture. 

application    of    manure — WINTER   WHEAT — 
SPRING   WHEAT. 

I  take  a  great  interest  in  reading  the  Farmer, 
and  particularly  the  column  of  ''Extracts  and 
Replies."  I  wish  to  ask  you  or  some  of  your 
correspondents,  which  is  the  best  time  to  get  out 
manure  ? — to  get  it  out  green  in  the  spring  and 
plow  or  harrow  it  m,  or  do  as  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  doing  for  a  few  years  past,  which  is  as 
follows : — 

Let  the  winter's  stock  remain  in  the  cellar  until 
I  dig  my  potatoes,  then  draw  out  and  plow  in  as 
soon  as  convenient.  The  next  spring  plow  again 
and  plant  corn.  Manure  in  the  hole  with  hen  ma- 
nure and  night  soil,  well  mixed  with  muck  or 
loam.  I  bed" my  cattle  and  horses  well  with  pas- 
ture brakes,  then  tie  the  cows  up  all  summer  and 
bed  with  muck.  Hogs  run  on  the  manure  and 
keep  it  down.  By  the  time  I  draw  it  out  it  gets 
well  rotted  and  smells  as  though  it  would  make  a 
good  crop  of  corn,  which  I  hardly  ever  fiiil  of 
getting.  _ 

Should  I  be  likely  to  get  a  good  crop  of  wmter 
wheat  l)y  plowing  in  a  good  second  crop  of  clover 
now,  and  sowing  after  a  few  days, — the  land  gave 
spring  wheat  last  year, — or  had  I  better  grow  grass 
another  year  ? 

After  reading  your  article  on  green  mannrhiff,  a 
few  weeks  since",  I  was  led  to  make  this  impury. 
We  get  very  good  wheat  by  plowing  in  the  fall 
and  harrowing,  then  sow  as  soon  as  the  frost  is 
out  in  the  spring  without  plowing.  By  answering 
the  above  questions  you  will  oblige  a  young  far- 
mer and  perhaps  many  others.  s.  s. 

Laconia  N.  II.,  Aug.  26,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  practice  of  applying  manure 
which  you  describe  is  a  good  one.  In  the  (irst 
place,  if  the  manure  is  kept  in  a  compact  form  in 
the  cellar,  and  is  covered  with  peat  or  loam,  it 
sutfers  no  special  loss,  and  in  that  condition  is 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


497 


thoroughly  ripened,  and  would  be  fit  for  use  in  the 
spring  on  any  crop. 

But  if  the  summer  manure  was  plowed  under  in 
the  foil,  in  its  crude  s*-ate,  it  would  pass  through 
the  process  of  fermentation  and  decomposition  m 
the  soil,  where  it  would  have  an  excellent  influ- 
ence in  lightening  and  enriching  it.  There  is  no 
other  way,  we  think,  in  which  manure  can  be  so 
judiciously  applied  as  in  this ;  where  there  is  so 
little  loss,  and  where  the  manure  is  so  soon  re- 
moved out  of  the  way  to  the  places  where  it  is  to 
be  used.  We  should  adopt  this  practice  as  a  rule, 
wherever  manure  is  to  be  used  on  hoed  crops. 
Apply  crude  manure  in  November  to  the  garden, 
for  instance,  plowing  it  in  just  deep  enough  to 
cover  it  with  two  or  three  inches  of  the  soil,  and 
on  plowing  the  same  piece  in  the  spring,  the  soil 
will  be  found  almost  black — if  the  dressing  was 
liberal — and  so  light  and  porous  that  the  tendcrest 
roots  of  plants  may  roam  in  it  in  search  of  food 
with  the  greatest  ease.  Such  a  soil  will  remain 
light  for  a  long  time,  will  resist  a  drought  bravely, 
and  will  always  be  easy  to  work  as  long  as  it  re- 
mains in  this  condition. 

Your  plan  is  liable  to  no  serious  objection,  yet 
we  should  prefer  to  have  the  winter's  stock  of 
manure  in  the  ground,  and  ferment  there,  than  to 
have  it  remain  in  the  cellar  through  the  summer. 

Your  practice  of  the  use  of  hen  manure  and  of 
bedding  the  stock,  is  excellent. 

With  regard  to  the  wheat,  we  are  inclined  to 
think  that  it  would  be  better  to  allow  the  land  to 
lay  in  grass  another  j'ear,  than  to  follow  a  wheat 
crop  with  wheat. 

Your  practice  and  your  questions,  both  Indicate 
that  you  are  determined  to  be  ^progressive  farmer, 
and  one  who  means  to  make  the  soil  remunerate 
him  abundantly  for  all  the  skill  and  labor  be- 
stowed upon  it.  We  wish  you  gi-eat  success  in  the 
noble  calling,  and  shall  find  pleasure  in  being  use- 
ful to  you  in  your  efforts. 

WEB-WORMS,  OB,  FALL    CATERPILLARS. 

Can  you  inform  me  what  sort  of  a  pest  is  at 
work  on  the  apple  trees  ?  It  is  about  an  inch  long, 
and  spins  a  web  not  unlike  a  spider's.  The  leaves 
within  the  wel)  look  as  if  they  had  been  scorched. 
The  critter  looks  something  like  the  tent  caterpil- 
lar, the  color  being  similar,  but  it  is  not  half  as 
large.  A.  W.  Greeley. 

Nashua,  N.  H.,  Aug.  14,  1867. 

Remarks. — This  is  undoubtedly  the  insect  that 
is  known  in  this  section  as  the  Fall  Web- worm,  or 
Fall  Caterpillar.  They  are  very  troublesome  upon 
shrubs  and  trees  during  the  summer  and  fall. 
They  are  named  from  their  habit  of  feeding  to- 
gether in  large  numbers,  and  spinning  a  web  that 
envelops  the  leaves  and  the  whole  branch,  as  they 
devour  the  foliage.  The  New  England  Farmer 
has  the  honor  of  publishing  the  first  description  of 
this  species,  Aug.  22, 1828,  written  by  the  late  Prof. 
T.  W.  Harris.  He  then  said  it  belongs  to  the  genus 
Arctia,  and  the  species  had  not,  to  his  knowledge, 
been  described.    From  its  habit  of  weaving  he 


called  it  Hijphantria  (a  Greek  name  for  weaver) 
textor.  He  says,  the  eggs,  from  two  to  three  hun- 
dred in  number,  are  deposited  on  the  under  side 
of  a  leaf,  near  the  end  of  a  twig,  which  hatch  at 
different  times  in  July  and  August.  The  young 
catei-pillars  begin  to  provide  a  shelter  for  them- 
selves, by  covering  the  upper  side  of  the  leaf  with 
a  web,  which  is  the  result  of  the  united  labors  of 
the  whole  brood.  They  feed  in  company  beneath 
this  web,  devouring  only  the  upper  skin  and  pulpy 
portion  of  the  leaf,  leaving  the  veins  and  lower 
skin  of  the  leaf  untouched.  As  they  increase  in 
size  they  enlarge  their  web,  carrying  it  over  the 
next  lower  leaves,  all  the  upper  and  pulpy  parts  of 
which  are  eaten  in  the  same  way,  and  thus  they 
continue  to  work  downwards,  till  finally  the  web 
covers  a  large  portion  of  the  branch,  with  its  dry, 
brown  and  filmy  foliage,  reduced  to  this  unseemly 
condition  by  these  little  spoilers.  These  caterpil- 
lars, when  fully  grown,  measure  rather  more  than 
one  inch  in  length ;  their  bodies  are  slender,  and 
very  thinly  clothed  with  hairs  of  a  greyish  color, 
intei'mingled  with  a  few  which  are  black.  The 
general  color  of  the  body  is  greenish  yellow,  dot- 
ted with  black ;  there  is  a  broad  blackish  stripe 
along  the  top  of  the  back,  and  a  bright  yellow 
stripe  on  each  side.  Towards  the  end  of  August 
and  during  the  month  of  September,  they  leave 
the  trees,  disperse  and  wander  about,  eating  such 
plants  as  happen  to  lie  in  their  course,  till  they 
have  found  suitable  places  of  shelter  and  conceal- 
ment, where  they  make  their  thin  and  almost  trans- 
parent cocoons,  composed  of  a  slight  web  of  silk, 
intermingled  with  a  few  hairs.  They  remain  in 
the  cocoons,  in  the  chrysalis  state,  through  the 
winter,  and  are  transformed  to  moths  in  the 
months  of  June  and  July.  These  moths  are 
white,  and  without  spots ;  the  fore  thighs  are 
tawny  yellow,  and  the  feet  blackish.  Their  wings 
expand  from  one  inch  and  a  quarter  to  one  inch 
and  three-eighths.  As  soon  as  the  webs  begin  to 
appear,  the  leaves  should  be  stripped  from  the 
branches,  with  all  the  caterpillars,  or  the  branches 
cut  off  entirely,  and  the  worms  crushed  under 
foot. 

TWO  YEAR   OLD    SQUASHES. 

I  noticed  in  a  late  number  of  the  Farmer,  that 
an  Essex,  Vt.,  correspondent  has  a  pumpkin  that 
was  grown  in  1866.  I  have  two  winter  squashes 
that  I  I'aised  in  I860,  that  are  as  sound  as  Avhen 
taken  from  the  vine.  The  largest  one  weighed, 
when  picked,  37^  lbs.  Its  present  weight  is  about 
35  lbs.  Capt.  Joel  Parker. 

Northfield,  Vt.,  Aug.,  1867. 

FAST   COLT. 

The  same  dam  that  has  had  three  remarkable 
colts  during  the  three  last  years,  dropped  another 
stud  colt  June  12, 1867,  which  measured  37.J  inches 
in  height,  and  as  I  could  lift  him  easily,  I  judge 
he  then  weighed  al)out  150  ll)s.  August  12,  he 
weighed  356  lbs.,  and  measured  46 )s  inches  ;  Aug. 
19,  '374  lbs  ;  Aug.  26,  396  lbs.,  and  measured  48  in., 
or  12  hands  high.  From  this  it  seems  he  has  gained 
an  average  of  about  3  lbs.  4  oz.  in  weight,  and  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  in  height  ^per  day ! !    He  is  withal 


498 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER, 


Oct. 


as  "handsome  as  a  picture,"  and  as  full  of  "thun- 
der and  lightning"  as  old  "Bucephalus."  If  any 
of  your  readers  have  a  faster  colt,  I  will  make  him 
my  best  boio  if  he  will  meet  me  at  the  Vermont 
State  Fair.  Randolph  Colt,  Jk. 

Randolph,  VL,  Aug.  28,  1867. 


AGRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

— The  California  Agricultural  College  is  to  be 
located  at  Oakland,  Alameda  county. 

— ^A  machine,  propelled  by  horse  power  like  a 
reaper,  has  been  invented  in  Iowa  to  gather  and 
crush  the  potato  bugs. 

— The  Chicago  cattle  yards  have  150  acres  floored 
with  plank.  There  are  pens  for  75,000  cattle,  20,000 
sheep,  and  20,000  hogs. 

— He  is  the  most  reasonable  worker  who  judi- 
ciously divides  the  responsibilities  and  duties  of 
life  between  brain  and  muscle. 

— With  the  mercury  at  90  deg.,  a  farmer  in  Ful- 
ton, Wis.,  recently  cut  thirty-two  acres  of  wheat  in 
one  day  with  a  Clow  reaper  and  one  pair  of  horses. 

— Canadian  farmers  who  have  settled  in  Iowa, 
say  that  they  can  raise  combing  wool  as  cheap 
there  as  in  Canada. 

— Rancid  or  strong  lard  can  be  much  improved 
by  heating  and  frying  in  it  some  sliced  potatoes, 
and  then  keeping  it  in  a  cool  place. 

— J.  Harris,  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  thinks  a  bushel  of 
wheat  cannot  be  grown  in  that  vicinity,  with  due 
regard  to  the  interests  of  the  land  owner  and  the 
laborer,  for  less  than  !^1.50. 

— In  1857  the  duty  on  pig  lead  was  reduced  from 
20  to  15  per  cent.,  and  under  the  present  tariff  it  is 
two  cents  a  pound.  The  production  of  the  Galena 
mines  has  largely  decreased  of  late  years. 

The  Rural  New  Yorker  speaks  well  of  the  Diehl 
wheat.  It  has  seen  some  heads  with  over  eighty 
kernels  in  each.  Two  New  York  farmers  last 
year  harvested  300  bushels  from  ten 'acres,  and 
this  year's  crop  was  more  promising. 

— The  editor  of  the  Amherst,  N.  H.,  Farmers' 
Cabinet  has  an  apple  tree  upon  which  are  now 
growing  several  bushels  of  Porter  apples,  several 
winter  squashes,  and  a  printer's  di^h  of  butter 
beans ! 

— Mowing  machines  are  not  very  generally  used 
in  England,  and  the  chief  obstacle  to  their  intro- 
duction has  been  the  landlord's  dread  of  the  de- 
struction of  game,  as  the  machines  show  no  mercy 
to  sitting  pheasants  and  partridges. 

— Forty  acres  of  bog  land  in  the  county  of  Mayo, 
the  north-west  extremity  of  Ireland,  undcnniiied 
l)y  heavy  rains  after  long  continued  drought,  lately 
disappeared  in  the  depths  of  the  Atlantic.  Ten 
acres  of  standing  crops  and  several  houses  were 
destroyed. 

— The  practice  of  sowing  rye  early  in  autumn 
among  corn,  for  fall  and  spring  feed,  and  for  plow- 
ing under,  is  adopted  to  a  considerable  extent  u> 


the  farmers  of  the  West.  The  com  is  benefited 
by  the  stirring  of  the  soil  necessary  to  cover  the 
rye. 

In  England  the  dog  tax  yields  a  good  sum.  Up 
to  the  end  of  June  last,  licenses  were  taken  out  for 
695,624  dogs,  against  394,837  on  which  the  tax  was 
paid  in  the  year  ending  March,  1866.  In  Scotland 
the  number  of  dogs  taxed  has  increased  from  36,- 
365,  to  80,000. 

— A.  P.  Scott,  of  Newton,  Ind.,  gathered  a  bun- 
dle of  grass  in  the  field,  carried  it  forty  rods  and 
laid  it  in  the  wagon  for  the  horse  to  eat.  In  a 
short  time  there  was  trouble  with  the  horse,  and 
looking  up  the  matter,  a  large  rattlesnake  was 
found  in  the  hay. 

— To  "break  up"  a  sitting  hen,  I.  A.  Collins,  of 
Cardington,  Ohio,  ties  her  with  a  string  four  or 
five  feet  in  length  to  a  stake  driven  in  the  ground, 
close  to  the  path  where  he  is  in  the  habit  of  pass- 
ing frequently,  and  scares  her  as  often  as  he  goes 
that  way.    One  day  eff'ects  a  cure. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Canadian  Farmer  says 
that  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  Can.,  turnip  culture 
is  declining.  Maize  is  raised  extensively ;  it  is 
considered  less  expensive  and  more  certain  than 
turnips,  carrots  or  mangels  and  is  used  extensively 
in  feeding. 

— A  man  near  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  recently  left  a 
fine  horse  fastened  to  a  small  ti'ee  on  the  edge  of  a 
ditch  containing  a  little  water,  and  on  returning  he 
found  that  the  halter  had  slipped  down,  drawing 
the  horse's  nostrils  into  the  water,  and  holding 
him  there  until  he  was  drowned. 

— The  great  Canada  cheese,  which  was  exhibited 
at  the  New  York  State  Fair,  at  Saratoga,  weighing 
7000  lbs.,  has  recently  been  tested,  and  found  to 
be  uniform  in  color  and  excellent  in  texture,  with 
a  sharp  flavor,  resembling  the  "brandy-cheese"  so 
popular  with  man.y. 

— An  Illinois  farmer,  in  a  note  to  the  New  York 
Farmers'  Clul>,  says  he  has  never  known  a  case  of 
the  dreaded  milk  sickness,  where  the  animals  had 
plenty  of  pure  water.  He  also  says  that  since  he 
hauled  sand  and  gravel  on  his  walks  and  paths  the 
chicken  cholera  has  entirely  disappeared  from  his 
place. 

— The  cost  of  keeping  sheep  in  the  South  is  very 
small.  A  correspondent  of  the  Agricultural  De- 
partment, from  Union  Co.,  S.  C,  says  it  cost  hira 
but  28^  cents  per  head  to  winter  his  flock  of  22. 
They  were  fed  about  two  months,  receiving  shelter 
not  more  than  two  weeks.  He  estimates  his  profits 
fi-oni  the  flock,  at  po. 

—  The  Ohio  Farmer  says  that  corns  in  horses* 
feet  are  the  cause,  in  most  cases,  of  sprung  knees. 
In  order  to  relieve  the  heels  sore  with  corns,  the 
animal  throws  his  weight  mainly  on  the  toe,  thus 
relaxing  the  tendons  and  susjjensory  ligament  of 
the  kg,  contraction  of  which  naturall}'  follows. 
Corns  are  nuiinly  produced  by  improper  shoeing, 
which  contracts  the  heel.     Instead  of  bevelling 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


499 


from  without  inward,  making  the  foot  to  rest  in  a 
concavity,  which  resists  the  natural  expansion  of 
the  hoof  and  forces  the  heel  inward,  the  shoe 
should  be  made  level. 

— A  sycamore  tree  in  Mississippi  Co.,  Missouri, 
has  a  trunk  forty-three  feet  in  circumference ;  an- 
other in  Howard  county  is  thirty-eight  and  a  half 
feet  in  circumference.  A  cypress  in  Cape  Girardeau 
county  is  twenty-nine  feet  in  circumference,  and  a 
black  walnut  in  Benton  county  is  nearly  eight  feet 
through. 

— The  process  of  butter  making,  says  the  Scien- 
tific American,  depends  mainly  upon  physical  ac- 
tion. The  butter  is  formed  in  the  cream,  and  the 
etfect  of  the  churning  is  simply  to  bring  the  iso- 
lated particles  into  one  mass.  A  high  temperature 
favors  the  pi'ocess  of  softening  the  globules  of 
butter  and  rendering  them  more  adhesive. 

— The  editor  of  the  Woodstock,  Can.,  Patriot 
makes  merry  over  the  mistake  of  an  old  Shanghae 
hen  of  his  that  has  been  sitting  for  five  weeks 
upon  two  round  stones  and  a  piece  of  brick.  "Her 
anxiety,''  lie  says,  "is  no  greater  than  ours  to  know 
what  she  will  hatch.  If  it  proves  a  brick  yard, 
that  hen  is  not  for  sale." 

— In  describing  the  farm  of  W.  H.  Mann  &  Bro., 
in  McLean  County,  111.,  of  a  little  over  one  thou- 
sand acres,  the  Prairie  /^armer  mentions  a  "patch" 
of  Osage  Orange  plants  for  hedges  of  250  acres  in 
one  body,  in  rows  two  feet  apart ;  one  hundred 
acres  in  corn  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  in  wheat 
and  oats.  Only  two  years  ago  the  whole  was  a 
wild  prairie ! 

— While  a  Mr.  Rice  was  eating  cherries  on  his 
farm,  near  Fredericksburg,  Ind.,  and  viewing  the 
working  of  his  bees,  one  of  the  bees  stung  him  on 
the  upper  lip,  when  he  immediately  started  for  the 
house,  calling  to  his  mother  for  some  remedy, 
laughingly  remarking  that  a  bee  had  stung  him. 
The  remedy  was  applied,  but  in  half  an  hour  the 
man  was  speechless,  and  soon  after  was  a  corpse. 

— The  Sacramento  Bee  asserts  that  in  the  Ala- 
meda and  Santa  Clara  valleys  the  farmers  have  ac- 
tually been  driven  by  ground  squirrels  from  some 
of  their  best  lands ;  that  their  settlements,  like 
those  of  the  prairie-dog  extend  for  miles,  each 
buiTow  sheltering  from  one  to  six  inmates ;  and 
that  it  would  hardly  be  an  exaggeration  to  say 
that  they  eat  one-fourth  of  the  annual  wheat  crop. 

— A  few  weeks  since  we  copied  a  statement 
made  by  a  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer 
tliat  walking  cultivators  were  taking  the  place  of 
the  wheeled  or  riding  ones,  in  the  corn  growing 
regions  of  Illinois.  Tins  we  see  is  very  positively 
denied  by  other  correspondents,  who  say  the 
wheeled  cultivators  are  becoming  more  and  more 
popular  with  farmers  generally. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Mirror  and  Farmer, 
who  has  been  down  South,  says,  that  during  the 
war  large  quantities  of  cotton  were  hauled  by  ox 
teams  from  Texas  to  Mexico.    Both  Texan  and 


Spanish  teamsters  were  employed.  The  Spanish 
oxen  were  yoked  by  the  head ;  the  Texan  by  the 
neck,  or  in  our  usual  style.  Working  thus  together 
the  superiority  of  the  head  gear  was  so  manifest, 
that  it  was  generally  adopted  by  the  American 
teamsters.  He  wishes  that  a  few  yoke  of  steers 
might  be  trained  to  "walk  Spanish,"  and  be  ex- 
hibited at  our  Fairs. 

—A  correspondent  of  the  Western  Rural  in 
Franklin  County,  Mo.,  mentions  some  fields  of 
com,  in  which  the  stalks  were  prostrated  to  the 
ground  as  if  a  storm  had  levelled  them.  On  exam- 
ination, there  was  found  at  the  root  of  the  stalk  a 
little  white  worm,  half  an  inch  long,  with  a  whit- 
ish brown  head— not  the  cut  worm— but  such  as 
harbor  in  logs  cut  in  summer  time.  Quite  an 
amount  of  damage  seems  to  have  been  done  by 
them. 

— The  Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry,  edited  by 
Dr.  J.  R.  Nichols,  and  published  monthly  at  fifty 
cents  a  year,  says  that  when  a  person  is  mortally 
bitten  by  the  cobi-a,  molecules  of  living  germinal 
matter  are  thrown  into  the  blood,  and  so  rapidly 
multiply  that  in  a  few  hours  millions  upon  mil- 
lions are  produced.  Chemical  action  is  interfered 
with,  combustion  is  extinguished ;  coldness,  sleepi- 
ness, insensibility,  slow  breathing,  and  death  fol- 
low.   How  mysterious  is  the  influence  o( poison ! 

— The  editor  of  the  Ohio  Farmer,  having  visited 
Mr.  W.  A.  Flander's  Apiarian  Institute  on  Kelley's 
Island,  in  Lake  Erie,  writes  as  follows:  Talk  of 
big  prices  for  merino  rams  !  Flanders  can  get  more 
money  for  an  Italian  queen  bee,  with  three  rings 
around  her  tail,  than  any  ram  peddler  can  get  for 
the  best  Vermont  Merino  in  his  flock.  Bugs  is 
I'is !  A  little  insect  not  so  big  as  a  tooth-pick, 
worth  more  money  than  a  Shorthorn  bull !  The 
idea  would  be  ridiculous  if  it  was  not  true. 

— The  Columbus,  Miss.,  Sentinel  details  a  visit 
of  the  editor  to  a  cotton  plantation,  the  work  on 
which  was  entirely  performed  by  white  laborers. 
The  number  of  acres  cleared  was  about  900,  of 
which  600  were  planted  with  cotton.  There  were 
twenty-one  men  and  seven  or  eight  youngsters 
who  worked  on  an  average  about  twenty  acres 
each.  It  was  one  of  the  best  arranged  and  man- 
aged plantations  in  the  cotton  region.  The  crop 
promise  was  excellent,  and  estimated  at  1,200 
pounds  to  the  acre. 

— Our  readers  will  remember  a  statement  that 
we  published  some  time  since,  of  Capt.  Geo. 
Pierce's  orchard  of  six  acres  on  a  naturally  poor 
soil,  formerly  known  as  Poverty  Point,  which  pro- 
duced, last  year,  apples  enough,  with  some  vege- 
tables grown  on  the  same  land,  to  amount  to  about 
$(1800.  A  cori'cspondent  of  the  Boston  Cultivator 
says  there  is  another  abundant  crop  now  on  the 
same  trees,  while  nearly  all  the  trees  in  other 
parts  of  the  town  are  destitute  of  fruit.  The  only 
secret,  Mr.  P.  says,  is  in  the  fact  that  he  takes 
care  of  his  orchard.  • 


500 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARRIER. 


Oct. 


INDIAN   SUMMER, 


There  is  a  time,  just  when  the  frost 
Begins  to  pave  old  Winter's  way, 

When  Autmnn  in  a  reverie  lost, 
The  mellow  daytime  dreams  away. 

When  Summer  comes,  in  musing  mind, 
To  gaze  once  more  onhili  and  dell, 

To  mark  how  many  sheaves  they  bind, 
Ai;d  see  if  all  are  ripened  ^11. 

With  balmy  breath  she  whispers  low; 

The  dying  flowers  look  up  and  give 
Their  sweetest  incense  ere  they  go, 

For  her  who  made  their  beauties  live. 

She  enters  'neath  the  woodland  shade. 
Her  Zephyrs  lift  the  lingering  leaf, 

And  bear  it  gently  where  are  laid 
The  loved  and  lost  ones  of  its  grief. 

At  last,  old  Autumn,  rising,  takes 
Again  his  sceptre  and  his  throne 

With  boisterous  hand  the  tree  he  shakes, 
Intent  on  gathering  all  his  own. 

Sweet  Summer  sighing,  flies  the  plain. 
And  waiting  Winter,  gaunt  and  grim. 

Sees  miser  Autumn  hoard  his  grain. 
And  smiles  to  think  it's  all  for  him. 


PRESERVATION"  OF  DAHLIA  ROOTS. 

Being  fond  of  good  dahlias,  and  grieved  at 
the  frequent  losses  that  come  under  our  notice, 
we  beg  to  commend  to  the  attention  of  those 
■who  too  often  have  to  lament  the  loss  of  their 
favorites,  the  following  effective  method  of 
preserving  their  roots ;  and  we  mention  the 
subject  thus  early,  so  that  all  our  subscribers 
may  get  our  hints  in  time.  The  tops  being 
killed  by  the  autumn  frosts,  and  thus  become 
unsightly,  must  be  ctit  away,  leaving  the  roots 
undisturbed  for  several  weeks  in  order  to  feed 
the  nascent  btids  destined  to  break  the  follow- 
ing spring.  For,  if  at  the  time  of  removing 
the  plants  from  the  ground  these  buds  are  im- 
mature, there  is  great  probability  that  the 
tubers  will  perish  before  the  spring ;  or  should 
their  vitality  remain,  there  will  be  found  a 
difficulty,  if  not  an  impossibility,  of  getting 
them  to  "break."  The  next  business  is  to  lift 
the  plants  from  the  ground  ;  and  in  doing  this 
the  greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  preserve 
their  fibrous  roots,  for  the  plants  require  con- 
stant nourishment.  A  numbe-r  of  these  root- 
lets will,  however,  under  the  most  careful 
handling,  be  broken  off,  and  the  supply  of  sap 


interrupted  until  new  roots  are  made  ;  but  with 
those  plants  that  have  well-swollen  buds  their 
reproduction  is  soon  effected.  When  the  tu- 
bers are  raised  from  the  ground,  they  should 
immediately  be  transferred  to  their  winter 
quarters,  where  their  fibrous  roots  must  be 
carefully  spread  upon  a  thin  layer  of  sand  or 
earth,  and  at  once  covered  with  about  an  inch 
of  the  same,  leaving  the  greater  portion  of  the 
tuber  bare.  During  winter  they  shotdd  be 
kept  slightly  moistened.  For  wintering  these 
tubers,  there  is,  perhaps,  (unless  a  special 
place  is  provided  for  them,)  no  better  place 
than  under  the  stage  of  a  cool  green-house ; 
but,  whatever  place  may  be  assigned  them.  It 
Is  indispensable  that  it  admits  a  moderate 
amount  of  light ;  is  kept  cool,  but  above  the 
freezing  point,  and  that  the  atmosphere  is  such 
as  suits  growing  plants  generally ;  alike  free 
from  both  saturation  and  dryness,  which  will 
with  equal  certainty  engender  putrefaction. 


American  Durhajis  Sent  to  England. 
— A  two-year-old  bull,  three  two-year-old 
heifers,  and  four  yearling  heifers  were  shipped 
at  New  York  for  England.  In  noticing  this 
shipment,  the  Country  Oentleman  says:  "The 
Third  Duke  of  Geneva,  who  heads  the  list,  we 
presume  to  be  as  good  a  bull  as  '  ever  crossed 
the  Atlantic  in  either  direction.  The  heifers 
are  really  a  fine  lot,  and  will  be  heard  from  In 
their  new  home  with  as  great  credit  to  them- 
selves and  to  the  country,  as  any  thing  that  has 
preceded  them."  They  were  bred  by  James 
O.  Sheldon,  Geneva  County,  N.  Y. 


Feed  Racks. — Never  feed  your  cattle  in  the 
yard  without  a  "rack."  Economy  rightly 
enough  shrugs  her  shoulders  at  so  slovenly  a 
practice.  The  actual  loss  to  the  farmer  from 
this  waste.  Is  equal  to  the  cost  of  half  a  dozen 
racks  and  the  expense  of  keeping  them  in 
complete  repair  for  years.  Any  farmer  who 
has  an  ax,  saw  and  auger,  can  make  one. 


1>- 


DEVOTED  TO  AQKICUIiTUKE,  HORTICULTUKE,  AWD  KTNDKED  ARTS. 


NEW  SERIES.         Boston,  November,   1867.      VOL.  L— NO.  11. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Publishers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  Kow. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN,  i 
S.  FLETCHER,      < 


Editors. 


NOVEMBER   ASPECTS. 

The  earth  mourneth  and  languisheth ;  Lebanon  is 
ashamed  and  withereth  away ;  Sharon  is  like  a  wilder- 
ress;  and  Bashan  and  Carmel  shake  off  their  fruit  — 
Isaiah  33 :  9. 

ATUKE  in  her  -winter  garb 
is  well   drawn  by  the  in- 
spired prophet  in  the  above 
passage.     He  was  in  the  habit  of 
alluding  to  the  varying  aspects  of 
nature  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
the  force  of  his  terrible  maledictions 
against  the  people  whose  sins  he 
was  rebuking. 

Last  month  we  briefly  adverted  to  the  some- 
what popular  opinion  that  the  autumn  months 
are  more  unfriendly  to  kind  and  genial  feel- 
ings than  those  of  any  other  portion  of  the 
year.  But  November  is  not  all  high  winds 
and  cloudy  skies.  It  has  many  pleasures,  if 
we  will  lift  up  our  matter-of-fact  eyes,  and 
find  that  there  are  matters-of-fact  we  seldom 
dream  of.  The  fine  days  that  come  in  the  In- 
dian summer,  the  new  animal  life  about  us, 
the  flight  of  birds  on  their  annual  migration 
from  north  to  south,  and  the  delightful  re- 
union of  kindred  and  friends  which  has  become 
so  common  at  our  Thanksgiving  festival. 

Mr.  Beecher  says,  "we  often  hear  people 
say,  'Oh,  the  dreary  days  of  November !' 
The  days  of  November  are  never  dreary — 
though  men  sometimes  are.  There  are  sug- 
gestions in  it  that  lead  us  to  serious  thoughts. 
We  are  apt,  at  that  season  of  the  year  to  feel 


that  life  is  passing.  After  the  days  begin  to 
grow  short  in  summer,  I  cannot  help  sighing 
often ;  and  as  they  still  grow  shorter  and 
shorter,  I  look  upon  things,  not  with  pain, 
but  with  a  sad  and  melancholy  eye.  And 
when  autumn  comes,  and  the  leaves  of  the 
trees  drop  down  through  the  air  and  find  their 
resting  places,  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  life 
is  short,  that  our  work  is  almost  ended,  and 
that  we  are  nearing  the  tomb.  It  makes  me 
sad ;  but  there  is  a  sadness  that  is  wholesome, 
and  even  pleasurable.  There  are  sorrows 
that  are  not  painful,  but  that  are  of  the  nature 
of  some  acids,  and  give  piquancy  and  flavor 
to  life ;  and  such  are  the  sorrows  which  No- 
vember brings.  That  month  which  sees  all 
the  year  disrobed,  is  not  a  dreary  month.  I 
like  to  see  the  trees  go  bed  as  much  as  little 
children,  and  I  think  there  is  nothing  prettier 
in  the  world  than  to  see  a  mother  disrobe  her 
child,  and  prepare  its  couch,  and  sing  and  talk 
to  it,  and  finally  lay  it  to  rest.  I  like  to  see 
birds  get  ready  for  their  repose  at  night. 
Did  you  ever  sit  at  twilight  and  hear  them  talk 
of  domestic  matters,  and  go  over,  apparently, 
with  each  other,  the  troubles  and  joys  of  the 
day  ?  There  is  an  immense  deal  to  learn 
from  birds,  if  a  person  has  an  ear  to  hear. 
And  so  I  like  to  see  the  year  wound  up.  I 
like  to  see  the  trees  with  their  clothes  taken 
off.  I  like  to  see  the  hard  lines  of  a  tree.  I 
like  to  see  its  anatomy.  I  like  to  see  the 
preparation  that  God  makes  for  winter.     How 


502 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


everything  is  snuggled  and  packed !  How  aH 
nature  gets  ready  for  the  cold  season  !  How 
the  leaves  heap  themselves  upon  the  roots  to 
protect  from  the  frost !  How  all  things  tough- 
en to  stand  the  buffetings  of  the  winter  !  And 
hardy  vines  and  roots  bravely  sport  bannered 
leaves,  that  the  frost  cannot  kill,  sending  th6m 
up  cloar  into  the  coldest  days.  November  is 
a  dreary  month  to  some ;  it  is  sad  to  me ;  and 
it  is  a  sweet  sadness  it  brings  to  my  mind." 

"Farewell  to  Autumn  and  her  yellow  bowers, 

Her  waning  skies  and  fields  of  yellow  hue; 
Farewell,  ye  perisliing  and  peris'hed  flowers, 

Ye  shall  revive  when  vernal  skies  are  blue, 
But  now  the  tempest  cloud  of  Winter  lowers. 

Frosts  are  severe,  and  snowflakes  not  a  few ; 
Sifting  their  leafless  boughs  against  the  breeze, 

Fonorn  appear  the  melancholy  trees." 

If  any  there  are  to  whom  November  brings 
a  sadness  which  is  not  "sweet,"  they  can  dis- 
pel it  by  cultivating  a  love  of  Nature  ;  by  oc- 
cupation in  the  garden,  or  in  the  green  house ; 
by  reading  about  and  making  preparation  for 
the  pleasant  duties  in  working  among  the  soil 
in  the  coming  Spring.  If  these  fail  there  is 
one  other  resource  that  cannot  fail,  and  that 
is,  'Agoing  about  and  doing  good.''''  There  is 
no  balm  like  this,  no  despondency  that  can 
withstand  its  attacks.  It  works  radical  and 
permanent  cures — assuages  real  grief,  even, 
and  builds  up  the  whole  christian  character. 


■WORK   FOR   NOVEMBER. 

If  the  ground  is  not  frozen,  ploughing  may 
be  advantageously  done  this  month.  The 
teams  are  sturdy  and  strong,  and  so  much  will 
be  done  to  help  along  the  work  in  the  hurry 
of  spring.  The  turfs  will  be  rotting  in  some 
degree,  so  that  they  will  more  readily  impart 
their  fertilizing  properties  to  the  corn  plants 
growing  upon  them. 

See  that  the  asparagus  bed  is  manured  and 
that  it  is  protected  a  little. 

Protect  such  plants  in  the  garden  as  need  it. 

Instead  of  earth  against  the  house  for  bank- 
ing up,  rotting  away  the  wood  work,  use  ever- 
green branches,  hemlock,  or  white  or  yellow 
pine.  After  the  snow  has  been  blown  in 
among  them,  they  will  keep  out  frost  far 
better  than  banks  of  earth.  The  labor  of 
banking  with  brush  will  not  be  half  that  of 
using  earth,  in  most  cases,  and  they  are  alto- 
gether cleaner,  while  being  more  effectual. 

The  season  has  been  so  damp  that  some 
fields  of  corn  have  not  thoroughly  ripened. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  stir  it  occasionally  if 


spread  upon  the  floor.  If  it  is  in  airy  bins  it 
may  be  safe. 

Feed  all  fattening  animals  liberally,  and 
keep  them  dry  and  warm. 

Do  not  allow  the  cattle  to  remain  too  late  in 
the  mowing  fields,  and  feeding  them  until  the 
grass  roots  are  laid  bare,  and  made  liable  to 
be  winter-killed.  This  practice  is  an  exceed- 
ingly injurious  one.  If  less  feeding  and 
poaching  our  mowing  fields  were  to  take 
place,  there  would  be  less  complaint  of  winter- 
killed grass  in  the  spring. 

Store  away  peat  for  use  on  the  manure 
heaps  through  the  winter.  Every  cord  used 
will  be  a  cord  of  the  best  manure  in  the  spring, 
and  will  increase  the  crops  wonderfully. 

Ditch  and  drain  that  old  meadow  near  the 
house.  There  is  only  a  single  acre  of  it, 
which,  when  well  drained,  will  yield  3,000 
pounds  of  the  best  hay  annually,  instead  of 
the  crop  of  frogs  and  skunk  cabbage  it  has 
produced  for  the  last  forty  years. 

Gather  up  the  potato,  pumpkin  and  other 
vines,  and  mulch  the  peach  trees,  or  other 
plants  that  need  it. 

In  short,  make  some  permanent  improve- 
ment on  the  farm  which  is  like  so  much  cash 
put  at  interest. 


FERTILITY.— SILEX,  &c. 
Science  has  demonstrated  that  in  order  to 
be  fertile,  a  soil  must  contain  all  the  mineral 
ingredients  which  are  found  by  analysis  to  ex- 
ist in  the  ashes  of  the  plant,  or  plants,  it  is 
required  to  sustain ;  and  that  these  must  exist 
in  such  a  state  or  under  such  conditions  as  to 
be  at  all  times  readily  available  to  the  roots, 
and  in  such  profusion  as  to  ensure  an  adequate 
supply  being  kept  up  during  the  period  of  their 
growth. 

The  texture  of  the  soil  must  be  neither  too 
coarse  nor  too  fine,  but  should  consist  of  an 
intermixture  of  larger  particles,  with  a  due 
quantity  of  impalpable  matter,  so  as  to  secure 
to  it  a  degree  of  porosity,  and  render  it  easily 
penetrable  by  the  fructifying  principles  of  air, 
warmth  and  moisture  ;  together  with  an  ample 
provision  of  vegetable  matter  in  a  condition 
to  undergo  chemical  changes,  as  the  necessities 
or  wants  of  the  cultivated  vegetables  require. 
With  this  texture  and  mineral  constitution, 
the  process  of  enrichment  by  the  application 
of    various   decomposing  animal   or    vegeta- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


503 


ble  matters,  will  be  comparatively  easy.  The 
necessity  of  these  conditions  to  ensure  fertility 
and  productiveness  is  demonstrated  by  the 
well-known  physiological  fact,  that  plants  do 
not  possess  the  power  of  generating  for,  and 
of  themselves,  a  single  elementary  particle  of 
which  they  consist.  They  are  only  possessed 
of  the  capacity  of  modifying,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, the  form  in  which  these  particles  are  com- 
bined with  each  other.  These  facts  are  far 
too  generally  overlooked  by  the  farmer. 

When  the  cultivation  of  a  particular  plant 
proves  unsuccessful  on  one  species  of  soil,  tiie 
observing  cultivator  tries  it  on  another  species 
— changing  oftentimes  from  clay  to  sand,  and 
from  sand  to  clay.  This  method  is  frequently 
successful ;  the  plant  finding  its  proper  aliment 
in  its  new  location,  grows,  and  produces  its 
seed,  well-developed  and  mature ;  but  another, 
adopting  the  same  migratory  system,  does  not 
meet  with  the  same  result  as  the  former. 
Hence  chemical  analysis  is  requisite  to  explain 
the  difference  in  the  results. 

All  clay  soils  are  not  produced  from  the 
same  kind  or  sort  of  rocks.  There  may  be,  in- 
deed, a  wide  difference  in  this  important  par- 
ticular, and  yet  the  eye  be  wholly  unable  to 
detect  it.  The  same  remarks  hold  equally 
good  in  regard  to  sandy  lands.  All  soils  are 
composed  of  the  debris  of  rocks — old,  rotten, 
broken  rocks — or  the  disintegrated  particles  of 
them,  which  overspread  the  earth  in  the  form 
of  sand,  gravel  and  clay. 

Mould  is  for»ied  by  the  addition  of  decay- 
ing vegetable  or  animal  matter  to  these,  and 
is  "the  half  way  house  between  the  living  and 
the  dead  in  the  organic  and  inorganic  world." 

By  examining  the  subject  critically,  we  find 
that  nearly  all  the  sand  found  on  the  earth's 
surface  is  derived  from  water- formed  sand- 
stone, or  fire-formed  granite  and  other  rocks, 
marked  by  the  characteristics  indicating  an 
igneous  or  fiery  origin. 

The  purest  sand  known  is  denominated  sili- 
ca, a  term  derived  from  the  Latin  word  silex, 
^'Jiint.''''  This  is  a  simple  mineral,  possessing 
acid  properties.  It  is  produced  by  a  chemical 
union  of  oxygen  and  silicon  or  silicum,  in  the 
propoitions  of  two  atoms  of  the  former  with 
one  of  the  latter.  It  is  sometimes  called  sili- 
cic acid,  in  consequence  of  the  facility  with 
which  it  combines  with  lime,  soda,  alumina, 
potash,  magnesia  and  iron,  to  form  the  sub- 


stances called  silicates,  such  as  silicates  of  pot- 
ash, silicates  of  soda,  lime,  &c.,  &c. 

Oxygen,  it  is  well  known,  is  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  the  air,  which  supports  respiration 
and  combustion,  &c.  ;  and  in  sand  derived  from 
the  pure  flint  or  silex,  we  find  there  are,  in 
every  one  hundred  parts,  by  accurate  meas- 
urement, fifty-two  parts  of  oxygen  and  forty- 
eight  of  silicon  The  quantity  of  oxygen, 
therefore,  contained  in  rock.^,  is  very  great. 
It  has  been  estimattnl  by  philosophers,  that 
more  than  three-quarters — probably  80  per 
cent. — of  all  the  rocks,  are  composed  of  silica ; 
consequently  more  than  one-haif  of  the  actual 
crust  of  the  earth  is  oxjgen. 

If  we  burn  the  straw  of  wheat  and  analyze 
the  ash  remaining  after  deflagration,  we  shall 
find  that  67  per  cent,  of  the  mass  is  silica. 
The  same  is  true  of  sugar  cane,  the  ash  of 
barley,  rye,  oats  and  Indian  corn,  and  the 
maize  plant  generally.  Yet  sand  is  but  very 
sparingly  soluble  in  water.  The  action  of  the 
roots  of  vegetables  effects  its  decomposition, 
to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  slowly.  Pure 
silica  is  not  extensively  found  ;  a  little  is  sup- 
plied by  crystalized  quartz  or  flint,  but  the 
great  mass  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  the 
silicates  of  lime,  alumina,  pota.<h,  iron,  mag- 
nesia, soda,  and  manganet^e.  These  silicates 
act  with  greater  or  less  energy  upon  vegeta- 
tion, and  are,  in  part,  the  cause  of  fertility  in 
soils.  To  render  them  soluble,  and  fit  to  as- 
sist in  supporting  cultivated  crops,  is  the  great 
object,  or  one  of  the  objects,  of  manuring. 
Unless  they  be  rendered  appropriable,  it  is  vain 
to  expect  a  sound  and  well-developed  crop ; 
they  constitute  the  bones  of  vegetables  which 
can  never  attain  vigor,  or  health,  without  them. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
FEEDING   STOCK. 
Cutting  Hay. 

The  questions  have  been  asked  in  the  Far- 
mer, will  it  pay  to  cut  good  hay  for  stock  ? 
What  are  the  real  benefits  of  the  practice .'' 

Young  farmers  are  often  puzzled  by  the  di- 
versitj'  of  opinions  and  practice  on  this  subject. 
The  arguments  sometimes  advanced  by  the 
advocates  of  the  practice  are  so  plausible  that 
many  are  captivated  by  them  ;  but  after  whirl- 
ing the  hay  cutter  a  few  years,  and  due  reflec- 
tion, they  usually  conclude  that  our  domestic 
animals  have  pretty  good  hay  cutters  of  their 
own  ready  for  use,  and  if  better  ones  were 
necessary,  nature  would  have  provided  them. 
If   those    who    have    any   doubts   upon    the 


504 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nor. 


subject  will  examine  it  in  the  light  of  a 
few  plain  and  well  known  physiological  laws, 
they  will  see  at  once,  without  the  trouble  of 
experimenting,  its  real  merits. 

Simply  passing  hay  through  a  cutter  adds 
nothing  to  it ;  pouring  on  water  and  mixing 
meal  with  it,  and  feeding  out  immediately,  ex- 
tracts nothing  from  it.  In  this  form  of  cut 
feed  it  is  eaten  or  rather  swallowed  quicker. 
Here  is  a  saving  of  time,  and  this  is  as  far  as 
some  reason.  They  look  upon  eating  as  a 
task,  and  he  who  does  it  in  the  quickest  time, 
whether  man  or  horse,  is  the  best  fellow.  But 
let  us  carry  our  inquiries  a  little  further.  Is 
this  hastily  eaten  food  in  a  better  state  for  di- 
gestion than  if  it  was  eaten  dry  ?  The  first 
step  towards  easy  and  rapid  digestion,  is  thor- 
ough mastication.  With  grain,  hay,  or  any 
dry  fodder, — substances  difficult  of  digestion, 
— it  is  highly  important  that  this  preparatory 
process  should  be  perfect,  that  these  materials 
may  be  acted  upon  by  the  full  power  of  the 
saliva  and  the  gastric  juice.  This  is  done  when 
they  are  fed  dry,  and  the  animal  chews  slowly  ; 
the  prolonged  chewing  excites  a  copious  How 
of  saliva,  which  moistens  and  softens  the  food 
by  the  time  it  is  made  fine  enough  ibr  swallow- 
ing. Then,  if  the  gastric  juice  is  not  diluted 
and  cooled  by  drinking  a  large  quantity  of  cold 
water,  just  before  or  after  eating,  it  will  at 
once  have  the  full  benefit  of  that  powerful  sol- 
vent. 

The  rapidity  with  which  an  animal  swallows 
depends  upon  the  moist  and  smooth  condition 
of  the  food,  rather  than  its  fineness.  Meal  is 
fine  enough  for  swallowing,  but  it  cannot  be 
swallowed  dry.  A  horse  must  continue  to 
grind  it  until  it  is  saturated  with  saliva.  Yet 
mix  it  with  sufficient  water  and  he  will  drink 
it.  As  far  as  the  act  of  swallowing  is  con- 
cerned, it  makes  little  difference  whether  the 
food  is  moistened  with  saliva  or  water.  There- 
fore every  (juart  of  water  put  upon  the  food 
tends  directly  to  prevent  fine  chewing,  a  free 
flow  of  saliva,  and  the  immediate  action  of 
gastric  juice  ;  and  hastily  eaten  cut  feed  must 
require  a  longer  time  for  digestion,  or  pass 
through  the  system  imperfectly  digested.  For 
want  of  thorough  preparation,  by  mastication, 
the  stomach  and  intestines  have  a  double  task 
to  perform,  or  there  is  a  notable  loss  of  food. 
Let  every  one  judge  for  himself,  which  is  best 
for  his  horse,  a  full  allowance  bolted  down,  or 
a  scanty  one  thoroughly  masticated.  Said  an 
old  horseman  to  me,  recently,  "Two  quarts  of 
grain  fed  dry,  will  do  more  good  than  three 
quarts  when  saturated  with  water."  Old  hay 
and  oats  fed  dry  is  the  standard  diet  in  Eng- 
land for  horses  kept  for  speed.  Meal  is  read- 
ily eaten  dry,  if  hay  is  in  the  manger  at  the 
same  time.  Some  experienced  feeders  pour 
the  grain  over  a  portion  of  the  hay.  It  is  nat- 
ural for  horses  to  eat  a  considerable  portion  of 
their  time,  and  the  pleasure  of  eating  lies  in 
masticating.  Why  not  let  them  enjoy  all  there 
is  of  pleasure  in  slowly  chewing  good  sweet 


hay  and  grain  ?  Cut  feed,  which  they  eat  so 
quickly,  does  not  satisfy  them ;  when  fed  on  it 
for  a  long  time,  they  show  their  dissatisfaction 
by  biting  and  gnawing  their  mangers,  eating 
their  bedding,  and  not  unfrequently  become 
inveterate  cribbers. 

One  of  the  principal  arguments  in  favor  of 
cut  feed,  is,  that  coarse,  dusty  and  poor  hay 
and  fodder  will  be  eaten  which  otherwise  might 
be  rejected.  In  some  markets  and  uf>on  many 
farms,  grain  is  cheaper  than  first  quality  hay ; 
consequently  poor  hay  or  straw  is  used  with  a 
large  quantity  of  grain.  Under  such  circum- 
stances cut  feed  has  become  a  common  mode 
of  feeding.  Sometimes  sufficient  grain  is 
given  for  the  support  of  the  animal,  while  the 
poor  fodder  is  added  merely  to  give  bulk  to 
the  food  and  preserve  health.  In  another  sys- 
tem less  grain  and  more  of  this  poor  fodder  is 
used,  under  the  belief  that  whatever  is  eaten 
must  atibrd  nourishment.  Straw  and  poor  hay 
are  harder  of  digestion  than  good  hay ;  con- 
sequently there  is  greater  necessity  for  thor- 
ough mastication  when  they  are  fed.  .  Animals 
fed  chiefiy  on  grain,  or  confined  exclusively  to 
one  quality  of  hay,  and  that  a  poor  one,  will 
eat  that  poor  stuff  dry  as  freely  as  is  for  their 
good ;  and  it  is  poor  economy  to  force  them 
to  eat  large  (juantities  of  what  is  difficult  of 
digestion,  and  deficient  in  nutriment. 

Again,  it  is  said  in  favor  of  cut  feed  that  the 
water  absorbs  and  lays  all  dust  that  may  be  in 
the  fodder.  This  is  true,  and  it  is  also  true 
that  the  dust  and  dirt  thus  absorbed  is  eaten. 
Would  it  not  be  better  to  remove  the  dust  by 
shaking  the  hay  lightly  in  a  current  of  air  ? 

These  objections  to  cut-feed  are  not  so  seri- 
ous with  ruminants  as  with  horses.  Their 
more  complicated  and  p>owerful  digestive  or- 
ganism extracts  nutriment  from  what  would  do 
horses  little  or  no  good.  In  the  act  of  chew- 
ing the  cud,  they  can  recover  in  a  measure  the 
loss  from  too  rapid  eating.  There  is,  undoubt- 
edly, a  gain  in  cutting  corn  fodder  for  them, 
even  when  it  is  fed  dry,  but  all  kinds  of  stock 
prefer  hay,  if  eaten  dry,  its  natural  length; 
when  cut  into  short  lengths  the  numerous 
sharp  ends  irritate  and  prick  the  mouth. 

Steaming  and  Cooking 
Produces  a  radical  change  in  food,  which 
fiicilitates  digestion  and  assimilation.  Some 
men  have  confidently  asserted  that  the  time 
would  soon  come  when  it  will  be  considered 
economical  to  steam  or  cook  all  the  winter 
food  of  all  kinds  of  stock.  The  present  state 
of  agriculture  will  hardly  make  such  a  vast 
amount  of  cooking  advisable.  Still  the  very 
young,  the  old,  the  sick,  and  those  designed 
for  the  butcher,  claim  some  indulgence  or  ex- 
tra care.  For  them  something  resembling 
cooking  is  practicable.  It  is  a  sad  mistake  to 
turn  oil'  joung  stock  upon  the  coarsest  and 
toughest  kinds  of  fodder,  while  their  digestive 
organs  are  weak  and  immature.  An  old  horse 
or  cow  whose  grinders  fail  prematurely  may 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


505 


be  made  to  eke  out  a  few  more  years  of  useful- 
ness by  a  little  help  in  preparing  the  food. 
Boiling  water  poured  upon  meal  or  hay  in  a 
barrel  or  miniature  steam  box,  and  covered 
quickly  and  tightly,  and  kept  warm  a  few  hours, 
will  produce  a  partial  cooking.  Could  corn 
stalks  and  straw  be  thoroughly  steamed,  they 
would  attord  a  far  larger  per  cent,  of  nutri- 
ment. But  I  have  tried  steaming  meadow 
hay  and  found  it  brought  out  the  sour,  strong 
meadow  sm  dl  and  taste  so  fully  that  the  dry 
was  preferred  to  the  steamed,  even  after  it 
was  sprinkled  with  meal.  Of  course  where 
steaming  is  practiced  the  hay  cutter  is  neces- 
sary to  reduce  the  fodder  to  a  fine  state. 

Generally  speaking,  the  field  is  the  best 
place  to  prepare  food.  By  cutting  all  grasses 
and  grain  intended  for  fodder  whde  the  stalk 
is  tender  and  full  of  sweet  juices,  and  care- 
fully curing  and  saving  them,  our  animals  will 
be  saved  much  hard  and  useless  grinding. 
The  stalks  and  leaves  of  grain  and  the  grasses 
are  merely  to  support  and  produce  seed,  that 
it  may  in  turn  reproduce  itself,  when  the  seed 
is  fully  developed  little  remains  in  the  stalks 
except  tough,  woody  fiber.  Where  only  fod- 
der is  desired,  it  is  plain  its  quality  will  de- 
pend upon  the  time  of  cutting.  It  is  easy,  by 
cutting  early,  to  have  tender,  nutritious  hay 
that  will  keep  animals  as  slick,  plump  and 
healthy,  as  when  fed  upon  grass.  There  is  no 
economy  in  raising  poor  fodder  year  after 
year  upon  land  which  admits  of  improvement. 

If  tiie  time  and  expense  required  to  work 
up  poor  hay  into  palatable  food  were  spent  in 
reclaiming  the  land  that  produces  it,  tenfold 
better  results  would  be  obtained.  Hay  of  in- 
ferior quality  occupies  as  much  ground,  re- 
quires as  much  labor  to  harvest  and  feed,  and 
frequently  more,  while  its  nutritive  value  falls 
far  below  that  of  first  quality. 

How  often  shall  Stock  be  Fed  P 
Upon  this  point,  also,  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence of  practice.  1  have  been  upon  farms 
where  cattle  were  fed  seven  and  eight  times  a 
day,  and  upon  plantations  at  the  South  where 
only  one  meal  per  day  was  given  to  mules, 
altliough  at  hard  work.  Here  are  extreme 
cases.  In  one,  the  plan  of  frequent  feeding  is 
adopted  to  tempt  the  stock  to  eat  poor  fodder ; 
in  the  other,  the  convenience  of  man  was  con- 
sulted, rather  than  the  strength  and  health  of  his 
dumb  beast.  What  is  the  proper  mean  ?  What 
shall  be  the  guide?  Domestic  animals  are 
subject  to  the  same  physical  laws  as  man,  and 
the  same  code  by  which  he  regulates  his  own 
diet  will  furnish  a  safe  guide  for  theirs.  Dry, 
solid  food  requires  a  different  management 
from  tender,  succulent  herbage.  Sufficient 
for  one  meal  should  be  given  at  one  time,  and 
no  more  until  that  is  digested ;  for  the  stom- 
ach needs  its  periods  of  rest.  It  likewise  par- 
takes of  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the 
body  ;  nor  can  it  perform  its  office  well  while 
the   whole    system  is  under  violent  exercise ; 


therefore,  it  is  an  error  to  give  it  a  heavy  task 
when  great  exertions  are  required  of  the  body, 
or  at  night  after  it  has  been  exhausted  by  ex- 
tra hard  work. 

There  is  a  wide  scope  for  the  exercise  of 
sound  judgment  in  feeding.  Many  little  things 
daily  occur  that  must  be  taken  into  account.  To 
feed  well,  and  yet  economically,  is  a  nice  point 
to  determine.  Americans  are  justly  called  ex- 
travagantly wasteful  in  their  own  food,  and 
would  it  be  strange  if  they  were  found  so  m  feed- 
ing their  stock.  Give  a  working  animal  all  he 
will  eat ;  cram  one  fattening  all  you  can,  are 
common  rules.  Would  it  not  be  better  to  say — 
only  what  they  can  digest?  for  the  feted 
breath  and  strong,  unnatural  odors  that  are 
often  noticed  in  stables,  disclose  the  fact  that 
the  stomach  is  over-loaded,  and  food  is  pass- 
ing through  them  undigested.  The  excess  of 
food  thus  fed  is  worse  than  wasted,  for  it  weak- 
ens the  tone  of  the  digestive  organs  and  pre- 
vents perfect  work,  when  only  a  proper  quan- 
tity of  food  Is  given. 

The  subject  might  be  further  pursued,  but 
enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  art  of 
feeding  is  of  vital  Importance.  Oftentimes 
the  profit  or  loss  of  a  farm  turns  upon  its  suc- 
cessfiil  practice.  The  crops  may  be  most 
bountiful,  yet  If  there  is  no  economy  in  feed- 
ing them  out  where  shall  the  profit  be  ? 

Lawrence,  Mass.,  Oct.,  1867.        n.  s.  t. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
OXFORD    COUNTY,    MAINE. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  fair  at  Paris. 
For  fear  of  mystifying  my  readers,  perhaps  I 
had  better  say  that  the  fair  was  at  South  Paris, 
Me.,  being  the  twenty-fifth  of  the  Oxford 
County  Agricultural  Society.  "Every  body  and 
his  wife"  were  there, — many  of  the  good  wives 
wrapped  in  furs,  ready  to  defy  the  cold  weather 
that  Monday's  rough  snow-storm  threatened  to 
send  immediately. 

In  the  upper  exhibition  hall,  commodious 
and  comfortably  supplied  with  seats,  we  found 
the  usual  assortment  of  knit  coverlets  and 
tidies,  "rising-sun"  and  patchwork  quilts,  lamp 
mats  and  pincushions,  slippers  and  worsted 
work,  pictures  and  vases, — mostly  all  of  home 
manufacture, — lor  a  county  fair,  is,  of  course, 
for  the  benefit  of  home  exhibitors.  The  flan- 
nels, f'rocking  and  carpeting  were  excellent  In 
quality  and  make.  Some  of  the  hand-made 
rugs  were  very  beautiful, — two  so  perfect  as 
almost  to  mock  the  beauty  of  a  Brussells  mat. 
The  display  of  fruit  was  very  fine.  The  vari- 
ous specimens  were  of  "every  day"  glory, — 
nothing  uncommonly  large  or  rare, — but  lus- 
cious and  fair,  as  if  the  grower  had  taken  pains 
to  provide  his  family  with  the  choicest  kinds, 
in  the  lower  hall  the  display  of  agricultural  Im- 
plements was  small.  Mr.  Merrill  of  South 
Paris  presented  a  Pettengill's  Cultivator,  an 
implement  capable  of  various  transformations, 
and  much  liked   by  the  farmers  about  here. 


506 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov. 


Besides  plows  and  cultivators,  he  showed  also 
his  Yankee  churns,  one  with,  and  the  other 
without  the  air  pump.  Hardly  the  thing,  I 
should  say, — not  force  enough  in  the  dasher, 
and  too  small  for  this  butter-making  district. 
Mr.  J.  A.  Burns  had  a  strange  looking  ma- 
chine,— a  root  digger  and  cutter. 

Mr.  Simeon  Pierce,  of  North  Norway,  a 
minister,  had  the  best  display  of  vegetables 
and  root  crops.  Among  many  noble  things, 
beans  with  pods  a  yard  long ;  snake  cucum- 
bers, ditto,  and  some  beautiful  Colorado  wheat, 
all  proving  that  minit-ters  can  practice  as  well 
as  preai'h  about  the  dignity  and  Christianity  of 
labor,  and  not  disgrace  the  precept  either.  1 
had  expected  a  better  show  of  squashes,  as 
another  minister.  Rev.  Mr.  Dunham,  of  Wood- 
stock, has  been  raising  some  monsters,  one 
weighing  over  200  pounds.  I  wondered  also 
that  hops  were  not  viisible,  as  O.xford  county 
has  raised,  it  is  estimated,  $150,000  worth. 
Bethel  alone  raised  neai'ly  $40,000  worth  of 
this  unnecessary  article. 

Witherm  V.  Gralferm,  of  Sumner,  had  the 
best  result  in  slock,  forty- two  animals  being 
presented.  A  full-blooded  Durham  calf,  four 
months  old,  weighing  -150  pounds,  also  a  Dur- 
ham and  Herefoi'd  bull  calf,  six  months  old, 
weighing  630  pounds,  attracted  much  atten- 
tion. 

Stock  raising  appears  to  be  but  little  fol- 
lowed in  this  part  of  the  State,  and  I  wonder 
at  it,  where  the  farmers  own  so  many  acres. 
With  Maine  farmers,  "ten  acres  enough"  is 
neither  a  fact,  nor  a  principle.  Many  of  the 
farms  are  so  far  from  a  good  market  that  land  is 
very  cheap,  and  labor  being  high,  the  farmer 
seems  to  have  a  mania  for  owning  as  much  of 
this  cheap,  unimproved  land  as  possible,  and 
he  is  not  always  particular  in  choosing  the  best 
land  either.  He  invests  all  he  can  in  accumu- 
lating acres, — perhaps  runs  in  debt  for  a  part. 
This  hampers  him,  and  the  want  of  a  market 
prevents  good  sales  and  thorough  cultivation, 
and  the  man  is  always  poor, — the  mortgage 
never  removed.  There  is  a  place  not  far  dis- 
tant called  Hungry  Hollow,  and  it  has  tor- 
mented me  ever  since  I've  seen  it.  Down  an 
almo.st  perpendicular  hill,  rocky  and  danger- 
ous, and  covered  with  thick  undergrowth,  at 
tlie  risk  of  overturning  the  wagon  and  break- 
ing our  necks,  we  descended  into  a  rocky, 
scrubby  valle)-,  and  found  a  rude,  half-finished 
shanty,  occupied  by  a  fat,  lazy  farmer,  wife 
and  two  delicate  children,  who  had  been  there 
for  years.  '  After  passing  with  difhculty  the 
house,  and  struggling  up  the  steep  declivity 
of  the  0[)posite  side,  we  halted  on  the  simi- 
mit  and  looked  back.  A  stream  meandered 
through  this  rocky  place,  and  here  and  there 
were  cultivated  spots,  but  no  wiiere  a  good 
field  of  corn  or  potatoes.  The  frost  touches 
here  early  in  tht;  tall  and  late  in  the  spring,  so 
crops  are  ol ten  a  failure ;  but  the  man  seems 
contented  to  raise  only  enougli  for  his  family, 
look  at  his  roclts,  and  let  the  wind  sift  through 


his  house.  Rocks,  rocks,  rocks ;  and  the  more 
he  owns,  the  more  he  wants  to  own.  I  will 
not  say  that  all  farmers  like  such  a  barren 
place,  for  there  are  rich  farms  here,  and  prac- 
tical workers ;  but  I've  ascertained  that  this 
man's  head  is  as  hard  as  his  rocks,  and  his 
mind  as  deep  with  barren  satisfaction  as  his 
valley. 

But  I'm  digressing  far  from  the  Fair.  Pass- 
ing by  the  base  ball  games  and  side  shows, — 
one  exhibiting  a  majestic  piece  of  manliness, 
seven  feet  ten  inches  high,  weighing  410  lbs., 
and  a  freckled  fat  woman  of  580  lbs., — I  will 
mention  a  race  that  occurred  the  third  day,  for 
the  Society's  purse  for  the  best  horse  raised 
and  owned  in  the  county,  won  by  Meddlesome, 
owned  by  America  Andrews,  of  Paris.  First 
half  made  in  1.21,  and  the  heat  in  2.43.  In  a 
volunteer  trot,  a  horse,  five  years  old,  belong- 
ing to  Mr.  Ileald,  of  Sumner,  won,  making 
the  heat  in  2.39.  This  horse  has  had  only 
three  weeks'  training,  his  owner  but  lat?ly  dis- 
covering his  Heetness.  In  the  ploughing 
match,  Charles  H.  Durell  tried  the  Western 
plan  of  harnessing  three  horses  abreast,  and 
with  a  Hussey  plough,  made  the  dirt  fly 
briskly. 

Fairs  are  pleasant  places  to  see  human  am- 
bition and  practical  poetry.  The  theories 
worked  into  facts  are  astounding  to  the  doubt- 
ing vision,  especially  in  the  machinery  that 
saves  so  much  labor,  yet  doubles  farm  profits. 
If  our  fathers  and  mothers  could  rise  from 
their  graves  and  take  a  walk  through  our  fair 
grounds,  when  in  full  operation,  they  would 
wonder  where  the  spirit  of  invention  was  when 
they  existed.  Theo.  Williston. 

Norway,  Me.,  Oct.  3,  1867. 


FALL  AND  WINTER  CARE  OF  SHEEP. 

Now  is  the  time  to  prepare  lambs  for  winter. 
They  should  be  kept  growing  every  day. 
There  is  a  dilTerence  of  opinion  whether  they 
will  do  best  on  old  pasture,  or  on  the  after 
growth  of  meadows  and  new  seeded  stubbles. 
Our  opinion  is  that  they  will  do  well  enough 
on  either,  provided  there  is  an  abundance  of 
fresh,  sweet  feed.  If  put  on  old  pastures,  they 
should  be  those  which  have  been  well  fed 
down,  and  then  allowed  to  start  up  fresh  and 
green.  It  is  the  opinion  of  most  successful 
tiock  masters  that  as  soon  as  the  grass  begins 
to  be  rendered  innutritions  by  frost,  it  is  expe- 
dient to  give  tegs  a  little  extra  feed.  They 
grow  finely  on  pumpkins  or  roots.  Wheat 
bran  is  one  of  the  very  best  feeds  for  them, 
and  it  can  be  mixed  with  a  few  oats  as  the 
grass  grows  poorer. 

It  is  a  decided  mistake,  however,  in  our 
judgment,  io  pamper  tegs  in  the  fall.  If  fed 
high  at  this  season,  they  feel  their  winter  feed 
less ;  and  it  must  be  increased  to  an  extent 
which  renders  their  wintering  less  safe.  We 
have,  it  is  true,  seen  many  a  tlock  of  them 
very  highly  kept  in  winter  which  went  through 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


507 


"splendidly,"  and  were  of  the  size  of  ordinary 
two-year-olds  at  their  first  shearing.  Indeed, 
this  is  the  ordinary  course  of  those  who  breed 
tegs  to  sell  at  high  prices.  With  great  care 
and  judgment,  and  especially  in  small  flocks,  it 
may  ordinarily  be  safe  enough — but  we  have 
known  too  many  severe  disasters  to  grow  out 
of  the  practice  not  to  caution  the  mass  of 
sheep-growers  against  it.  We  esteem  pam- 
pering sheep  at  any  age,  except  when  they  are 
being  fattened  to  kill,  injurious — and  especially 
60  before  they  reach  their  second  year.  Their 
natural  habits  are  unfitted  to  it,  and  their  con- 
stitutions will  not  safely  bear  it.  When  they 
are  appearing  best,  the  destroyer  sometimes 
comes  so  suddenly  and  fatally  as  to  defy  all 
discovery  of  j^roximate  causes  and  baflie  all 
remedial  measures. 

For  both  the  fall  and  winter  feed  of  tegs  we 
prefer,  among  the  grains,  oats  and  bran. 
Both  (unlike  corn)  tend  to  the  pi  oduction  of 
muscle  (lean  meat)  instead  of  fat,  and  there- 
fore promote  growth  instead  of  unnecessary 
obesity.  They  afford  aliment  in  a  less  con- 
centrated and  therefore  less  stimulating  form. 
They  are,  in  popular  phrase,  less  "heating" 
and  less  "feverish,"  feed,  i.  e.,  they  do  not  so 
much  predispose  the  system  to  inflammatory 
tendencies  and  attacks.  If  fed  separately, 
equivalents  of  them  in  weight  are  probably 
about  equivalents  in  nutriment — but  we  much 
like  the  plan  of  feeding  them  mixed,  say  one 
jiart  oats  to  two  of  bran  ;  and  to  Merino  tegs 
well  brought  into  winter,  a  gill  of  bran  and 
half  a  gill  of  oats,  per  head,  with  a  little  green 
feed  (say  a  gill  of  turnips,)  with  a  full  allow- 
ance of  bright,  fine,  early  cut  hay,  ought  un- 
der ordinary  circumstances  to  be  a  sufficient 
daily  allowance  for  "store"  tegs  in  winter. 
By  "store"  tegs  we  mean  those  not  fitted  up 
to  sell,  or  show  at  Fairs,  or  raise  "brag"  fieeces 
from — but  those  intended  to  be  kept  in  the 
flock  for  regular  wool  growing  purposes. 

Fine,  green,  early  cut  and  well  cured  hay 
is  almost  indispensable  in  wintering  tegs.  No 
grain  or  root  feed  can  properly  supply  the 
want  of  it.  We  would  rather  winter  tegs  on 
it  without  any  grain,  than  on  coarse,  dry,  over- 
ripe timothy,  with  any  amount  of  grain  and 
roots.  We  esteem  fine,  red  clover,  cured 
"green  as  tea,"  a  very  important,  if  not  neces- 
sary ingredient  in  hay  for  tegs.  We  would 
prefer  to  have  it  form  from  a  third  to  a  half  of 
the  mow. 

Cold,  severe  autumn  rains  benefit  no  sheep, 
and  are  perceptibly  injurious  to  tegs,  especially 
if  they  are  thin  and  backward.  When  these 
rains  begin  to  fall,  tegs  should  be  brought  near 
the  barn,  and  run  in  during  their  continuance, 
and  as  winter  approaches,  also  during  cold,  raw 
nights.  If  kept  up  more  than  half  a  day, 
they  should  be  fed  hay  in  a  rack.  But  we  had 
rather  they  should  remain  out  of  doors  than  to 
be  crowded  into  some  little,  stinking  (that  we 
should  use  such  a  word !)   hole,  with  mud  or 


wet  dung  up  to  their  fetlocks,  there  stand  fast- 
ing for  twelve  or  twenty-four  hours. 

It  is  useless  to  talk  about  ventilation,  and 
perfect  dryness  under  foot,  in  a  sheep  shelter 
of  any  description.  These  topics  are  stale. 
But  we  may  suspect  some  men,  who  are  not 
used  to  it  in  their  own  houses,  do  not  know 
what  proper  ventilation  is.  We  propose  the 
following  tests  : — When  a  night's  confinement 
of  the  flock  in  the  sheep  house  produces  even 
a  slightly  disagreeable  animal  smell,  or  a  tem- 
perature above  60  degrees,  the  house  is  not 
properly  ventilated. — Dr.  Randall. 


FODDER  COBN". 

The  season  has  been  so  excessively  wet  in 
New  England  that  an  argument  based  on  &, 
severe  drought  in  a  section  as  near  as  Western 
New  York  has  an  air  of  novelty  with  us.  Mr. 
Harris  of  Rochester,  author  of  "Walks  and 
Talks  on  the  Farm,"  published  in  the  Ameri- 
can Agriculturist,  thus  states  the  reasons  for 
the  resolution  that  "another  year  I  will  not  be 
without  a  piece  of  fodder  corn,  on  rich  land, 
near  the  barn  yard,  to  be  cut  up  in  August 
for  milch  cows  :" — 

We  have  had  one  of  the  most  severe  droughts 
I  have  ever  known.  I  have  always  been  par- 
tial to  a  dry,  hot  summer — it  gives  such  a 
splendid  chance  to  kill  weeds — but  this  is 
rather  too  good.  At  the  East,  I  understand, 
they  have  had  a  very  wet  summer,  and  the 
papers  complain  that  the  potatoes  are  rotting 
in  consequence.  Here  we  shall  have  few  or 
none  to  rot.  Corn  will  not  t>e  half  a  crop.  I 
did  not  sow  any  corn  for  fodder,  but  we  have 
been  obliged  for  some  time  to  cut  up  corn  for 
the  cows.  As  it  was  drilled  in,  and  was  a 
little  too  thick,  I  do  not  begrudge  it  the  cows  as 
much  as  if  ic  was  planted  in  hills.  There  is  a 
heavy  growth  of  stalks,  and  1  am  astonished  to 
see  how  little  ground  we  have  to  go  over  for  a 
day's  supply.  Another  season  i  will  not  be 
without  a  piece  of  corn  fodder,  on  rich  land, 
near  the  barn-yard,  to  be  cut  up  in  August  for 
milch  cows.  Some  of  my  neighbors  had  a 
piece  this  year,  but  it  was  sown  broadcast,  and 
the  dry  weather  parched  it  up.  In  moist  sea- 
sons, corn  sown  broadcast  sometimes  does  well, 
but,  as  a  general  rule,  it  should  be  sown  thick- 
ly in  drills,  and  thoroughly  cultivated,  and  the 
more  highly  it  can  be  manured,  the  better. 
Rich  land,  thick  seeding  in  drills,  say  three 
bushels  per  acre,  and  thorough  cultivation,  are 
the  essentials  in  raising  corn  fodder.  And  in 
such  circumstances  it  is  astonishing  how  much 
feed  can  be  obtained  from  an  acre. 


— Prof.  Turner  of  Jacksonville,  111.,  received 
last  year  $100  for  grapes  growing  on  an  elm  tree. 
For  years  he  tried  to  prevent  the  vine  going  into 
the  tree. 


608 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


Nov. 


BOTATION   OF   CKOPS. 

N  order  to  render  the  ac- 
tion of  manures  more  ef- 
fectual and  secure  the  great- 
est possible  amount  of  pro- 
duce from  a  given  quantity 
of  aliment,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  insure  an  increase  of 
productive  energy  in  the 
soil  cultivated,  a  system  of 
rotation,  or  rather  a  variety 
of  systems,  has  been  intro- 
duced. 

A  proper  rotation  of  crops  is  considered  in 
England  '  'as  the  most  prominent  feature  in  good 
farming ;  as  the  most  important  particular  that 
has  been  treated  of  by  modern  writers  on  hus- 
bandry, and  the  subject  on  which  they  have 
thrown  the  greatest  light ;  as  capable  of  fur- 
nishing a  considerable  increase  to  the  produce 
of  the  land ;  as  peculiarly  constituting  what 
may  be  called  the  soul,  or  essence,  of  hus- 
bandry ;  m  short,  as  the  true  ground-work  of 
general  improvement ;"  and  if  well  understood, 
as  the  most  likely  means  of  promoting  the 
cause  of  agriculture,  and  the  interests  of  the 
country.  It  cannot,  indeed,  be  represented  in 
too  important  a  light,  nor  too  minutely  exam- 
med,  its  object  being  to  ascertain,  "that  mode 
of  management,  which  is  the  most  likely,  for  a 
series  of  years,  to  yield  the  greatest  quantity 
of  useful  produce,  at  the  smallest  comparative 
expense  and  risk,  from  any  given  extent  of 
land.''"' 

We  will  not  attempt  now  to  discuss  the  prin- 
ciples of  these  systems  or  the  analogies  upon 
which  they  are  predicated.  The  following 
courses,  however,  although  far  from  embrac- 
ing all  the  products  involved  in  a  thorough 
course,  as  prescribed  by  the  British  and  Ger- 
man culturists,  have  been  fouHd  highly  favor- 
able in  our  climate,  and  in  many  instances, 
have  been  productive  of  most  excellent  results  : 

I,  1st  year,  Corn  and  roots  well  manured ; 

2d      "      Wheat  sown  with  clover  seed,  fifteen 

pounds  per  acre. 
3d     "      Clover,  one  or  more  years  according 

to  the  amount  of  manure  on  hand. 

II.  1st     "      Com  and  roots  with  all  the  manure ; 
2d     "      Barley  and  peas ; 

3d     "      "Wheat sown  with  clover; 
4th    "      Clover  one  or  more  years. 

IT  1. 1st  "  Corn  and  roots  with  all  the  manures ; 

2d  "  Barley ; 

3d  "  Wheat,  sown  with  clover ; 

41  h  "  Pasture; 

5lh  "  Mowing; 


6th    " 

Fallow ; 

7th    " 

Wheat ; 

8th    ' 

Oats,  sown  with  clover ; 

9th    " 

Pasture  or  mowing. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  each  course,  the 
number  of  fields  corresponds  exactly  with  the 
number  of  changes,  and  that,  in  the  first,  there 
are  three,  in  the  second  four,  and  in  the  third, 
nine. 

The  adoption  of  a  judicious  system  of  rota- 
tion requires  some  important  pre-requisites  in 
all  cases,  and  the  division  of  a  farm  into  fields 
or  separate  enclosures,  which  is  requisite 
where  pasturing  constitutes  one  of  the  changes, 
will  generally  be  found  too  expensive  for  most 
farmers,  and  especially  for  such  as  possess  lim- 
ited means ;  yet  that  the  principles  on  which 
the  practice  is  based,  are  clearly  philosophi- 
cal, few  persons,  it  is  presumed,  will  for  a  mo- 
ment doubt. 

It  is  a  general  practice,  all  over  New  Eng- 
land, not  to  cultivate  the  same  crop  on  the  same 
land,  two  or  three  years  in  succession.  All, 
therefore,  practice  rotation  in  their  crops,  but 
do  not  extend  it  into  a  well-defined  system. 

Human  wisdom  has  not  yet  discovered  any 
means  whereby  we  can  tell  all  that  is  lacking 
in  any  soil,  which  a  certain  crop  requires.  A 
careful  analysis  of  the  soil  may  show  us  some- 
thing near  what  is  wanted,  and  be  of  essential 
service.  But  such  a  process  would  be  too  te- 
dious and  expensive.  It  has  been  proved  in  a 
thousand  cases,  ih&i  changing  the  crop  ensures 
decided  advantages ;  and  this  is  our  cheapest 
and  easiest  mode  of  proceeding. 

For  instance,  we  sow  a  crop  whose  wants 
are  largely  of  potash ;  but  the  soil  abounds  in 
lime,  and  has  little  potash.  On  another  farm, 
a  crop  is  put  in  which  demands  lime,  but  the 
soil  is  deficient  in  that,  and  has  a  large  supply 
of  potash.  In  both  these  instances,  there  is 
loss,  because  we  do  not  know  what  the  soil 
contains,  and  what  the  plant  requires. 

Prof.  Johnston,  in  one  of  his  lectures,  shows 
why  a  rotation  of  crops  is  necessary.  He 
says  :  Suppose  the  soil  to  contain  a  certain  av- 
erage supply  of  all  those  inorganic  substances 
which  plants  re(juire,  and  that  the  same  corn 
crop  is  grown  uj)on  it  for  a  long  series  of 
years — this  crop  will  carry  olF  some  of  these 
substances  in  larger  proportion  than  others,  so 
that  year  by  year  the  quantity  of  those  which 
are  thus  chiefly  carried  ofl  will  become  rela- 
tively less.     Thus,  at  length  the  soil,  for  want 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


509 


of  these  special  substances,  -will  become  una- 
ble to  bear  a  corn  crop  at  all,  though  it  may 
still  contain  a  large  store  of  the  other  inorganic 
substances  which  the  corn  crop  does  not  spe- 
cially exhaust.  Suppose  bean  or  turnip  crops 
raised  in  like  manner  for  a  succession  of  years, 
they  would  exhaust  the  soil  of  a  different  set 
of  substances  till  it  became  unable  to  grow 
them  profitably,  though  still  rich  perhaps  in 
those  things  which  the  corn  crop  especially  de- 
mands. 

"But  grow  these  crops  alternately,  then  the 
one  crop  will  draw  especially  upon  one  class 
of  substances,  the  other  crop  upon  another ; 
and  thus  much  larger  crops  of  each  will  be 
reaped  from  the  same  soil,  and  for  a  much 
longer  period  of  time." 


A  LANDMAKK. 

The  question  is  sometimes  mooted  whether 
there  has  been  any  actual  progress  in  the  art 
and  science  of  agriculture  during  the  last  half 
century.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  this 
discussion,  we  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  as 
to  the  progress  of  the  agricultural  press,  dur- 
ing that  period.  Still  this  progress  has  been 
so  quiet  and  so  gradual  that  we  are  occasion- 
ally startled  by  some  old  landmark  that  re- 
veals the  actual  velocity  of  the  "stream  of 
time" — which  is  impelling  our  onward  course. 

In  writing  up  the  history  of  the  Kennebec 
Agricultural  Society,  the  oldest  society  of  this 
kind  in  that  State,  the  Maine  Farmer,  presents 
one  of  these  landmarks  in  the  following  extract 
from  the  records  of  a  meetmg  of  the  Society 
held  Nov.  6th,  1822  :— 

"  Voted,  That  the  Society  take  two  copies  of  the 
publick  Paper  puljlished  in  Boston  called  the  New 
England  Farmer,  and  that  two  of  the  Trustees 
become  sul)scril)ers, — therefore  Chosen,  Samuel 
Wood,  Esq.,  and  Willm.  Richards,  Esq.,  sub- 
scribers as  above." 

As  this  vote  was  passed  during  the  first  year's 
existence  of  the  Farmer  it  is  possible  that 
Samuel  Wood  and  William  Richards,  Esqrs. 
were  its  first  subscribers  in  Maine.  But 
whether  they  were  the  first  or  not,  it  is  well 
known  that  for  a  long  time,  although  the  New 
England  Farmer  was  the  only  agricultural 
paper  in  New  England,  its  circulation  was  ex- 

»tremcly  limited.  We  were  told  a  few  months 
since  by  Mr.  Durant  of  Lawrence,  who  for 
several  years  furnished  the  paper  on  which  it 
was  printed,  that  one  "bundle"  sufficed  fortwo 


weeks — less  than  five  hundred  sheets  per  week ! 
Yet  such  has  been  the  increase  of  our  circula- 
tion, and  such  the  improvement  in  the  agricul- 
tural press,  that  we  now  furnish  a  sheet  about 
three  times  the  original  size  of  the  Farmer, 
and  notwithstanding  the  stimulus  of  war  prices, 
the  rate  of  yearly  subscription  is  the  same  now 
as  when  this  ancient  and  honorable  society 
passed  its  resolution  to  "take  two  copies  of 
the  publick  paper  printed  in  Boston,  called  the 
New  England  Farmer." 

There  are  now  six  weekly  and  two  monthly 
agricultural  papers  printed  in  New  England ; 
the  average  circulation  of  which  is  considera- 
bly larger,  counted  by  thousands,  than  was 
that  of  the  single  one  forty-five  years  ago, 
counted  by  hundreds.  And  yet  at  that  period 
both  the  agricultural  editors  of  the  present 
New  England  Farmer  had  completed  more 
than  half  the  prescribed  course  of  the  only 
Farm  School  known  to  the  youth  of  that  gen- 
eration. 

AMERICAN  POMOLOQICAL  SOCIETY. 
This  Society  held  its  eleventh  biennial  ses- 
sion at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  commencing  Septem- 
ber 10th.  Previous  sessions  have  been  held 
successively  at  New  York,  in  1848 ;  Cincin- 
nati, in  1850 ;  Philadelphia,  in  1852 ;  Boston, 
in  1851;  Rochester,  in  1856;  New  York,  in 
1858  ;  Philadelphia,  in  1860  ;  Boston,  in  1862, 
and  Rochester,  in  1864.  On  account  of  the 
prevalence  of  the  cholera,  the  session  for  1866 
at  St.  Louis,  was  postponed  to  1867.  At  the 
late  fair  there  were  exhibitors  from  the  States 
of  Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
North  Carolina,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
Iowa,  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts.  The 
fruits  exhibited  comprised  680  dishes  of  grapes, 
82  of  apples,  745  of  pears  and  212  of  peaches. 
The  President,  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  said  the 
exhibition  of  fruit  greatly  exceeded  expecta- 
tion, rivaling  anything  heretofore  seen  in  the 
way  of  pomology.  The  society  adjourned  on 
the  13th,  to  Philadelphia,  two  years  hence. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  St.  Louis  Democrat 
for  a  detailed  journal  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  late  session,  including  the  address  of  the 
President,  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  a  paper 
by  Thomas  Meehan,  Esq.,  of  the  Philadelphia 

Gardener'' s  Monthly,  on  "Fire  Blight, — Can- 
ker— Leaf  Blight,"  and  much  other  valuable 
information  and  suggestions  in  relation  to  the 
cultivation  of  fruit,  to  which  we  hope  to  be 


510 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


able  soon  to  refer  more  at  length.     The  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected. 

President— MarshM  P.  Wilder. 

Vice  Presidents  in  New  England — Maine,  S.  L. 
Goodale ;  New  Hampshire,  Fred  Smyth  ;  Vermont, 
E.  C.  Worcester;  Massachusetts,  C.  M.  Hovej' ; 
Connecticut,  Daniel  S.Dewy;  Rhode  Island,  Silas 
Moore. 

Treasurer — Thomas  P.  James. 

Secretary — F.  R.  Elliot. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CHEMlCAi    TERMS— ]Sro.   III. 

We  constantly  meet  with  the  terms  oxygen, 
nitrogen,  hydrogen,  phosphorus,  ammonia,  car- 
bon, carbonic  acid,  sulphur,  sulphuric  acid,  pot- 
ash, silex,  silicate  of  potash,  lime,  «&c.  Let  us 
inquire  what  is  meant  by  these  terms  ;  what  are 
the  substances  which  are  described  by  them, 
and  what  properties  they  possess. 

Oxygen. — This  term  is  derived  from  a  Greek 
word,  oxus,  which  means  acid,  and  another 
Greek  word  which  means  to  produce,  to  bring 
forth, — it  means  acid-producer.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  basis  of  all  acids.  When  ex- 
isting by  itself,  it  is  an  invisible,  colorless  gas. 
It  exists  abundantly  in  nature  in  combination 
with  other  bodies.  Of  100  measures  of  atmos- 
pheric air,  21  consist  of  oxygen.  Water  con- 
sists of  one  part,  by  measure,  of  oxygen,  and 
two  of  hydrogen.  It  is  found  united  with  metals 
and  earth.  Combustion  is  the  union,  more  or 
less  rapid,  of  oxygen  with  combustible  bodies. 
It  was  called  vital  gas,  because  it  is  essential 
to  life, — no  breathing  animal  can  live  without 
it, — and  yet  it  is  the  great  agent  of  decompo- 
sition or  destruction.  It  seizes  upon  metals 
and  converts  them  into  rust,  or  oxides.  When 
vitality  has  left  organized  bodies,  thoir  compo- 
nent elements  are  at  once  seized  upon  by 
oxygen,  which  unites  with  their  nitrogen  and 
converts  it  into  atmospheric  air ;  with  their 
hydrogen  and  converts  it  into  water ;  with 
their  carbon  and  converts  it  into  carbonic  acid  ; 
with  their  phosphorus,  and  converts  it  into 
phosphorous  acid, — thus  setting  all  these  ele- 
ments free  from  the  combinations  in  which 
they  had  previously  existed,  and  diffusing  them 
thro;,  gh  space.  Thus  it  is  obvious  that  by  its 
universal  presence  and  ceaseless  activity,  it 
performs  a  very  important  part  in  the  works  of 
nature. 

Nitrogen. — This  is  also  an  invisible  gas,  with- 
out taste  or  smell,  constituting  about  four-fifths 
of  the  atmosphere.  It  is  found  abundantly 
in  the  organic  kingdom,  combined  with  animal 
and  veg(;table  organisms.  It  is  found  in  salt- 
petre, or  nitre, — hence  its  name,  nitre-pro- 
ducer. 

Hydrogen. — From  the  Greek  word  hndor, 
water, — water-produ(;er,  because  it  is  always 
found  in  water,  which  cannot  exist  without  it. 
Two  parts,  by  measure,  of  hydrogen,  com- 
bined with  one  part  of  oxygen,  form  water. 
Hydrogen  is  a  very  light  gas.  The  two  parts 
existing  in  water,  weigh  only  one   eightn   as 


much  as  the  one  part  of  oxygen  ;  one  part  of 
hydrogen  weighs  only  one-sixteenth  as  much 
as  the  one  part  of  oxygen  In  nine  ounces  of 
water,  only  one  ounce  will  be  hydrogen.  It 
unites  with  oxygen  to  form  water,  always  in 
the  same  proportion.  Hydrogen  gas  is  easily 
obtained  by  separating  it  from  water.  When 
thus  separated,  if  flame  is  applied  to  it,  it 
combines  again  with  oxygen  so  violently  as  to 
cause  explosion.  It  is  separated  from  water 
in  the  organs  of  animals  and  plants  and  con- 
verted into  a  solid.  Combined  with  nitrogen 
it  forms  ammonia. 

Phosphorus. — This  is  a  simple  substance, 
highly  inflammable,  of  a  yellowish  white  color. 
In  <"oId  weather  it  is  brittle  ;  in  warm  weather 
soft  and  flexible,  like  wax.  A  piece  of  it  laid 
upon  cotton  or  blotting  paper,  in  a  hot  day, 
j  will  take  fire  spontaneously.  The  heat  of  the 
I  hand  will  cause  it  to  take  fire.  It  is  not  dis- 
!  solved  by  water,  but  is  dissolved  by  ether, 
alcohol  and  oils.  When  exposed  to  the  air,  it 
slowly  combines  with  oxygen,  giving  off  a 
white  smoke  and  a  strong  light.  In  other 
words,  it  shines  or  phosphoresces, — hence  its 
name,  from  two  Greek  words,  light  and  to 
bear,  or  light-bearer.  When  combming  with 
oxygen  it  emits  the  smell  of  garlic.  When  it 
burns  slowly  it  combines  with  three  parts  of 
oxygen,  forming  phosphorous  acid.  When  it  is 
burned  more  rapidly,  with  flame,  it  (;ombines 
with  five  parts  of  oxygen,  forming  phosphoric 
acid.  When  phosphorus  has  been  combined 
with  oxygen,  it  exhibits  the  properties  of  other 
acids,  and  will  readily  'mbine  with  lime  and 
other  alkalies,  and  with  the  oxides  of  metals. 
In  this  way  phosphate  of  lime  is  formeil,  which 
enters  so  largely  into  the  composition  of  bones. 
Formerl}'  phosphorus  was  obtained  from  urine, 
in  which  it  exists  in  the  form  of  phosphate  of 
lime,  phosphate  of  magnesia,  &c.  Now  it  is 
obtained  from  bones,  the  gelatine  and  lime 
being  removed  by  certain  chemical  processes, 
leaving  the  phosphorus.  By  means  of  lime 
and  heat,  it  can  be  made  to  decompose  water, 
a  portion  of  it  combining  with  the  hydrogen 
of  the  water  and  forming  a  gas, — phosphoretted 
hydrogen, — which  takes  fire  on  exposure  to  the 
air.  When  bones  are  put  into  one  part,  by 
measure,  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  three  parts  of 
water,  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  is  formed, 
and  falls  to  the  bottom,  and  plios{)horic  acid 
and  lime  remain  in  solution.  If  this  solution 
be  evaporated  to  dryness,  a  white  powder  is 
formed,  which  is  superphosphate  of  lime.     R. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Sept.  10,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
ANOTHER   LETTER   FROM   MAINE. 

I\Iaine  is  a  fine  State,  rug<!;iHl  and  strong. 
The  people  resemble  her  hills  in  possessing 
that  strength  of  eharac^ter,  witiiout  wliich  no 
man  can  carve  a  nan)e  nor  make  a  fortune, 
and  with  which  every  legitimate  son  of  Maine 
has  a  "free  pass"  anywhere.     Next  to  Massa- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


511 


cbusetts,  I  believe  that  Maine  has  the  best 
people  in  the  world. 

I  was  pleased  with  an  editorial  in  last  week's 
Farmer,  upon  the  "Misrepresentation  of 
Farm  Life."  It  strikes  me  that  all  who  cari- 
cature farm  life,  or  in  fact,  any  life  foreign  to 
their  own,  belong  to  that  class  who  never  look 
into  the  soul  of  tilings,  nor  understand  the 
economy  and  motives  of  the  people  who  per- 
form the  work  of  life,  of  which  every  one 
should  bear  a  part.  The  "intellectual  powers," 
that  a  visit  of  a  few  weeks  upon  a  farm  gave 
"boldness  enough"  1o  thank  God  for,  could 
not  have  been  even  thoughtful  intelligence,  if 
it  "raised  them  in  their  own  esteem,  into  an- 
other race  of  beings."  God  never  accepts 
such  Pharisaical  thanks,  and  I  cannot  imag- 
ine where  the  writer  found  her  "animated 
clods."  Certainly  not  among  those  who  make 
life  so  practical  as  she  represents  it  to  have 
been  among  the  "community  blessed  with  miles 
of  the  richest  lands  in  all  the  Northern  States." 
Among  the  agricultural  items  of  the  same 
issue,  we  read  "He  is  the  most  reasonable 
worker  who  judiciou.-ly  divides  the  responsi- 
bilities and  duties  of  life  between  brain  and 
muscle."  1  have  found  many  such  "reason- 
able workers"  in  the  several  communities 
where  1  have  visited,  in  the  rural  districts  of 
this  State,  and  although  I  have  found  igno- 
rant persons  here,  as  elsewhere,  vet  search  as 
thoroughly  as  I  may,  I  am  doubtful  if  I  could 
find  an  "animated  clod"  throughout  New 
England.  I  have  seen  "clods"  of  a  slimy  na- 
ture and  of  "animated"  baseness,  within  the 
"halo  of  brick  walls  and  narrow  yards,"  indi- 
viduals who  walk  with  their  conscience  under 
their  feet,  and  keep  their  souls  where  goodness 
can  never  reach  them ;  but  never  where  the 
earth  smiles  with  innocence  and  plenty,  and 
nature  speaketh  with  a  clear  and  happy  voice. 
What  a  libel  upon  (iod's  noblest  work !  I 
think  "good  clothes"  worn  every  day  have 
much  to  do  with  some  people's  estimation  of 
character; — and  farmers  seldom  dress  well, 
you  know  ! 

Ho[is  are  housed  and  ready  for  marketing, 
and  the  general  query  among  hop  growers  is, 
"What's  hops  worth?"  Then  comes  the  con- 
versation about  this  rumor  and  that  surmise, 
which  may  directly  or  indirectly  affect  the  price 
of  this  commodity. 

I  have  noticed  several  articles  lately  in  the 
Farmer,  regarding  the  disposal  of  the  '  'plaguy" 
stones.  I  have  just  ascertained  one  way  in 
which  they  have  been  used  to  a  good  purpose. 
My  ho^t  is  quite  a  hop  grower,  every  year  in- 
creasing his  fields  and  his  profits.  Last  sum- 
mer, in  setting  out  a  new  field,  he  placed  a 
number  of  hills  so  near  the  wall  that  the  horse 
in  ploughing  could  not  go  round  them.  Being 
thus  left  to  themselves,  they  flourished  and 
covered  the  stones  with  splendid  clean  blos- 
soms, free  from  lice  and  rust,  although  vines 
on  poles  within  six  feet  were  greatly  damaged 
by  these  pests.     These  outside  hills  had  been 


transplanted,  but  accidentally  a  few  sets  were 
left  in  the  ground,  which  this  year  received  but 
little  care,  no  one  supposing  them  of  any  ac- 
count until  the  superior  product  of  the  stone- 
heap  was  discovered.  These  vines  bore  the 
finest,  largest,  cleanest  blossoms  my  friend  had 
ever  seen.  Next  year  will  see  his  stone  fences 
green  with  vines,  enjoying  the  largest  liberty. 
He  intends  to  plant  a  thousand  hills  and  make 
his  walls  and  stone  heaps  pav  for  piling  them 
up.  Oxford  promises  to  be  the  hop-producing 
county  of  the  State.  The  farmers  are  all 
going  into  the  culture,  having  had  thus  ftir  ex- 
cellent success.  One  man  in  Rumfoid  has 
fourteen  acres  under  cultivation,  and  is  plant- 
ing more.  I  did  not  know  before  that,  the 
dust  or  pollen  of  the  flowers  was  very  useful 
as  a  i-emedy  for  nervous  complaints.  I  have 
used  it  several  times  lately,  and  am  charmed 
with  its  power. 

Potatoes  are  looking  very  pitiful ;  the  rust 
is  ruining  many  a  farmer's  hopes,  and  depriving 
them  of  the  reward  of  their  toil.  Many  fields 
make  the  highways  anything  but  pleasantly 
odorous.  The  white  muck  worm  is  commit- 
ting great  depredations  upon  many  corn-fields  ; 
making  fodder  where  the  sower  expecti'd  meal. 
The  roots  are  entirely  eaten  off.  Some  of  the 
farmers  are  now  cutting  their  second  crop  of 
hay.  Apples  are  not  inclined  to  embonpoint 
this  year,  either  in  quantity  or  quality.  Pears 
likewise.  The  climate  is  too  cold  to  raise 
successfully  any  kind  of  pears,  but  pairs  mat- 
rimonial. TlIEO.    WiLLISTON. 

Norimy,  Me.,  Sept.  13,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

■WHEAT  GKOMTING.— ONION   WORM 
AND    SWALLOWS. 

I  take  up  my  pen  to  inform  you  and  my 
brother  farmers  in  general  that  I  have  been 
successful  in  making  my  seventeenth  successive 
crop  of  wheat.  Now  I  do  not  make  this  in 
any  spirit  of  boasting,  but  as  an  encourage- 
ment to  my  brother  farmers  to  endeavor  to 
grow  this  valuable  cereal. 

A  writer  in  the  New  York  Tribune,  who 
travelled  through  the  wheat  region  of  the  West 
last  season  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
farmers  of  New  England  mut  grow  a  part  of 
their  wheat  or  pay  about  fifteen  dollars  per 
barrel  for  flour.  Now  what  think  you,  brother 
farmers,  of  paying  fifteen  dollars'  a  barrel  for 
dour,  the  remaining  part  of  your  lives,  and 
of  the  annual  tax  thus  transmitted  to  your 
children,  amounting  to  a  sum  in  successive 
years,  compared  with  which  our  portion  of 
the  national  debt  would  sink  into  an  in- 
significant item?  There  is  a  large  breadth 
of  land  in  New  England  that,  by  judicious 
management,  is  capable  of  producing  paying 
crops  of  this  grain,  and  leaving  a  handsome 
profit  to  the  producer.  After  careful  observa- 
tion for  a  long  series  of  years,  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  longer  a  farmer  neglects 


512 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAKMER. 


Nov. 


to  grow  wheat  on  his  farm,  the  more  he  dimin- 
ishes his  chances  for  a  good  crop ;  or,  in  other 
■words,  wheat  straw  is  the  best  fertilizer  for 
wheat, — containing  as  it  does  a  large  portion 
of  silex  in  a  proper  condition  to  produce 
another  crop.  Wheat  straw  and  chatf  in  no 
case  should  leave  the  farm.  The  notion  that 
wheat  cannot  be  grown  is  an  idle  one,  with  no 
foundation  of  fact.  Our  hills  are,  by  proper  cul- 
tivation, as  capable  of  producing  this  crop  as 
they  were  one  hundred  years  ago.  The 
wheat  fields  of  Rome,  from  which  wheat  har- 
vests were  gathered  in  the  days  of  the  Repub- 
lic are  capable  of  producing  wheat  to  this  day. 
The  wheat  crop  in  our  vicinity  is  being  good 
this  season,  considering  the  extremely  wet 
weather.  Though  comparatively  but  little 
was  sown,  there  will  be  something  over  one 
hundred  bushels  grown  in  my  immediate  neigh- 
borhood ;  and  less  comparatively  in  most  other 
portions  of  the  town.  I  shall  endeavor  to  ob- 
tain the  number  of  bushels  raised  in  the  whole 
town. 

The  Onion  Maggots  destroyed  by  Swallows. 

I  have  grown  onions  for  the  two  past  years. 
Last  year,  being  my  first  acquaintance  with  the 
crop,  I  had  to  grope  my  way  along,  but  I  had 
a  very  good  crop.  Tbis  year  I  sowed  a  larger 
breadth,  and  was  all  right  till  about  the  20th  of 
June,  when  the  maggots  commenced  eating,  and 
I  would  have  sold  out  the  crop  ibr  five  dollars. 
On  the  last  of  June  the  barn  swallows  com- 
menced a  raid  upon  the  onion  patch  and  fol- 
lowed it  several  days,  and  when  the  swallows 
left,  the  maggots  did  also,  and  the  result  is  a 
fine  crop  of  onions.  Now  did  the  swallow 
destroy  the  onion  fly  ?  1  have  read  of  many 
remedies  and  tried  several  to  no  effect  against 
this  pest,  but  in  this  case  the  swallows  were 
effectual.  There  were  at  least  fifty  during  the 
two  da3s  that  I  observed  them  on  the  patch, 
and  before  a  week  they  entirely  left.  This 
seems  to  be  a  strong  plea  for  the  birds. 

The  hay  crop  is  good,  but  much  damaged ; 
meadows  nearly  ruined,  many  not  cut  yet; 
grain  good ;  apples  short ;  corn  on  high  land 
fair,  on  low  lauds  poor ;  potatoes  rotting  bad- 
ly, one  half  of  the  crop  will  be  lost ;  second 
crop  of  grass  will  be  good  if  we  have  weather 
to  save  It.  H. 

Epping,  N.  E.,  Aug.  31,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
POULTRY,    DOGS,   &c. 

The  fact  is  well  established  in  this  section 
of  country,  that  tlie  raising  of  turkeys  has  got 
to  be  a  very  precarious  business.  And  why  ? 
Turkt'ys,  unlike  most  other  domestic  fowls, 
cannot  be  raised  by  every  one,  for  want  of 
territory  for  them  range  upon.  I'ossessiiig  a 
roving  disposition,  they  ramble  about  over 
many  acres  in  pursuit  of  food ;  consequently 
the  farm,  and  a  tolerably  large  one,  with  neigh- 
Jjors  at  a  respectable  distance,  must  be  their 


home.  But  upon  such  farms  are  found  most 
abundantly  the  enemies  of  the  turkey,  such 
as  foxes,  skunks,  &c.  Notwithstanding  the 
utmost  care,  more  and  more  of  them  are  yearly 
caught. 

But  a  few  years  ago  my  mother  thought  it 
"no  knack  at  all"  to  raise  thirty  or  forty  good 
nice  turkeys.  A  little  care  and  attention  un- 
til a  week  or  two  old,  and  then  they  went 
where  they  pleased  until  time  to  begin  to  feed 
them  in  the  fall, — rarely  one  ever  being  caught. 
Now,  if  you  trust  them  out  of  sight,  there  is 
danger  of  losing  one  or  more.  Recently  a 
neighbor  lost  his  "old  gobbler"  by  a  sly  fox 
taking  it  within  ten  rods  of  him,  while  haying. 
A  grand  display  of  hallooing  did  no  good  as 
reynard  bore  off  his  prize  in  triumph.  Last 
summer  he  lost  some  thirty  or  forty  from  the 
same  cause.  Others  who  have  attempted  to 
raise  them  lose  from  one-third  to  one-half  of 
their  flock  by  means  of  foxes,  skunks,  &c. 
Of  late,  too,  woodchucks  have  become  so 
plenty  that  we  cannot  raise  beans  in  the  field, 
and  last  season  they  attacked  our  squashes 
and  pumpkins. 

Now  what  is  the  remedy  ?  The  dogs  that 
formerly  took  care  of  these  animals  have  mostly 
succumbed  to  the  two  dollar  yearly  tax.  Some 
large  fat,  lazy,  ones,  that  have  rich  owners, 
yet  remain,  but  those  sprightly  ones,  the  ter- 
ror of  woodchucks  and  otiier  small  vermin, 
have  left  for  the  interests  of  the  sheep-raiser, 
but  to  the  detriment  of  our  crops,  poultry, 
&c.  While  1  am  ready  to  admit  that  dogs 
sometimes  kill  sheep,  I  have  good  reason  for 
saying  that  they  are  sometimes  falsely  accused, 
and  that  the  remains  of  many  a  sheep  that  died 
of  disease  or  old  age,  have  been  pointed  to  as 
justification  of  the  most  unfounded  charges 
against  dogs.  Still  I  am  willing  that  the  ma- 
jority should  rule.  J.  B. 

Ashjield,  Mass.,  1867. 


INDIAN   COKN. 

BY  CHARLES  G.    LELAND. 

For  many  a  mile  on  every  side 

I  see  the  golden  corn, 
And  hear  the  cricket's  notes  around 

Bound  like  u  fairy  born 
In  concert  with  the  wild  bee's  drone, 

In  ellin  murmurs  borne. 

Long,  long  ago,  as  legends  tell, 

The  Indian  fairy  queen 
Unto  the  ancient  IJehiwares 

Came  down  upon  the  green. 
An  azure  glory  round  her  head, 

Her  robes  a  vapory  sheen ; 

And  where  she  sat  tobacco  soon 

Its  bitter  fragrance  Hung, 
And  where  her  left  hand  touched,  the  bean 

Rose  llowering  fresh  and  young; 
And  where  her  right  liand  swept,  the  maize 

In  golden  glory  sprung. 

And  whetlier  you  do  »'at  it  roast 

Or  take  it  baked  in  pone, 
Or  like  it  best  as  Johnny  cake. 

Still  let  the  truth  be  known  ; 
That  corn  first  came  from  fairy  land, 

And  was  by  fairies  grown. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


513 


EXTHACTS   AND   BEPLIES. 

TOBACCO   AND   BAD   HABITS. 

Why  is  it  that  so  many  young  men  will  soil 
themselves  with  tobacco  ?  A  cigar,  a  stove  pipe 
hat,  a  walking  cane,  a  moustache,  and  exemption 
from  labor  appear  to  be  all  the  characteristics 
of  a  gentleman  which  some  of  our  young  men 
have  the  aml)ition  to  emulate.  Why  lounging, 
tobacco-using,  inim-drinkmg  and  vile  language 
are  so  much  more  comely  to  the  young  man  than 
to  the  young  woman,  I  could  never  understand. 
If  I  were  a  man,  I'd  be  a  man,  and  not  depend  on 
relations  for  support,  nor  on  something  "to  turn 
up"  for  a  living ;  nor  would  I  become  the  slave  of 
80  offensive,  so  debasing  and  so  unclean  a  habit  as 
the  use  of  tobacco ;  which  it  is  well  known  tends 
to  create  an  appetite  or  desire  for  more  active 
stimulants.  Young  men  beware ;  unless  you  make 
up  your  minds  to  reform,  unless  you  resolve  im- 
mediately to,  slip  your  neck  entirely  clear  of  the 
noose  wliich  your  tobacco  and  loafing  habits  have 
thrown  over  your  heads,  your  escape  will  be  evi- 
dence that  the  days  of  miracles  have  not  as  yet 
departed.  Coka. 

East  Charlemont,  Mass,,  Sept.,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  Chemical  News  notices  a  letter 
written  by  the  Abbe  Migue,  a  celebrated  literary 
gentleman  of  France,  in  which  he  condenms  the 
use  of  tobacco,  in  a  manner  which  is  well  calculated 
to  enforce  the  admonitions  of  our  fair  correspond- 
ent. Of  his  own  experience  M.  Migne  says :  "When 
we  began  the  editing  of  our  lectures  on  analytical 
mechanice,  we  used  snuff  to  excess,  taking  20  to  30 
grammes  per  day,  incessantly  having  recourse  to 
the  fatal  lx)x  and  snuffing  up  the  dangerous  stimu- 
lant. The  effect  of  it  was,  on  the  one  hand,  the 
stiffening  of  the  nervous  system,  which  we  could 
not  account  for ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  rapid  loss  of 
memory,  not  only  of  the  present  but  of  the  past. 
We  had  learned  several  languages  by  their  roots, 
and  our  memory  was  often  at  a  loss  for  a  word. 
Frightened  at  this  considerable  loss,  we  resolved 
in  September,  1861,  to  renounce  the  use  of  snuff 
and  cigars  forever.  This  resolution  was  the  be- 
ginning of  a  veritable  restoration  to  health  and 
spirits,  and  our  memory  recovered  all  its  sensibili- 
ty and  force." 

The  News  adds  that  "the  same  thing  happened 
to  M.  Dubrunfaut,  the  celebrated  chemist,  in 
renouncing  the  use  of  tobacco." 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  in  this  country  every 
man  attains  whatever  rank  of  position  he  aspires 
to  and  is  qualified  for.  Young  men  should  there- 
fore carefully  avoid  everything  which  lowers  or 
debases  themselves  in  their  own  estimation. 
While  tobacco  stupefies  the  intellect  and  injures 
the  health,  we  believe  that  every  one  who  has 
become  addicted  to  the  habit  must  be  conscious 
of  a  defilement,  which,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
unfits  him  for  association  with  the  neat  and  tidy. 
"One  of  the  most  painful  recollections  of  my  expe- 
rience in  the  use  of  tobacco,"  said  a  friend  to  us, 
who  had  abandoned  its  use,  "is  that  of  the  discov- 
ery of  a  growing  preference  on  my  part  for  those 
places  and  that  company  which  tolerated  and  en- 
couraged the  indulgence  of  my  vile  habit."  "Birds 
of  a  feather  flock  together,"  says  the  old  adage. 


Our  railroad  managers,  in  fitting  up  the  "Smoking 
Car"  of  their  passenger  trains  with  gaming  facili- 
ties, recognize  this  principle  of  association, — a 
principle  which  no  young  man  who  indulges  the 
weed  should  ever  forget. 

But  aside  from  its  injurious  and  debasing  effects, 
what  a  miserably  disgusting  habit  it  is !  Look  at 
the  spittoons  of  our  public  houses,  at  the  puddles 
in  our  cars  and  steamboats !  Think  where  all  this 
offensive  liquid  comes  from,  and  if  you  must,  why 
then,  continue  to 

"Smoke — puflF— spit — spurt," 
But  pray  do  it  in  some  place  and  in  some  way 
that  will  incommode  as  few  of  your  fellow  beings 
as  possible. 

We  must  close  this  "Extract  and  Reply,"  with 
an  extract  from  the  "Musings  of  a  Fond  Mother," 
recently  contributed  to  the  Vermont  Record.  After 
detailing  the  accomplishments  of  her  "blessed 
boy"  in  the  graceful  use  of  "the  weed"  in  all  its 
forms,  this  fond  mother  proceeds : — 

Already  his  face  begins  to  wear 

A  beautiful  sallow  hue; 
And  soon  I  expect  to  see  his  nerves 

Shake  as  his  father's  do  : 
Pufl"— munch — spit — spurt — 
A  promising  lad  is  our  Mandelbert  I 

O,  how  I  wish  it  would  do  for  me 

To  learn  to  smoke  and  chew  I 
It  looks  so  nice,  it  smells  so  sweet— 

The  cigar  and  Honey-Dew  I 
Smoke — chew — spit — spurt — 
I  wish  /could  do  it  like  Mandelbert! 

But  then — I  can  look  at  my  darling  boy, 

And  smell  his  daddy  dear, 
And  see  the  rich  tints  of  the  Honey-Dew 

On  the  stove  and  the  carpet  right  here  I 
Fume — stain — spit — spurt — 
A  blessed  boy  is  my  Mandelbert  I 


SUBSTITUTE   FOR  BEE-BREAD   NOT  YET  FOUND. 

I  am  much  obliged  to  your  correspondents 
"Selrahc"  and  H.  Alley,  for  their  suggestions,  but 
fear  that  the  remedy  is  not  yet  found.  Bees  will 
not  use  rye  meal  when  there  are  blossoms  within 
their  range;  neither  will  they  carry  in  saw-dust 
except  at  such  times  as  they  will  rye  meal.  Now 
is  sawdust  a  substitute  for  pollen  ?  or  why  will 
they  gather  it  and  take  it  intotheii'  hives  ?  In  the 
spring  of  1866  our  bees  were  in  very  good  condi- 
tion with  a  good  supply  of  honey  and  a  good  num- 
ber of  bees  in  each  stock.  They  commenced 
work  early  in  the  season,  and  thus  gave  promise 
of  doing  well.  Soon  after  they  began  their  work, 
combined  circumstances  deprived  them  of  their 
usual  supplies  and  in  autumn  they  had  less  food  in 
their  hives  than  when  they  were  put  out  in  the 
spring.  The  result  was,  a  large  loss,  not  from  the 
want  of  honey,  not  from  the  ill-construction  of  the 
hives,  but  from  the  lack  of  bee-bread,  as  I  am  still 
inclined  to  think. 

I  believe  it  was  in  the  autumn  of  1859  that  I  was 
at  Mr.  Quinby's,  a  hive  containing  bees,  near  his 
door.  On  inquiry  I  learned  that  they  were  to  be 
"brimstoned,"  being  of  no  value  to  unite  with 
another  swarm  or  to  be  kept  by  themselves, 
because  they  were  old.  During  the  latter  part  of 
the  season,  the  swarm  had  been  queenless,  conse- 
quently no  bees  had  been  reared,  and  ere  another 
working  season  those  bees  would  die  of  old  age. 

Twice  our  bees  have  failed  to  rear  brood  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  season,  and  in  midwinter  before 
they  can  be  fed  with  rye  meal,  saw-dust,  or  any- 


514 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov. 


thing  else,  in  the  open  air,  they  die.  I  think  Mr. 
Alley  will  admit  that  if  bees  will  live  as  long  as 
the  honey  lasts  brood  will  not  be  reared  without 
"bread." 

Supposing  all  the  rye  meal  was  fed  in  spring 
that  could  l)e  of  any  use  ;  and  suppose,  again,  that  j 
the  old  stocks  would  put  in  enough  of  it  to  last 
them  until  another  spring,  what  are  the  young 
swarms  to  do  for  pollen  when  the  usual  supplies  j 
fail  ?    Since  we  cannot  feed  rye  meal  at  any  time 
but  in  early  spring,  (at,  least  I  am  not  aware  that 
we  can,)  we  want  a  substitute  for  pollen  that  may  i 
be  fed  to  them  at  any  time  when  honey  can, — in 
early    spring,    summer,    autumn,    or  midwinter.  1 
Without  it,  we  are  unable  to  preserve  many  swanns 
in  seasons  of  scarcity.  f. 

Mast  Yard,  N.  H.,  Sept.  1,  1867. 

VALUATION    FOR   TAXATION. 

We  have  received  from  a  subscriber  in  West- 
field,  Mass.,  a  communication  in  which  he  com- 
plains that  the  assessors  of  the  various  towns  and 
cities  in  the  State,  instead  of  taxing  property  at 
its  fair  cash  value,  as  required  by  their  oaths  of 
office,  seem  to  have  fallen  into  the  false  notion  that 
the  city  or  town  that  can  make  the  lowest  return, 
and  thus  cheat  the  most,  is  doing  a  nice  thing,  and 
favoring  the  tax-payers.  The  conscientious  asses- 
sor who  wishes  to  discharge  his  duties  in  accord- 
ance with  the  plain  letter  of  the  law,  and  his  oath 
of  office,  is  told  by  the  large  property  holders, 
that  if  he  puts  in  the  property  at  a  fair  cash  value, 
his  city  or  town  will  have  to  pay  more  than  its 
share  of  the  State  and  county  tax ;  for,  say  they, 
other  cities  and  towns  do  not  assess  their  property 
for  more  than  one-half  its  value.  The  small  es- 
tates of  the  farmer  and  the  mechanic,  says  our 
correspondent,  are  genei-ally  taxed  at  about  their 
real  value,  and  why  should  the  man  who  puts  his 
money  into  expensive  dwellings,  or  business 
blocks,  or  factories,  claim  exemption  from  the  de- 
mands of  the  law  ?  This  subject  should  be  agi- 
tated, until  assessors  are  made  to  feel  the  disgrace 
if  not  the  penalty  of  falsifying  their  oaths  to  please 
dishonest  tax-payers. 


eight  such  loads  per  acre,  and  that  would  require 
ten  bushels  of  lime.  We  think  it  better  to  use 
lime  moderately  and  often,  rather  than  to  apply  a 
large  quantity  at  once. 

Question  2.  If  the  land  is  good,  and  liberally 
manured,  your  practice  of  using  a  small  quantity 
in  the  hills,  for  the  purpose  we  suppose  of  giving 
the  corn  an  early  and  vigorous  start,  is  just  what 
we  should  recommend. 

Question  3.  Either  of  the  articles  which  you 
enumerate  would  make  an  excellent  dressing  for 
wheat,  and  would  tend  greatly  to  secure  a  crop. 
The  ashes  or  lime  would  probably  be  the  cheapest, 
and,  perhaps,  the  most  sure. 


COMPOST  OF   LIME   AND    MUCK  —  SUPERPHOSPHATE 
— LIME   AND   WOOD   ASHES. 

I  wish  to  inquire  what  quantity  of  lime  should 
be  used  in  composting  muck,  to  broadcast  on  grass 
grotmd  or  on  land  intended  for  grain.  I  have 
used  Coe's  phosphate  of  lime  on  corn,  at  the  rate 
of  about  one  hundred  pounds  per  acre,  and  have 
received  great  benefit  from  its  apijlication.  Would 
more  ))e  advisable,  where  it  costs  $3.50  per  100 
lbs.,  I)y  the  barrel  ?    I  would  also  like  to  know  if 

fihospiiate  of  lime  and  wood  ashes  or  common 
ime  sown  broadcast  on  wheat  land  would  make  a 
good  drcssinc.  Henuy  Humphrey. 

Corinth,  Vt.,  Aug.  25,  1867. 

Remarks. — Any  quantity  of  lime,  from  five  to 
twenty-five  bushels,  or  more,  per  acre,  would  do 
no  harm.  The  limit,  it  seems  to  us,  must  be  de- 
termined l)y  the  cost  of  the  lime,  as,  if  you  use  it, 
you  wish  to  use  \t profitably.  Five  bushels  of  lime 
to  one  cord ;  that  is,  100  bushels  of  peat,  would 
make  a  top-dressing  that  would  be  sensibly  felt. 
That  would  make  four  loads  of  about  twenty-six 
bushels  each.    You  would  be  likely  to  use  at  least 


CROPS  IN  MIDDLESEX  COUNTY,  MASS, 

We  have  lost  considerable  here  from  too  much 
moisture.  Potatoes  rot  badly ;  squash  in  most 
cases  a  failure ;  meadow  grass  in  many  places  not 
cut ;  mildew  on  the  leaves  of  shrubs  and  fruit 
trees  common.  Apples  are  more  plentiful  than 
last  year,  l)ut  not  a  quarter  crop.  Pears  blighted 
in  leaf  and  fruit;  grapes  badly  mildewed  in  leaf, 
and  some  in  fruit.  The  northeast  rains  seemed  to 
injure  the  grape  leaves  very  much. 

My  Concord  vines  in  fruit  have  a  very  heavy 
crop  of  fine  grapes,  and  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  bunches,  are  free  from  mildew ;  so  of  my  Hart- 
ford Prolilic  vines.  Adirondac,  Allen's  Hylirid, 
Underhill's  Seedling,  Roger's  Hyl)rids,  Nos.  3,  4, 
15,  19,  lona,  Creveling,  Diana,  Ir-abella  and  every 
variety  I  have,  both  standard  vines  and  nursery 
stock,  have  been  injured  by  mildew  in  the  leaf  to 
some  extent,  except  the  Concords  in  the  nursery. 
The  new  growth  is  good  and  free  from  disease,  and 
I  shall  probal)ly  lose  neither  fruit  nor  vine.  The 
Concoi'd,  and  Hai'tfords,  and  Isabella,  are  as  vig- 
orous as  ever,  and  promise  a  large  yield  of  fruit. 
John  Fleming, 

Sherborn,  Mass.,  Sept.  9,  1867. 

AN   expert   BERRY'-PICKER. 

The  berry-pickers,  comprising  both  young  and 
old,  have  become  a  numerous  and  respectable 
body,  and  among  them  ai'e  not  a  few  of  your  fair 
and  intelligent  readers.  Why  should  not  some  re- 
cord of  their  successful  laljorsfinda  place  in  your 
columns.  We  were  favored  with  an  accurate  ac- 
count of  berries  i)icked  I)y  Miss  Ellen  M.  Welling- 
ton, of  Ashby,  in  1865,  which  we  think  it  would  be 
hard  to  beat,  though  we  were  told  by  the  young 
lady  herself  that  she  could  have  done  even  better 
had  she  renlly  tried.  In  one  day  she  picked  thirty- 
eight  quarts  of  iilucberrics ;  the  next  day  sixty 
quarts  and  a  pint.  These  were  sold  at  the  door 
for  four  cents  per  quart.  In  July,  the  same  year, 
she  picked  583  quarts  of  blueberries  and  whortle- 
berries in  twenty -three  days  which  were  sold  at 
the  door  for  $37.37.  She  picked  in  all,  that  year, 
tliirty-two  l)ushcls  and  twelve  quarts,  which  were 
sold'to  the  collectors  for  $72  02.  The  next  year, 
1866,  she  picked  and  sold,  as  before,  whortleberries 
and  liluebcrries  to  the  amount  of  $50.25  w. 

Sept.  7,  1860. 

SWEET   tomato    PICKLE. 

Will  you  please  reprint  for  the  benefit  of  your 
readers"tlic  following,  which  I  have  found  by  re- 
peate<l  trials  to  be  the  best  receipt  of  the  kind  that 
has  yet  met  my  notice. 

Slice  one  gallon  of  green  tomatoes,  and  put  a 
handful  of  salt  to  each  layer  of  tomatoes.  Let 
them  stand  twelve  hours,  then  drain  oil  the  liquor, 
and  add  to  them  two  green  peppers,  and  from  two 
to  four  onions  sliced.    Take  two  quarts  strong 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


515 


cider  vinegar,  a  little  more  than  one-half  pint  of 
molasses,  and  two  tahlespoonfuls  of  whole  mus- 
tard, and  a  teaspoonf'ul  of  allspice,  same  of  cloves, 
and  heat  until  it  begins  to  boil.  Then  put  in  to- 
matoes, onions  and  peppers,  and  let  them  boil  ten 
minutes.  Pour  them  into  a  stone  jar  and  seal 
tight,  and  put  them  in  a  cool  place  for  a  fortnight ; 
after  which  they  will  be  ready  for  use  and  will 
keep  a  year  without  scalding.  Outis. 

A.   COMPLIMENT   TO    THE   FARMER  FROM   MAINE. 

I  send  enclosed  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for 
your  paper  one  year,  in  advance.  I  am  the  oldest 
subscriber  there  is  about  here,  and  without  boast- 
ing, may  say  that  I  have  done  more  to  extend  the 
circulation  of  the  Farmer  than  any  man  in  town. 

The  New  England  Farmer  is  the  best  paper 
for  farmers  that  was  ever  sent  into  this  State.  I 
manage  all  of  my  farming  and  trading  by  its  sug- 
gestions, and  would  not  do  without  it  for  $50  per 

Anson,  Me.,  Atig.  23,  1867. 


CURE   FOR   STIFLE. 

Take  white  of  one  <^gg,  one  table  spoonful  honey, 
one  table  spoonful  fine  salt,  beat  well  together, 
adding  tea  spoonful  spirits  of  turpentine.    Then 
rub  on  thoroughly,  and  dry  in  with  a  hot  shovel. 
Hiram  C.  Driggs. 

Bradford,  Vt.,  Sept.  9, 1867. 

GRAFTING   GRAPE   VINES. 

Your  "New  Subscriber"  of  Campello,  inquires 
about  grafting  grape  vines,  and  you  wish  corres- 
pondents to  say  something  to  meet  his  case.  If 
the  following  is  considered  of  use  to  him  you  may 
print  it. 

The  fruit  growers  of  this  neighborhood  do  not 
succeed  well  in  grafting  the  vine,  and  consider  it 
cheaper  to  l)iiy  large,  two  or  three  year  old  vines 
of  the  variety  desired.  The  sap  of  the  vine  flows 
BO  rapidly  immediately  after  the  frost  leaves  the 
ground  in  the  spring,  that  in  most,  or  nearly  all 
cases,  the  scion  fails  to  unite  with  the  stock,  and 
soon  perishes.  The  most  likely  way  to  succeed  is 
to  graft  in  the  fall,  as  early  as  possible.  Expose 
the  crown  of  the  root,  cut  off  the  vine  two  inches 
above,  and  "cleft  graft"  as  we  do  an  apple  tree; 
use  a  scion  with  two  buds,  and  cover  up  with  soil 
to  an  inch  above  the  first  bud.  Just  before  the 
ground  freezes  up  place  an  old  box  or  laree  flower 
pot  over  it,  and  then  soil  and  straw  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  scion  from  freezing,  and  by  spring,  in 
most  eases,  the  union  will  be  complete,  or  suffi- 
ciently so  to  prevent  the  death  of  the  scion  by  the 
flowing  of  the  sap  in  spring.       John  Fleming. 

Sherborn,  Mass.,  Sept.  9,  1867. 


SALT  AND   lime   FOR   HAY. 

I  have  put  in  several  tons  of  hay  on  the  Metcalf 
plan  this  season,  and  have  also  been  informed  that 
the  Shakers  of  Enfield,  N.  H.,  put  in  a  barnful  last 
year  with  the  lime  alone,  and  that  their  hay  came 
out  bright  and  nice.  h.  h. 

Corinth,  Vt.,  Aug.  25,  1867. 


RINGING  APPLE    TREES. 

The  accounts  published  in  the  Farmer  last 
spring  of  the  result  of  ringing  apple  trees,  induced 
me  to  try  the  experiment  on  a  young,  thrifty  tree 
that  never  had  borne  but  one  apple,  although  it 
had  blossomed  full  several  years.  The  bark  was 
removed  when  in  full  blossom  2\  inches  in  length 
around  one  limb  that  was  one  inch  in  diameter. 
The  result  is  that  there  now  are  about  fifty  apples 
on  that  limb,  and  only  two  on  the  whole  of  the 
rest  of  the  tree.    Seeing  that  Mr.  A.  H.  Wheeler, 


of  the  Concord  Club,  is  cutting  do\vn  his  orchard 
because  of  its  unfruitfulness,  I  would  recommend 
the  experiment  to  his  consideration. 

An  Apology  for  a  Farmer. 
Wardsboro',  Vt.,  Aug.  15,  1867. 


SOWING    SPRING   GRAIN   IN   THE   FALL. 

Is  there  any  kind  of  spring  grain  that  can  be 
put  into  the  ground  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  and 
bring  a  crop  that  will  be  profitable  ?  If  so,  please 
inform  me  what  it  is  and  when  to  sow  it. 

Roxbury,  Vt.,  1867.  Young  Farmer. 

Remarks. — Spring  rye  or  spring  wheat  may  be 
made  to  become  fall  rye  or  fall  wheat,  by  contin- 
ually sowing  the  products  of  the  same  seed  in  the 
fall,  but  the  crop  would  not  at  once  be  profitable. 
It  would  have  to  go  through  a  change  of  habit  be- 
fore a  paying  crop  would  be  produced.  That  is, 
there  would  be  no  change  in  the  nature  of  the 
plant,  but  only  in  its  habits. 


IMPLEMENT    TRIAL   AT    UTICA. 
The  trial  which  was  commenced  at  Utica  on 
the  11th  of  September,  was  an   adjournment 
from  that  held  last  spring  in  the  rainy  week. 
The  following  are  the  entries,  then  made : — 

Plows. 

Class  1. — A  sod  plow  for  stiff  soils.  F.  F.  Hol- 
brook,  Boston. 

Class  2. — A  plow  for  stubble  land  in  stiff  soils. 
F.  F.  Holbrook,  Boston,  and  Collins  &  Co.,N.  Y. 

Class  3. — A  sod  plow  for  sandy  soils  and  light 
loams.  A.  L.  Bradley  &  Co.,  Trenton,  N.  J. ;  F. 
F.  Holbrook,  Boston,  Mass. 

Class  4. — A  plow  for  stubble  land,  which  will 
cut  a  furrow  twelve  inches  deep,  with  three  horses, 
which  will  raise  the  lowest  soil  to  the  surfiice  of 
the  furrow.    F.  F.  Holbrook,  and  Collins  &  Co. 

Class  5. — A  Michigan  soil  and  trench  plow. 
F.  F.  Holbrook,  Boston. 

Class  6. — A  sub-soil  plow  in  connection  with  an 
ordinary  plow.    R.  J.  Whcatley,  Duquoin,  111. 

Class  7. — A  ditching  plow  fur  opening  drains 
A.  P.  Routt,  Somerset,  Va. 

Class  8. — A  machine  for  excavating  ditches  for 
undcrdraining.    E.  Heath,  Flowerville,  N.  Y. 

Class  9. — A  steel  plow  for  alluvial  and  unctuous 
lands.    Collins  &  Co. 

Class  10. — A  swing  or  side-hill  plow.  F.  F.  Hol- 
brook, Boston,  and  L.  D.  Burch,  Sherburne. 

Harrows  and  Cultivators. 
\Vm.  H.  Burtis  &  Co.,  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  one  in 
each  class;  J.  E.  Morgan, Dccrficld, one;  Fowlard 
House,  Oneonta,  N.  Y.,  two-horse  Cultivator;  N. 
Nishwitz,  Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  Pulverizing  Har- 
row ;  N.  Houks,  AppUton, Maine, one-horse  Culti- 
vator; Brown,  Seirberling  &  Co.,  Massilon,  Ohio, 
a  Shovel  Plow  and  Cultivator  combined;  F.  F. 
Holbrook,  Boston,  Mass.,  a  Cultivator;  Alden  & 
Co.,  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  Cultivator. 

The  small  number  of  entries,  and  the  com- 
paratively little  interest  which  the  trial  excited 
is  accounted  for  by  the  correspondent  of  the 
Country  Oentleman  on  the  assumption  that  '  'a 
very  small  portion  of  the  numerous  excellent 
plows,  now  made  throughout  the  country,  are 
patented ;  and  the  manufacturers  would  derive 
but  little  benefit  from  premiums,  as  the  higher 


516 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAKMER. 


Nov. 


the  commendation,  the  more  numerous  would 
become  the  imitators,  without  any  protection 
to  the  original  devisors  and  makers,"  while 
othors  see  in  the  strictness  of  the  rules  of  the 
managers,  and  the  severity  and  thoroughness 
of  the  test  proposed,  a  reason  why  so  few  man- 
ufacturers were  willing  to  enter  their  imple- 
ments. This  trial,  though  under  the  charge  of 
the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  was 
open  to  all  implement  makers  in  the  country. 
The  judges  who  were  present  were  John  Stanton 
Gould,  of  Hudson,  Chairman  ;  Prof.  B.  Pierce, 
of  Harvard  University ;  E.  R.  Potter,  of  Kings- 
ton, R.  I. ;  Peter  Crispell,  Ivingston,  N.  Y. ; 
H,  Waterman,  Hudson ;  George  Geddes,  Syra- 
cuse, and  J.  McGraw,  Dryden,  N.  Y. ;  Hon, 
Sanford  Howard,  of  Michigan,  together  with 
President  Patrick  and  Secretary  Johnson. 

We  make  the  following  extracts  from  the  re- 
port of  "J.  J.  T."  the  correspondent,  of  the 
Country  Gentleman,  who  personally  witnessed 
the  trial : — 

The  swivel  plow,  for  side-hill  as  well  as  level 
ground,  from  F.  F.  Holbrook  of  Boston,  was  sub- 
mitted to  a  severe  test  on  a  piece  of  hard  and  grav- 
elly  land,  with  a  stony  undersoil.  Although  sub- 
jected to  this  difficult  test,  it  proved  itself  gi-eatly 
superior  to  the  old  swivel  plows,  effecting  a  com- 
plete inversion  of  the  sod,  and  doing  fair  work. 
Burch's  swivel  plow,  from  Chenango  county,  .and 
known  as  the  Chenango  Clipper,  was  tested  briefly, 
and  appears  also  to  do  fair  work.  The  swivel  plow 
of  C.  W.  Sykes,  Suffleld,  Conn.,  entered  only  for 
exhibition,  quite  different  in  construction  from 
other  reversible  plows,  attracted  much  attention. 

In  addition  to  the  preceding,  the  following  plows 
were  tncd  on  these  grounds :  Holbrook  s  Univer- 
sal plow,  from  F.  F.  Holbrook,  Boston,  as  "a  sod 
and  subsoil' plow, like  the  double  Miclugan;  Hol- 
brook's  plow  for  lapping  furrows  ;  the  steel  plow 
of  W.  Whateley,  Springfield,  Ohio;  a  plow  cast 
from  cast  steel,  from  Collins  &  Co.,  New  York 
and  made  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  known  as  the  Smith 
plow :  the  Mohawk  valley  clipper,  from  Reming- 
ton &Co.,  Ilion;  and  R.  J.  Whateley's  subsoil 
plow,  from  Illinois.  ,      j      , 

Holbrook's  double  mould-board,  or  sod  and  sub- 
soil plow,  cut  a  furrow  in  very  hard  ground,  about 
ten  or  eleven  inches  deep,  with  four  horses  at- 
tached, throwing  the  sod  completely  under,  and 
nilinjr  the  mellow  subsoil  on  the  top.  Its  opera- 
tion gave  much  satisfaction.  Holbrook  s  lappmg 
plow  did  good  work,  and  was  found,  on  holding, 
to  be  remarkably  capable  of  being  perfectly  guided, 
so  that  a  practiced  hand  might  control  it  \nth  mueli 
precision.  The  three  steel  plows  from  Col  ms  & 
Co  W  Whateley,  and  the  Remingtons,  all  aul 
handsome  work— the  latter  especially  appeared  to 
be  much  commended  by  the  fa™c'-s  present 

On  the  second  day  of  the  trial  (the  12tli)  tic 
plows  were  tried  in  what  was  termed  stubble 
ground.  A  crop  of  rye  hnd  been  cut  from  the 
ground ;  and  a  dense  growth  of  grass  and  weeds 
Severed  the  whole  surface,  in  many  places  from 
one  to  two  feet  high.  Very  few  plows  could  there- 
fore be  expected  to  turn  under  this  heavy  growth. 
All  those  tried  here  did  creditable  work, 
although  most  of  them  failed  to  effect  a  complete 
burying  of  the  herbage.    Holbrook's  sod  and  sub- 


soiler,  used  the  previous  day,  but  with  the  forward 
or  smaller  mould-board  removed,  and  drawn  by 
two  horses,  ran  11  inches  deep,  and  threw  out  from 
the  bottom  of  the  furrow  earth  that  had  never  be- 
fore seen  the  light,  covering  all  the  gi-ass  and 
weeds  with  scarcely  an  exception. 

Smith's  cast  steel  plow,  (from  Collins  &  Co.,  New 
York,)  designated  as  B  No.  14,  did  handsome 
work,  running  9  inches  deep,  and  covering  the 
grass  with  a  little  exception.  Holbrook's  plow 
No.  66  did  about  the  same.  The  work  of  the  others 
was  less  perfect,  although  on  more  favorable 
ground,  tueir  performance  would  have  been  nearly 
unexceptionable.  The  performance  of  W.  Whate- 
ley's steel  plow  excited  much  commendation  from 
most  of  the  spectators. 

There  were  some  One  implements  in  the  class 
of  Harrows  and  Cultivators. 


Grapes  on  Elms.— At  the  winter  meeting 
of  the  Illinois  State  Horticultural  Society,  the 
Hon.  John  B.  Turner,  a  successful  grape 
grower,  during  a  discussion  on  the  grape,  ad- 
vocated the  growing  of  grapes  on  elms.  He 
said : 

"When,  years  ago,  I  taught  Latin  to  boys, 
we  used  to  read  of  the  ancients  letting  their 
grape  vines  clamber  on  elms,  but  I  thought 
little  of  the  statement,  as  a  practical  sugges- 
tion. But  I  find  that  I  cannot  keep  my  vines 
out  of  the  elms.  If  I  plant  near  an  elm  the 
vine  goes  up  into  it.  I  have  one  vine  that, 
despite  mv  remonstrances,  insists  on  going  into 
the  top  of  one  of  my  elms.  From  it  I  sold, 
during  the  past  year,  $100  worth  of  grapes. 
I  am  therefore  tolerably  well  satisfied  with  its 
wilfulness ;  for  these  grapes  did  not  cost  me 
a  cent  for  culture  or  care.  I  am  now  planting 
live  stakes  in  my  orchard  ;  and  elm  stakes  they 
are.  Such  stakes  will  save  the  annual  cost  of 
training  and  pruninji,  and  judging  from  my 
experience,  they  will  insure  fruitfulness." 

Over-Eating  Apples,  or  Repletion.— 
When  this  occurs,  give  the  animal  a  lump  of 
saleratus  of  the  size  of  a  common  apple,  dis- 
solved in  warm  water.  It  is  said  to  give  al- 
most instantaneous  relief. 


—At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Fennsylvania  Horti- 
cultural Society,  statements  were  made,  showing 
the  injurious  effect  of  the  air  of  gas-lighted  rooms 
on  the  health  of  growing  house-plants,  and  on  the 
t)reservation  of  cut  flowers.  In  reply  to  the  re- 
mark of  a  member  that  the  injury  resulted  rather 
from  the  dry  air  of  furnace  heat  than  from  the 
effcet  of  gas,  Mr.  Meehan  gave  instances  which 
had  come  under  his  obsei-vation  in  Germantown, 
of  people  noted  for  their  success  in  window  cul- 
ture, under  the  old  state  of  things,  who  had  failed 
after  introducing  gas,  although  no  change  had 
been  made  in  their  old  fashioned  heating  arrange- 
ments. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMi:R. 


617 


THE  WASHINGTON  PLUM. 


The  origin  of  this  excellent  plum  is  some- 
what remarkable.  The  original  tree  sprung 
up  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  what  was 
known  as  the  Delancey  farm,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Bowery.  Without  waiting  to  judge  of 
the  tree  by  its  fruit,  it  was  grafted  to  some 
common  variety.  As  if  conscious  of  its  innate 
superiority,  it  threw  up  a  sucker  from  its  nat- 
ural root,  which  was  transplanted  and  cared 
for  by  a  Mr.  Bolmar,  a  merchant  of  Chatham 
Street.  As  it  came  into  bearing  about  1818, 
the  remarkable  beauty  and  size  of  the  fruit  at- 
tracted universal  attention.  In  1821  this  fruit 
was  sent  to  the  Horticultural  Society  of  Lon- 
don, by  the  late  Dr.  Hosack,  and  it  is  now 
considered  one  of  the  best  plums  in  most  Eu- 
ropean countries. 

Downing  says  the  Washington  has  remarka- 
bly large,  broad,  crumpled  and  glossy  foliage, 


is  a  strong  grower,  and  forms  a  handsome 
round  head.  Like  several  other  varieties  of 
plum,  the  fruit  of  this,  especially  in  sandy  soil, 
does  not  attain  its  full  perfection  until  the  tree 
has  borne  for  several  years.  We  have  measured 
them  very  often  six  inches  in  circumference, 
and  once  from  Mr.  Bolmar's  original  tree, 
seven  and  a  quarter  inches. 

Wood,  light  brown,  downy.  Fruit  of  the 
largest  size,  roundish  oval,  with  an  obscure 
suture,  except  near  the  stalk.  Skin  dull  yel- 
low, with  faint  marblings  of  green,  but  when 
well  ripened,  deep  yellow  with  a  pale  crimson 
blush  or  dots.  Stalk  scarcely  three-fourths  of 
an  inch  long,  a  little  downy,  set  in  a  shallow, 
wide  hollow.  Flesh  yellow,  firm,  very  sweet 
and  luscious,  separating  freely  from  the  stone. 
Stone  pointed  at  each  end.  Ripens  from 
about  the  middle  to  the  last  of  August. 


618 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Not. 


PBESERVINQ  PEACH  STONES. 

The  first  care  is  to  see  that  they  do  not  get 
dry  while  collecting  them.  In  order  to  do 
this,  set  any  old  box  that  will  hold  a  peck,  in 
the  shade  of  the  house  or  a  tree,  and  as  fast 
as  the  stones  are  collected  throw  them  into 
the  box  and  add  a  handful  of  moist  soil.  Be- 
fore the  ground  freezes,  sink  the  box  three  or 
four  inches  into  the  ground  and  cover  it  over 
with  earth  to  the  depth  of  six  inches,  and  let 
it  remain  till  spring. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  is  sufficiently  dry  in 
April  to  fall  to  pieces  readily  when  stirred, 
take  up  the  stones  and  plant  them.  Many  of 
the  stones  will  be  found  with  sprouts  sticking 
out,  and  need  no  cracking,  but  those  that  are 
not  sprouted  should  be  carefully  cracked  be- 
fore they  are  planted.  Place  the  stones  in 
shallow  furrows  and  cover  them  with  one  inch 
of  soil.  Place  the  stones  about  two  feet  apart 
60  as  to  allow  ample  room  for  budding  them 
when  they  are  ready  for  it. 

If  the  spot  where  they  are  planted  is  a  dry 
one,  or  if  the  season  proves  dry,  it  will  be  well 
to  cover  the  rows  with  boards,  set  up  an  inch 
from  the  ground,  so  as  to  keep  it  moist  until 
the  young  plants  appear. 


■WEEVILS   IN    GRANARIES. 

Some  years  since,  accident  discovered  to  a 
French  farmer  a  very  simple  and  efficient 
method  of  preventing,  or  rather  destroying, 
this  insidious  pest  in  corn  and  grain  houses. 

Happening  to  deposit,  in  one  corner  of  a 
building  in  which  there  was  stored  a  quan- 
tity of  grain,  a  few  sheep  skins  from  which 
the  wool  had  not  been  pulled,  he  found,  upon 
examining  them  a  few  days  after,  that  they 
were  literally  covered  with  dead  weevils. 
The  experiment  was  repeated,  and  always 
with  the  same  result. 

On  stirring  the  corn,  (wheat,  probably,)  he 
was  surprised  to  find  that  although  previously 
infested  to  a  degree  that  forbid  all  hope  of 
saving  it  from  nnmediate  destruction  by  this 
pertinacious  foe,  not  a  single  insect  was  to  be 
found  among  it.  The  experiment  is  certainly 
worth  trying.  Instead  of  the  sheep  skins, 
which  are  quite  valuable,  we  might  substitute 
those  of  the  woodchuck,  who  is  increasing  to 
an  inconvenient  and  expensive  extent.  What 
killed  the  weevils,  whether  the  fatty  matter  on 
the  skin,  or  something  else,  we  have  not  been 


able   to  learn.     At  any  rate,  let  us  try  the 
woodchuck  skins. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
NOTES  FROM  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  N.  H. 

Agreeably  to  former  practice,  I  send  you 
some  notes  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Grand  Monadnoc,  that  the  readers  of  the  Far- 
mer, in  other  sections,  may  compare  notes  with 
us  in  relation  to  weather,  crops,  &c.  The 
season  thus  far  has  been  peculiarly  a  wet  one. 
So  dissimilar  to  the  last  two  seasons,  as  to  give 
us  a  wide  range  of  observation  upon  the  ex- 
tremes of  weather,  and  its  varied  effects  upon 
the  several  kinds  of  vegetable  production. 

The  summers  of  1865  and  18(36,  were  ex- 
tremely dry,  with  very  little  snow  the  follow- 
ing winters,  which  enabled  the  frost  to  enter 
deep  into  the  ground,  holding  the  entire 
amount  of  the  circulating  fluids  of  vegetation 
in  its  icy  grasp,  which  is  always  attended  with 
serious  injury.  This  can  only  be  avoided  by 
heavy  mulching.  If  there  is  but  one  thing  that 
demands  to  be  hard  pressed  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  fruit  growers  in  this  section  of  country, 
it  is  that  of  mulching.  By  the  lessons  of  the 
past,  I  have  been  led  to  believe  that  there  is 
nothing  connected  with  the  science  of  pomol- 
ogy, so  essential  to  success  as  this.  It  pro- 
vides or  furnishes  all  the  requisites  of  a  good 
crop  of  manure,  by  maintaining  an  equilibrium 
of  temperature  in  the  soil,  guarding  against 
the  injurious  effects  of  drought  in  summer,  and 
frost  in  winter;  it  prevents  the  premature 
dropping  of  fruit,  and  of  the  leaves  which  are 
necessary  for  the  preservation  and  maturity  of 
the  fruit  buds  for  another  season's  crop. 

The  apple  crop  of  this  season  is  quite  small, 
the  Baldwin  being  the  only  variety  which  is 
bearing  to  any  extent.  Pear  trees  are  gener- 
ally bearing  well.  The  Bartlett,  Beurre  Su- 
perfin,  and  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey  seem  to  be 
at  home  in  our  soil,  and  bear  to  a  fault.  Should 
the  Superfin  continue  as  it  has  began,  it  must 
stand  at  the  head  of  field  pears.  It  has  but 
one  fault — a  tendency  to  overload.  Of  five 
varieties  of  grapes  all  have  mildewed  badly 
but  the  Monadnoc,  (a  seedling — fragrant,) 
and  Delaware.  The  Clinton  seems  the  worst. 
The  Delaware  is  the  grape  for  this  section  ;  it  , 
is  hardy,  grows  steady,  bears  early  and  abun- 
dantly, and  ripens  its  fruit.  It  is  now,  (Sept. 
23,)  nearly  ripe.  All  kinds  of  wild  berries  in 
abundance.  The  blackberry  crop  was  remark- 
ably fine,  and  in  view  of  the  scarcity  of  the 
apple  crop,  large  quantities  have  been  pre- 
served. 

The  hay  crop  is  very  heavy — the  largest  for 
many  years.  A  fine  second  crop  is  now  being 
gathered.  Notwithstanding  this  bountiful  crop, 
it  i)ecoines  farmers  to  se(!ure  every  pound  of 
fodder  possible,  for  our  barns  for  many  years 
have  not  been  so  clean  of  bay  as  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  hay  season.  The 
corn  crop  is  looking  well,  and  out  of  the  reach 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


519 


of  frost.  The  frost  on  the  morning  of  the  15th 
inst.,  killed  vines  and  other  tender  plants,  but 
did  but  little  injury  otherwise.  Wheat,  rye, 
oats  and  barley,  have  made  a  heavy  growth  of 
straw,  but  not  above  the  average  of  kernel. 
Fields  newly  seeded  to  gra'-s  look  finely — hav- 
ing set  thick  and  strong.  Eai  ly  varieties  of 
potatoes  are  routing  badly,  but  1  think  the  crop 
of  later  varietiis  will  be  very  good.  B«'ans 
and  pea-^  hive  bla-^ted  badly,  and  the  crop  here 
niu^t  l)e  very  light.  The  hay  and  English 
grains  have  been  well  secured. 

The  time  has  come  when  farming  pays. 
The  long  mooted  (juestion  needs  no  further 
argument.  ISo  long  as  hay  shall  bring  from 
$21)  to  $;30  per  ton,  beef  $8  to  $10  on  the 
hoof,  and  corn,  rye,  wheat,  oats,  barley  and 
potatoes,  all  kinds  of  fruit  and  garden  vegeta- 
V)les,  with  butter  and  cheese,  remain  at  ruling 
prices,  ihere  can  be  no  safer  or  better  business 
than  farming.  I^.  L.  P. 

East  Japetj,  N.  //.,  Sept.  23,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  wish  to  call  attention  to  the 
remarks  of  our  correspondent  in  relation  to 
the  importance  of  mulching  fruit  trees,  in  con- 
nection with  the  practice  of  Capt.  Pierce,  of 
Arlington,  Mass.,  detailed  in  another  column. 


I 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THE   GARDEN"  IN   OCTOBER. 

The  tiifie  for  cessation  of  active  labor  in 
the  garden  for  the  season  is  near  at  hand,  and 
maj  be  suddenly  terminated,  so  far  as  to  its 
furnishing  fresh  vegetables,  &c.  Owing  to 
the  excessively  wet  and  unusually  cool  and 
damp  season,  our  garden  has  not  given  the 
satisfaction  in  respect  to  some  kinds  of  vege- 
tables and  fruits  we  hoped  for  when  we  planted 
in  the  spring ;  yet,  on  the  whole,  we  have  little 
to  complain  of.  What  though  the  squash  falls 
short  of  the  usual  abundant  supply,  or  the 
plum  and  cherry  failed,  or  a  few  grapes  were 
belated  in  ripening,  have  we  not  a  good  supply 
of  most  other  vegetables,  and  the  different 
varieties  of  small  fruits,  sufficient  for  present 
use,  and  a  supply  laid  away  for  winter.^ 

Besides  gathering  and  properly  storing  such 
of  the  crops  as  cannot  be  used  or  marketed 
before  hard  frosts,  there  is  much  that  may  be 
done  to  enhance  another  year's  profit.  Let 
us  then  keep  good  heart  and  go  at  it  with  a 
■will,  endeavoring  to  remedy  any  failures  of 
the  present  season.  Unquestionably,  by  su- 
perior watchfulness,  and  better,  and  more 
thorough  preparation  and  culture,  much  of  the 
want  of  success  in  a  bad  season  might  be  over- 
come. Heavy  soils  may  be  much  ameliorated 
by  fall  ploughing,  throwing  into  ridges  so  that 
the  frosts,  &c. ,  of  a  winter's  season  may  act 
to  pulverize  and  fine  them.  Perhaps  some 
portions  of  the  garden  may  need  underdrain- 
mg ;  the  heavy  rains  and  great  amount  of 
waterfall  of  the  past  season,  will  have  shown 


any  portions  where  drainage  is  necessary.  If 
possible  to  carry  off  any  surplus  water  by 
drains,  let  it  be  done  this  fall,  without  risking 
the  results  of  another  year.  The  good  effects 
of  manure  are  not  fully  received  when  the  soil 
is  saturated  with  water,  neither  will  plants 
grow  as  freely  when  the  soil  is  wet  or  water 
comes  near  the  surface.  The  evaporation 
which  is  constantly  going  on  f'-om  a  wet  soil, 
tends  to  lower  the  teinpeiMliire  and  retard 
growth.  Wet  ground  cannot  be  worked  as 
early  in  the  spring,  and  is  sooner  affected 
by  frosts  in  the  fall,  than  dry.  Continue  the 
work  described  for  September ;  some  of  which 
is  equally  applicable  to  October. 

AspAR.vGUS  — If  new  beds  are  desired,  and 
plants  are  at  hand,  they  may  now  be  made. 
The  best  results  are  had  where  the  ground  is 
worked  deep,  and  irell  filled  with  manure. 
Set  the  plants  three  incher  below  the  surface, 
not  less  than  one  foot  apart  each  way.  Old 
beds  may  have  the  tops  cut  off  and  cleared, 
and  a  liberal  coat  of  coarse  manure  spread 
over  the  bed  the  last  of  the  month,  or  before 
the  ground  free/'.s  hard  in  November 

Beets — Pull  at  the  approach  of  frost,  and 
cut  off  the  tops,  not  too  clo^e.  and  dry  a  little 
in  the  sun,  then  place  them  in  the  cellar  and 
pack  in  sand  or  earth  to  keep  them  fresh  and 
good  for  winter. 

Blackberries. — Muck,  leaf  mold,  or  well 
decomposed  composted  manure  can  be  applied 
to  the  soil  around  the  roots  to  advantage,  and 
will  increase  the  fruitfulness  of  another  season. 

Currants  and  Gooseberries. — Now  is  the 
time  to  make  cuttings  and  plant  to  increase  the 
plantations.  Select  well  ripened  wood  of  the 
last  growth,  and  cut  them  about  a  foot  long, 
and  if  you  wish  to  grow  them  in  tree  form, 
cut  out,  with  a  sharp  knife,  all  the  eyes  except 
two  or  three  at  the  top,  and  set  them  in  the 
ground  even,  with  the  lower  eye  left  on ;  fill 
in  and  press  the  soil  closely  around  the  lower 
end,  as  upon  the  thoroughness  of  this  in  a 
great  measure  depends  the  success  of  growing 
cuttings  of  any  kind.  If  a  bush  form  is  de- 
sired instead,  the  buds  may  be  left  on.  Cut 
square  off  close  below  a  bud  in  making  cut- 
tings. After  planting,  cover  with  a  coat  of 
leaves  or  the  like. 

Cabbage. — Plants  sown  this  fall  for  early 
spring  planting,  may  be  transplanted  into  cold 
frames.  Set  them  deep,  down  to  their  leaves 
in  the  soil,  as  the  stem  is  the  most  tender  part ; 
set  thus,  and  watered,  they  will  need  no  out- 
side covering  till  near  the  end  of  November. 
The  late  heading  kinds  may  be  left  till  hard 
frosts,  without  injury,  before  gathering. 

Carrots. — Harvest  before  severe  frosts,  as 
they  are  rather  sensitive  to  cold,  and  preserve 
as  directed  for  beets.  The  tops  may  be  fed  to 
cows  or  other  stock  with  advantage. 

Herbs. — Gather  and  preserve  such  as  have 
not  already  been  gathered. 

Mushrooms. — This  is  a  production  of  grow- 
ing importance    in  certain  localities ;    being 


520 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER, 


Nov. 


much  sought  for  by  a  class  of  epicures  fond  of 
rare  dishes.  They  are  somewhat  particular  as 
to  their  growth  and  treatment.  Now  is  a  good 
time  to  construct  the  proper  beds.  The  de- 
tails of  making  the  beds  and  growing  the 
mushroom  is  too  lengthy  for  these  notes,  and 
is  merely  alluded  to  as  a  reminder. 

Continue  to  do  all  seasonable  work,  gather- 
ing crops,  seeds,  &c.,  preparatory  for  winter, 
and  to  advance  or  lessen  the  spring's  work, 
Wm.  H.  White. 

South  Windsor,  Conn.,  Sept.  26;  1867, 


BEST   ORCHAKD  LN"   MASSACHUSETTS, 

Having  heard  much  of  Capt.  George  Pierce's 
orchard,  in  Arlington,  we  took  occasion  to 
visit  it  on  Thursday  week.  Its  area  is  about 
five  acres,  and  comprises  about  200  trees. 
The  ground  is  under  cultivation, — squashes, 
cauliflowers  and  other  vegetables  being  grown 
among  the  trees.  Capt.  Pierce  does  not  believe 
in  growing  grass  in  orchards,  nor  weeds,  but 
holds  to  the  thorough  tillage  thereof.  His 
squash  crop  last  year  was  some  twenty  tons  on 
the  part  of  the  orchard  thus  used.  The  crop 
is  less  bountiful  this  year  than  last,  but  will, 
probably,  net  him  as  much  money,  as  they  sell 
much  higher  than  they  did  last  year.  He 
plants  his  squash  hills  twelve  feet  apart  each 
way.  He  thinks  his  squash  crop  about  as 
good  as  if  there  were  no  trees.  The  trees  of 
the  younger  portion  of  the  orchard  are  thirty- 
six  feet  apart,  and  the  older,  forty  or  more. 

Mulching  is  practiced  by  Capt.  Pierce,  as 
relates  to  his  bearing  trees ;  and  such  is  his 
faith  in  this,  that  he  said  he  should  do  it,  did 
his  swamp  hay  thus  used  cost  him  $40  a  ton ; 
it  cost  him  this  year  about  $15,  hay  being 
scarce  and  high.  His  mulch  cost  him  $80  this 
season.  After  the  fruit  is  gathered,  the  mulch 
remaining  undecomposed  is  gathered  and  saved 
for  another  year ;  but  if  too  far  gone  for  this, 
it  is  spaded  under.  He  applied  it  about  the 
first  of  July  this  season.  It  serves  to  keep  the 
weeds  in  check  and  furnishes  a  nice  clean  bed 
for  the  apples  to  drop  upon,  thus  preventing 
bruising,  and  keeping  them  as  clean  as  while 
hanging  upon  the  trees. 

The  Williams  Apple  (Williams'  Favorite, 
Early  Red)  is  his  leadmg  early  variety,  of 
which  he  has  38  trees,  from  which  he  has  gath- 
ered and  sold  over  200  bushels  this  season,  a 
few  more  still  remaining  on  the  trees,  7  bush- 
els having  been  gathered  on  the  morning  of 
the  day  we  visited  the  captain.  They  sold  for 
$6  a  bushel,  the  highest  this  year,  and  last 
year  the  highest  brought  him  $8  a  bushel.  He  , 
regards  this  as  the  very  best  market  apple  | 
known  at  present,  for  the  season  at  which  it 
ripens. 

As  they  ripen  and  fall,  they  are  picked 
every  morning,  sorted,  bo.xed  and  sent  to  mar- 
ket on  the  following  morning.  The  greatest 
amount  gathered  on  any  one  day  was  15  bush- 
els.    Capt,  Pierce's  Williams  sell  higher  in 


market  than  others  of  the  same  variety,  for, 
owing  to  his  method  of  pruning,  they  are  larger 
and  more  highly  colored. 

The  Porter.  His  next  market  variety  for 
the  season  is  the  Porter. 

Baldwin  Apple.  Of  this  variety  Capt.  Pierce 
has  the  most  remarkable  show  we  have  ever 
seen.  The  Baldwin  and  Porter  are  of  the  old- 
er portion  of  the  orchard,  and  the  trees  are 
much  larger  than  his  Williams  are,  as  the  lat- 
ter were  grafted  on  to  the  former.  The  Bald- 
win trees  are  very  heavily  fruited,  most  extra- 
ordinarily so.  It  is  estimated  that  one  tree 
will  produce,  some  say — and  they  are  apple 
buyers  and  know  what  they  are  talking  about, 
— from  20  to  25  barrels ;  and  there  are  other 
trees  not  far  behind  this  in  production.  The 
former  tree,  according  to  our  pacing,  is  some 
50  feet  from  the  extreme  terminus  of  the  limbs 
on  one  side  to  that  of  the  same  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  The  tree's  stem  or  trunk,  from  ac- 
tual measurement  near  the  ground,  is  5 J  feet 
in  circumfierence,  less  than  two  feet  in  diameter. 
While  the  complaint  was  often  heard  in  the 
early  part  of  the  season,  that  apples  fell  prema- 
turely, Capt.  Pierce  says,  "too  many  of  mine 
hang  on  the  trees." 

Among  his  miscellaneous  varieties  are  the 
Gravenstein,  the  River,  the  Sour  Bough,  Hub- 
bardston  Nonsuch,  Northern  Spy,  Wine  Apple, 
with  some  others  not  recollected.  But  as 
seen.  Captain  Pierce  devotes  his  attention  to 
the  growing  of  the  leading,  because  the  most 
popular,  varieties  of  market  apples.  It  would 
be  hard  to  name  three  other  varieties  of  the 
apple  which  net  so  good  returns  as  Captain 
Pierce's  three  leading  sorts,  the  Williams,  the 
Porter,  and  the  Baldwin. 

Pruning  Apjjle  Trees.  Captain  Pierce  stated 
that  he  prunes  about  the  last  of  May  or  first  of 
June,  he  having  satisfied  himself  that  where 
limbs  or  branchlets  are  to  be  cut  off,  there  is 
no  other  period  of  the  year  so  favorable  as 
this ;  where  much  wood  is  to  be  removed  he 
does  this  when  there  is  no  crops  growing  on 
the  ground,  cutting  off  the  limbs  with  a  saw, 
about  six  inches  or  so  from  where  they  are  to 
be  cut  again  at  the  season  for  healing  over  or 
growing  over.  The  fitness  of  this  practice  is 
clearly  confirmed  by  the  observation  of  all  who 
visit  his  orchard. 

The  Form  of  the  Trees  his  pruning  has  giv- 
en is  particularly  noteworthy.  Having  allud- 
ed to  the  splendid  coloring  of  his  Williams,  it 
is  owing,  he  said,  to  my  pruning,  so  as  to  let 
in  the  sun.  His  Williams  trees,  we  neglected 
to  say,  bear  every  year. 

In  conclusion,  we  asked  Captain  Pierce, 
How  is  it  that  your  trees,  are  over-fruited,  as 
it  were,  while  almost  everybody  else  complains 
that  he  has  no  fruit,  though  plenty  of  bloom  ? 
Said  the  sage  orchardist:  "I  prepare  and  till 
my  ground  well,  keep  off  and  destroy  cater- 
pillars, canker-worms,  web-worras,  prune  my 
trees  myself,  «&c.     It  is  no  matter  what  I  am 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


621 


doing,  if  web-wonns  or  caterpillars  are  mani- 
fested from  tent  or  web,  I  go  and  destroy 
them  forthwith  ;  in  brief,  I  comply  with  all  the 
conditions,  so  far  as  I  know  them,  of  a  good 
apple  crop,  and  I  get  one  annually,  while  my 
neighbors,  failing  to  do  so,  have  become  dis- 
couraged and  are  and  have  been  digging  up 
their  trees."  Is  he  not  right,  reader?  Js  it 
not  just  as  impossible  for  apple  trees  to  make 
fruit  without  suitable  culture  and  plant  food, 
as  it  is  for  a  cow  to  make  a  good  mess  of  milk 
without  plenty  of  good  and  suitable  feed  ? — 
Boston  Cultivator,  abr. 


HINTS  ON"  MAKING  GOOD  BUTTER. 
Mrs.  N.  Noman,  of  Adrian,  Michigan,  fur- 
nishes the  following  sensible  directions  and 
cautions  in  respect  to  the  management  of  milk, 
cream  and  butter,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the 
New  York  Farmers'  Club  : — 

Set  your  milk  where  the  wind  will  not  blow 
on  it,  lor  the  wind  dries  the  cream,  and  dried 
cream  will  not  make  butter.  In  warm  weather 
keep  your  cream  still,  for  if  you  want  your 
cream  to  become  sour  stir  it  often.  Very  sour 
cream  will  not  produce  a  good  quality  of  but- 
ter. In  cool  or  cold  weather,  don't  think  that 
you  must  let  your  milk  set  until  it  is  sour  be- 
fore you  take  off  the  cream.  Forty-eight 
hours  is  sufficient  time  for  milk  to  produce  all 
the  cream  it  is  capable  of  producing.  In  a 
right  temperature  it  will  rise  in  less  time. 
Much  poor  butter  is  the  result  of  bad  manage- 
ment of  the  cream.  It  is  a  good  plan  in  warm 
weather  to  save  strippings,  about  a  quart  night 
and  morning  from  each  cow,  and  churn  every 
day.  Churn  your  cream  as  cool  as  possible  in 
warm  weather.  Much  butter  is  spoiled  by 
churning  the  cream  too  warm.  If  your  butter 
comes  rather  warm,  put  in  twice  the  salt  you 
usually  do,  work  your  butter  just  enough  to 
mix  the  salt  well  through  it,  and  set  it  away  in 
a  cool  place  for  twenty-four  hours,  then  take 
it  up  and  work  i*^  over.  Much  of  the  salt  will 
bie  dissolved  and  will  work  out.  Thoroughly 
cleanse  your  butter  with  salt.  Use  no  cold 
water  about  your  butter,  for  you  cannot 
cleanse  butter  or  any  other  lump  of  grease 
with  water.  Some  women  talk  as  though  but- 
ter was  not  fit  to  eat  unless  it  is  first  washed 
with  cold  water.  If  butter  is  not  fit  to  eat 
without  being  washed  with  water,  it  is  not  by 
being  washed.  Water  always  damages  butter. 
Butter  that  is  washed  with  water  is  not  fit  to 
pack,  for  it  will  not  keep.  When  the  brine 
that  oozes  from  your  butter  as  you  work  it  is 
clear,  that  is,  clear  from  milk — it  is  worked 
enough — don't  give  it  another  stroke,  except 
to  get  it  into  shape.  Pack  your  butter  in  per- 
fectly clean  vessels,  and  keep  it  well  covered 
with  strong  brine.  When  you  use  your  but- 
ter set  it  on  the  table  just  as  you  cut  it  cut  of 
the  tub,  for  it  is  injured  if  worked  after  it  has 
been  packed. 


THE  PIBE   ON   THE   HEAKTH. 


BY  MRS.  FRANCES  DANA  GAOE. 


There  is  a  luxury  rare  in  the  carpet  of  Brussels, 

And  splendor  in  pictures  that  hang  on  tne  wall, 
And  grace  in  the  curtain,  with  rainbow-hucd  tassels, 

And  brilliance  in  gas-light,  that  flashes  o'er  all; 
But  give  me  the  glow  of  the  bright-blazing  fire, 

That  sparkles  and  snaps  as  it  echoes  j  oui  mirth, 
And  leaps,  In  its  joy,  up  the  chimney  still  nigher, 
When  the  cold  winds  without  make  us  draw  near  the 
hearth ; 
The  old-fashioned  fire,  the  cheerful  wood  fire, 
The  maple-wood  fire,  that  burns  ou  the  hearth. 

As  I  feel  its  warm  glow,  I  remember  my  childhood, 
And  the  circle  of  loved   ones  that  drew   round  our 
board ; 
The  winter  eve  sports,  with  the  nuts  from  the  wild- 
wood, 
The  apples  and  cider  from  cellars  well  stored  ; 
I  hear  in  its  roar  the  wild  hhout  of  my  brothc^ra, 

And  the  laugh  of  my  sisters,  in  innocent  mirth, 
And  the  voice  of  mv  sire,  as  he  reads  to  my  moiher, 
Who  knits  by  the  firelight  that  glows  from  the  hearth; 
The  old  open  fire,  the  health-giving  fire, 
The  home-cheering  tire  that  glows  on  the  hearth. 

Like  the  strong  and  true-hearted,  it  warms   its    etrr- 
roundings, 
The  jamb  and  the  mantle,  the  hearth-stone  and  wall, 
And  over  the  household  gives  out  its  aboundings, 

Till  a  rose-tinti  d  radianci'  is  spread  over  all. 
If  you  lay  on  the  fuel,  it  never  burns  brightly, 

Till  the  day's  work  is  done,  and  we  lay  by  our  mirth; 
Then  we  gather  the  embers  and  bury  them  lightly, 
At  morn  to  renew  the  fresh  Wn^  on  the  henrth — 
The  old  fafchioned  tire,   he  life-giving  fire, 
The  broad-glowing  fire  that  burns  on  tbe  hearth. 

It  reminds  us  of  friends  that  we  draw  to  the  nearer, 

When  winds  of  misfortune  blow  heavy  and  chill. 
And  feel  with  each  blast,  they  are  warmer  and  dearer, 

And  ready  to  help  us  and  comfort  us  still — 
Friends  that  never  grov/  cold  till  the  long  day  is  ended, 

And  the  ashes  are  laid  to  their  rest  in  the  earth, 
And  the  spirit,  still  glowinsr,  to  God  hath  ascended, 

To  rekindle  new  fires,  like  the  coal  on  the  hearth; 
Then  give  me  the  fire,  the  fresh-glowing  fire, 
The  bright  open  fire,  that  burns  on  the  hearth. 

You  will  tell  me  a  stove  heats  a  room  in  a  minute, 

Expels  the  cold  air,  and  1  know  it  is  so ; 
But  open  a  door,  is  there  anjthing  in  it  ? — 

Your  warmth  is  all  gone — there's  not  even  a  glow; 
Just  like  modern  friends,  one  is  every  day  meeting, 

All  professions  and  smiles,  as  the  impulse  gives  birth, 
But  as  black  and  as  cold,  at  the  next  hour  of  greeting, 
As  your  stove  that  has  banished  the  fire  from  the 
hearth ; 
Then  give  me  the  fire,  the  old-fashioned  fire, 
The  bright-glowing  fire,  that  burns  on  the  hearth. 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

GARGET   IN    COWS. 

It  is  about  fifteen  years  since  I  commenced  using 
saltpetre  in  case  of  garget,  or  swelled  creaked  bag. 
As  soon  as  the  disease  shows  itself,  take  one  table- 
spoonful  of  saltpetre  for  a  dose,  which  is  to  be  ad- 
ministered three  davs  in  succession,  and  then  wait 
a  day  or  two,  and  if  tlie  cow  is  not  relieved  repeat 
the  doses.  In  extreme  cases  the  doses  may  re- 
quire to  be  repeated  three  times.  If  this  does  not 
cure,  you  may  as  well  turn  the  cow  out  to  fat.  If 
the  cow  will  not  diink  it  in  slop  nor  eat  it  in  meal 
or  other  mess,  take  a  common  sized  potato,  cut  it 
in  the  middle,  take  out  the  inside,  so  that  it  will 
hold  the  dose,  put  the  saltpetre  into  the  cavity,  put 
the  halves  together,  and  put  it  down  among  the 
cow's  gi-inders  and  she  will  eat  it  readily.  I  have 
received  four  times  the  benefit  from  the  above 
treatment  than  I  ever  did  from  any  other.  I  have 
also  dissolved  the  saltpetre  in  cold  water,  and  rub- 
bed the  ulder  thoroughly  with  it.    In  ordinary 


622 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


cases  of  caked  bags,  with  cows  or  heifers,  the 
bathing  with  saltpetre  and  cold  water  is  as  good 
as  anything  that  can  be  done.  O.  Foster. 

Tunbridge,  Vt.,  Sept.  5,  1867. 


CHEMICAL   TERMS. 

"Some  knowledge  of  chemistry  has  now  become 
a  necessity  to  agriculturists;"  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fair  presumption,  that  only  a  small  minori- 
ty of  your  readers  are  conversant  with  vegetable 
physiology,  or  would  be  interested  in  its  discus- 
sion, I,  as  a  portion  of  the  agricultural  readers  of 
your  paper,  am  pleased  to  observe  that  you  have 
admitted  to  your  columns  some  articles  on  that 
most  interesting  branch  of  organic  chemistry  ;  and 
that  you  are  now  publishing  elementary  instruc- 
tion for  farmers,  under  the  title  of  "Chemical 
Terms." 

Good  instructors  are  wont  to  encourage  their 
pupils  to  ask  questions,  that  they  may  the  more 
readily  remove  the  difficulties  that  are  constantly 
presenting  themselves  to  learners. 

Emboldened  by  such  considerations,  I  submit 
the  following — quoting  from  an  article  in  your 
issue  of  the  7th  of  September,  inst. 

"Si/nthesis. — It  means  to  reconstruct,  to  reunite 
the  separated  elements." 

Is  not  the  putiing  together,  in  proper  propor- 
tions, of  the  elements  of  a  compound  body,  wheth- 
er or  not  such  elements  have  been  previously  uni- 
ed,  synthesis  ?  Is  synthesis,  necescarily,  a  re-con- 
struction, a  re-union  ? 

"Solution. — When  a  solid  body  is  dissolved  in 
a  liquid,  so  as  to  liecome  clear  and  transparent, 
it  is  called  a  solution.  In  this  case  the  particles 
are  so  minutely  divided  that  they  are  not  percept- 
ible by  the  eye."  According  to  a  strict  gi-am- 
matical  rendering  of  the  first  part  of  this  last 
quotation,  the  pronoun  {it)  represents  "a  solid 
body  ;■'  and  the  definition  may  be  correct,  when 
applied  to  many,  aud  perhaps  to  a  majority  of 
soluble  l)odics ;  yet  as  a  general  definition,  it  con- 
flicts with  numerous  facts. 

Are  not  the  various  dyes,  (before  precipitation,) 
which  are  neither  "clear"  nor  "transparent,"  true 
solutions  of  coloring  matters  ?  "The  particles," 
as  such,  are  undistinguishable  both  in  the  solid 
state,  and  in  solution ;  but  in  colored  solution,  they 
are  not,  in  the  aggregate,  invisible. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  definitions  of  chemical 
terms,  found  in  our  standard  works,  having  passed 
the  scrutiny  of  most  eminent  chemists,  are  not 
susceptible  of  much  improvement  at  our  hands, 
cither  in  clearness  or  accuracy. 

Please  compare  the  following  definition,  from 
"Webster's  Last  Unabridged,"  with  that  which  I 
have  under  consideration : 

"Solution.  Def  4.— The  action  of  an  attraction  be- 
tween oiih  or  more  solids  and  a  fluid  when  brought  in 
contact,  l.y  wliich  the  former  become  themselves  fluid, 
and  arc  difl'u-od  through  tbe  latter  without  other  change 
or  loss  of  properiies;  the  state  of  a  body  as  thus  dif- 
fused." I  B  Hartwell. 
Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  Sejit.  13,  1867. 

A   SICK   ox. 

I  have  an  ox  who  breathes  heavily,  and  occa- 
sionally throws  mucus  from  the  nostrils.  The 
first  symptom  of  disiasc  I  noticed  was  a  cough, 
whichaiipcared  iu  April  last,  and  has  continued 
to  this  time.  1  liound  a  bag  of  soap  and  salt  on 
the  head  iKtwccn  the  horns,  and  tlicu  tried  spirits 
of  turiientine  every  thiy  for  two  weeks. 

Is  there  such  a  tiling  as  cattle  having  glanders  ? 

]\'arwic/Cf  Mass.,  1867.  o.  v. 

Remauks.  —  From  the  above  description,  we 
should  think  there  was  some  obstruction  in  the 


nasal  gland  of  the  animal ;  some  foreign  substance 
introduced  there  which  causes  irritation,  cough 
and  mucus.  Send  for  your  physician  to  examine 
him  if  you  have  no  veterinary  practitioner  near. 
At  any  rate  do  not  apply  violent  remedies. 

A   BAD   HUMOR  IN   A   HORSE. 

I  would  like  information  in  regard  to  a  disease 
in  a  horse  which  I  bought  somewhere  abotit  a  year 
ago,  which  had  been  much  heated  liy  being  driven 
too  hard.  He  is  now  troul)led  by  a  humor  which 
comes  out  all  over  the  animal  in  small  scabs, 
making  it  very  uneasy  by  spells  during  each  day, 
during  which  it  rubs  its  mane  and  tail  violently. 
Can  you  or  any  of  your  readers  inform  me  how  to 
get  rid  of  the  humor,  and  relieve  the  animal  ? 

Sharon,  Mass.,  Sept.  23,  1867.  J.  B. 

Remarks. — Although  the  disease  in  this  case 
may  be  different  from  the  mange,  we  think  our 
correspondent  will  be  interested  by  the  following 
extracts  from  Youatt's  description  of  that  disorder 
and  directions  for  its  cure.  Every  case  of  itchi- 
ness of  the  skin,  he  says,  should  be  regarded  with 
suspicion,  as  the  disease,  which  is  similar  to  that 
of  the  itch  in  the  human  subject,  affects  most  of 
our  domestic  animals. 

"In  an  animal  affected  with  mange,  the  cuticle 
and  the  hair  fall  off,  and  there  is,  as  in  obstinate 
surfeit,  a  bare  spot  covered  with  scurf— some  fluid 
oozing  from  the  skin  beneath,  and  this  changing 
to  a  scab,  which  likewise  soon  peels  off,  and  leaves 
a  wider  spot.  The  mange  generally  first  appears 
on  the  neck  at  the  root  of  the  mane,  and  its  exist- 
ence may  be  suspected  even  before  the  blotches 
appear,  and  when  there  is  only  considerable  itchi- 
ness of  the  part,  by  the  ease  with  which  the  short 
hair  at  the  root  of  the  mane  is  plucked  out.  From 
the  neck  it  spreads  upward  to  the  head,  or  down- 
ward to  the  withers  and  back,  and  occasionally 
extends  over  the  whole  carcass  of  the  horse. 
Amidst  the  whole  list  of  diseases  to  which  the 
horse  is  exposed,  there  is  not  one  moi-e  highly 
contagious  than  mange.  If  it  once  gets  into  a 
stable,  it  spreads  through  it,  for  the  slightest  con- 
tact seems  to  be  sufficient  for  the  communication 
of  this  noisome  complaint.  Mange  has  been  said 
to  originate  in  want  of  cleanliness  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  stable.  The  actual  cause  of  mange, 
however,  is  the  existence  of  a  parasite  burrowing 
in  the  skin.  The  name  of  the  insect  is  Acariis 
equi,  and  is  precisely  analogous  to  the  parasite 
producing  the  itch  in  man.  Ph)'sic  is  the  first 
step  in  the  progress  towards  cure.  There  must 
also  be  some  local  application.  That  which  is 
most  effectual  in  curing  the  itch  in  the  human  be- 
ing must  form  the  basis  of  every  local  application 
for  the  cure  of  the  mange  in  the  horse.  Sulphur 
is  indispensable  iu  every  unguent  for  mange.  It  is 
the  sheet  anchor  of  the  veterinary  surgeon.  In  an 
early  and  not  very  acute  state  of  mange,  equal 
portions  of  sidphur,  turpentine,  and  train-oil, 
genth'  but  well  rubbed  on  the  part,  will  be  applied 
with  advantage.  A  tolerably  stout  brush,  or  even 
a  currvcomb,  lightly  applied,  should  be  used,  in 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


523 


order  to  remove  the  dandrifF  or  scurf,  wherever 
there  is  any  appearance  of  mange.  After  that, 
the  horse  should  be  washed  with  strong  soap  and 
water  as  far  as  the  disease  has  extended ;  and, 
when  he  has  been  thoroughly  dried,  the  ointment 
should  be  well  rubbed  in  with  the  naked  hand,  or 
with  a  piece  of  flannel.  More  good  will  be  done 
by  a  little  of  the  ointment  being  well  rulibcd  in, 
than  by  a  great  deal  being  merely  smeared  over 
the  part.  The  rubbing  should  be  daily  repeated. 
During  the  application  of  the  ointment,  and  as 
soon  as  the  physic  has  set,  an  alterative  ball  or 
powder,  similar  to  those  recommended  for  the 
other  affections  of  the  skin,  should  be  daily  given. 
If,  after  some  days  have  passed,  no  progress  should 
appear  to  have  been  made,  half  a  pound  of  sulphur 
should  be  well  mixed  with  a  pint  of  oil  of  tar,  and 
the  affected  parts  rubbed,  as  before.  On  every 
fifth  or  sixth  day  the  ointment  should  be  washed 
off  with  warm  soap  and  water.  The  progress  to- 
wards cure  will  thus  be  ascertained,  and  the  skin 
will  be  cleansed,  and  its  pores  opened  for  the  more 
effectual  application  of  the  ointment. 

The  horse  should  be  well  supplied  with  nourish- 
ing, but  not  stimulating  food.  As  much  green 
feed  as  he  will  eat  should  be  given  to  him,  or, 
what  is  far  better,  he  should  be  turned  out,  if  the 
weather  is  not  too  cold.  It  is  necessary,  however, 
to  be  assured  that  every  mangy  place  has  been 
anointed.  It  will  be  prudent  to  give  two  or  three 
dressings  after  the  horse  has  been  apparently  cured, 
and  to  continue  the  alteratives  for  ten  days  or  a 
fortnight." 

After  a  cure  has  been  effected,  the  blankets,  har- 
ness, currycomb,  rack,  manger,  and  everything 
about  the  horse  must  be  thoroughly  purified  with 
a  solution  of  chloride  of  lime. 

SICK   TURKEYS. 

In  addition  to  my  inquiry  of  August  26th,  regard- 
ing sick  turkeys,  I  would  like  to  ask  if  the  disease 
I  refer  to  is  not  what  is  recorded  in  the  hen  books 
as  "Shooting  Red,"  or  tlie  time  when  the  turkeys 
head  turns  to  a  red  color,  and  the  turkey  begins 
to  come  to  maturity.  The  hen  books  give  very 
little  information  on  this  disease  and  the  remedy. 
Can  you  or  some  of  your  subscribers  give  me 
more  light  on  this  subject  ?  g.  e.  h. 

Shreicsbury ,  Mass.,  Sept.,  1867. 

Remarks. — In  a  long  experience  in  raising  tur- 
kies,  we  never  met  with  a  ease  of  the  shooting  red, 
and  must,  therefore,  call  upon  some  of  our  better 
informed  correspondents  to  come  to  the  assistance 
of  "G.  E.  H." 


BEES   AND   PEACHES. 

One  of  my  neighbors  has  made  complaint  that 
my  bees  are  destroying  his  peaches,  and  that  I 
keep  so  many  bees  that  they  cannot  get  enough  at 
home  and  have  to  go  abroad  to  get  their  living! 
The  peaches  alluded  to,  wither  and  rot  and  fall  to 
the  ground.  There  are  plenty  of  Jiees  owned  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  I  consider  the  accusation 
absurd,  that  tny  bees  are  the  sole  perpetrators  of  the 
deed,  providing  that  bees  are  iiyurioiis  to  peaches! 
for  I  think  that  they  are  as  likely  to  go  quite  a 


distance  from  the  hive  to  gather  sweets  for  their 
sustenance  as  to  remain  near  at  home. 

Will  you  please  to  inform  me  through  the 
Farmer  whether  bees  are  or  are  not  injurious  to 
peaches  ?  j.  a.  r. 

Brookfield,  Mass.,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  have  watched  the  action  of  bees, 
wasps,  hornets  and  other  insects  upon  fruit  for 
many  years,  but  have  never  known  them  to  injure 
it  while  in  a  perfectly  sound  state.  If  the  skin  of 
the  peach  is  broken  by  a  blow,  or  by  cracking, 
and  the  juice  flows  out,  the  bees  soon  know  it  and 
will  help  themselves  to  a  meal ;  so  will  wasps, 
hornets,  flies,  and  probably  other  insects.  We  do 
not  know  that  bees  have  the  power  of  perforating 
the  skin,  if  they  would. 

THE   SEASON,  CROPS   AND    INSECTS,  IN    WORCESTER 
COUNTY,  MASS. 

The  first  crop  of  hay  was  a  maximum  yield,  and 
notwifiistanding  the  rainy  season,  was  secured  in 
fair  order.  The  second  crop,  or  rouen,  is  abun- 
dant, beyond  all  precedent  within  the  memory  of 
an  old  man.  Oars,  above  medium.  Barley  good. 
Early  sowed  spring  wheat,  first  rate,  a'<, usual; 
late  sowed,  worthless,  as  usual.  Corn,  below  me- 
dium, and  has  been  considered  rather  late,  but 
with  the  fine  weather,  it  is  now  rapidly  passing  the 
boundary  of  danger  from  frost.  Potatoes  are  be- 
lieved to  be  a  complete  failure  on  all  wot  land, 
and  they  do  not  promise  more  than  half  a  crop 
on  such  lots  as  have  not  yet  been  visited  by  tho 
rot.  It  is  the  general  opinion  of  farmers  that  the 
rot  of  the  tuber  Avill  yet  be  as  universal  as  is  the 
blight  of  the  tops,  from  which  no  potato  field  es- 
capes. 

Small  fruits  have  I)een  most  abundant.  Peach- 
es few ;  pears  are  plentj^,  but  crack  badly,  and  lack 
their  usual  flavor.  The  crop  of  apples  is,  perhaps, 
a  one  hundred  per  cent,  improvement  on  last  year, 
but  is  still  one  of  the  smallest. 

Canker  worms  have  lieen  about  us  for  a  few 
years  past,  but  this  year  they  were  in  diminuendo. 
The  tenisof  caterpillars  were  few  and  far  between. 
The  Turkish  curculio,  in  spite  of  all  our  jarring 
and  other  warfare,  offensive  and  defensive,  was 
present  in  sufficient  numbers  to  destroy,  as  usual, 
nearly  all  the  plums,  and  to  disfigure  what  few 
apples  we  have.  The  white  grubs,  or  larva  of  the 
Dor  beetle,  have  seriously  injured  many  corn 
fields,  while  a  certain  odious  and  odorous  little 
animal  is  now  doing  good  service  in  removing  the 
grubs  from  the  corn  hills.  I.  B.  Hartavell. 

WilkinsonviUe,  Mass.,  Sept.  13, 1867. 

GRATTING   THE    GRAPE. 

Your  Campello  correspondent  wishing  to  know 
how  and  when  to  graft  his  grape  vines,  I  will  give 
him  my  method,  as  follows  : — Cut  tlie  scions  late 
in  the  fall,  and  keep  them  in  damp  sand  in  the 
cellar  thnnigh  the  winter ;  in  the  spring,  after  the 
vines  have  commenced  growing,  and  the  buds 
have  burst  open,  remove  the  earth  from  around 
the  stock,  and  cut  it  off  about  one  inch  below  the 
surface  and  split  it  as  in  cleft  grafting ;  take  scions 
with  two  buds,  and  sharpen  them  in  the  form  of  a 
wedge,  m  such  a  luauner  as  to  liriug  the  lower  bud 
one  inch  above  the  stock  when  it  is  inserted,  then 
insert,  and  as  they  will  not  need  any  binding,  re- 
place the  earth  so  as  to  leave  the  lower  bud  ^ms^ 
beloto  the  surface ;  keep  it  moist  by  mulching  or 
frequent  watering.  If  suckers  come  up  from  the 
root,  pinch  them  back  as  often  as  they  appear. 

B.  L.  Stetson. 

South  Hanover,  Mass.,  Aug.  26,  1867. 


624 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


*^#i=5S\ 


^^^^f^^^ 


A   SUBURBAN   OR  VILLAQE   RESIDENCE. 


The  accompanying  design  is  an  example  of 
a  class  of  houses  suitable  for  small  lots  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  cities  or  villages, 
drawn  for  the  Farmer  by  George  E.  Harney, 
Esq.     Its  form  and  the  arrangement  of  rooms, 


Flan  of  Principal  Floor. 


&c.,  may  afford  hints  to  those  -who  do  not  wish 
to  copy  all  its  features.  The  following  des- 
cription is  furnished  by  the  artist,  who  esti- 
mates the  cost  of  its  construction,  built  of 
wood,  at  about  $4000,  with  prices  of  labor 
and  material  at  current  rates  be- 
fore the  war. 

No.  1  is  the  front  entrance 
portico,  opening  into  the  hall, 
No.  2,  8  feet  wide,  and  con- 
taining front  stairs  to  chambers. 
The  first  door  on  the  left  opens 
into  the  parlor,  No.  3,  15  feet 
by  20,  lighted  by  two  mul- 
lioned  windows,  one  of  which 
reaches  to  the  floor  and  opens 
upon  the  veranda.  No.  5.  The 
library.  No.  4,  is  13  feet  by  15, 
and  opens  upon  the  veranda  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  parlor. 
No.  6,  the  dining  hall,  measures 
15  feet  by  17i,  and  contains  a 
large  closet.  No.  9,  fitted  up  with 
a  dumb  waiter  rising  from  the 
kitchen  below.  No.  7,  the  back 
entry,  measures  6  feet  by  16, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


52,5 


contains  stairs  to  chambers  and  basement 
floors,  and  opens  upon  a  gallery,  No.  10, 
leading  to  the  yard ;  under  the  gallery  is  the 
yard  entrance  to  the  basement. 

The  second  floor  contains  four  good  sized 
chambers  with  bathing-rooms,  dressing-rooms 
and  closets.  In  the  attic,  which  should  be  fin- 
ished throughout,  will  be  three  large  bed-rooms, 
besides  a  storage  for  trunks,  &c.  The  first 
story  is  11  feet  high  in  clear,  and  the  second 
9^  feet. 


AGRICULTURAL   ITEMS. 

— Sheep  will  not  bark  trees  that  are  whitewashed 
with  a  little  sbeep  manure  in  the  wash. 

— The  maple  sugar  manufactured  in  Vermont  is 
nearly  equal  in  value  to  its  products  of  wool. 

— A  coating  of  three  parts  lard  and  one  part 
rosin,  applied  to  farm  tools  of  iron  or  steel,  Avill 
eflfectually  prevent  rust. 

— The  remarkable  fertility  of  the  waters  of  the 
river  Nile,  in  Egypt,  was  ascribed  by  Baron  Hum- 
boldt to  a  slime,  the  product  of  fish. 

— A  proposition  to  sell  all  fruits  by  weight  in- 
stead of  by  the  box,  basket  or  other  measure  was 
received  with  great  favor,  and  passed  unanimously, 
by  the  American  Pomological  Convention. 

— The  Walter  Wood  Reaper  Factory,  at  Hoosick 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  empl03's  about  400  men,  and  is  capa- 
ble of  turning  out  50  machines  per  day.  Sales  last 
year  amounted  to  about  a  million  of  dollars. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Iowa  Homestead  says 
he  presumes  that  in  Van  Buren  county  alone 
$15,000  would  not  replace  the  trees  that  were  de- 
stroyed by  rabbits  in  that  county  last  winter. 

— J.  F.  Simmons,  of  Iowa,  writes  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club,  that  his  experience  in  plough- 
ing in  buckwheat  as  a  fertilizer,  had  convinced 
him  that  it  was  not  only  an  exhausting  crop,  but 
that  it  poisoned  the  soil. 

— Prof.  Swallow  says  of  the  white  oak  and  post 
oak  lands  of  Missouri,  that  "the  subsoil  is  usually 
richer  than  the  surface,  and  deep  plowing  makes  a 
vast  difference  in  their  productive  powers.  These 
lands  are  very  superior  for  fruit  culture. 

— The  Cotswold  ram,  and  other  sheep,  which  we 
mentioned  a  week  or  two  since,  as  having  been 
purchased  in  England  by  Mr.  Loomis,  of  Windsor 
Locks,  Conn.,  have  arrived  at  his  faiin.  Mr. 
Loomis  remains  abroad  until  November. 

— An  Iowa  correspondent  of  the  Rural  Atneri- 
can,  lays  down  land  to  grass  by  sowing  the  seed 
immediately  after  harvesting  his  oats,  trusting  to 
the  cattle,  which  are  turned  in  to  pasture  off  the 
stubble,  to  tramp  in  the  seed. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Rural  World  uses  a 
medicine  for  the  cure  of  slobbers  in  horses,  that 
though  infallible,  is  not  popular  because  it  is  so 


simple,  handy  and  cheap.  A  dose  or  two  of  from 
one  to  two  gallons  of  dry  wheat  bran  has  never 
failed  with  him. 

— In  reply  to  an  inquiry  addressed  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club,  as  to  the  advantages  of  the 
interior  of  Long  Island,  for  market  gardening,  it 
was  stated  that  the  Long  Island  railroad  will  not 
take  manure  as  freight,  and  that  ihe  general  im- 
pression is,  that  the  soil  is  too  poor. 

— A  Wisconsin  wine  maker  was  overtaken  last 
fall  by  cold  weather,  and  some  5000  lbs.  of  his 
grapes  were  frozen  up  in  boxes.  Wine  made  from 
these  grapes  in  April  was  "one  hundred  per  cent, 
better  than  that  made  from  the  same  quality  of 
grapes  in  the  fall." 

— Dr.  J.  A.  Warder,  alluding  to  grape  soils, 
states  that  it  is  the  very  common  opinion,  after 
many  years,  experience,  of  those  who  have  been 
eminently  successful  in  the  culture  of  the  vine, 
that  the  clay  cannot  he  too  hard  and  compact  for 
the  roots  of  the  grape  to  penetrate. 

— A  mixture  of  gelatine  and  glycerine,  is  liquid 
while  hot,  but  on  cooling  it  becomes  solid,  retain- 
ing considerable  elasticity  and  toughness.  The 
neck  of  a  bottle  dipped  into  this  melted  compound 
is  covered  with  an  air-tight  cap,  which  can  be 
made  as  thick  as  desired  by  repeating  the  opera- 
tion. 

— The  subject  of  destroying  wire-worms  was 
discussed  by  the  Herkimer  County,  N.  Y.,  Far- 
mer' Club,  and  Judge  Owen  said  he  had  tried 
many  things  to  kill  them  off  ineffectually.  Finally 
he  let  a  field  go  fallow  one  year,  plowing  it  three 
or  four  times.  The  worms  got  starved  and  left  the 
premises  and  have  not  returned  yet. 

— T.  Jones,  South  Hadley,Mass.,  complains  in  a 
letter  to  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club  of  fraud  in 
new  strawberry  plants.  He  has  now  half  an  acre 
of  i'uncy,  high-priced  kinds,  and  the  cost  of  plants 
and  of  cultivation  has  been  !^500,  while  he  has  re- 
ceived hai-dly  as  many  cents.  Of  twenty  kinds 
only  two  are  valuable. 

—The  Paris  Kentuckian  says  "Mr.  S.  W.  Teve- 
baugh,  of  this  county,  has  shown  us  some  singu- 
lar gi-ains  of  corn,  in  which  the  grains  are  doubled, 
each  grain  having  a  separate  heart.  He  acciden- 
tally noticed  a  few  grains  as  he  was  shelling  his 
seed  corn  last  year,  which  he  planted,  and  they 
produced  ears  of  com  with  all  the  grains  doubled, 
and  two  stalks  to  the  grain." 

— The  influence  of  food  on  the  quantity  of  milk 
is  very  striking.  A  half  starved  cow  not  only 
yields  but  little  milk,  but  what  it  yields  is  miser- 
alily  poor.  On  the  other  hand,  the  liberal  supply 
of  food  rich  in  nitrogenous  and  phosphatic  ele- 
ments of  nutrition  tell  directly  on  the  milk. 
Nothing,  therefore,  can  be  more  injudicious  than 
to  stint  dairy  cows  in  food. 

— The  chicken  cholera  that  has  proved  so  fatal 
in  many  places  at  the  West,  is  ascribed  by  R.  H. 
Murray,  of  Calumet,  111.,  to  a  species  of  putrefac- 


526 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov. 


ture  caused  by  a  too  exclusive  barn-yard  diet  in 
hot  weather.  He  has  been  successful  in  its  cure 
by  a  mixture  of  a  small  teaspoonful  of  cayenne 
pepper  and  a  tablespoonful  of  charcoal  with  a  quart 

of  corn  meal  dough  fed  to  the  chickens. 

I 
— Brother  Boylston,  of  the  Amherst,  N.  H.,  Far-  ' 
mers'  Cabinet,  is  merry  over  his  election  to  the  ' 
Bench  of  the  "Bread,  Butter  and  Honey"  Circuit 
of  the  State  Agricultural  Fair  of  New  Hampshire,  i 
He  is  determined  to  do  his  whole  duty,  and  hopes  j 
that  his  "Opinions"  will  be  such  as  to  honor  the 
State.    We  have  no  doubt  that  his  most  sanguine 
anticipations  will  be  more  than  realized. 

— B.  McClure  states  in  the  Practical  Farmer  that 
feeding  rusty  straw  to  cattle  and  horses  has  a  very 
injurious  effect  upon  their  health  and  efficiency. 
The  class  of  diseases  induced  by  this  aliment  are 
marasmus,  glanders,  farcy,  shin  diseases,  catarrhal 
affections  and  watery  swellings  of  the  body  and 
legs.  He  adds  that  during  the  last  eight  months, 
out  of  700  horses  fed  upon  such  straw,  from  45  to 
50  were  on  the  sick  list. 

— Having  been  cured  of  rheumatism  by  the  fol- 
lowing prescription,  Mr.  William  Bassett  of  Bir- 
mingham, Michigan,  communicates  it  to  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club.  Sarsaparilla  root,  sassafras 
chips,  and  gentian  root,  of  each  one  ounce ;  gum 
guacum,  half  ounce ;  iodide  of  potassium,  one- 
fourth  ounce.  Simmer  the  first  four  articles  in  a 
gallon  of  water  to  half  a  gallon.;  when  nearly  cold 
add  the  potassium;  siir  together,  strain,  bottle. 
Dose,  wine-glass  full  twice  a  day. 

— L.  E.  Petron,  Highgate,  Vt.,  thinks  it  unwise 
to  abandon  the  cultivation  of  corn  and  depend  on 
the  West.  He  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Farmer's  Club,  that  transportation  costs  so  much 
that  we  never  get  it  retailed  there  short  of  $\  in 
silver,  while  on  good  com  land  it  can  be  raised  for 
from  50  to  75  cents,  beside  fitting  the  land  for  a 
good  crop  of  wheat,  to  be  followed  by  grass.  On 
light,  warm  soils  I  spread  the  manure,  and  plow 
or  drag  in.  On  heavier  and  colder  soils  put  some 
in  the  hills,  to  give  an  early  start  in  the  spring. 

—Mr.  B.  F.  Cutter,  of  Pelham,  N.  H.,  tells  a 
story  in  the  Mirror  and  Farmer  of  a  hog,  which, 
though  well  fed  and  apparently  healthy,  "did  not 
grow  one  atom."  Soon  after  feeding  him  one  day, 
the  owner  happened  to  look  into  his  pen,  and 
found  the  trough  completely  filled  with  rats,  which 
at  once  accounted  for  the  lean  condition  of  his 
starving  hog.  The  moral  of  the  story  is  put  in  the 
interrogative  form, — Is  it  more  profitable  to  raise 
weeds  in  the  corn  and  potato  field,  or  in  the  gar- 
den, than  to  fatten  rats  in  the  pig's  trough  ? 

— Amos  Steller,  Cary,  Ohio,  advises  the  New 
York  Farmers'  Club  not  to  allow  their  sweet  apple 
pomace  to  go  to  waste  after  the  sweet  cider  is  ex- 
pressed, but  put  them  in  some  water-tight  box ; 
let  them  remain  until  they  are  well  heated  ;  then 
return  them  to  the  press,  and  add,  say,  to  the  pro- 


duction of  thirty  bushels  of  apples,  six  or  eight 
gallons  of  water,  and  you  can  press  from  one  and 
a  half  to  two  barrels  of  vinegar  from  the  same, 
and  a  good  article  at  that.  Vinegar  made  in  this 
way  will  sour  much  sooner  than  otherwise. 

— Agricultural  writers  occasionally  recommend 
the  cultivation  of  sun-flowers  for  seed.  It  is  said 
to  yield  a  gallon  of  oil  to  a  bushel.  A  Mr.  Spear 
recently  remarked  at  a  discussion  of  the  subject 
by  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  that  "When  I 
was  farming  in  the  West  we  all  had  the  sun-flower 
fever,  and  huge  quantities  were  raised ;  but  there 
were  two  difficulties,  one  was  to  get  the  seeds  from 
the  hulls,  and  the  other  to  find  any  market  for  the 
seed  after  we  got  it  out.  We  fed  it  to  our  poultry, 
and  in  this  way  found  it  very  useful,  for  they  de- 
cidedly preferred  it  to  corn." 

— Industry  is  commendable,  but  there  is  danger, 
especially  on  the  farm,  of  working  too  hard.  The 
case  of  an  Iowa  farmer  was  mentioned  at  a  late 
meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  who 
toiled  and  grubbed  and  broke  down  his  constitu- 
tion, and  made  himself  decrepit,  to  secure  a  farm 
for  each  of  his  boys,  adjacent  to  his  own,  hoping 
they  would  be  all  about  him  in  his  old  age — chil- 
dren and  grand-children — to  cheer  and  comfort 
him.  He  succeeded  in  securing  the  farms.  But 
what  then  ?  Why  the  boys  live  2000  miles  away, 
and  the  bent  up  old  man  has  strangers  for  neigh- 
bors. 

— At  a  late  meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers* 
Club,  Mr.  Quinn  gave  the  following  directions  for 
managing  currant  cuttings.  Currant  wood  can  be 
turned  into  a  plant  the  year  it  is  grown  by  setting 
any  time  from  August  to  November.  I  would 
make  a  square,  clean  cut,  have  the  ground  mellow 
that  the  young  rootlets  may  meet  with  no  obstruc- 
tions, and  then  push  the  dirt  closely  around  the 
V>ottom  of  the  cutting.  The  fall  is  decidedly  the 
best  time  to  commence  operations,  because  in  so 
doing  one  gets  a  two  years'  growth  in  one.  If  it 
is  very  dry  some  mulching  will  be  required,  but 
generally,  at  this  season,  the  ground  is  warmer 
than  the  atmosphere,  and  98  per  cent,  should  live. 

— A  cori'espondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman  at 
Rock  Island  County,  111.,  who  has  taken  pains  to 
look  about  the  harvest  fields  of  that  section,  and  to 
inquire  carefully  of  others,  says  that  eight,  ten, 
and  all  along  to  eighteen  bushels  per  acre,  is  the 
yield  there.  Two  fields,  of  160  acres  each,  yield 
less  than  ten  bushels  per  acre.  He  puts  the  aver- 
age at  about  twelve  bushels.  Where  the  200,000,- 
000  bushels  of  wheat  for  this  year's  crop,  that  all 
the  papers  tell  of,  are  to  come  from,  he  don't  see. 
But  he  does  complain  that,  before  luirvcst,  edito- 
rial correspondents  and  travellers,  who  perhaps 
didn't  know  in  passing  a  field  of  grain  whether  it 
was  oats,  wheat,  rye  or  barley,  reported  that  such 
big  crops  never  greto  before.  With  much  joy,  we 
were  about  to  return  to  seventy-five  cent  wheat, 
fifteen  cent  com,  and  two  cent  beef  and  pork.  The 


i8g: 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


527 


consumers  were  to  live  cheaply,  and  get  fat  off  the 
farmer.  These  big  statements  were  all  read  from 
the  daily  papers  by  the  sturdy  and  quiet  farmer, 
while  we  looked  on  in  vain  to  see  it. 

Mr.  Samuel  B.  Hamblin,  of  Acushnet,  Mass., 
raised  this  season,  from  one  acre  and  ninety-four 
rods,  fifty  bushels  of  as  handsome  wheat  as  can  be 
shown  in  the  State. 

— A  late  number  of  the  Storkton,  Cal.,  Indepen- 
dent, illustrates  the  extent  of  the  grain  trade  at 
Stockton,  l)y  siiying  that  two  lirms  alone  paid  but 
last  Saturday,  eleven  thousand  dollars  for  wheat. 
And  as  evidence  of  the  agricultural  prosperity  of 
the  San  Joaquin  valley,  the  same  paper  adds  that 
the  greater  number  of  mortgages  resting  on  farms 
in  1866,  have  been  cancelled. 

— M.  Geyelin,  manager  of  the  French  "National 
Poultry  Company,"  says  that  turkey  cocks  are 
employed  largely  to  hatch  and  rear  chickens,  as 
they  can  incubate  a  much  larger  number  of  eggs 
than  hens.  The  way  in  which  they  are  induced 
to  take  to  the  hen's  eggs  is  as  follows:  "A  glass 
or  two  of  strong  wine  is  poured  down  a  turkey's 
throat,  and  whilst  in  a  state  of  inebriation  the 
feathers  are  plucked  off  his  breast,  and  he  is  placed 
on  a  large  sitting  of  eggs.  On  coming  to  his  senses 
next  morning,  he  feels  that  a  sudden  change  has 
come  over  him,  and  as  the  denuded  and  irritated 
part  of  his  body  is  kept  warm  and  soothed  by 
crouching  down  on  the  smooth  eggs,  he  wisely  ac- 
cepts his  new  position,  and  discharges  the  duties 
of  a  mother  to  the  family  thus  foisted  upon  him 
with  tenderness  and  vigilance." 


STRA\^r  AND  ROOT  CUTTEHS. 

Reader,  have  you  supplied  yourself  with 
one  of  these  implements  ?  If  not,  do  so  with- 
out delay.  There  is  annually  much  refuse 
matter  accumulated  about  the  barns  and  sta- 
bles which  a  good  straw  cutter  will  enable  you 
to  work  up  to  advantage,  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  a  root  cutter — provided  you  have  a 
supply  of  roots  of  any  kind — to  convert  much 
fodder  of  an  indifferent  quality  into  a  means 
of  sustenance  for  your  stock.  We  think  it 
would  be  economy  to  borrow  the  money  to 
purchase  one,  rather  than  be  without  it,  though 
we  trust  that  would  not  be  necessary  with  our 
readers. 

If  you  once  make  careful  trial  of  cutting  the 
fodder  for  a  stock  of  cattle,  horses  included, 
you  will  realize  how  much  corn  fodder,  straw 
and  hay  of  an  indifferent  quality  you  will  be 
able  to  work  up,  and  at  the  same  time  become 
convinced  that  your  stock  has  grown  faster,  or 
made  more  fat  and  flesh,  than  under  the  old 
practice  of  feeding  out  entirely  long  hay. 


If  no  grain,  whatever,  is  fed  to  cattle,  the 
cutting  may  not  be  so  important ;  we  do  not 
know,  never  having  tried  it.  Where  a  por- 
tion of  the  feed  is  grain — which  is  commonly 
the  case  in  all  places  where  hay  finds  a  ready 
market — cutting  the  hay  will  prove  of  essen- 
tial advantage. 

We  fed  six  or  seven  cows  and  five  horses 
last  winter  on  com  fodder,  English  hay, 
meadow  hay  and  barley  straw.  It  was  all  cut 
and  thoroughly  mixed,  and  sprinkled  with  cold 
water  and  a  little  salt  as  the  mixing  proceed- 
ed, then  thrown  into  a  heap.  At  the  end  of 
two  days,  one  end  of  the  heap  was  broken 
down  and  meal  mixed  with  it.  That  for  the 
horses  being  equal  to  about  three  quarts  of 
corn  meal  per  day ;  and  that  for  the  cows, 
equal  to  one  quart  of  corn  meal  per  day.  All 
the  stock  did  well,  and  it  seemed  to  us  at  a 
considerable  less  cost  than  in  the  old  way  of 
feeding.  The  experiment  was  not  an  exact 
one,  but  confirmed  several  others  of  a  similar 
nature,  made  some  years  before. 

The  season  for  feeding  stock  in  the  barn  is 
at  hand,  and  we  know  of  no  one  item  of  econ- 
omy with  the  farmer  more  important  than  the 
use  of  the  hay  cutter. 

If  roots  are  used  instead  of  grain,  they  fla- 
vor the  mass  of  dry  fodder,  so  that  cattle  eat 
the  whole  eagerly.  We  knew  one  farmer  to 
feed  30  or  40  cows  through  an  entire  winter 
on  ivheat  straw,  cut,  and  flat  turnips,  also  cut. 
The  cows  were  in  sufficient  flesh,  and  were 
producing  a  fair  average  of  milk. 


Improvement  of  Horses. — At  the  late 
fair  of  the  Vermont  State  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, an  association  was  formed  for  the  im- 
provement of  horses,  which,  though  indepen- 
dent in  its  organization,  is  to  act  as  auxilary 
to  the  State  Society.  Officers  were  elected 
as  follows : — 

President.— Hon.  T.  "W.  Park  of  Bennington. 

Tice  Presidents. — Frederick  Billings  of  Wood- 
stock ;  Richard  Bradley  of  Brattleboro' ;  A.  W. 
Gribwold  of  Morrisville ;  H.  G.  Root  of  Benning- 
ton. 

Secretary. — Geo.  A.  MeiTill  of  Rutland. 

Treasurer. — Henry  C.  Horton  of  Vergennes. 

Directors. — L.  S.  Drew  of  Burlington ;  E.  S. 
StowcU  of  Cornwall;  Geo.  W.  Hendee  of  Morris- 
ville; Frank  Goodhue  of  Bratlkboro;  N.  T. 
Shoafe  of  Derby  Line  ;  Thomas  Sanders  of  Brook- 
field  ;  George  C.  Hall  of  Brattleboro' ;  L.  T.  Tucker 
ofRoyalton;  Charles  Clarke  of  Rutland;  H.  B. 
Kent  of  Dorset;  Frederick  E.  Smith  of  Montpe- 
lier ;  C.  Brainard,  Jr.,  of  St.  Albans  ;  E.  A.  Park 
of  St.  Johnsbury. 


528 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov. 


IiIME,  AND  THE  SOIL  THAT  NEEDS  IT. 
OCTOR  Jackson,  in  his  Geolo- 
gical Report  of  Rhode  Island, 
recommends  the  use  of  lime  in 
combination  with  vegetable  and 
animal  organisms,  in  the  compost 
heap.  He  places  full  reliance,  it 
seems,  upon  its  power  to  neutral- 
ize the  noxious  acids,  which  are 
more  or  less  abundant  in  the  humus  of  soils, 
after  the  compost  has  been  incorporated  with 
the  earth.  Ruffin,  in  his  able  essay  on  cal- 
careous manures,  recommends  the  use  of  lime 
on  all  soils  not  naturally  calcareous. 

Lime  is  one  of  the  most  common  substajices 
with  which  we  meet  in  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
frequently  constituting  whole  mountain  chains, 
and  in  combination  or  mechanical  association 
with  other  earths  and  metallic  oxides,  consti- 
tuting a  number  of  valuable  minerals.  In  the 
bodies  of  animals  it  is  detected  as  an  impor- 
tant ingredient,  particularly  of  bones  and 
shells.  It  also  enters  as  an  indispensable  con- 
stituent into  vegetables,  and  is  found  in  vari- 
able quantities  in  the  ash,  or  residuum,  which 
they  leave  upon  burning,  as  well  as  in  solu- 
tion in  almost  all  natural  waters. 

Formerly,  lime  was  regarded  as  an  elemen- 
tary substance  ;  but  the  results  of  modern  ex- 
periments have  demonstrated  it  to  be  a  com- 
pound body,  its  principal  ingredients  being  a 
metal,  by  chemists  called  "calcium,"  and  oxy- 
gen, or  vital  air. 

Phosphorus — a  very  important  principle  in 
vegetable  nutrition,  may  be  made  to  combine 
with  lime  by  fusing  the  two  together.  The 
substance  resulting  from  this  amalgamation,  is 
of  a  brownish  color,  called  in  chemical  tech- 
nology phosphate  of  calcium,  and  which  is 
found  to  possess,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the 
power  of  decomposing  water.  "The  phos- 
phate of  calcium,"  says  an  excellent  writer  on 
agricultural  matters,  "decomposes  the  water, 
the  hydrogen  of  which  combines  with  the  phos- 
phorus, forming  phosphuretted  hydrogen  ;  while 
its  oxygen  combines  partly  with  the  calcium, 
forming  lime,  and  partly  with  the  phosphorus, 
forming  phosphoric,  and  hypo-phosphoric 
acids.  These  acids  unite  with  the  lime,  and 
form  phosphate  and  hypo-phosphate  of  lime." 
In  most  light  soils  of  a  sandy  texture,  there 
is  generally  found  but  little  humus  ;  the  vege- 
table power  is  merely  nominal  in  a  natural 
and  unfertilized  condition,  and  the  necessity 


of  manuring  them  imperative,  in  order  to  se- 
cure even  an  ordinary  crop.  By  turning  in 
green  crops,  such  as  peas,  clover  and  buck- 
wheat, and  applying  lime  in  liberal  quantities, 
we  shall  speedily  reclaim  and  render  them  pro- 
ductive. 

On  poor  low  lands,  of  a  clayey  nature,  lime 
is  also  found  to  exert  a  bene6cial  action.  Such 
soils  are  not  unfrequently  possessed  of  clay, 
iron  ore,  or  marshy  ferruginous  earth,  which 
is  composed,  in  a  great  measure,  of  clay  and 
a  liberal  proportion  of  carbonate  and  phos- 
phate of  iron.  These  ingredients  constitute  a 
hard  and  compact  body,  the  nature  of  which, 
and  more  especially  the  phosphate  of  iron, 
renders  it  extremely  prejudicial  to  vegetation, 
whether  reposing  in  subterranean,  elongated 
strata,  or  in  a  state  of  solution,  and  occupy- 
ing a  position  so  superficial  as  to  place  it  within 
range  of  the  roots  of  plants. 

Foul  lime  is  also  a  valuable  article  for  ame- 
liorating soils  and  stimulating  crops.  It  is 
made  by  the  gas  makers,  and  is  the  lime  used 
for  purifying  the  product  of  gas  works.  In 
this  process  the  gas  is  made  to  pass  through  it 
— none  but  the  best  quality  of  lime  being 
available  for  this  purpose — and  imparts  to  it 
ammonia,  carbonic  acid,  and  carburetted  hy- 
drogen, all  of  which  principles  are  of  service 
in  promoting  the  development  of  vegetation  in 
every  stage  of  its  existence. 

Limestone  often  contains  oxide  of  iron, 
silica  and  alumina.  In  one  specimen  of  lime- 
stone which  was  subjected  to  analysis,  there 
were  found,  in  100  parts  : — 

Chalk 53.P0  parts. 

Carbonic  Acid 42.50       " 

Silica.    • 1.12        " 

Alumina 1.00       " 

Iron 0.75       " 

Water 1.63       " 

Total lOO.CO 

In  some  limestone,  the  relative  proportions 
of  the  three  ingredients — silica,  alumina  and 
oxide  of  iron — are  greater  than  they  were  as- 
certained to  be  in  the  specimen  the  analysis  of 
which  is  here  presented.  Chalk  is  a  concrete 
of  lime.  It  is  common  in  England,  Denmark 
and  France,  as  well  as  in  other  countries ;  but 
the  Spanish  chalk  is  not  identical  with  this  sub- 
stance, being  a  sort  of  steatite,  and  is  classed 
as  a  distinct  substance.  There  is,  also,  a  black 
chalk. 

The  lime  most  used  by  the  English  agricul- 
turists i<i  their  farming  operations,  is  procured 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


529 


by  "burning"  the  common  chalk  or  lime  stone. 
It  is  rarely  chemically  pure,  containing,  almost 
invariably,  a  quantity  of  sand  or  clay,  or  both, 
■with  the  red  oxide  of  iron.  These,  however, 
exist  in  too  limited  quantities  materially  to  in- 
fluence its  fertilizing  powers,  as  may  be  seen 
by  the  following  analysis  : — 

Carbonate  of  lime 95.05  parts. 

Water 1.65     " 

Silica 1.12     " 

Alumina l.UO     " 

Oxide  of  iron 0.75     " 

One  hundred  parts  of  common  chalk  con- 
tain : — 

Lime 56.5  parts. 

Carbonic  acid 43.0       " 

Water 0.5       " 

Some  clay  loams,  that  have  been  highly  ma- 
nured and  cultivated  for  several  years,  become 
inert,  like  an  overfed  man  or  animal,  and  re- 
fuse to  yield  fair  crops.  A  heavy  dressing  of 
lime,  or  sometimes  sand,  will  stimulate  them 
into  a  remarkable  activity,  which  will  continue 
two  or  three  years  without  the  application  of 
much  manure. 


QUAILS  AND  GROUSE. 
In  dressing  some  Quails  and  Prairie  Chickens 
once,  which  were  sent  us  by  a  friend  from  the 
prairies  of  Illinois,  we  had  the  curiosity  to 
open  the  crops  of  some  of  them  to  see  what 
was  there.  In  the  crops  of  the  grouse  we 
found  plenty  of  evidence  that  they  had  visited 
the  corn-fields  of  the  farmers,  as  they  were  par- 
tially tilled  with  the  yellow  flat  corn  which  is 
so  extensively  cultivated  in  that  State. 

In  the  crop  of  the  quails  we  found  a  variety 
of  food,  and  among  It  acoriis.  Some  of  them 
were  perfect  and  of  a  size  altogether  inconven- 
ient to  be  swallowed  whole,  by  such  a  bird, 
we  should  think,  and  others  in  various  stages 
of  the  digestive  process. 

The  husk  or  outside  of  a  thoroughly-ripened 
acorn  seems  like  sand,  and  may  be  composed 
much  like  the  surface  of  a  straw  of  the  wheat 
plant.  It  is  hard  enough  to  destroy  the  fine 
edge  of  a  knife  upon  cutting  it,  and  yet,  the 
entire  surface  of  some  of  the  acorns  as  large 
as  the  end  of  one''s  little  finger,  was  eaten 
away,  as  though  it  had  been  triturated  in  some 
vessel  with  gravel  stones.  In  others,  the  shell 
was  entirely  gone,  while  others  were  reduced 
in  various  degrees. 

What  a  finely-adjusted  and  powerful  mill  it 


must  be  to  convert  such  flint-like  substances 
into  a  soft  and  slippery  pulp. 

While  looking  at  a  large  Ostrich  in  a  me- 
nagerie, once,  a  small  boy  stood  by  with  a  pair 
of  woolen  mittens  in  his  hand.  The  African 
eyed  them  curiously  for  a  moment,  made  a 
thrust,  and  the  boy  was  minus  one  mitten ! 
We  could  see  it  going  the  circuit  down  his 
long  neck  to  the  crop ! 

But  of  all  the  gormandizing  that  we  ever 
knew  or  heard  of,  was  that  of  a  sea  gull, 
which  we  took  from  Cape  Ann  and  sent  into 
the  country.  Half  a  mile  from  the  house 
where  he  was  kept,  there  was  a  large  pond, 
and  once  each  day  he  would  take  wings,  go 
there  and  make  the  water  fly  at  a  great  rate. 
After  having  got  through  with  his  ablutions  he 
would  return  at  once  to  the  house.  His  appe- 
tite was  enormous.  After  having  eaten  four 
or  five  good  sized  perch  one  day,  and  a  large 
piece  of  soap  which  the  men  had  just  been  using 
before  going  to  dinner,  one  of  the  boys  who 
stood  by,  said,  "darn  him,  I  believe  he  would 
swallow  my  jack-knife."  "Throw  it  to  him," 
said  another.  So  the  knife  was  thrown,  and 
caught  by  the  gull  before  it  touched  the 
ground,  and  went  down  into  the  abyss  with  the 
perch  and  the  soap  !  But  the  boy  had  lost  his 
knife,  and  was  in  trouble,  so  one  of  the  men 
caught  up  the  gull,  and  gently  manipulating 
the  crop  and  throat,  soon  brought  out  the 
jack-knife  as  good  as  ever. 

The  reader  is  referred  to  an  interesting  ar- 
ticle on  another  page,  on  How  Fowls  Grind 
their  Food. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CHEMICAL   TERMS— No.  IV. 

Ammonia,  is  a  transparent,  colorless  gas, 
possessing  an  acrid  taste  and  an  exceedingly 
pungent  smell.  It  is  compO!«ed  of  one  vol- 
ume of  nitrogen  and  three  volumes  of  hydro- 
gen, chemically  combined.  From  these  three 
volumes  of  hydrogen  and  one  of  nitrogen,  not 
four  volumes  of  ammoniacal  gas  are  formed, 
but  only  two ;  that  is,  the  ammonia  occupies 
but  half  the  space  of  the  gases  from  which  it 
is  formed.  It  is  easily  obtained  by  the  action 
of  lime  on  muriate  of  ammonia,  or  sal  ammo- 
niac. It  is  produced  when  animal  substances 
are  heated  with  exclusion  of  air.  These  sub- 
stances alwavs  contain  nitrogen  and  hydrogen, 
which  at  the  moment  of  being  set  fi'ee  by  heat, 
combine  with  each  other,  forming  ammonia. 
It  is  also  evolved  in  the  form  of  carbonate  of 
ammonia  from  all  vegetable  and  animal  sub- 
stances containing  nitrogen,  during  the  pro- 


530 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


Nov. 


cess  of  putrefaction, — hence  its  presence  in 
decomposing  manures.  As  it  Is  highly  volatile 
and  tends  to  fly  off  as  it  is  formed,  some  sub- 
stance should  be  frequently  added  for  which 
it  has  an  affinity,  as  sulphuric  acid  diluted  with 
water,  sulphate  of  lime,  peat,  muck  or  loam, 
with  which  it  will  combine,  and  be  retained  in 
the  decaying  mass. 

Carbon. — This  abounds  in  the  animal,  veg- 
etable and  mineral  kingdoms.  It  enters  into 
the  composition  of  the  bones  and  soft  tissues 
of  animals.  It  constitutes  the  largest  part  of 
the  bulk  of  vegetables.  If  these  are  burned 
with  the  partial  exclusion  of  air,  so  that  there 
shall  not  be  oxygen  enough  present  to  enable 
them  to  burn  rapidly,  the  volatile  portions  will 
be  driven  off  by  the  heat,  and  the  charcoal  or 
carbon  will  remain. 

Charcoal  when  freed  from  earthy  matter  is 
nearly  pure  carbon.  Mineral  coal  is  composed 
largely  of  carbon — the  remains  of  former  veg- 
etation. The  diamond  is  pure  carbon,  and 
may  be  burned  without  leaving  any  ash  behind. 
Carbon  is  found  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid, 
combined  with  lime,  in  marble,  coral,  shells, 
&c.,  and  abundantly  in  nature.  Plumbago,  or 
as  it  is  called,  black  lead,  is  crystalized  black 
carbon.  Carbon  shows  clearly  how  one  and 
the  same  body  may  have  different  forms  and 
different  properties.  In  charcoal  soot,  coke 
and  animal  charcoal,  it  is  black,  and  very  com- 
bustible. In  plumbago  it  is  black,  with  a  crys- 
talized structure,  and  nearly  incombustible,  tto 
that  crucibles  are  made  of  it,  which  bear  the 
strongest  fire  without  burning.  In  the  diamond 
it  is  colorless,  and  crystalized  in  the  form  of  a 
double  pryamid,  and  is  almost  incombustible. 

Coal  is  not  decomposed  at  common  temper- 
atures, that  is,  it  does  not  enter  into  chemical 
union  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and  water. 
But  when  it  is  heated  to  redness  this  readily 
takes  place.  It  then  burns  and  disappears, 
with  the  exception  of  a  small  quantity  of  ashes. 
The  heat  developed  by  the  burning  is  the  re- 
sult of  the  chemical  union  of  the  carbon  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  air.  The  gas  generated  is 
called  carboni(^  acid,  and  consists  of  one  part 
or  atom  of  carbon  and  two  atoms  of  oxygen. 
Carbonic  acid  is  always  formed  when  burning 
charcoal  has  a  sufficient  supply  of  air ;  but 
when  there  is  a  deficiency  of  air,  carbonic  ox- 
ide gas  is  formed,  which  consists  of  one  atom 
of  carbon,  and  one  of  oxygen.  This  gas  is 
what  miners  call  coal  gas,  or  choke-damp. 
This  is  very  destructive  to  life  when  inhaled. 
What  is  called  the  fume  of  charcoal,  is  the 
result  of  the  slow  combustion  of  ciharcoal,  as 
when  it  is  smothered  with  ashes  which  obstruct 
the  access  of  air,  or  when  the  damper  of  a 
stove  is  closed  before  the  coal  is  burned  out, 
which  prevents  the  draught  of  air  and  conse- 
quent suj)ply  of  oxygen. 

Carbonic  acid  is  formed  wherever  substances 
are  burning,  with  free  access  of  air ;  wherever 
men  and  animals  are  breathing ;  and  wherever 
decay   and  putrefaction   are  going  on ;    and 


thrown  into  the  atmospheric  ocean  by  which 
the  earth  and  all  its  products  are  constantly 
bathed.  From  the  atmosphere  it  is  absorbed 
by  all  growing  vegetables,  and  thus  its  injuri- 
ous accumulation  is  prevented,  which  occurs 
only  in  exceptional  instances,  and  a  due  equi- 
librium is  preserved.  From  its  existing  largely  ■ 
in  nature  in  carbonate  of  lime  and  other  alka- 
lies, it  was  called  by  Dr.  Black,  fixed  air. 
Many  springs  are  impregnated  with  this  gas, 
which  gives  their  waters  a  sparkling  appear- 
ance and  a  fresh  and  pleasant  taste.  Immense 
quantities  of  water  are  artificially  prepared 
under  the  name  of  soda  wa  er  by  impregnat- 
ing them  with  carbonic  acid  gas.  It  is  about 
one-third  heavier  than  atmospheric  air,  and 
may  be  poured  from  one  vessel  to  another  like 
water.  If  air  contains  more  than  fifteen  per 
cent,  in  bulk  of  this  gas,  it  will  not  support 
animal  life  or  combustion.  Lighted  candles 
will  be  extinguished  in  it.  R. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Sept.  28,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
CHEMISTRY. 

If  I  rightly  remember,  common  salt  was  for- 
merly called  by  chemists,  muriate  of  soda ;  and 
was  believed  to  be  such  a  chemical  combina- 
tion as  the  name  indicated.  Subsequent  ex- 
periments, such  as  the  combustion  of  the  metal 
sodium  in  chlorine  gas,  seemed  to  prove  that 
it  had  been  wrongly  named,  and  thenceforth 
it  was  called,  technically,  chloride  of  sodium, 
a  name  clearly  Indicating  Its  true  combination. 
Not  being  well  versed  In  recent  chemistry,  I 
was  not  aware  that  the  name  had  been  again 
changed,  until  I  saw  "Chemical  Terms,"  No.  2, 
in  the  FAKjrER  of  21st  of  Sept.  Inst. ;  where 
It  Is  called,  "chloride  of  sodaf — thus  making 
it  a  hitherto  unknown  and  anomalous  combina- 
tion of  chlorine  and  the  protoxide  of  sodium ; 
— or  else  the  writer  or  printer  has  so  confound- 
ed "chemical  terms,"  as  to  put  soda,  the  pro- 
toxide of  a  metal  for  sodium,  the  metal  pure 
and  simple.  In  either  case  It  (common  salt) 
is  not  well  chosen  as  an  example  of  the  com- 
bination of  an  acid  with  a  base  ;  for  If  we  may 
rely  on  modern  chemistry,  only  three  years  old, 
common  salt, — unlike  sulphate  of  soda,  Glau- 
ber's salts, — Is  a  haloid  or  binary  salt,  and  a 
chemical  combination  of  the  elementary  gas, 
chlorine,  and  the  metal  sodium,  and  is  there- 
fore called,  technically,  chloride  of  sodium. 
In  the  common  language  of  chemistry,  chlorine 
Is  not  an  acid,  neither  is  sodium  such  a  base  as 
comes  under  the  definition,  "an  alkali  or  oxide 
of  a  metal."  But  a  base,  as  a  general  chemi- 
cal term  is,  "the  principal  element  of  a  com- 
pound, usually  electro-positive  in  quality." 
Webster. 

Filtration. — [The  straining  of  a  liquid 
through  unsized  paper,  felt,  fulled  cloth,  or 
other  permeable  substance,  so  as  to  separate 
therefrom  precipitates  and  other  impurities,  is 
called  a  filtration ;  therefore,  filtration  is  the 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND   FARMER. 


631 


straining  of  a  liquid  through  unsized  paper,] 
This  would  be  called  by  logicians  an  unwar- 
ranted co?iversion  of'  a  proposition  ;  and  when 
applied  to  another  subject,  would  be  about  as 
follows  : — [The  term  goose,  and  the  names  of 
animals  in  general,  are,  in  grammar,  common 
nouns  ;  therefore,  a  common  noun  is  a  goose.] 

We  do  not  find  that  the  term,  ^7<er,  has  any 
exclusive  chemical  signification  ;  but  if  it  is  en- 
titled to  any  special  definition,  it  should  be  that 
of  "a  piece  of  felt  or  fulled  woolen  cloth,"  as 
its  etymology  implies. 

It  IS  quite  proper  to  inform  ignorant  farmers 
that  chemists  think  tliat  unsized  paper  makes  a 
superior  filter,  and  that  they  generally  use 
such  an  article  for  filtration ;  but  the  fact 
should  not  be  concealed  fi-om  such  of  our 
brother  farmers  as  may  not  have  a  chemical 
text-book,  or  even  a  common  dictionary  at 
hand,  that  filtration,  as  a  chemical  term,  is, 
by  an  eminent  chemist  and  author  defined  as — 
"The  process  of  separating  precipitates,  by 
straining,  or  passing  the  fluid  through  any 
porous  substance."  I.  B.  Hartwell. 

Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  Sept.  23,  1867. 


HOW    FOWLS   AND   BIRDS    GRIND 
THEIR   FOOD. 

Fowls  have  no  teeth  to  grind  or  masticate 
their  food  with,  and  the  best  they  are  able 
to  do  with  it  at  first,  is  to  pick  it  to  pieces  and 
swallow  it  whole.  Kernels  of  grain  are  swal- 
lowed whole  by  them,  and  as  they  are  sur- 
rounded with  a  tough  pellicle  or  skin,  which 
the  juices  of  the  stomachs  of  animals  will  not 
readily  dissolve  or  digest,  they  could  obtain 
no  nouiishnient  at  all  from  grain,  if  this  tough 
pellicle  were  not  broken. 

Let  horses,  cattle  or  people  swallow  kernels 
of  grain,  or  ripe  seeds  of  fruit,  whole,  and 
they  will  pass  off  in  the  ordure  unbroken,  and 
mo.Nt  of  them  will  not  lose  their  vitality,  in 
consequence  of  such  a  process,  and  such  grain 
would  afibrd  no  more  nourishment  than  so 
many  smooth  gravel  stones. 

Now,  if  we  disf^ect  the  gizzard  of  a  fowl  of 
any  kind,  we  find  a  lot  of  small  gravel  stones, 
which  are  usually  the  hardest  kind  of  flint, 
granite  or  sand  stone.  Surely  here;  is  a  pocket 
edition  of  Farm  Grist  Mills.  The  mystery  is, 
where  do  fowls  find  such  little  flint  like  stones, 
when  their  abode  is  on  farms,  the  soil  of  which 
is  a  complete  mold  or  muck,  destitute  of  gravel, 
or  when  they  are  confined  in  close  quarters  for 
month  after  month,  during  winter,  for  exam- 
ple, or  in  a  grass  yard  in  warm  weather,  these 
little  gravel  stones  are  very  important  articles 
with  fowls — quite  as  important  as  the  teeth  of 
ruminating  animals. 

Fowls  swallow  their  food,  broken  or  not, 
and  it  enters  the  crop  or  first  stomach,  and  re- 
mains in  it  until  it  has  become  softened,  more 
or  less,  when  a  small  quantity  at  a  time,  just 
as  grain  runs  into  a  grist  mill,  is  forced  into 
the  gizzard,  among  the  gravel  stones.     This 


gizzard  is  a  strong,  muscular  stomach,  and 
plays  night  and  day,  when  there  is  a  grist  to 
grind,  similar  to  a  bellows,  contracting  and 
expanding,  thus  forcing  the  gravel  stones  into 
the  grain,  and  breaking  it  to  fragments,  and 
triturating  the  whole  mass  ;  after  which  it  is  in 
a  suitable  condition  to  be  quickly  digested. 
Of  course,  these  little  stones  will  become  very 
dull,  after  having  been  in  operation  for  a 
month  or  two,  and  the  gizzard,  like  an  eco- 
nomical miller,  throws  them  out  of  doors,  and 
demands  a  better  set ;  and  if  they  are  not  fur- 
nished of  course  the  grist  is  not  half  ground, 
and  of  course  more  than  twice  as  much  food  is 
necessary  to  sustain  life,  and  form  eggs,  as 
would  be  required  were  it  well  ground ;  and 
of  course  the  eggs  of  fowls  would  cost  double 
in  this  case  that  ihey  would  in  another  with  the 
same  food.  This  suggests  the  importance  of 
supplying  fowls  and  birds  in  cages  with  plenty 
of  sharp  gravel  stones,  and  of  having  their 
food  bruised  or  ground  fine  before  they  eat  it ; 
and  it  suggests 

The  Importance  of  allowing  Fowls  to  Feed 
Themselves. 


When  fowls  have  access  to  grain  all  the  time, 
we  see  them  eat  in  the  morning  only  a  few 
kernels  at  a  lime,  and  after  an  hour  or  so,  they 
will  take  a  few  kernels  more,  and  thus  they 
pass  the  entire  day  by  eating  a  little  at  a  time, 
and  very  often. 

The  philosophy  of  their  eating  so  frequently 
and  but  a  little  at  a  time,  is,  the  food  has  a 
sufficient  time  to  become  softened  in  the  crop 
before  it  passes  into  the  gizzard,  and  it  has 
sufficient  time  to  be  thoroughly  ground  and 
digested  ;  whereas,  when  fowls  are  not  allowed 
to  have  access  to  their  food,  but  are  fed  once 
or  twice  a  day,  they  become  very  hungry,  and 
swallow  as  much  as  their  crops  will  hold  at  one 
feeding.  Now  for  several  hours,  no  food  will 
be  softened  sufficiently  to  pass  into  the  gizzard, 
consequently  their  grist  mill  must  stand  idle. 
Now  the  moistened  grain  swells  and  distends 
the  crop  of  the  fowl,  and  it  feels  by  no  means 
comfortable.  Shortly  all  the  food  in  the  crop 
is  in  the  proper  condition  to  be  ground,  and 
the  result  is,  that  it  is  forced  through  the  giz- 
zard with  so  much  rapidity  that  it  is  not  half 
ground,  and,  therefore,  cannot  be  half  digest- 
ed ;  and  if  it  is  not  half  digested,  of  course  not 
half  the  nutriment,  or  egg-producing  material, 
can  be  extracted  from  it.  Nor  is  this  the 
greatest  drawback  attending  feeding  fowls 
only  once  or  twice  a  day.  When  a  fowl  fills 
its  crop  at  one  feeding,  before  the  food  can 
possibly  get  out  of  it,  it  begins  to  heat  up, 
and  derangement  and  ill-digestion  follow,  very 
much  as  is  the  case  when  we  fill  our  stomachs 
as  full  as  they  can  be  crammed. 

The  way  to  feed  fowls,  and  particularly 
those  that  are  laying,  or  being  fattened,  is  to 
allow  them  to  have  free  access  to  food  at  all 
times.  In  this  way  they  can  always  supply 
the  demands  of  their  stomachs  and  grinding 


632 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Nov. 


apparatus,  exactly  as  food  is  needed ;  and  they 
■will  fatten  more  rapidly,  or  lay  more  eggs,  and 
consume  much  less  food  than  they  will  if  they 
are  fed  as  much  as  they  will  eat  twice  a  day. 

My  practice  now  is,  and  always  has  been,  to 
allow  my  fowls  to  have  free  access  to  corn  in 
the  ear  all  the  time,  both  summer  and  winter. 
Of  course  they  are  obliged  to  shell  it  for  them- 
selves. Occasionally  we  feed  them  screenings, 
and  when  we  have  no  screenings  we  take  a 
peck  or  so  of  wheat,  and  as  much  buckwheat, 
oats,  barley  or  rye,  and  mingle  them  all  to- 
gether, and  mix  the  grain  with  some  chalf,  so 
that  they  will  not  be  as  liable  to  consume  as 
much  of  it  at  once  as  if  it  were  clear  grain. 
When  we  have  an  abundance  of  milk,  we 
place  a  vessel  containing  it  where  they  can  find 
it  at  any  time.  In  warm  weather,  after  it  has 
become  loppered,  they  will  consume,  during 
the  day,  much  more  of  it  than  one  would  sup- 
pose ;  and  milk  is  as  good  to  fatten  poultry 
and  make  chickens  grow,  as  it  is  for  pigs  ;  and 
it  is  one  of  the  very  best  kinds  of  food  for  any 
kind  of  poultry,  when  they  are  laying. — S. 
Edwards  Todd,  in  Country  Gentleman. 


•WOKKING   OXEN   BY   THE    HEAD. 

Some  time  since  we  published  a  statement 
of  a  teamster  who  said  that  oxen  yoked  by 
the  head  would  do  more  work  and  do  it  easier 
than  those  yoked  in  our  ordinary  way.  We 
find  a  very  different  opinion  expressed  in  a 
communication  to  the  Western  Euralist.  The 
writer  says : — 

I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  practice  in  work- 
ing oxen.  In  1853  I  was  lumbering  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  150  miles  from  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor  of  San  Francisco.  We  had  eighty 
yoke  of  Spanish  and  American  cattle,  drawing 
logs  to  the  mill  and  lumber  to  the  landing. 
We  had  several  men  who  claimed  that  the 
Spanish  way  of  yoking  was  the  best.  To  test 
the  matter,  I  had  a  yoke,  Spanish  fashion, 
hitched  to  a  log,  which,  after  repeated  trials, 
they  could  not  draw.  I  then  had  them  un- 
yoked and  yoked  Yankee  fashion.  At  the  first 
pull  the  chain  gave  way,  but  at  the  second 
trial  they  drew  the  log  several  rods.  I  put 
them  on  the  road,  where  the  fact  was  demon- 
strated that  one  pair,  with  the  yoke  and  bows, 
was  ecjual  to  two  yoke  with  the  timber  strapped 
to  their  heads. 

In  no  case  would  the  people  use  the  stick, 
after  we  had  In'oken  their  cattle  to  our  yoke. 
Ask  one  of  them  the  reason,  and  the  reply 
would  be  that  the  stick  was  no  good.  I  broke 
sixteen  yoke  in  the  winter  of  1853,  and  could 
have  had  thrice  as  many,  if  I  could  have  at- 
tended to  them. 

This  j)hin  of  working  cattle  with  the  stick 
fastened  to  the  head  is  a  cruel  way.  They 
cannot  take  advantage  of  a  heavy  load  ;  they 
cannot  turn  their  heads  in  either  way ;  they 


cannot  fight  their  cruel  tormentors,  the  flies, 
and  there  are  many  other  disadvantages.  I 
am  satisfied  the  yoke  and  bows  are  far  supe- 
rior to  the  Spanish  way,  and  how  any  sane 
man  can  recommend  such  an  outlandish  mode 
of  working  oxen  is  more  than  I  can  compre- 
hend. E.  R.  M. 


Philosophy  of  Hay-Making. — The  fol- 
lowing inquiries  and  suggestions  by  the  agri- 
cultural editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  af- 
ford suitable  topics  for  the  discussion  of  far- 
mers' clubs,  and  for  the  investigation  of  the 
chemists  of  our  agricultural  colleges  : — 

We  want  to  know  something  of  the  changes 
produced  in  the  nutritive  properties  of  grass 
by  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  hay-making. 
Grass  partially  dried  and  then  moistened  with 
dew,  parts  with  its  coloring  matter — becomes 
bleached.  Do  any  of  the  nutritive  cjualities 
also  evaporate  with  the  dew?  If  so,  what 
changes  have  the  gum,  sugar,  starch,  &c., 
undergone,  that  make  them  more  volatile  than 
before  the  grass  was  dried  ?  What  change  in 
the  nutritive  qualities  of  grass  does  heat  pro- 
duce that  is  generated  in  the  mow  or  cock,  by 
moisture  ?  If,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cock,  a  lit- 
tle heat  is  supposed  to  do  no  harm — why  may 
not  hay  which  in  a  stress  of  weather  is  put  into 
the  barn  a  little  too  damp,  have  the  decompo- 
sition arrested  by  salt  or  lime,  or  the  injuri- 
ous gases  absorbed  by  charcoal  ? 


— At  a  convention  held  in  Iowa  City,  Aug.  9th, 
the  Concord  grape  was  almost  unanimously  en- 
dorsed for  general  cultivation. 


THE   FARMER  FEEDETH   ALL. 


BY   CHARIjES   GODFREY   LELAND. 

My  lord  rides  through  his  palace  gate, 
My  lady  sweeps  along  in  state, 
Ttie  sage  thinks  long  on  many  a  thing, 
And  tile  maiden  muses  on  marrying; 
The  minstrel  harpeih  merrily, 
The  sailor  plows  the  foaming  sea, 
The  huntsman  kills  the  good  red  deer; 
And  the  soldii  r  wars  wilhouten  fear, 

But  fall  to  each  whatever  befall, 
The  farmer,  he  must  feed  them  all. 

Smith  hammereth  cherry  red  the  sword, 
Priest  preacheth  pure  the  Holy  Word, 
Dame  Alice  workvth  broidery  well, 
Clerk  Richard  tales  of  love  can  tell, 
The  tap- wife  sells  her  foaming  beer, 
Dan  Fisher  iisheth  in  the  mere, 
And  courtiers  riillU',  ntriit  and  shine. 
While  pages  brini;  llir  GafCdii  vine; 

Brit  fall  to  each  whatever  befall. 
The  farmer,  he  must  feed  t)iem  all. 

Man  builds  his  castle  fair  and  high, 
Wherever  river  runneth  by, 
Great  cities  rise  in  every  land, 
Great  churches  show  the  builder's  hand, 
Great  arches,  monuments  and  towers, 
Fair  palaces  and  pleasing  bowers; 
Great  work  is  done,  be  't  lierc  or  there. 
And  well  man  worketh  everywhere  ; 

But  work  or  rest,  ivhate'er  befall. 
The  farmer,  he  must  feed  them  aU. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


533 


DURHAM    OR    SHORT  HORTfED    BDTiIi. 


So  far  as  the  production  of  beef  is  con- 
cerned, there  is  no  breed  equal  to  the  Dur- 
ham. The  large  feeders  in  Kentuck}-,  Illinois 
and  other  Western  States  are  very  partial  to 
the  pure  and  grade  Shorthoi-ns,  and  the  best 
lots  of  Western  steers  at  the  Brighton  market 
are  strongly  marked  by  the  English  Teesioater, 
as  the  breed  was  at  first  called.  Some  fami- 
lies of  the  Durhams  are  very  good  milkers, 
though  at  present,  here  in  Massachusetts,  the 
Jerseys  seem  to  be  enjoying  a  large  share  of 
the  public  favor,  and  occupying  a  good  pro- 
portion of  the  exhibition  pens  of  our  fairs. 

Our  engraving  represents  a  Short  Horned 
bull  "Earl  Seaham"  which  received  a  prize  a 
few  years  ago  at  the  New  York  State  Agricul 
tural  Fair,   and  is  a  well-proportioned,  fine 
looking  animal. 


THE  STATE  AG'L  COLLEGE. 
We  are  informed  by  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Amherst,  that  the  prospects  of  this  new  insti- 
tution are  very  favorable.  lie  expressed  an 
opinion  that  it  would,  under  the  management 
of  an  energetic  and  able  President,  such  as  he 
considered  its  present  head,  prove  a  decided 
success.  It  opened  for  students  on  Tuesday, 
October  1,  according  to  previous  announce- 


ment.    The  first  freshman  class  is  composed 
;  as  follows  : — 

M.  F.  Capcy,  Wm.  BaiTOws,  Jr.,  George  G. 
Graves,  A.  Basset,  F.  A.  Hall,  G.  H.  Eastman, 
W.  H.  Carey,  George  H.  Bell,  Amherst;  W.  B. 
Greene,  Homer  L.  Cowles,  Hiulley  ;  J.  F.  Fisher, 
L.  B.  Caswcil,  Fit(hl)urg;  Wm.  P.  Bn-nie,  Spring- 
lield  ;  C.  A.  Ellsworth,  Barre  ;  C.  E.  Brown,  North- 
iimpton ;  A.  A.  Rankin,  Pelham ;  G.  A.  Alien, 
Marion  ;  A.  Southwick,  Belchertuwn  ;  F.  L.  Whit- 
ney, Boston  ;  W.  G.  Pratt,  North  Bridgcwater ;  G. 
C.  Woolson,  Hopkinton  ;  Wm.  Wheeler,  Concord ; 
L.  A.  Sparrow,  Medway ;  George  Leonard,  New 
Bedford ;  W.  H.  Banks," Phillipston  ;  S.  A  Nichols, 
Danvers ;  G.  P.  Strickland,  Amesljiny ;  J.  H. 
Herrick,  Lawrence;  W.  H.  Russell,  Sunderland. 

AVe  understand  that  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder,  of 
Dorchester,  and  Dr.  Nathan  Durfee,  of  Fall 
River  have  made  valuable  donations  to  the 
botanical  garden  attached  to  the  College. 

We  shall  watch  the  progress  of  this  experi- 
ment in  education  with  great  interest.  We 
believe  it  may  be  made  productive  of  great 
benefit  to  the  State, — if  not  in  the  manner 
which  its  originators  anticipated,  then  in  some 
equally  beneficial  form.  We  have  heard  the 
suggestion — and  were  favorably  impressed  by 
it — that,  at  the  least,  the  graduates  would  be 
fitted  for  and  admirably  adapted  to  the  con- 
ducting of  agricultural  newspapers,  having  the 
requisite  scientific  knowledge  to  detect  the 
fallacies  of  mere  theoretical  writers,  and  the 


634 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Nov. 


ability  to  clearly  and  forcibly  demonstrate  to 
the  agricultural  community  wherein  their 
practice  fell  short  of  securing  the  best  results 
possible  from,  the  means  at  their  conmiand. 
Practical  knowledge  of  farming  is  always  in- 
finitely better  than  theoretical  management, 
— but  it  seems  to  us  that  the  combination  of 
sound  theory  with  skilled  practice  is  alone 
needed  to  make  agriculture,  in  every  sense  of 
the  word,  one  of  the  professions,  or  arts,  if 
the  term  apply  better.  Such  theory  the  Col- 
lege course  is  designed  to  supply,  and  such 
practice  the  students  should  make  a  part  of 
their  Collegiate  course. 

But  we  have  our  College  in  working  order, 
the  first  class  creditable  for  unmbers,  and  we 
hope  enthusiastic  in  their  studies, — and  now, 
with  the  heartiest  wishes  for  its  success,  we 
await  the  report  which  shall  confirm  the  doubts 
of  the  skeptical,  or  justify  the  claims  of  the 
friends  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege.       

FENCES. 
The  materials  and  labor  required  to  build 
and  keep  fences  in  repair  are  among  the  heavy 
items  of  farm  expense.  The  cost  of  the  land 
on  which  they  stand  is  another  item  on  which 
J.  Harris  of  Rochester,  discourses  as  follows 
in  the  American  Agriculturist : — 

How  much  land  does  an  old-fashioned  fence 
occupy  ?  I  have  always  thought  it  took  up  a 
good  deal  of  land,  but  never  had  the  curiosity 
to  measure.  But  this  summer  we  have  been 
building  a  stone  wall  along  the  whole  west  side 
of  the  I'arm,  and  after  it  was  completed,  and 
the  old  fence  removed,  I  was  surprised  at  the 
quantity  of  land  we  had  gained.  The  ground, 
of  course,  might  have  been  ploughed  closer  to 
the  fence,  but  taking  the  case  as  it  actually 
was,  the  old  rail  fence,  with  stones,  weeds, 
rubbish,  &c.,  occupied  a  strip  of  land  one  rod 
wide.  A  field,  31  rods  long  and  31  rods  wide, 
contains  about  six  acres.  If  surrounded  by 
such  a  fence,  it  would  occupy  a  little  over 
three  quarters  of  an  acre  of  land.  A  farm  of 
160  acres  so  fenced  would  have  twenty  acres 
of  land  taken  up  in  this  worse  than  useless 
manner.  Not  only  is  the  use  of  the  land  lost, 
but  it  is,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  a  nursery  of 
weeds,  and,  in  ploughing,  much  time  is  lost  in 
turning,  and  the  headlands  and  corners  are  sel- 
dom properly  cultivated. 


Liquid  Manure. — The  best  liquid  manure 
that  we  have  tried  for  all  plants  in  pots,  is  that 
formed  by  pouring  thirty  gallons  of  rain  wa- 
ter over  one  peck  of  sheep's  dung  fresh  from 


the  pens,  and  one  peck  of  soot.  Stir  the  whole 
well  up  twice  a  day  for  two  or  three  days  ;  al- 
low the  liquid  to  stand  a  day  or  two  longer; 
then  stir  again,  and  use  it  for  watering  with 
once  or  twice  a  week.  A  pound  of  guano  in 
twenty  gallons  of  water,  along  with  half  a  peck 
of  soot,  win  form  one  of  the  best  liquid  ma- 
nures known. — American  Jour,  of  Sort. 


EXTRACTS   AND   REPLIES. 

AVILTED    CHERRY   LEAVES. 

It  was  stated  in  a  late  number  of  the  Farmer 
that  cattle  were  poisoned  by  eating  wilted  clierry 
leaves.  In  my  opinion  they  were  not  poisoned, 
but  choked.  I  saw  iwo  cows  that  had  eaten  cherry 
leaves.  On  opening  one  that  died,  a  bunch  of 
leaves  was  found  stuck  in  her  throat,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent her  swallowing,  and  thus  caused  her  death. 
The  other  was  in  great  agony  and  would  probably 
have  died  if  slie  had  not  been  relieved  soon.  This 
was  done  by  forcing  about  half  a  pound  of  the 
soft  end  of  a  strip  of  salt  pork  down  her  throat  till 
she  swallowed,  when  down  went  the  pork  and  the 
leaves  too.    Then  she  was  ready  to  eat  some  more. 

Brainiree,  Mass.,  Oct.  1,  1867.        E.  French. 

Remarks. — In  connection  with  tlie  facts  that 
we  have  seen  stated  in  some  of  our  exchanges,  of 
horses  being  made  sick  by  eating  wilted  grass,  the 
foregoing  statement  of  Mr.  F.  may  be  a  valuable 
and  suggestive  contribution  to  the  general  fund 
of  knowledge  upon  this  subject.  In  the  multitude 
of  counsellors  there  is  wisdom.  But  can  all  the 
symptoms  exhibited  by  animals  that  have  died,  or 
by  those  that  have  been  injuriously  affected  by 
eating  cherry  leaves,  be  accounted  for  on  Mr. 
French's  theory } 

In  the  account  of  the  sickness  and  death  of  the 
ox  in  Gilsum,  N.  H.,  published  in  the  Farmer  of 
September  7th,  it  was  stated  that  the  symptoms  of 
illness  were  first  noticed  in  his  eyes,  which  dis- 
charged a  watery  substance,  as  they  do  when  they 
have  been  hurt.  The  next  day  they  turned  a 
bluish  white,  and  the  ox  was  entirely  blind,  and 
appeared  to  be  in  great  pain,  and  did  not  eat,  Hi^ 
mouth  began  to  swell  and  corrupt,  with  an  offen- 
sive smell.  He  grew  worse  for  seven  days,  and 
then  died. 

Of  a  calf  that  died  in  Bolton,  Mass.,  from  eating 
leaves  that  were  broken  from  a  cherry  tree,  under 
which  he  was  tethered,  it  was  stated  in  an  account 
published  in  the  Monthly  Farmer  for  1855,  page 
386,  that  the  first  symptoms  were  excessive  costive- 
ness ;  the  animal  straining  and  showing  frequent 
uneasiness.  It  then  gradually  lost  its  appetite, 
and  exhibited  symptoms  of  blindness.  Continu- 
ing to  grow  worse,  the  poor  creature  ))egan  to 
tremble  violently,  moving  round  and  round  as  if 
tipsy  and  crazy,  moaning  piteously,  knocking  its 
head  meanwhile  against  anything  that  come  in  its 
way,  until  it  finally  dropped  down  and  expired. 

In  the  case  of  some  cows  in  PlymoiUh  county, 
Mass.,  the  symptoms  of  the  disease  were  first 
manifested  in  the  cream  from  their  milk,  which 
would  not  make  butter  as  readily  &<*  usual.    To 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


535 


ascertain  the  cause,  the  cows  were  watched  while 
in  pasture  and  seen  to  reach  over  a  wall  and  browse 
Bome  cherry  trees  within  their  reach.  After  chang- 
ing them  to  another  pasture  the  milk  resumed  its 
its  former  healthy  condition. 

Would  all  these  symptoms  have  been  manifested 
from  mere  choking  ? 

It  is,  we  believe,  no  uncommon  thing  to  find  a 
portion  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  in  the  throat 
of  slaughtered  animals ;  being  forced  there,  prob- 
ably, by  their  death  struggle.  Might  not  such 
have  been  the  case  with  the  bunch  of  leaves  that 
Mr.  French  found  in  the  throat  of  the  cow  that  he 
examined?  As  oil,  grease  and  fat  are  antidotes 
for  poison,  is  it  not  possible  that,  in  the  other  case 
alluded  to  by  Mr.  F.,  the  strip  of  soft  pork,  acting 
as  a  medicine,  counteracted  the  poison,  and  cured 
the  cow  that  he  says  was  so  soon  ready  to  eat  more 
of  the  cheiTy  leaves  if  she  could  get  at  them  ? 


PREPARE   FOR    SPRING   "WHEAT. 

Now  is  the  time  to  prepare  and  plow  your  ground 
for  spring  wheat — and  thus  save  time  when  pressed 
in  the  spring.  Manure  well,  and  plow  it  in  deep. 
Wheat  roots  strike  deep  for  nourishment  and  the 
gases  of  manure  come  up  by  evaporation.  Har- 
rowing in  wheat  is  a  fatal  error.  It  dries  and 
evaporates  too  quick,  leaving  the  roots  to  seek 
what  they  cannot  find.  It  should  be  ploughed. 
The  warm  uplands  are  preferable  for  this  grain. 

It  is  gratifying  to  read  in  your  paper  of  samples 
of  wheat  for  premiums  at  your  agricultural  shows. 
It  reminds  me  of  my  efforts  and  pleadings  twenty 
years  ago,  with  my  samples  of  wheat  on  exhibition, 
which  seemed  like  so  much  dead  wood  upon  the 
leaden  sensibilities  of  the  farmers.  Then  as  note, 
I  predicted  a  revolution  in  this  branch  of  agricul- 
ture. Sooner  or  later  the  whole  mass  of  New 
England  farmers,  excepting  Rhode  Island,  will 
raise  their  own  bread.  Four  acres  to  every  farmer, 
say  20  bushels  to  the  acre,  would  nearly  supply 
every  State  with  flour  and  save  over  thirty  millions 
of  dollars  per  annum.  These  figures  look  large, 
but  it  is  not  an  exaggerated  statement,  fixing  the 
fair  minimum  of  one  barrel  of  flour  to  each  indi- 
vidual per  annum. 

The  papers  state  that  the  average  crop  of  all  the 
West  combined  this  season,  is  but  12  bushels  to 
the  acre.  Your  farmers  down  east  would  not  be  sat- 
isfied with  this.  Wheat  can  be  sown  either  in 
spring  or  fall,  while  oats,  or  com,  or  barley,  or 
beans  must  bo  put  in  in  the  spring,  or  not  at  all. 

I  planted  wheat  in  my  yard  the  first  day  of 
September  last.  It  was  brined  and  ashed.  It 
made  its  appearance  in  four  days,  and  in  two 
weeks  it  was  thirteen  inches  high.  H.  Poor. 

Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Oct.,  1867. 


KEYES'    TOMATOES. 

There  is  considerable  discussion  upon  the 
merits  and  demerits  of  this  variety  of  toma- 
to, which  was  so  extensively  advertised,  I  may 
safely  say,  in  all  our  of  agricultural  papers,  repre- 
senting it  to  be  thirty  days  earlier,  more  productive, 
and  of  superior  flavor,  the  foliage  of  which  was 
without  scent.  With  me  it  has  tailed  in  all  these 
particulars,  although  I  procured  the  seed  from 
head-quarters,  and  gave  it  special  attention.  Plant- 
ed at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  row  with  the 
Tilden,  Lester's  Perfected,  Cook's  Favorite  and 
my  own  Seedling,  the  first  three  tomatoes  were 
pitked  from  Cook's  Favorite,  next  in  order  came 
my  own  Seedling,  following  came  the  Keyes  and 


Tilden,  and  last  Lester's  Perfected.  The  first 
bushel  was  picked  from  my  own  Seedling,  second 
f'nmi  the  Tilden,  third  from"  Cook's  Favorite,  fourth 
from  Keyes'  and  Cook's  Favorite.  The  scent  of 
the  foliage  from  Keys'  tomato  was  much  more  of- 
fensive than  from  any  of  the  other  varieties ;  it 
was  a  shy  Ijearer,  m  comparison  with  many  other 
kinds ;  quality  good,  equal  to  that  of  the  Tilton, 
or  Lester's.  I  think  it  does  not  compare  favorably 
with  more  common  varieties.  i. 

Salem,  Oct.  3,  1867. 


WINTER   AND    SPRING   WHEAT   IN    MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  accompanying  specimens  of  wheat  are  from 
two  crops  raised  on  my  farm  the  past  season.  As 
marked,  one  is  winter  and  the  other  spring  wheat. 
The  winter  wheat  is  known  as  the  "Amber." 

Winter  Wheat. 
The  winter  wheat  was  grown  on  118  rods  of 
land,  surveyed  after  crop  was  harvested,  which 
is  set  with  apple  trees,  nine  years  from  the 
nursery,  thirty  feet  apart  each  way.  In  1865  six- 
teen loads  of  barn  manure  were  applied  to  the  land, 
and  thirty-five  bushels  of  barley  were  raised  upon 
it.  The  year  before  it  was  planted  with  corn,  ma- 
nured in  the  hill.  The  soil  is  a  strong  loam,  and 
was  ploughed  six  to  ten  inches  deep  three  times 
before  sowing,  and  300  pounds  of  "Hayward's 
Compound"  was  used.  The  seed  was  sown  the 
20th  of  September,  1866,  and  the  crop,  22.^  l)ushels 
harvested  about  the  same  date,  1867.  Weight  of 
wheat  62  pounds  per  bushel. 

Crop,  in  Account. 
Dr.  Cr. 

Ploughing  3  times,     $6.00    22!^bu.wheatat$3.50,$77.75 
Harrowing,  .50    2158  lbs.  straw,  16  00 

One  bu.  seed,  4.00  

Sowing,  .50  Amount  93.75 

Reaping  and  binding,  6.00    Cost  of  production,        33,00 

Threshing  (4daya),      6-00  

Winnowing,  1.00    Profit,  $60.75 

300  fts.  "compound",  3.00 
Interest  and  taxes,      6.00 

Amount,  $33.00 

Spring  Wheat. 
The  acre  on  which  23^  bushels  of  spring  wheat 
were  raised,  was  planted  with  corn  last  year ;  six- 
teen loads  of  manure  from  cellar  and  horse  stable 
being  used  in  the  hill ;  producing  119  bushels  of  ears. 
The  soil  is  a  rather  light  loam,  and  was  ploughed 
six  to  eight  inches  deep,  three  times  in  the  spring. 
The  thorough  preparation  of  the  land  is  in  my 
opinion,  one  of  the  conditions  of  a  good  crop  of 
wheat.  The  manure  applied  this  year  was  26  loads 
barn  manure  and  600  pounds  of  "Hayward's  Com- 
pound." The  wheat  was  sowed  early  in  May,  and 
harvested  in  July  and  August. 

Crop,  in  Account. 
Dr.  Cr. 

Ploughing  3  times,      $9.00    23  bu.  wheat  $3,         $70.50 
Harrowing,  .75    2100  lbs.  straw,  14.00 

Seed,  2  bu.,  6.00  

Sowing,  .75  $84.50 

Reaping  4  days,  6.00    Cost  of  production,       70.50 

Binding,  1.00  

Threshing&winn'ing,  9  00    Profit,  $14.00 

6U0  tbs.  "compound,"  6.L0 
Interest  and  taxes,  8.00 
Manure,  %  of  value,    24.00 

Amount,  $70.50 

Elijah  Fitch. 
Hopkinton,  Mass.,  Sept.  28,  1867. 

Remarks. — It  gives  us  pleasure  to  present  the 
above  statement,  not  only  as  embodying  facts  of 
intrinsic  value,  but  as  a  model  for  those  who  wish 
to  communicate  results  of  such  practical  value. 


536 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov, 


Both  specimens  of  the  grain  sent  are  plump  and 
good.  We  have  now  five  specimens  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  one  of  Vermont  wheat. 

CHEMISTRY. 

That  I  may  not  be  tediously  prolix,  my  present 
remarks  will  be  confined  to  a  single  passage  in 
"Chemical  Terms,  No.  3." 

"When  vitality  has  left  organized  bodies,  their 
component  elements  are  at  once  seized  upon  by 
oxygen,  which  unites  with  their  nitrogen  and  con- 
verts it  into  atmos'iihcric  air,"  &c. 

With  one  exception,  the  statements  in  the  whole 
paragraph  arc  undoul)tedly  true,  in  the  sense  in- 
tended by  the  writer ;  ja't  it  is  to  he  regretted  that 
the  capacity  of  farmers  for  receiving  elementary 
instruction  is  assumed  to  be  so  weak  and  low  as  to 
require  such  inelegant  and  unscicntilie  language. 
The  ol)jt'ctionable  statement,  changing  somewhat 
the  phraseology,  seems  tol)ethat  in  the  decay  and 
dissolution  of  organized  and  azotized  Ijodies,  "oxv- 
gen  seizes  upon"  and  "unites  with  their  nitrogen 
and  converts  it  into  atmospheric  air."  Waiving, 
for  tlie  present,  all  objection  to  the  uncoutli  and 
somewhat  ludicrous  expression,  that  oxygen  seizes 
ttpo7i  the  various  elements  and  converts  them,  (for 
thei-e  is  no  proof  that  oxygen  is  not  as  much  the 
"seized  tipo)i"  as  the  seizer),  the  statement  in  rela- 
tion to  nitrogen  is  so  palpaljly  erroneous  and  ab- 
surd, that  we  are  unwilling  to  believe  that  the 
author  of  "Chemical  Terms"  lias  so  far  forgotten 
first  rudiments  as  to  put  forth  the  statement  in 
sober  earnest.  Perhaps  after  the  manner  of  peda- 
gogues, he  adroitly  coml)ines  an  intentional  error 
with  numerous  truths,  to  test  the  critical  acumen 
of  his  pupils. 

In  the  decay  of  azotized  matters,  some  have 
maintained  tliat  oxygen  coml)ines  with  nitrogen 
and  forms,  not  atmospheric  air,  but  nitric  acid; 
many  admit  that  the  nitrogen  passes  ofl"  into  the  at- 
mosphere as  a  simple  uncomljiiied  element,  while 
the  fact  is  too  oljvious  to  be  denied,  not  only  to 
chemists  but  to  every  careful  observer  of  nature, 
that  "ammonia,  a  ctmibination  of  hvdrugen  and 
nitrogen,  is  a  constant  product  of  the  decomposi- 
tion of  organic  substances  containing  nitrogen." 

The  merest  tyros  in  chemistry  well  understand 
that  atmospheric  air  is,  in  no  sense,  a  chemical 
union  or  combination  of  elements. 

Why  oxygen  should  be  accused  of  leaving  for 
awhile  its  most  indifierent  and  peaceful  associa- 
tion with  the  superabounding  volume  of  nitrogen 
in  the  atmosphere,  that  it  might  "seize  upon" — that 
for  wliich  it  has  no  passion  and  only  a  feeble 
affinit}- — some  humble  quantity  of  nascent  nitro- 
gen, or  some  nitrogen  in  loving  union  with  some 
other  element,  "converting  it  into  atmospheric 
air,"  and  subjecting  it  to  the  same  indifiereni  treat- 
ment accorded  to  atmospheric  nitrogen  in  general, 
is  more  than  we  can  understand. 

I.  B.  Hartwell. 
Wilkinsonville,  Mass.,  Sept.  30,  1867. 

AN  AllGl'MENT    FOR    THISTLES,    AND    HOW   TO    DE- 
STROY  THEM. 

I  frequently  see  in  your  paper  and  others,  ob- 
jections to  Canada  thistles,  with  ways  suggested 
to  get  rid  of  them.  Now  I  am  in  favor  of  tlie  tliis- 
tle.  I  never  liad  too  many  of  them  on  my  tillage 
land.  Tliey  make  good  Ibdder  for  any  kind  of 
stock.  When  in  hay  they  want  as  much  drying  as 
bay  anti  no  more.  I  have  cut  thistles  in  my  pas- 
ture for  fodder,  and  find  that  when  clear  the}'  need 
but  little  drying,  as  when  considerable  mouldy 
any  stock  will  eat  them  and  do  well  on  them,  but 
If  they  are  thoroughly  dried  they  arc  too  sliarp 
for  utock. 


Where  thistles  of  any  kind  grow  freely,  I  know 
there  is  good  land  for  grass,  grain,  or  other  crops. 
I  do  not  want  any  better  recommendation  of  any 
cultivated  land  than  to  know  that  thistles  grow 
freely.  But  I  do  not  want  them  in  my  pasture,  as 
I  think  they  are  an  injury  there.  Unless  too  se- 
verely stocked,  cattle  will  not  eat  the  feed  where 
the  thistle  grows  thick.  I  have  mowed  small 
patches  in  my  pasture,  and  find  that  after  they  are 
wilted  by  a  little  rain  or  dew,  the  stock  will  eat 
them.  But  if  the  oV>ject  is  to  drive  them  out  of 
the  pasture,  the  right  time  to  mow  them  is  said  by 
many  to  be  in  the  old  of  the  moon  in  August.  I 
have  lietter  success  in  mowing  them  later  in  the 
season,  because  the  longer  they  stand  up  the  larger 
the  cavity  in  the  stock  becomes,  and  the  surer  you 
are  of  killing  them.  I  think  the  rain  that  gets 
into  the  cavity  of  the  stock  rots  and  kills  the  this- 
tle. With  such  mowings  for  two  years  you  will 
not  have  many  thistles  in  your  pasture. 

Orison  Foster. 

Tiinbridge,  Vt.,  Oct.  1,  1867. 


HOW    TO    MAKE    WINE    FROM    GRAPES. 

Can  you  give  the  particular  information  of  the 
process  of  manufacturing  wine  from  grapes  ? 
Kendall's  Mills,  Me.,  Oct.  1,  1867.  D.  b. 

Remarks. — Those  who  preserve  the  Farmer 
will  find  directions  for  wine  or  cordial  making  in 
one  of  the  numbers  about  a  year  ago.  The  follow- 
ing method  is  recommended  by  a  correspondent  of 
the  Countri/  Gentleman.  It  is  for  a  barrel  of 
"Grape  Wine" : — "Get  anew  oak  forty  gallon  cask, 
five  or  six  bushels  of  grapes,  and  100  pounds  of  A. 
No.  1  hard  sugar.  Pick  the  grapes  carefully  from 
the  stems,  rejecting  all  unsound  ones,  put  them 
into  tubs  and  fill  to  cover  with  water.  Let  them 
stand  24  hours,  then  mash  in  some  convenient  way ; 
leaving  the  pulp  and  liquor  to  stand  again  48  hours, 
and  then  strain  into  other  tubs.  In  the  operation 
avoid  contact  with  all  metals,  especially  iron,  be- 
cause it  gives  a  dirty  color,  and  brass  and  copper 
because  they  are  poisonous.  After  the  first  strain- 
ing wash,  and  wash  again  the  seeds  and  pulp  with 
a  little  water  each  time,  and  all  the  desirable  solu- 
ble matter  of  the  grape  will  be  obtained.  Distrib- 
ute the  liquor  into  tubs  and  add  the  100  pounds  of 
sugar  and  water  sufficient  to  make  4o  gallons,  in 
all.  Put  40  gallons  into  the  barrel,  reserving  the 
five  gallons  to  fill  the  cask  from  day  to  day,  as 
the  spume  works  off"  at  the  bung.  When  the  ac- 
tive fermentation  has  passed,  say  in  the  course  ot 
three  or  four  weeks,  bung  up  tightly.  In  from 
three  to  six  months  a  palatable  liquor  will  have 
been  developed,  and  if  I  am  rightly  informed,  the 
100  pounds  of  sugar  will  have  changed,  first  into 
grape  sugar,  and  then  into  50  pints  of  absolute 
alcohol." 


bees  and  bee-bread. 

It  appears  that  I  did  not  convince  your  coiTCS- 
pondcnt  "F."  that  his  l)ees  did  not  j)erish  for  the 
laik  of  l)ec-l)read ;  neither  do  I  believe  they  died 
from  that  cause.  If  he  lives  in  a  region  where 
bees  can't  collect  enough  l)cc-l)r('ad  to  keep  up 
breeding  tlirough  warm  weather,  my  atlvice  to 
him  is,  titlier  remove  to  some  place  where  the 
land  is  better,  or  else  sell  his  bees.  I  don't  under- 
stand why  it  is  that  some  of  his  bees  die  for  a  lack 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


537 


of  bee-bread,  and  others  do  not.  His  bees  must 
leave  off  breeding  very  early  in  tlie  summer,  to 
have  them  die  of  old  age.  Bees  hatched  in  Sep- 
tember can  be  found  in  the  hive  in  April,  and  May, 
often.  This  any  bee-keeper  can  vouch  for,  who 
has  had  an  Italian  queen  introduced  in  the  month 
of  September. 

Broods  cannot  be  found  in  any  hive  which  has 
not  been  fed,  later  than  October  1.5,  and  in  most 
hives  after  October  1st.  I  do  not  want  my  bees 
to  commence  breeding  earlier  than  the  first  of 
March,  and  then,  if  we  have  a  few  warm  days,  I 
give  them  a  substitute  for  bee-bread,  which  they 
will  can  y  in  enough  of,  in  one  hour,  to  last  them 
two  or  three  weeks.  I  mix  wheat  flour  with  rye 
meal,  and  they  will  carry  in  as  much  of  it  in  one 
hour,  as  thc.y  will  of  rye  meal  in  six. 

If  "F.,"  or  any  other  bee-keeper,  will  put  some 
rye  meal  in  a  warm  place  in  the  spring,  and  after 
the  bees  are  well  at  work,  put  in  some  flour  with 
the  meal,  he  will  soon  see  ten  bees  where  there 
was  only  one  before.  I  have  used  flour  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  I  never  knew  or  heard  that  any 
other  bee-keeper  in  the  country  used  it.  If  "F." 
will  come  to  Wenham,  I  will  show  him  fifty-one 
stocks  of  bees,  which  did  not  have  in  September, 
1866,  one  ]iound  o!'  honey  to  a  hive ;  and  now  those 
fifty-one  stocks  have  increased  to  eighty-five,  and 
have  stored  one  ton  of  svrphis  honey. 

The  colonies  which  carry  in  rye  meal  first,  and 
seem  to  work  in  it  most,  always  prove  to  be  the 
ones  which  swarm  first,  and  store  the  most  honey. 
We  have  lost  bees  in  the  same  way  in  which  "F." 
has ;  but  we  know  that  they  starved  with  plenty 
of  honey  in  the  combs.  There  was  no  winter  pas- 
sage through  the  combs.  Out  of  thirty  Lang- 
stroth's  hives,  which  one  bee-keeper  wintered  bees 
in  last  winter,  only  one  was  lost;  and  in  this  one 
he  failed  to  make  the  winter  passages  through  the 
combs.  H.  Alley. 

Wenham,  Mass.,  1867. 


APPLE  BLOSSOM — aUERY. 

Why  is  it  that  the  apple  trees  which  flowered  so 
abundantlv  last  spring,  have  so  little  fruit  on  tht-ni  ? 
Because  the  vitaliiy  of  the  trees  was  so  far  exhaust' din 
maturir.g  so  many  flowers  that  they  were  unable  to  car- 
ry out  fruit  —Farmington,  Me.,  Chronicle 

Think  so  ?  Nature  at  fault !  Did  you  ever 
know  a  good  apple  crop  when  there  was  a  scarcit}^ 
of  flowers  ?  Rather,  there  is  a  defect  in  the  flow- 
ers thcni>elves,or  there  is  some  unfavorable  influ- 
ence which  acts  upon  the  flowers  to  destroy  their 
vitality,  to  be  looked  for,  than  a  superabundance. 

"We  cannot  conceive  that  it  much  more  seriously 
exhausts  a  tree  to  produce  a  crop  of  flowers  than 
a  crop  of  leaves.  It  is  the  fruit  which  calls  for 
and  must  be  supplied  with  material  or  food  that 
exhausts. 

There  is  sometimes  a  disparity  in  the  relative 
proportion  of  the  sexes,  observable  in  the  flowers 
of  the  apple  tree,  as  well  as  in  other  fruit  flowers, 
well  knowu  to  horticulturists  as  a  cause  of  ste- 
rility. 

Climatic  changes  will  be  shown,  probably  before 
many  years,  from  careful  observations,  now  being 
made  in  this  State  and  Massachusetts,  to  account 
forniuch  of  the  disappointment  which  we  occasion- 
ally experience  when  our  orchards  are  seen  to  be 
in  full  bloom,  and  we  confidently  expect  an  apple 
crop. 

Just  how  hot,  or  just  how  cold  it  has  to  be  to 
destroy  the  Iflossoms  is  not,  as  yet,  ascertained,  as 
far  as  I  am  aware ;  but  it  is  found  that  there  is 
moie  danger  from  heat  than  from  cold,  at  the  sea- 
son of  rtowerage. 

An  extreme  hot  afternoon  with  a  clear  sun- 
shine, the  glory  and  beauty  of  the  day  and  of  the 
season,  and  in  one  to  three  days  look  at  your 


beautifully  full  blown  apple  trees  and,  behold, 
where  are  those  delicately  variegated  flowers,  in 
which,  but  as  yesterday,  the  hum  of  a  thousand 
voices  might  be  heard  ?  They  are  withered, 
scorched,  dried  up  and  falling  otf,  by  a  kiss  from 
old  Sol,  as  he  came  forth  in  liis  glory,  to  bid  the 
earth  awake  and  bring  forth  her  fruit  in  due  sea- 
son. O.  W.  True. 
Farmington,  Me.,  Sept.  27,  1867. 

CATTLE   STANCHIOXS. 

In  your  last  issue  1  notice  a  communication 
from  "A.  L.  W.,"  Hope,  Me.,  informing  us  that  he 
uses  a  "kind  of  stanchion  for  cattle  that  are  as  easy 
as  chains,  while  they  are  more  safe,  convenient, 
and  much  better  every  way ;"  but  he  neglected  to 
tell  us  how  they  are  constructed. 

As  I  feel  much  interest  for  the  comfort  of  all 
dumb  beasts,  and  especially  in  keeping  cows  neat 
and  clean,  as  well  as  safe  and  comfortaijlc,  I  would 
be  obliged  to  him  if  he  would  inform  us  through 
the  columns  of  the  Farmer,  how  to  construct 
the  stanchion  he  uses. 

HARVESTIXG   WHEAT. 

Why  will  not  farmers  learn  to  cut  their  wheat 
while  the  kernel  is  soft  ?  By  doing  so  they  would 
get  more  and  much  better  iiour,  than  they  do  to 
let  it  stand  till  it  is  fully  ripe,  and  also  avoid  much 
of  the  risk  of  rain  storms  during  the  harvest,  as 
it  will  bear  more  wet  without  injury  than  when 
ripe.  L.  D.  Corliss. 

Oxford,  N.  H.,  Aug.  21,  1867. 

CURES    for   CATARRH. 

I  see  an  inquiry  for  a  cure  for  chronic  catarrh, 
in  your  paper,  which  I  think  I  can  answer  satisfac- 
torily, though  I  am  not  an  M.  D.,  nor  the  son  of 
an  M.  D.  If  "C.  A.  M."  will  smoke  a  pipeful  of 
smoking  tobacco,  three  times  a  day,  in  an  ordinary 
pipe  and  swallow  the  smoke,  then  hreathe  it  out  of 
the  nostrils,  and  continue  it  faithfully  for  two 
months  I  am  confident  the  catarrh  will  leave  him 
as  it  did  me  after  being  afflicted  two  years. 

Ripon,  Vt.,  Sept.  28,  1867.  RusTiCUS. 

Remarks. — We  think  if  the  catarrh  didn't  leave 
after  such  treatment  it  must  be  a  pretty  tough 
customer.  While  our  hand  is  in,  we  may  as  well 
give  another  "cure,"  and  save  somebody  a  doctor's 
hill.  Take  a  teaspoonful  each  of  sulphur  and  of 
tar,  and  after  mixing  them  well  together  set  fire  to 
the  compound  and  inhale  the  smoke;  having  first 
cleared  the  nose  and  head  by  the  use  of  snuff,  or 
salt  and  water. 


COAL    TAR   FOR   A    ROOF. 

I  wish  for  the  necessary  information  as  to  time 
and  manner  of  applying  coal  tar  to  the  roof  of  a 
barn  whi.  h  was  built  the  present  season,  and  cov- 
ered with  sawed  fir  shingles.  The  size  of  the 
building  is  25x40.  Roof  rather  steep.  About 
what  quantity  will  it  need  ? 

Stephen  Chandler. 

Fryeburg,  Me.,  Sept.  23,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  cannot  answer  these  questions. 
Our  impression  is  that  it  would  he  better  to  employ 
an  experienced  workman,  than  to  attempt  to  do 
the  job  yourself. 

cure  and  prevention  of  botts. 

Take  of  mullein  roots  (or  roots  and  leaves,  or 

leaves  or  the  top  in  blossom)  tliree  quarts,  dry  or 

green  ;  boil  in  two  or  three  quarts  of  water,  down  to 

one  quart,  which  will  be  black  likecotfee.    Diench 


638 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


the  horse,  and  at  once  the  cure  is  completed,  witn  no 
harm  to  the  horte.  The  medicine  is  slightly  loos- 
ening to  the  bowels.  To  prevent  horses  having 
botts,  give  in  feed  of  oats,  meal  or  fine  cut,  two  or 
three  dried  leaves  of  mullein,  riii)lx'd  tine  in  the 
hands,  once  a  week.  That  gathered  in  blossom  is 
best.  Van  Dooen. 

Vermont,  Oct.  1,  1867. 

CATTLE   STANCHIONS. 

A  writer,  without  name,  in  referring  to  my  arti- 
cle on  cattle  stanchions  in  the  Farmer  of  Aug. 
17,  sa.ys  that  I  neglected  to  tell  him  how  to  con- 
struct them.  1  will  reply  by  saying  that  the  stan- 
chions that  I  use  are  the  Saffoi'd  Patent, 

Hope,  Me.,  Sept.  30,  1867.  A.  L.  w. 


BLACK   KNOT. 

Mr.  H.  G.  Allen,  of  North  Bridgewater,  Mass., 
informs  us  that  he  has  been  very  successful  in  the 
treatment  of  the  black  knot  on  his  plum  trees  by 
cutting  the  knots  off  carefully  and  applying  to  the 
wound  a  little  spirits  of  turpentine. 

CLUBFOOT. 

This  is  one  of  the  troubles  which  often  discour- 
age those  who  attempt  to  raise  cabbages,  &c.  We 
were  informed  by  a  gardener,  the  other  day,  that 
by  planting  in  hills  where  they  are  to  grow,  and 
throwing  on  a  handful  of  ashes  after  covering  the 
seed,  he  is  not  troubled  with  this  disorder  in  his 
plants. 


AQBlCULTUKAIi   ITEMS. 

— Have  you  any  implements  rotting  or  rusting 
out  in  the  weather  ? 

— Barton,  Orleans  county,  Vt.,  produced  1177 
tubs  or  62,562  pounds  of  butter  during  the  months 
of  August  and  September. 

— A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gentleman 
Bays  that  farms  can  be  bought  now  in  Central  Il- 
linois, for  about  the  figures  of  ten  years  ago. 

— Including  the  pennanent  improvements  of  Mr. 
Mechi's  farm,  it  is  said  the  cost  per  acre  is  equal 
to  $500. 

— The  quantity  of  sorghum  grown  this  year  in 
Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  is  said  to  be  much  less 
than  last  year  or  the  year  before. 

— Henry  Daniels,  of  Williamstown,  has  a  cow 
only  14  months  and  27  days  old,  which  has  given 
birth  to  A  large  and  healthy  calf. 

— The  Agriculturist,  Jucunda  and  other  choice 
eastern  strawl)crries  fail  to  meet  the  expectations 
of  Western  cultivators. 

— The  Journal  of  Horticulture  says  that  Gladio- 
lus can  be  raised  from  seed,  and  perhaps  better 
flowers  be  olitaincd  than  from  imported  bulbs. 

— The  Prairie  Farmer  says  that  one  pint  of 
strained  honey  mixed  with  two  gallons  of  water, 
will  make  excellent  vinegar,  after  standing  three 
weeks. 

— ^The  Utica  Tlerald  of  Oct.  8th,  quotes  the  price 
of  cheese  from  i)rivate  dairies  at  14  to  15c,  from 


factories  14|  to  16c,  with  some  prime  extra  at  17c 
per  lb.,  and  says,  "the  quantity  of  fine  cheese  in 
the  country  is  quite  limited  and  prices  for  our  best 
factories  it  seems  to  us  must  advance." 

— A  fat  cow  of  Durham  grade  was  recently 
slaughtered  in  London,  which  weighed  when  killed 
1950  pounds,  and  yielded  340  pounds  of  rough  tal- 
low. 

— It  is  reported  that  an  agricultural  society, 
somewhere  in  the  State  of  New  York,  offers  larger 
premiums  for  butter  and  cheese  than  it  does  for 
horse-racing. 

— The  grape  crop  along  the  lakes  is  good,  but  on 
the  Atlantic  coast  from  Maryland  to  Massachusetts 
there  is  great  complaint  of  the  fruit  being  late  and 
much  injured  by  the  rot,  in  consequence  of  the 
unfavorable  season. 

— On  the  22d  of  August,  an  ox  belonging  to  Mr. 
Alvin  Morse,  of  Newfane,  Vt.,  was  missed  from 
his  pasture.  Nine  days  after  he  was  found  in  a 
piece  of  woods  with  his  head  between  two  trees 
where  he  had  remained  for  this  time  unable  to  ob- 
tain any  food  or  even  to  lie  down. 

— Josh  Billings,  in  describing  the  horse  fair  of 
the  Billingsville  Agricultural  Society,  says  :  "There 
was  tew  yoke  ov  oxen  on  the  gi'ound,  besides  sev- 
eral yokes  ov  sheep,  and  a  pile  of  carrots,  and 
some  wosted  work,  but  they  didn't  seem  to  attract 
enny  sympathy.  The  people  hanker  for  pure  ag- 
ricultural hoss-trots." 

— A  new  grass  is  springing  up  in  the  Southern 
States.  It  appears  to  be  a  dwarf  clover,  is  very 
thick  set,  covering  the  earth  with  a  beautiful  car- 
pet of  green.  It  is  much  relished  by  cattle,  and  is 
a  complete  exterminator  of  Bermuda,  joint,  sedge, 
and  other  grasses.  In  Middle  Georgia  it  is  very 
abundant  and  is  attracting  much  attention. 

— There  is  a  tree  standing  on  the  farm  of  Levi 
Graves,  in  Leverett,  Mass.,  that  rises  from  the 
ground  by  two  distinct  trunks,  standing  a  foot 
apart.  Each  trunk  is  more  than  a  foot  in  diame- 
ter, and  straight  and  well  formed.  They  run  up 
twenty  feet  or  more,  and  then  join  in  a  solid  single 
trunk,  forming  a  beautiful  top  like  any  single  tree. 

— In  his  address  at  the  late  Pomological  Con- 
vention at  St.  Louis,  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder  al- 
luded to  the  fact  that  history  informs  us  that  "the 
planting  of  vineyards  in  Italy  had  so  much  in- 
creased about  A.  D.  85,  that  agriculture  was  there- 
by neglected ;  on  which  account  Domitian  issued 
an  edict  prohibiting  any  new  vineyards  to  be 
planted  in  Italy,  and  ordered  one-half  of  those  in 
the  provinces  to  be  cut  down." 

— It  appe.irs  that  drought  this  year  has  prevailed 
over  a  wide  extent  of  country.  In  the  western 
part  of  New  York  it  has  been  severe,  while  in  the 
eastern  and  middle  portion  of  the  State  there  has 
been  comparatively  little  rain  since  last  July.  In 
the  dairy  region  the  supply  of  after  feed  is  much 
less  than  usual.    The  editor  of  the  Ohio  Farmer, 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


539 


in  a  recent  tour  from  Cleveland  to  Pittsburgh, 
found  tiic  farmers  feeding  liay  to  tlieir  cattle  as  in 
mid  winter.  A  correspondent  of  the  Country  Gen- 
tleman, writing  in  central  Illinois,  says  half  the 
wells  in  the  county  are  waterless,  and  pasturage  is 
very  short.  This  lias  caused  a  rush  of  cattle  to 
market  and  brought  prices  down  as  low  as  2^a3c 
per  lb.,  live  weight,  for  good  thin  steers. 

— Italy  continues  to  supply  large  quantities  of 
cattle  to  France. 

— In  Florida,  peaches  will  not  grow.  Where 
peaches  end,  oranges  commence. 

— A  few  years  ago,  a  committee  was  appointed 
by  the  House  of  Commons,  to  examine  and  re- 
port as  to  a  remedy  for  the  hop  louse,  but  could 
find  none  better  than  hand  picking. 

— Several  capitalists  of  Dutchess  county,  N.  Y., 
have  recently  purchased  1200  acres  of  land,  on  the 
Lake  Shore  railroad,  between  Dunkirk  and  Erie, 
for  extensive  vineyard  planting.  Germans  from 
the  Rhine  districts  are  to  be  obtained  as  laborers. 

— Just  now  the  Kerry  cattle  are  commended, 
because  they  thrive  in  cold  climates  and  on  little 
food,  and  give  such  rich  milk.  In  England  a 
Kerry  cow  is  valued  at  ^GoO.  It  is  suspicious  that 
fancy  stock  is  always  scarce. 

— Mr.  T.  Jones,  of  South  Hadley,  Mass.,  who 
has  three  acres  in  strawberries,  says  in  the  Home- 
stead, that  after  having  tried  more  than  twenty  va- 
rieties he  has  settled  down  on  the  Wilson  and  Fill- 
more for  the  main  crop,  and  the  Early  Scarlet  and 
Triomph  de  Gand  for  early  and  late. 

— Anxious  to  help  the  speculators  in  their  blood- 
chilling  stories  of  the  drought,  a  western  paper 
records  the  fact  that  in  some  parts  of  Illinois  the 
drought  is  so  severe  that  not  only  are  the  wells 
destitute  of  water,  but  the  holes  themselves  have 
dried  up. 

— The  cattle  reporter  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  says, 
"it  will  cost  farmers  10  cents  per  lb.,  at  the  present 
price  of  corn,  to  make  pork,  and  as  they  cannot 
reasonably  expect  to  realize  over  $6a6.7'5  for  live 
weights,  it  is  to  their  advantage  to  sell  their  grain 
and  send  in  their  hogs,  although  but  partially 
fattened. 

— Having  been  often  told  that  anything  would 
do  for  seed  potatoes,  a  correspondent  of  the  Rural 
New  Yorker  planted  four  rows  of  twenty  hills 
each,  in  the  centre  of  his  field  with  the  following 
result : — 

Marketable 

1  large  potato  in  a  bill  yielded  67 


4  small 

4  cut  " 

8  ejes  only 


Small. 

24 

37 

37 

13}^ 


— On  opening  the  State  Fair  of  Iowa,  President 
Melendy,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  said :  "We 
do  not  desire  a  great  overshadowing  federal  insti- 
tution, which  shall  attempt  to  direct  or  control  ag- 
ricultural matters.  We  hang  our  hopes  for  agri- 
cultural progress  in  this  country  upon  the  common 


schools,  the  State  agricultural  colleges,  the  agri- 
cultural newspapers,  and  agricultural  associations 
established  so  tliickly  throughout  the  f  ountry." 


American  Short  Horns  in  tiik  Royal 
Stables. — We  recently  noticed  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  II.  O.  Sheldon's  shipment  of  New  York 
Short  Horns  in  England,  and  the  fact  that  the 
animals  were  sent  into  quarantine.  Tlie  state- 
ment is  now  made  in  the  Country  Gentleman 
that  Mr.  Tait,  bailiff  to  her  Majesty,  has  ten- 
dered to  Mr.  Page,  who  has  these  cattle  in 
charge,  the  use  of  the  royal  stables  at  Wind- 
sor Park,  and  the  privilege  of  offering  them 
for  sale  in  connection  with  the  herd  of  the  late 
Princess  Consort,  which  was  to  be  sold  on  the 
16th  of  October. 

We  regret  to  learn  that  the  farm  buildings 
of  Mr.  Sheldon,  at  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  were  re- 
cently destroyed  by  fire,  with  the  loss  of  one 
of  his  Duchess  cows  and  three  calves. 


From  Dr.  Holland's  new  Poem,  "Kathrina." 
A   DAY  IN   AUTUMN. 


The  breezy  dayB 
Over  whose  waves  my  buoyant  life  careered, 
Rolled  to  October,  falling  on  its  beach 
With  bursts  of  mellow  music;  and  I  leaped 
Upon  tho  longed-for  shore;  for,  in  that  month, 
My  dear  betrothed  dtferiing  to  the  stress 
Of  my  impatient  wish,  had  promised  me 
Her  band  in  wedlock. 

Ere  the  happy  day 
Dawned  on  the  world,  the  world  was  draped  in  robes 
Meet  f  ir  the  nuptials.     Baths  of  sunny  haze, 
Steeping  the  ripened  leaves  from  day  to  day, 
And  dainty  kisses  of  the  frost  at  night, 
Joined  in  the  subtile  alchemy  that  wrought 
Such  miracles  of  change,  that  myriad  trees 
Whicli  pranked  the  meads  and  clothed  the  forest  glooms 
Bloomed  with  the  tints  of  Eden.    Had  the  earth 
Been  splashed  with  blood  of  grapes  from  every  clime. 
Tinted  from  topaz  to  dim  carbuncle, 
Or  orient  ruby,  it  would  not  have  been 
Drenched  with  such  waste  of  color.     All  the  hues 
The  rainbow  knows,  and  all  that  meet  the  eye 
In  Ilowers  of  field  and  garden,  joined  to  tell 
Each  tree's  close-folded  secret.     Side  by  side 
Rose  sister  maples,  some  in  amber  gold, 
Others  incarnadine  or  tipped  with  flame; 
And  oaks  that  for  a  hundred  years  had  stood. 
And  flouted  one  another  through  the  storms — 
Boai-ting  their  might — proclaimed  their  pique  or  pride 
In  dun,  or  dyes  of  Tyre.    The  sumac  leaves 
Bbized  with  such  scarlet  that  the  crimson  fruit 
Which  hung  among  their  flames  was  touched  to  guise 
Of  dim  and  dying  embers;  while  the  hills 
That  met  the  t-ky  at  the  horizon's  rim — 
Dabbled  with  rose  among  the  evergreens, 
Or  stretching  ofl'  in  sweeps  of  clouted  crimson — glowed 
As  if  the  archery  of  sunset  clouds. 
By  squads  and  fierce  battalions,  had  rained  down 
Its  barbed  and  feathered  fire,  and  left  it  fast 
To  advertise  the  exploit. 

In  such  pomp 
Of  autumn  glory,  by  the  simp'lest  rites, 
Kathri  a  gave  her  hand  to  me,  and  I 
Fledged  truth  and  life  to  her.     I  bore  her  home 
Through  shocks  of  maize,  revealing  half  their  gold, 
Past  gazing  harvesters  with  creaking  wains 
That  brimnn-d  withfrui  age— my  adored,  my  wife, 
Fruition  of  my  hope — the  proudest  freight 
That  ever  passed  that  way  I 


540 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


Nov. 


BANTAM  FO^WLS. 


The  Bantams,  though  ex- 
tremely small  in  size  are  ele- 
gantly formed  and  beautiful 
birds.  They  are  the  Lillipu- 
tians of  the  poultry  tribe ; 
very  domestic  in  their  habits, 
and  often  making  their  nests 
in  the  kitchen,  if  permitted  to 
do  so.  They  require  but  lit- 
tle food,  and  will  thrive  when 
cooped  up  in  a  small  yard,  if 
supplied  with  dry  ashes,  sand 
and  sunshine.  Mr.  Bement 
says  they  arrive  at  maturity 
early,  are  faithful  sitters,  good 
mothers,  and  will  lay  more 
eggs,  though  small,  than  any 
other  variety.  Still  they  must 
be  considered  rather  as  ob- 
jects of  curiosity  than  utility. 
But  if  "a  thing  of  beauty  is  a 
joy  forever,"  may  not  these 
pugnacious,  active,  pompous 
little  creatures  be  ranked  with 
those  cheap  amusements  which 
please,  occupy,  and  instruct  the  little  ones  of 
our  households,  though  the  more  sedate  heads 
of  the  family  may  prefer  the  stately  Dorkings 
or  Brahmapootras  ? 

The  large  cut  shows  a  common  variety  of 
Bantams.  In  the  small  cut  is  represented  the 
Sebright    Bantam,    which   is    pronounced   by 


Mr.  Bement  as  "the  prettiest  of  all  domes- 
tic fowls."  He  says  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able characteristics  of  the  Sebright  cock  is 
the  total  absence  of  both  hackle  and  saddle 
feathers;  he  is  also  perfectly  '■'hen  tailed,'''' 
that  is,  devoid  of  sickle-feathers ;  the  principal 
feathers  being  straight  and  forming  a  square 


tail,  like  that  of  the  hen,  perfectly  upriglit  and 
not  inclining  to  either  side.  The  comb  must 
be  double,  terminating  in  a  well-formed  point, 
while  the  legs  and  feet  are  blue,  and  wholly 
free  from  the  least  appearance  of  a  feather. 
There  are  two  distinct  varieties,  well  known, 
one  as  the  "Gohlen-laced,"  the  other  as  the 
Silver-laced"  Bantam.  Every  feather  from 
the  head  to  the  tail  of  a  well-bred  Sebright  is 
"laced"  or  bordered  all  round  the  edge  with  a 
line  of  pure  black,  about  one-sixteenth  of  an 
inch  in  width. 

The  gait  of  a  Sebright  Bantam  is  the  very 
extreme  of  self-esteem,  vanity,  and  self-assur- 
ance, and  when  silently  walking  on  a  lawn  in 
search  of  insects  in  the  grass,  or  hurrying 
with  the  most  agile  and  noisy  impatience  from 
the  too  near  advance  of  your  favorite  dog  to 
some  friendly  covert  of  evergreens,  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  a  more  lovely  ornament 
to  your  grounds,  or  one  that  claims  more  gen- 
eral admiration  and  astonishment  from  those 
who  thus  see  them  for  the  first  time. 


1867. 


XEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


541 


COMPARATIVE   VALUE    OP   PODDEB.. 

Wc  should  like  to  know  the  comparative  value, 
or  ratio  of  value,  of  English  hay,  rowen,  Hunga- 
rian grass,  ai'.d  green  cut  oats  as  IVjod  for  milch 
cows.  Also  after  cows  are  lioused  for  the  winter, 
how  they  should  be  fed  ?  What  quantity  of  hay, 
root  crops,  slioits,  fine  feed,  oil  jneal  or  middlings 
orof  eiih'.r,  should  he  fed  to  them  daily?  Wc 
rarely  Ihid  a  farmer  who  can  tell  us  how  much  hay, 
in  weight,  a  cow  will  ordinarily  consume  a  day, 
either  wiih  or  without  other  food.       Inquirer. 


Remarks. — The  incjuiries  of  our  correspon- 
dent are  searching — they  go  deep.  We  doubt 
•whether  the  exact  information  he  desires  is  at- 
tainable here,  or  in  any  other  country ;  and 
yet,  they  are  the  very  things  we  ought  to  know. 
Perhaps  the  Massuchuseiis  Agricultural  Col- 
lege will  shed  light  upon  them,  when  it  is  well 
under  way.  We  find  tables  in  the  scientific 
books  which  may  aflTord  some  gratification  to 
the  reader.  One  of  them  is  prefixed  by 
the  remarks,  that  "in  the  ease  of  the  ox  the 
daily  waste  or  loss  of  muscle  and  tissue  re- 
quires that  he  should  consume  20  to  24  ounces 
of  gluten  or  albumen,  which  will  be  supplied 
by  any  of  the  following  weights  of  vegetable 
food : — 

Turnips 120  lbs. 

C.ibbage 70  " 

Wiieat,  or  other 

white  grain.   .   .  11   " 

Beans  or  peas    .   .  6   " 

Oil  cake 4  " 


English  hay    . 

.  .      20  lbs 

Clover  hay   .   . 

.   .      16  " 

Oat  t-lraw    .   . 

.   .    ll'.i   " 

Pea  straw    .   . 

.   .      12  " 

Potatoes    .   .   . 

.   .      6j  " 

Carrots  .... 

.   .      70   " 

If  common  hay  be  taken  as  the  standard  of 
comparison,  then,  to  yield  the  same  amount  of 
nourishment  as  14  lbs.  of  hay,  experiments  on 
feeding  made  by  different  persons,  and  in  dif- 
ferent countries,  say  that  a  weight  of  the  other 
kinds  of  food  must  be  given,  which  is  repre- 
sented by  the  number  opposite  to  each  article 
in  the  following  table  : — 


Hay 

Clover  hay  . 
Green  clover 
Wheat  straw 
Barley  straw 
Oat  straw  .  . 
Pea  straw  .  . 
Potatoes  .  . 
Old  potatoes  . 
Carrots,  (red) . 


Carrots,  (white) 


8  to  10  " 

Mansjold  wurtzel 

45  "  50  " 

Turnips     .   .   . 

4't  "50  " 

Cabbage    ...    2 

20  "  40  " 

Peas  and  beans 

20  "  4't  " 

Wheat  .... 

10"  15  " 

Barley  .... 

20  " 

Oats 

40?" 

Indian  corn  .   . 

25  "  30  " 

Oil  cake    .  .  . 

45  lbs. 

35  " 

50  " 

20  to  30  " 

3"    5  " 

5"    6  " 

5"    6  " 

4"    7  " 

5  " 

2"    4  " 


Another  statement  is,  that  the  generally  nu- 
tritive value  of  different  kinds  of  food  has 
also  been  repi-esented  theoretically,  by  sup- 
posing it  to  be  very  nearly  in  proportion  to 
the  quantity  of  nitrogen,  or  of  gluten,  which 
vegetables  contain.  Though  this  cannot  be 
considered  as  a  correct  principle,  yet  as  the 
ordinary  kinds  of  food  on  which  stock  is  fed 
contain  an  ample  supply  of  carbon  for  respira- 
tion, with  a  comparatively  small  proportion  of 


Cabbage  .  .  . 
l^eas  and  beans 
Wheat    .  .  .  . 
BarUy    .   .   .   . 
Oats 

30  to  40 

2"    3 

b 

<o 

5 

Kye .  .    .... 

Indian  corn  .  . 

Bran 

Oil  cake  .  .  .  . 

6 
2 

nitrogen,  these  theoretical  determinations  are 
by  no  means  without  their  value,  and  they  ap- 
proath,  in  many  cases,  very  closely  to  the 
practical  values  above  given,  as  deduced  from 
actual  trial.  Thus  assuming  that  10  lbs.  of 
hay  }ield  a  certain  amount  of  nourishment, 
then  of  the  other  vegetable  substances  it  will 
be  necessary,  according  to  theory,  to  give  the 
following  quantities,  in  order  to  produce  the 
same  general  effect  in  feeding : — 

Hay 10  lbs.  Carrots,  (retl) .  35  lbs 

Clovtrhay 8  " 

Vetch  h:iy 4  " 

Wheat  straw    .   .    •   52  " 
Barley   straw    .   .   .    52  " 

Oat  i-traw 55  " 

Pea  straw 6  " 

Potatoes 28  " 

Old  potatoes  ....    4J  " 

Turnips Cv)  " 

Mangold-wurtzel     .    50  " 

If  the  feeder  be  careful  to  supply  his  stock 
with  a  mixture  or  occasional  change  of  food — 
and  especiallj%  where  necessary,  with  a  proper 
proportion  of  fatty  matter — he  may  safely  reg- 
ulate, by  the  numbers  in  the  above  tables,  the 
quantity  of  any  one  which  he  ought  to  substi- 
tute for  a  given  weight  of  any  of  the  others — 
since  the  theoretical  and  practical  results  do 
not  in  general  very  greatly  differ. 

We  have  drawn  these  remarks  mainly  from 
Prof.  Johnston's  Elements  of  AgricvMural 
Chemistry,  as  the  nearest  approach  of  any- 
thing we  could  find,  as  replies,  to  the  above  in- 
cjuiries.  Our  correspondent  has  begun  a  good 
work  ;  we  wish  he  would  continue  it  by  mak- 
ing exact  experiments  with  his  stock  the  com- 
ing winter,  and  let  us  have  the  results  in  the 
spring.  Who  so  well  qualified  as  himself  for 
this,  now  that  he  has  the  spirit  of  the  matter 
in  his  mind,  and  is  really  desirous  to  know  the 
facts  in  the  case  ? 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  we  copy  the 
following  results  of  careful  and  laborious  ex- 
periments conducted  under  the  direction  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture  by  John 
Brooks  and  Moses  Newhall,  with  the  dairy  on 
the  farm  of  the  State  Reform  School  at  West- 
borough  in  1856.  The  details,  as  published 
in  the  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board, 
are  very  minute.  Each  animal,  as  well  as 
the  food  it  consumed  and  the  milk  it  pro- 
duced, was  separately  weighed,  and  the  results 
given  in  elaborate  tables,  for  which  we  have 
not  space.  It  will  be  seen  that  English  hay 
is  put  at  $15  and  meadow  or  swale  hay  and 
cornstalks  at  $10  per  ton ;  shorts  at  one  and  a 


542 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Nov. 


half  cents,  and  carrots  at  half  a  cent  a  pound, 
&c.  Consequently,  proper  allowance  can  be 
readily  made  for  the  different  values  of  these 
articles  in  different  sections  and  at  different 
times.  The  fact  of  the  decrease  of  the  cows 
in  flesh  when  fed  on  coarse  meadow  hay  and 
cornstalks  seems  to  show  that  the  value  of 
these  articles  compared  with  English  hay  is 
usually  placed  too  high. 

Fourteen  Cows— From  Jan.  1  to  20. 

6,085.60  lbs  of  meadow  hay  and  stalks  at  Jc  #■  lb    $25  41 

6,600.00  lt)B  carrots  ^c  -r  ft 28  00 

162.00  lbs  shorts  lie  rfc 243 

Making  the  cost  of  keeping  14  cows  20  days  .  $55  84 

The  same  cows  gave,  in  20  days,  3,570.40  lbs  of  milk, 

■which  cost  15.64c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.    1  he  food  proved 

insuflicieut,  and  the  14  cows  lost  in  20  days  210  lbs  in 

weight. 

Ten  Cows—From  Jan.  20  to  Feb.  9. 

3,.588.80  lbs  meadow  hay  ^.c^"  lb $17  94 

4,000.00  lbs  carrots  4c  ■^  tt) 20  00 

500.00  lbs  shurts  l^c  #"  lb 7  50 

Cost  of  keeping  10  cows  20  days $45  44 

The  same  cows  gave,  in  20  days,  2  715  60  lbs  of  milk, 
costing  16  ';2c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  The  feed  proving  in- 
eufficient  the  10  cows  lost  in  20  days  244  fts  of  their 
weight. 

Eleven  Cows-From  Feb.  10  to  29. 

3,100.60  lbs  stalks  ic  ■If  lb $15  50 

4,400.00  lbs  carrots  ^c  #"  lb 22  00 

550  00  lbs  shorts  14c  r  tb    .   .    • 8  25 

1,010.00  lbs  meadow  hay 6  05 

Cost  of  keeping  11  cows  20  days $50  80 

The  yield  of  milk  from  these  cows,  in  20  days,  was 
3,787.40  lbs,  costing  13.ilc  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  The  cows 
gained  109  lbs  in  weight. 

Fourteen  Cows— Prom  March  1  to  20 

4.894.60  lbs  of  English  hay,  cut,  gc  ■T  lb $36  72 

5,600.00  lbs  carrots  Ac  •Tib 28  00 

700.00  lbs  shorts  l.|c^  lb 10  60 

560.00  lbs  meadow  hay  |c  #■  lb 2  80 

Cost  of  keeping  14  cows  2a  days $78  02 

These  fourteen  cows  gave,  in  20  days,  5,445.20  lbs  of 
milk,  which  ccst  14.32c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  The  gain  in 
•weight  was  8j9  lbs. 

Sixteen  Cows— From  March  20  to  April  9. 
5,6.32.80  ttis  meadow  hay  valved  at  Jc  *>■  lb  .   .   .   .  $28  J6 

3,200.00  Ib^  carrots  ^c  ■Tib 16  00 

3,200.00  lbs  ruta  bagas  ^c  4?"  lb 16  00 

1,920.00  lbs  cob  meal  l|c  ■^  lb 24  00 

Cost  of  feed  consumed  in  20  days $S4  16 

The  milk  produced  by  these  cows,  in  20  days,  was 
6,058.20  lbs,  which  cost  13.89c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  8  lbs  of 
the  hay  were  cut  and  mixed  with  6  lbs  of  cob  rneul,  ami 
given  in  two  feeds  to  each  cow  dally.  The  feed  in  this 
taial  proved  less  nutritious  than  that  consumed  in  the 
last,  and  the  cows  lost  in  weight  890  lbs. 

Sixteen  Cows-Prom  April  10  to  29. 

6,lfi0.00  lbs  English  hay  jc  •Tib ^'^tl?-, 

1,600.00  lbs  carrots  ic  •tf  lb »  00 

1,600.00  1!>B  ruta  bas^as  ^c  4^'  lb »  OU 

1,920.00  flji  cob  meal  IJc  ^  lb .24  00 

Cost  of  feed  for  16  cows  20  days $79  70 

The  same  cows  gave  of  milk,  in  20  days,  5,591  lbs, 
which  cost  14.25c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  8  lbs  of  the  hay 
were  cut  and  mixed  with  the  cob  meal,  and  given  twice 
a  day.     These  cows  lost  314  lbs  in  weight. 

Sixteen  Cows— Prom  April  30  to  May  19. 

6,196.40  lbs  Knglish  hay  Jc  ■^  lb $38  97 

1,600  00  ttis  rulu  bagas  Jc  if  lb 8  10 

1,600  00  tl)H  carrots  ?jC  r  lb 8  00 

1,920.00  lbs  Indian  meal  lic4f  lb  .   ........     28  hO 

Costof  keeping  16  cows  40  days $83  77 


The  same  cows  gave,  in  20  days,  5,786  20  lbs  of  milk, 
costing  14.47c  the  gallon  of  10  lbs.  Gain  in  weight 
337  lbs. 

The  whole  loss  of  weight  made  by  the  cows,  in  these 
seven  trials,  was  1,658  lbs;  the  whole  gain  was  1,255  lbs; 
leaving  a  balance  of  loss  in  the  140  days  of  403  lbs.  This 
loss  is  probably  due  to  the  change  from  green  summer 
to  dry  winter  teed.  If  so,  it  would  appear  that  the  feed 
consumed  by  the  cows  has  been  equal  to  sustaining 
them  in  the  same  condition  they  were  In  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  140  days'  feeding.  The  average  cost 
per  day  for  feeding  each  cow  in  these  trials  of  140  days 
was  24.62c. 

Sixteen  Cows— Prrm  May  9  to  June  8. 

Feed  was  pasture  grass  only.  They  increased  their 
milk  in  20  dajs,  853.86  lbs,  or  a  fraction  over  2  66  lbs 
daily  for  each  cow.  Estimating  pasture  land  at  $40  the 
acre,  and  five  acres  to  the  cow,  the  cost  of  keeping  each 
cow  would  be  the  interest  and  taxes  on  five  acres  of 
land,  valued  at  $2o0. 

Intel  est  on  $200  one  year $12  00 

Taxes  one  year 1  00 

Cost  of  keeping  one  cow  half  a  year  .  .  .  .$13  00 
Thirteen  dollars  divided  by  the  number  of  days  in 
half  a  year,  gives  7.15  cents  the  day  for  keeping  one 
cow,  and  $22.88  for  sixteen  cows  20  days.  Those  six- 
teen cows  gave,  in  2U  days,  6,640.03  lbs  of  milk,  which 
cost  3.46  cents  the  gallon  of  ten  lbs.  The  gain  in  weight 
was  484  lbs. 

Eighteen  Cows— From  June  8  to  28. 

Eighteen  cows  gave  8,200.20  lbs  of  milk  in  20  days 
— feed,  pasture  grass  only.  Cost  of  keeping,  for  20 
days  at  7.1-5c  #■  day,  $25.74.  Cost  of  milk  in  this  trial 
a  fraction  less  than  3.20  cents  the  gallon  of  ten  lbs.  The 
cows  gained  in  weight  17  lbs. 

Twenty-three  Cows— From  June  29  to  July  18. 

Costof  keeping  twenty-three  cows  at  7.15  cents  per 
day,  $32  89  for  20  days.  The  yield  of  milk  of  the  same 
cows  Was,  in  20  days,  9,257  lbs,  which  cost  3  56  cents 
the  gallon  often  lbs.  The  twenty-lhree  cows  gained  in 
weight  210  lbs. 

Twenty-two  Cows— From  July  18  to  Aug.  7. 

Twenty-two  cows  gave  in  20  days  7,197  lbs  of  milk. 
Feed,  pasture  grass,  only.  Cost  of  beeping  twenty-two 
cows  20  days,  estimating  pasture  grass  as  in  former 
trials,  $31.46,  making  cost  of  milk  in  this  trial  4.37  cents 
the  gallon  often  lbs.    The  cows  gained  61  lbs  in  weight. 

Twenty -one  Cows— From  Aug.  8  to  28. 
Twenty-one  cows  gave  daily  309.37  lbs  of  milk.  In  20 
days  their  yield  was  6,187.40  lbs.  The  feed  was  pasture 
grass,  and  20  lbs  each  cow  dnily,  of  green  torn  fodder. 
The  corn  fodder  was  considered  by  the  Committ-.e  to 
no  more  than  make  up  for  ihe  defflciency.  occasioned  by 
the  dry  weather,  in  the  pasture  feed, and  the  cost  would 
probably  be  no  more  than  grass.  So  the  costof  keeping 
would  be  $1.43  each  cow,  for  20  days,  or  $30.03  for  21 
cows  20  days,  making  the  costof  the  milk  in  this  trial 
4.85  cents  the  gallon  of  ten  lbs.  The  cows  gained  142  lbs 
in  weight. 

Twenty-one  Cows— Prom  Aug.  28  to  Sept.  16. 

In  this  trial  the  twenty-one  cows  gave,  daily,  279. 7!"  lbs 
of  milk.  Their  yield  for  20  days  was  5,595.80  lbs.  The 
feed  was  pasture  and  twenty' lbs  each,  daily,  of  green 
corn  fodder,  the  same  as  in  the  last  trial.  The  cows 
were  the  same,  and  their  feed  for  20  days  cost  $30.03, 
the  same  as  in  the  last  trial,  but  there  was  a  falling  off 
in  milk,  and  the  cost  in  this  20  days  is  5.36  cents  the 
gallon  of  ten  lbs.    The  cows  gained  in  weight  485  fts. 

Sixteen  Cows— From  Sept.  17  to  Oct.  6. 
The  yield  was  187.41  ll.sof  milk  daily,  equal  to  T., 748. 20 
lbs  in  2)  days.  Cost  of  keeping,  eslimaiing  the  after- 
math to  be  more  than  equal  to  good  pasture,  $1.^3  each 
cow  for  twenty  days,  making  $22.88  for  sixteen  cows 
20  days.  Cost  of  milk,  6.14  cents  the  gallon  of  ten  lbs. 
Loss  in  weight  314  lbs. 

Fifteen  Cows— From  Oct   7  to  27. 

Fifteen  cows  gave  in  this  trial  186.69  of  milk  daily.  In 
20  days  their  yield  was  3,733,80  lbs.  Co!-t  of  feed  equal 
to  good  pasture,  $1.43  for  each  cow,  20  days ;  for  tifteen 
cows,  20  days,  $21.45.  Cost  of  milk,  5  72  cents  the  t^al- 
lou  of  ten  lbs.    The  cows  guiued  257  lbs. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


543 


Sixteen  Cows— From  Oct.  27  to  Nov,  16. 

The  Bisteen  cows,  in  this  trial,  gave  146.40  lbs  of  milk 
daily.  lu  20  days  their  yield  was  2,928  tts.  The  cost  of 
keeping,  for  each  cow,  was  the  same  as  in  the  last  trial, 
making,  for  sixteen  cows,  $22.88  for  20  days.  Cost  of 
milk,  a  fraction  over  7.81  cents  the  gallon  of  ten  lbs. 
The  gain  of  weight  was  433  lbs. 

Eleven  Cows— From  Nov,  16  to  Dec,  6. 
Eleven  cows,  in  this  trial,  gave,  daily,  100.08  fcs  of 
milk,  or  in  ro  days,  2,001.60  lbs.  The  same  cows  con- 
sumed, the  httcen  first  days,  while  at  grass,  1,32C  lbs  of 
corn  stover,  and  in  the  five  days  in  the  barn,  they  con- 
Bumed  1,059  lbs  of  corn  stover.  In  20  days  thev  con- 
sumed— 

2,379  00  lbs  corn  stover,  estimated  |c  4f  lb  .  .   .   .  $11  89 
15  days  iu  pasture,  estimated  7c  ^  day 11  55 


Cost  of  keeping  eleven  cows  20  days    .   .   .   .$23  54 
Cost  of  milk,  in  this  trial,  11.71  cents  the  gallon  often 
fta.     Gain  iu  weight  86  lbs  in  2d  days. 

Seven  Cows— From  Dec.  6  to  26. 

_  Seven  cows,  iu  this  trial,  gave  daily,  61.01  lbs  of  milk: 
in  20  days  thoir  yield  was  1  200.20  lbs.  They  consumed— 
2,754.1)0  lbs  husks  and  corn  stalks  ic  #■  lb  ,  .  .  ,$13  77 
2,800.0u  lbs  roots  (t  carrots  and  i  ruta  bagas,)  Jc  #"  lb  14  00 


Whole  cost  of  keeping  seven  cows  20  days    .  $27  77 
Cost  of  milk  in  this  trial,  22.75  cents  the  gallon  often 
fts.    Loss  of  weight  in  20  days  38  lbs. 

Kecapitulation  of  the  Eighteen  Trials, 

Number  of  days  embraced  in  all  the  trials  ...   360 

Average  number  of  cows  milked  daily 15.72 

Whole  gain  in  weight  of  all  the  cows 3,43o' 

Whole  loss  in  weight  of  all  the  cows 2,010 

Balance  of  gain 1420 

Average  milk  daily  from  each  cow,  in  lbs  .  .  .  '.  '.  15  84 
Total  flow  of  milk  fr.ini  all  the  cows  in  fcs     .   .  89,643.23 

Total  cost  of  feed  of  all  the  cows $759  30 

Total  cobt  of  feedr  gallon  of  milk  of  ten  lbs    .   ,   .08.47 

Daily  cost  of  keeping  each  cow  in  barn 24.30 

Daily  cost  of  keeping  each  cow  at  past4.ire  .  .  .  ,07.15 
Daily  cost,  five  days  in  barn,  fifteen  in  pasture  .  .  10  65 
Daily  cost  of  keeping  each  cow  during  all  the  trials  13  41 
Average  number  of  days  after  calving  ....     144  11 


In  this  country,  the  cultivation  of  wheat  on 
old  lands  ia  often  found  less  profitable  than 
some  other  common  crops.  As  most  of  the 
mineral  ingredients  requisite  for  the  vigorous 
and  healthy  development  of  the  plants  have 
been  exhausted  by  previous  crops,  the  straw, 
as  well  as  the  grain,  suffers  for  want  of  the 
needed  aliment,  and  is,  of  course,  imperfect  in 
its  structure,  and  consequently  liable  to  disease. 

By  liming  old  lands,  or  dressing  them  liber- 
ally with  ashes,  in  conjunction  with  a  moder- 
ate dressing  of  putrescent  animal  or  vegetable 
manures,  they  may  be  made  to  produce  good 
wheat  and  at  small  expense.  The  action  of 
the  lime  and  ashes,  if  supplied  in  sufficient 
quantities,  tends  to  render  soluble  the  other- 
wise insoluble  phosphates  contained  in  the  soil, 
and  also  to  hasten,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
the  fermentation  of  insoluble  humus,  Silex, 
or  the  earth  of  flint,  so  essential  iu  the  forma- 
tion of  wheat  straw,  is  likewise  decomposed 
and  rendered  susceptible  of  appropriation  and 
assimilation  by  the  action  of  both  mineral  and 
vegetable  alkalies— lime  and  ashes. 


FRANCE  A  WHEAT  COUNTBY. 
According  to  the  Eevue  des  Economistes, 
the  entire  extent  of  surface  appropriated  in 
France  to  the  cultivation  of  wheat,  is  two 
thousand  eight  hundred  leagues.  Of  every 
hundred  acres  appropriated  to  cultivation  in 
that  country,  forty  are  devoted  to  this  grain. 
It  is  asserted  that  the  quantity  of  wheat  pro- 
duced in  France  exceeds  the  aggregate  pro- 
duct of  the  same  grain  in  the  British  Isles, 
Sweden,  Poland,  Holland,  Prussia  and  Spain, 
The  annual  consumption  of  wheat  per  head, 
on  an  average,  in  France,  is  between  six  and 
seven  bushels ;  in  the  British  Isles,  between 
five  and  six  bushels ;  in  Spain,  between  four 
and  five ;  in  Holland,  between  two  and  three ; 
in  Prussia  much  less,  and  in  Poland  and  Swe- 
den comparatively  little. 

Spain,  next  to  France,  is  the  greatest  wheat 
growing  country  in  Europe.  Her  soil  is  al- 
most equally  as  fertile,  and  abounds  in  those 
mineral  ingredients  upon  the  presence  of  which 
in  the  soil,  the  success  of  the  wheat  crop  is  in 
a  great  measure  found  to  depend. 


For  the  Kew  England  Farmer. 
CHEMICAL  TEHMS.— No.  V. 
Stdphur  is  an  article  familiarly  known.  It 
is  very  combustible.  At  a  temperature  a  little 
above  that  of  boiling  water,  it  is  melted  and 
converted  into  a  brown  fluid.  When  in  this 
fluid  state,  it  is  easily  crystalized.  If  sulphur 
is  heated  to  about  four  times  the  temperature 
of  boiling  water,  it  boils  and  is  converted  into 
a  brownish  vapor,— sulphur  fumes,— thus  show- 
ing that  it  is  volatile.  If  these  fumes  are  con- 
ducted through  a  tube  into  a  jar,  which  is  kept 
cold  by  water  or  ice,  they  are  condensed  in 
the  form  of  a  soft  yellow  powder,  known  as 
flowers  of  sulphur.  This  process  by  which  a 
volatile  substance  is  evaporated,  and  again 
condensed  into  a  solid  is  called  sublimatTon, 
In  this  way  sulphur  is  purified  from  the  earthy 
matters  which  are  found  with  it  in  its  native 
beds.  These,  not  being  volatile,  are  left  be- 
hind after  the  process  of  sublimation. 

If  sulphur  be  heated  in  the  open  air,  or 
touched  with  a  red  hot  body,  it  burns  with  a 
blue  flame.  During  this  process,  one  part  of 
sulphur  unites  with  two  parts  of  oxygen,  and 
forms  a  gas,  called  sulphurous  acid.  Then  if 
one  part  more  of  oxygen  be  added  to  this  gas, 
it  becomes  a  liquid,  the  common  sulphw-ic  acid, 
or  oil  of  vitriol,  as  it  is  called,  from  its  heavy 
oily  consistence.  The  weight  of  common  con- 
centrated sulphuric  acid  is  to  water  as  184  to 
100.  Sulphuric  acid  is  very  important  in  the 
arts  and  in  agriculture.  It  is  manufactured 
on  a  large  scale,  by  converting  sulphurous  acid 


544 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAEMER. 


Nov. 


gas,  by  means  of  nitric  acid  and  steam,  into 
sulphuric  acid,  which,  as  first  obtained,  is  large- 
ly diluted  with  water  from  the  condensed 
steam.  This  is  afterwards  evaporated  until 
the  liquid  becomes  of  the  desired  density.  It 
is  difficult  to  expel  all  the  water,  and  the  con- 
centrated acid  of  commerce  contains  three 
ounces  of  water  in  a  pound.  Sulphuric  acid 
has  a  strong  affinity  for  water,  and  if  allowed 
to  stand  exposed  to  the  air  will  attract  water 
from  the  air,  so  as  to  become  perceptibly 
heavier  every  day. 

Sulphuric  acid  is  a  chemical  agent  of  great 
power.  It  combines  with  the  oxides  of  most 
metals,  forming  with  them  salts,  which  are 
called  sulphates.  Thus,  with  iron,  it  forms  sul- 
phate of  iron  or  copperas  ;  with  copper  it  forms 
sulphate  of  copper,  or  blue  vitriol ;  with  zinc,  sul- 
phate of  zinc,  or  white  vitriol.  With  the  alka- 
lies it  also  forms  salts;  as  with  lime,  sulphate 
of  lime  or  gypsum,  or  common  plaster ;  with 
magnesia,  sulphate  of  magnesia,  or  Epsom 
salts,  &c.  All  these  sulphates  are  more  or 
less  soluble  in  water.  Hence  we  see  that  this 
acid  combines  with  various  earths  and  converts 
them  into  sulphates,  thus  rendering  them  solu- 
ble and  capable  of  being  absorbed  by  the 
roots  of  plants.  It  is  in  this  way  that  it  be- 
comes a  fertilizing  agent  of  much  power. 
When  this  acid  is  applied  directly  to  the  soil, 
it  should  be  copiously  diluted  with  water.  It 
is  said  that  one  pound  mixed  with  one  hundred 
pounds  of  water  will  destroy  grass  and  weeds 
in  alleys  and  walks  ;  and  that  when  applied 
directly  to  the  soil  as  a  fertilizer,  one  pound 
should  be  diluted  with  one  thousand  pounds  of 
water. 

Potash  is  found  abundantly  in  the  vegetable 
and  mineral  kingdoms.  It  is  also  found  in  the 
animal  kingdom.  It  is  usually  obtained  from 
the  ashes  of  wood,  by  leaching,  and  evaporat- 
ing the  lye  or  solution.  Ashes  consist  of  a 
soluble  and  insoluble  portion.  The  soluble 
part  is  made  up  of  carbonate  of  potash,  sul- 
phate, phosphate  and  silicate  of  potash,  and 
the  chlorides  of  potasium  and  sodium.  The 
insoluble  part  consists  of  carbonate  and  sub- 
phosphate  of  lime,  alumina,  silica,  oxidized 
iron  and  manganese,  and  some  carbonaceous 
matter  that  has  escaped  combustion.  The 
ashes  are  leached  in  wooden  vessels.  Some 
lime  is  usually  added  to  take  up  the  carbonic 
acid.  Water  is  then  added,  which  dissolves 
the  soluble  portions,  and  is  drawn  oil"  at  the 
bottom.  The  lye  is  evaporated  in  iron  kettles 
or  pots  ;  hence  its  name,  pot-ash.  When  it  is 
reduced  to  the  consistence,  of  a  thick  syrup,  a 
strong  heat  is  aitplied  by  which  the  combusti- 
ble impurities  are  burned  out.  When  cold  it 
congeals  into  cakes.  This  is  the  common  pot- 
ash of  commerce.  I 

Dillerent.  plants,  and  the  different  parts  of 
the  same  plant,  yield  dillerent  proportions  of 
potash.  It  is  only  in  the  juices  that  the  vege- 
table salts  lesido.  Hence  the  more  succulent 
plants,  and  the  more  succulent  parts  of  plants,  j 


yield  the  greatest  amount  on  burning.  Her- 
baceous plants  yield  more  than  shrubs,  and 
these  more  than  timber.  Twigs  ami  leaves 
yield  more  than  solid  wood.  Plants  that  have 
arrived  at  maturity  yield  more  potash  than  at 
any  previous  period.  One  thousand  parts  of 
the  ashes  of  oak  wood  yield  about  two  per 
cent.  The  bark  of  oak  twigs,  4.20;  vine 
branches,  5.5;  cornstalks,  17.5;  beanstalks, 
20.0;  suntiovver,  20.0;  stems  of  potatoes,  55.0. 
Feldspar  contains  about  12  per  cent,  of  potash, 
and  mica  about  8.  These  are  important  ingre- 
dients in  granite.  By  the  action  of  the  weather, 
granite  is  crumbled  and  decomposed,  and  its 
elements  are  mixed  with  the  soil,  and  brought 
within  the  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants. 

Potash  has  a  caustic  burning  taste.  It  has 
a  strong  affinity  for  water,  and  on  exposure  to 
the  air  absorbs  water,  and  grows  njoist,  and 
finally  liquid.  It  is  soluble  in  water.  It  com- 
bines with  fats  and  oils,  and  forms  soaps.  By 
heat,  it  combines  with  silex  and  forms  glass. 
Those  vegetables,  the  ashes  of  whose  stems 
and  leaves  yield  the  largest  amount  of  potash, 
as  vines,  corn,  beans  and  potatoes,  require 
constant  supplies  of  potash  in  the  soil.  Pot- 
ash readily  combines  with  all  the  acids,  form- 
ing salts,  which  are  of  great  use  in  medicine 
and  the  arts, — bitartrate  of  potash  or  cream  of 
tartar.  Bicarbonate,  or  saleratus,  and  nitrate 
or  saltpetre,  are  well  known  in  domestic  use. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Oct.  10,  1SG7.  R. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
SAVING  SEED. 
The  following  report  of  the  discussion  of  the  question, 
"  What  seed  shall  we  save,  and  how  shall  we  save  it  ?" 
by  the  Irasburg,  Vt.,  Farmer's  Ciub,  Sept  23,  is  fur- 
nished for  the  New  England  Fakmer  by  the  Secre- 
tary, Z.  E.  Jameson,  Esq, 

J.  B.  Fassett,  opened  the  discussion  by  i-e- 
marking  that,  according  to  his  idea,  the  ques- 
tion is,  shall  we  save  our  seed  of  wheat,  oats, 
corn  and  potatoes  out  of  the  mass  of  the  year's 
produce,  or  shall  we  take  special  care  and  labor 
to  save  the  best  ?  He  believed  it  was  as  im- 
portant to  save  the  best  of  our  field  crops  for 
seed  as  it  was  to  save  the  best  calves  to  raise. 
He  believed  if  a  man  makes  a  practice  of 
planting  and  sowing  inferior  seed  he  will  run 
out  his  crops ;  but  with  care  he  thought  we 
could  improve  in  every  department, — in  horses, 
cattle,  vegetables  and  small  grains. 

A.  Jameson  said  it  has  been  his  object  to 
take  pains  in  saving  the  liest  seed  of  his  corn, 
wheat,  and  oats.  He  runs  his  grain  through 
tiie  fanning  mill  and  blows  out  all  light  kt'Tuels. 
He  also  washes  his  wheat  in  salt  brine  which 
floats  out  light  seed. 

He  had  sowed  wheat  every  year  for  over 
forty  years.  Some  farmers  left  off  sowing 
wheat  because  of  the  weevils, — rai-ed  oats  to 
sell  and  buy  Hour ;  but  lie  preferred  to  raise 
wheat.  He  always  intended  to  sow  wheat 
where  corn  was  gruwn  the  year  before.      Last 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


545 


year  he  had  a  good  crop,  about  25  bushels  on 
an  acre.  He  sows  the  "Scotch  File"  it  does 
not  lodge  on  rich  ground.  A  heavy  growth  of 
straw  will  not  produce  more  than  the  seed. 
As  to  potatoes,  when  he  began  farming  he 
bought  a  bushel,  cut  them  fine,  planted,  and 
raised  50  bushels  from  one  of  seed.  He  has 
tried  several  kinds,  and  they  gradually  run  out. 
Since  the  rot,  the  California  yields  the  best 
with  him  of  any  kind. 

G.  B.  Brewster  said  he  thinks  we  agree  in 
the  saving  of  seed.  Poor  seed  gives  a  small 
plant  and  feeble  growth.  He  remarked,  1  see 
some  of  the  members  have  brought  several 
kinds  of  potatoes  here  to-night.  I  think  it 
wrong  to  raise  several  kinds.  If  planted  side 
by  side  they  will  run  out  and  mix. 

S.  Flint  had  improved  his  potatoes  by  plant- 
ing large  ones,  and  believes  planting  small 
ones  will  decrease  the  crop. 

O.  ]\I.  Wells  said  that  fifteen  years  ago  he 
got  a  kind  of  potato  that  he  liked,  and  he  made 
a  practice  of  saving  in  the  fall  enough  of  the 
large  potatoes  for  seed  and  they  do  as  well  now 
as  ever.  But  he  let  some  of  his  neighbors 
.  have  these  potatoes,  who  ate  the  largest  and 
planted  the  smallest,  and  theirs  have  run  out. 

J.  B.  Clement  had  raised  this  year  twelve 
bushels  of  Gold  Drop  wheat,  from  one  bushel 
sown.  He  was  anxious  to  know  if  it  is  bene- 
ficial to  change  seed ;  that  is,  to  send  off  and 
get  seed  of  the  same  kind  as  we  have,  but 
raised  on  different  soil. 

Z.  E.  Jameson  did  not  think  it  advisable  to 
change  seed  in  that  way,  but  he  approved  of 
changing  poor  for  good  seed.  The  men  of 
whom  we  get  this  good  seed  do  not  change 
seed  but  save  it  with  care.  We  should  imitate 
their  example.  It  is  also  beneficial  to  change 
and  get  new  varieties  of  seed  whenever  new 
varieties  are  produced,  by  accident  or  design, 
that  in  hardiness  and  productiveness  surpass 
what  we  have  hitherto  raised.  Potatoes,  es- 
pecially, differ  much  in  quality.  But  he  thought 
they  do  not  mix  more  than  a  maple  tree  would 
mix  with  a  hemlock.  Plants  mix  through  the 
blossom,  not  the  root. 

G.  B.  Brewster  was  well  satisfied  that  oats 
changed  from  hill  to  valley,  and  from  valley  to 
hill  do  better,  and  has  seen  trials  that  prove  the 
fact  to  his  own  satisfaction. 

Wm.  L.  Jameson  had  taken  pains  to  obtain 
oats  raised  on  sandy  land  and  sowed  them  on 
clayey  soil,  but  could  see  no  difference  between 
them  and  those  from  seed  of  his  own  raising, 
when  sown  side  by  side,  either  while  growing 
or  after  being  threshed.  He  had  changed  seed 
corn,  but  believed  the  improvement  was  in  the 
cultivation  and  saving  seed,  rather  than  in  the 
mere  change. 

G.  B.  Brewster  asked,  Why  do  we  have  to 
send  west  for  seed  wheat. 

J.  B.  Fassett  replied,  Because  this  is  not  a 
natural  wheat  country.  Wheat  deteriorates 
here ;  there  it  does  not.  He  did  not  believe 
that  Mr.  Jameson  could  raise  his  seed  20  years. 


A.  Jameson  remarked  that  when  he  came 
here,  between  forty  and  fifty  years  ago,  this 
was  as  natural  a  wheat  country  as  one  could 
desire.  He  could  raise  wheat  as  easily  as  oats. 
Wheat  was  75  cts.  to  $1  per  bushel.  Mer- 
chants took  it  in  pay  for  goods  and  sent  it  off. 
I  used  to  get  20  or  30  bushels  per  acre,  and 
rye  the  same.  But  weevils  came,  and  farmers 
had  to  stop  raising  it,  although  he  continued 
to  sow  an  acre  or  two.  Sometimes  he  got  six 
bushels,  sometimes  ten.  Now  we  are  more 
sure  of  a  crop.  He  once  sowed  three  pecks 
of  rye  and  harvested  three  pecks  inferior  to 
the  seed.  When  a  young  man  he  worked  in 
York  State,  and  the  farmers  then  thought  it 
paid  to  send  to  the  white  oak  openings  for 
seed. 

G.  B.  Brewster  would  say  that  we  now  raise 
more  bushels  per  acre  than  they  do  in  the 
West.  If  a  man  in  Wisconsin  had  raised  a 
piece  of  wheat  like  mine  we  should  have 
heard  of  it  before  now.  In  Chittenden  County 
they  raise  good  winter  wheat.  One  man  in 
this  county  has  raised  winter  wheat  as  good  as 
the  western  white  wheat. 

O.  M,  Wells  said,  from  a  number  of  experi- 
ments, he  finds  it  a  benefit  to  get  potatoes  and 
oats  raised  on  different  soils.  He  has  tried  it 
three  or  four  times.  He  had  raised  of  wheat 
at  the  rate  of  25  bushels  per  acre. 

Wm.  L.  Locke,  Jr.,  said  that,  according  to 
reliable  reports,  Vermont  yields  as  much  wheat 
per  acre  as  any  State,  with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions. 

N.  H.  Stiles  thought  It  is  an  error  for  a 
farmer  to  go  to  his  heap  of  grain  and  take 
the  average  for  seed  ;  full  of  foul  seed,  it  may 
be,  and  many  imperfect  seeds.  He  should 
sow  the  best  and  most  perfect  grain.  There  * 
may  be  cases  where  it  would  be  an  advantage 
to  change  seed,  but  there  are  more  cases  where 
farmers  would  do  well  to  save  the  best  of  their 
own  raising. 

Capt.  E.  Grant,  did  not  intend  to  have  said 
anything,  but  Mr.  Jameson's  remark  of  three 
pecks  of  rye  put  him  in  mind  of  a  crop  of 
wheat  he  once  raised.  It  was  on  new  land 
and  came  up  well,  headed  out  and  got  ripe. 
He  was  sick  when  it  was  harvested  and  hired  it 
done.  In  the  winter  he  threshed  it  out,  and 
after  working  about  three  days  cleaned  it  up 
and  got  about  three  pecks  of  mouse  manure  ! 

At  this  meeting  of  the  club  J.  B.  Clement 
exhibited  half  a  bushel  of  extra  onions ;  J. 
B.  Fassett  the  product  of  two  hills  of  Jackson 
White  potatoes,  and  S.  Flint,  17  large  ones 
from  a  single  hill  of  same  variety  ;  Wm.  Lock 
specimens  of  Jacksons  and  Garnet  Chili ;  Z. 
E.  Jameson,  one  hill  each  of  Early  Goodrich, 
Garnet  Chili,  Cusco,  Rusty  Coat  and  Orono. 
Potatoes  yield  fairly  in  this  section. 

Z.    E.    J. 


The  best  crop  of  rice  raised  in  Georgia  this  year 
was  put  in  by  two  men  from  Ohio.  There  are  200 
acres,  and  the  estimate  is  60  bushels  to  the  acre. 


546 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


Nov. 


tnVtts     department. 


PUT    UP  THE   BABS. 


After  the  milking  was  over, 
Annie  would  follow  the  cows 

Half  a  mile  down  to  tl.e  clover, 
And  turn  them  in  to  browse. 

Neat  little  figure  is  Annie, 
Handling  the  bars  in  the  lane, 

Letting  down  ever  so  many 
Just  in  the  sunlight's  wane. 

Wild  roses  blooming  beside  her, 
Match  not  hei  cheek's  lovely  red; 

And  the  leaves  trying  to  hide  her, 
Dance  at  her  musical  tread. 

Witching  curls  peep  from  her  bonnet — 
P>,ep  like  bright  birds  from  their  nest  I 

And  the  heart— happy  who  won  it  I 
Beats  with  a  gentle  unrest. 

Lips  may  be  humming  a  ditty, 
And  faces  may  show  unconcern; 

But  secrets  there  are— what  a  pity 
That  some  are  too  easy  to  learn. 

Now,  while  the  robins  are  nesting, 
Why  does  she  wait  in  the  lane  ? 

Though  if  white  arms  need  a  resting, 
No  one,  of  course,  could  complain. 

Lights  in  the  farm-house  are  gleaming, 
And  bars  must  be  laid  in  their  place. 

But  little  Annie  stands  dreaming. 
A  blueh  on  her  beautiful  face. 

Is  it  late  ?    Not  that  she  cares  now ; 

Ah  1  merry  eyes,  mild  and  brown, 
Cotild  you  not  tell  why  she  wears  now 

Just  the  least  mite  of  a  frown  ? 

Over  the  path  by  the  hillside. 

Some  one  would  wander  by  night; 

8ome  one  who  came  from  the  mill-side, 
Lured  by  two  eyes  that  were  bright. 

Meadow  and  valley  grow  stiller. 

Under  the  earlier  stars; 
Would  it  be  strange  if  the  miller 

Helped  Annie  to  put  up  the  bars  ? 


HOUSEHOLD    ECONOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  FOR  TFIE  NEW   ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Breakfast. 

HOW   ONE   WOMAN   PREPARES   FOR  IT. 

Shall  I  tell  those  housewives  who  look  with  in- 
terest adownthc  column  of  "domestic  receipts,"  in 
the  New  Enoi.and  Farmeu, — as  it  comes  weekly 
laden,  as  it  inevitably  docs,  with  good  things, 
"both  new  and  old" — how  they  can  economize,  and 
give  their  husbands  and  sons  and  brothers,  a  nice 
cup  of  ('offee  ? 

First,  you  can  mix  your  coflee,  equal  parts — Java 
and  Rio — scorcli  it  (not  burn  it)  a  nice  dark  brown, 
— it  is  better  to  scorch  it  often,  as  often  as  every 
day  or  two. 

When  you  get  ready  to  make  your  coffee  for 
breakfast,  have  ready  some  scorched  {not  burnt) 
molasses — perhai)s  two  table-spoonfuls,  set  on  the 
stove,  in  a  tin  plate  or  dish,  and  I)oiled  down  to 
candy,  and  scorched.    Put  this  into  the  cofl'ee-pot 


when  you  fill  it  up  for  the  table.  You  M'ill  need  no 
more  than  two  large  table-spoonfuls  of  ground 
coffee,  with  the  scorched  molasses,  for  four  persons, 
and  if  you  do  not  let  it  boil  more  t\\&x\  fire  minutes, 
and  put  in  a  little  fish-skin,  to  settle  it,  I  can  war- 
rant you  a  most  delicious  cup  of  the  coveted  bev- 
erage, economically  cooked. 

And,  with  all,  some  nice  breakfast  cakes.  Make 
your  cakes  of  Indian  meal  three-fourths,  of  flour 
one-fourth.  Take  new  milk,  if  j'ou  have  it,  if  not, 
water,  with  a  little  shortening ;  mix  the  night 
before,  with  a  little  yeast ;  fry  in  the  morning,  as 
griddle  cakes,  small  or  large,  as  you  choose,  eat 
with  butter,  or  maple  molasses,  or  sweetened 
cream.  A  little  saleratus  must  be  added  in  the 
morning.  Mrs.  Vermont. 

Putney,  Vt.,  Sept.  16,  1867. 


Remarks. — Much  obliged, 
hear  again  from  Mrs.  V. 


Shall  be  pleased  to 
Ed. 


Good    Yeast. 

To  one  cup  grated  potato  pour  one  quart  boiling 
water.  Add  one-half  cup  sugar  and  one-half  cup 
salt.  Also,  when  cooled  till  a  little  more  than  milk 
wann,  one  cup  of  yeast.  Put  in  a  warm  place  to 
rise.  Keep  in  a  jug  in  the  cellar. 
Bread. 

To  a  quart  of  warm  milk  or  water  stir  in  flour 
to  make  a  thick  batter,  and  add  one  teacupful  of 
yeast.  Put  iii  a  warm  place  to  rise.  When  risen 
Btir  in  flour  sufiicient  to  knead  and  make  in  loaves. 
Set  them  by  the  stove,  and  bake  soon  after  they 
begin  to  rise. 

Breakfast   Cakes, 

One  cup  and  a  half  of  flour,  one  cup  and  a  half 
of  Indian  meal,  one  table-spoonful  molasses,  one 
egg.  Two  teacupfuls  sour  milk  or  buttermilk,  in 
which  dissolve  one  teaspoonful  saleratus.  Bake 
in  the  oven. 

CoflFee   Cake. 

One  cup  sugar,  one  cup  molasses,  one  cup  butter, 
one  cup  strong  coffee,  two  eggs,  cream  tartar  and 
saleratus,  one  teaspoonful  each.  Cloves,  cinna- 
mon and  nutmeg,  raisins  or  currants,  and  citron  if 
you  can  afford  it ;  six  cups  of  flour.  AVill  make 
two  good-sized  loaves. 

Cookies. 

Two  cups  sugar,  two-thirds  cup  butter,  three 
tablespoonfuls  milk,  one-half  teaspoonful  salera- 
tus, just  flour  enough  to  roll  thin.  Roll  sugar  on 
before  cutting  them  out.    Bake  in  a  quick  oven. 

Somerset,  Oct.  2,  1867.  m.  p.  b. 


DOMESTIC   KECEIPTS. 

An  Easy  Chair. 

A  delightfully  easy  sewing  chair  can  be  made  in 
a  few  hours  from  an  old  cane  seat  chair,  from 
which  the  canes  have  been  broken  away,  by  saw- 
ing off  the  front  legs  about  two  inclics,  the  back 
ones  three  or  four ;  tack  a  bit  of  old  strong  car- 
peting, canvas,  or  something  of  the  kind  across  the 
seat;  make  a  curtain  of  an  oldsmall-ligurcd  dress 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FAR^rER. 


547 


or  of  pretty  print,  fasten  It  to  fall  aronnd  the  sides 
of  the  chair,  fit  a  cushion  to  the  back  and  one  to 
the  scat,  cover  it  witli  the  same,  and  you  will  have 
a  comfortable  and  pretty  chair  in  which  you  can 
rest  while  you  work.  This  fashion  of  chair — in 
the  particular  of  having  the  seat  slope  backwards 
a  little  was  the  invention  of  a  friend  of  mine  while 
suffering  from  a  prolonged  illness.  Rocking  chairs 
did  not  suit ;  she  grew  tired  in  them  even  faster  than 
in  an  ordinary  chair,  and  lounges  were  no  better, 
while  in  this  chair,  manufactured  under  her  super- 
intendence, by  a  brother,  she  found  just  what  she 
desired.  Chairs  and  rocking  chairs,  as  ordinarily 
made  give  no  support  to  the  back  below  the  shoul- 
ders, and  therelty  tend  to  make  a  person  round- 
shouldered  by  throwing  them  forward;  a  chair 
made  in  this  way,  on  the  contrary,  allows  a  person 
to  sit,  giving  support  to  the  small  of  the  back,  in 
which  case  the  shoulders  will  look  out  for  them- 
selves, and  instead  of  being  placed  in  an  unnatural 
position  with  the  support  in  the  wrong  place  en- 
tirely, you  will  find  yourself  just  right  in  all  re- 
spects and  will  rest  in  your  chair  almost  as  well 
as  in  lying  down. — A  Farmer's  Daughter,  in  Ver- 
mont Farmer. 

Home-made  Mats. — A  lady  coiTCspondent  of 
the  Vermont  Farmer  gives  the  following  directions 
for  making  mats  from  the  smallest  bits  of  cloth 
left  after  cutting  out  clothes,  or  preparing  the  ma- 
terials for  rag  carpets.  Pieces  over  an  inch  square 
are  too  large,  so  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  this  way 
of  making  rugs  will  use  up  the  pieces,  otherwise 
of  no  account  except  for  the  rag-bag.  These  little 
bits  must  be  strung  on  a  cord,  the  edges  being 
ravelled  out  so  as  to  present  a  soft,  fuzzy  appear- 
ance and  wound  and  sewed  like  the  braids  in  a 
braided  mat,  it  will  be  ditflcult  to  distinguish  it 
from  chenille  work.  In  regard  to  colors,  you 
must  consult  your  own  taste.  The  style  called 
hit-or-miss,  in  which  you  use  all  colors  indiscrim- 
inately, as  they  are  most  convenient,  has  often  a 
veiy  good  effect,  if  plenty  of  bright  colors  are  used ; 
in  any  other  case  it  is  too  apt  to  have  a  dingy  look. 
Decided  contrasts  or  shades  of  the  same  color  arc 
better  in  mats  of  this  kind. 

How  TO  Bake  Apples. — Bake  without  breaking 
the  skin.  Bake  from  three  to  five  hours.  When 
the  pulp  is  perfectly  tender,  break  the  skin  ;  if  that 
is  silken,  like  the  cuticle  of  the  hand,  you  have 
your  fruit  done.  If  you  break  the  skin  by  bak- 
ing, the  heat  and  riioisture  will  escape,  and  your 
apple  will  dry.  The  peel  prevents  evaporation, 
and  is  a  good  conductor  of  heat.  Bake  on  paper, 
and  there  will  be  no  dishes  spoiled  or  needed  to  be 
washed. 

Green  Tomato  Pickle. — Cut  in  thin  slices  one 
pei  k  of  green  tomatoes,  sprinkle  them  with  salt, 
and  let  them  stand  a  day  or  two ;  slice  ten  or 
twelve  small  onions ;  mix  together  one  bottle  or 
small  tin  box  of  mustard,  half  an  ounce  of  mus 
tard  seed,  one  ounce  of  cloves,  one  ounce  of  pi- 
mento, and  two  ounces  of  tumeric.  Put  in  the 
kettle  a  layer  of  tomatoes,  then  one  of  onions  and 
spice,  till  all  are  in.  Cover  it  with  good  vinegar, 
and  let  it  simmer  till  the  tomatoes  are  quite  clear. 


PLOWEKS   AND    VINES   INT   HOUSES. 

There  are  many  beautiful  botanical  experiments 
which  may  be  conducted  in  the  house  during  win- 
ter, which  are  not  embraced  generally  in  the  list 
of  flowers  and  vines  in  our  parlors  and  windows. 

How  many  of  our  fair  readers  have  the  beauti- 
ful vine  of  the  sweet  potato  running  over  their 
mantel-shelf!  This  pretty  sight  can  be  enjoyed  by 
placing  a  sweet  potato  in  a  tumbler  or  other  glass 
vessel,  filled  with  water ;  passing  a  pin  through 
the  tuber  so  as  to  keep  the  lower  end  from  one  to 
two  inches  from  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.    Keep 


on  the  mantel-shelf,  in  a  warm  room,  and  every 
day  give  it  the  sun  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  in  a 
few  days  rootlings  will  begin  to  appear,  aiming  for 
the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  and  in  two  or  three 
weeks  the  eye  will  begin  to  shoot  and  rapidly 
grow  and  run  upon  suspended  twine  or  any  little 
trellis-work  prepared  for  it.  Thu  dioscorea  batatas 
is  the  prettiest  for  this  purpose,  when  it  can  be  ob- 
tained. 

The  "Morning  Glory"  can  be  propagated  in  par- 
lor windows,  where  there  is  some  sun,  to  perfec- 
tion during  winter;  it  flowers  with  its  natural  col- 
ors, and  the  delicate  little  vine  can  be  made  to  run 
over  the  window.  A  hanging  vase  is  ihe  prettiest 
for  this. 

Suspend  an  acorn  by  a  cotton  thread  so  as 
nearly  to  touch  the  water  in  a  glass  vessel,  (a  hy- 
acinth glass  is  perhaps  the  best,)  set  ujion  the  win- 
dow or  mantel,  and  let  it  remain  there  for  eight  or 
ten  weeks,  more  or  less,  without  being  interfered 
with,  except  to  supply  evaporation  of  the  water, 
and  the  acorn  will  burst,  and  as  it  throws  a  root 
down  into  the  water,  a  sprout  or  stem  will  he  sent 
upward,  throwing  out  beautiful  little  green  leaves ; 
thus  giving  you  an  oak  tree,  in  full  lite  and  health, 
within  your  parlor  1 

There  are  many  of  the  mosses  which  can  be 
very  successfully  grown  in  the  house  through  the 
winter,  and  with  the  foregoing  afford  an  interesting 
and  refined  enjoyment  for  the  feminines  of  a  fam- 
ily, and  a  real  pleasure  to  all  who  have  a  taste  for  the 
beautiful  to  witne.-s.  We  trust  to  see  a  greater 
inclination  on  the  part  of  the  ladies  to  introduce 
into  their  houses  this  most  agreeable  addition  to 
their  domestic  pleasures. 


CANNING  FBUIT. 
Like  many  others,  I  tried,  again  and  again, 
to  seal  fruit  cans  so  as  to  keep  the  fruit  with- 
out moulding  upon  the  top.  I  was  particular 
in  following  the  printed  directions  in  general 
use,  but  found  that  my  cans,  when  cold,  would 
not  be  more  than  two-thirds  full,  and  in  a  few 
days  a  white  mould  appeared  upon  the  top.  I 
finally  appealed  to  a  friend  who,  I  knew, 
canned  large  quantities  for  her  own  use.  She 
showed  me  fruit  over  a  year  old,  quite  fresh, 
the  cans  full,  and  no  mould.  I  at  once  adop- 
ted her  plan,  which  I  have  since  followed  with 
great  success.  1  have  no  interest  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  cans,  and  believe  that  every  one 
should  do  his  own  advertising,  but  I  prefer 
that  kind  in  which  you  have  only  the  can, 
glass  cover  and  rubber  to  use.  Fruit  can  be 
kept  just  as  well  without,  as  with  sugar ;  and 
those  sealed  up  for  pies  are  better  without 
auy,  as  they  will  retain  their  flavor  far  better. 
Brass  kettles  should  never  be  used.  Tin  pans 
or  kettles  lined  with  porcelain,  so  as  to  pre- 
serve the  most  perfect  flavor  of  the  fruit,  are 
the  best.  While  my  fruit  is  being  scalded,  I 
put  a  gill  of  cold  water  in  each  can,  and  fill  up 
with  hot  water,  putting  the  covers  and  rubber 
also  into  hot  water.  The  fruit  need  not  be 
cooked — only  heated  to  the  boiling  point — un- 
less in  preparing  pears  or  quinces,  or  some 
other  hard  fruits,  that  may  require  more  cook- 
ing, and  then  only  just  so  that  a  straw  may  be 
passed  through,  always  being  careful  to  have 
juice  enough  to  cover  the  fruit.  As  soon  as 
boiling  hot,  empty  a  can  and  fill ;  then  another, 


548 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Nov. 


or  as  many  as  can  well  be  attended  to.  Let 
the  cans  stand  open  until  you  can  comfortably 
bear  the  hands  upon  them.  Meanwhile  more 
fruit  may  be  heated.  Cut  thick  writing  paper 
in  round  pietfes  the  size  of  the  top  of  each  can, 
and  when  the  contents  of  the  cans  are  cooled, 
slip  a  piece  over  the  top  of  the  fruit  in  each 
can,  and  at  once  fill  up  on  top  of  the  paper 
with  boiling  juice  (saved  for  the  purpose), 
and  put  on  the  covers  as  soon  as  filled,  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  given.  1  often  seal  up 
cherries  and  tomatoes,  only  for  winter  use,  in 
one  gallon  stone  jars  that  are  small  at  the  top, 
prepared  just  the  same  as  for  glass.  Leave 
off  the  covers,  seal  with  melted  resin,  adding 
a  little  tallow.  Try  it  on  a  piece  of  cloth  ;  if 
too  brittle  add  more  tallow,  and  vice  versa. 
Cut  a  paper  also  for  the  top  of  the  jar,  just  so 
it  will  come  over  the  edge,  and  dip  a  piece  of 
thick  cloth  into  the  resin,  only  upon  one  side, 
spread  over  the  jar  and  tie  down  ;  now,  with 
a  spoon,  dip  and  spread  on  the  hot  resin,  un- 
til entirely  covered,  pressing  down  the  sides 
with  the  hands  dipped  in  cold  water.  When 
cold,  if  the  jar  is  air  tight,  the  cover  will  be 
depressed  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or  more.  But 
if  it  is  level,  then  you  must  seal  it  over  again. 
Those  who  can  common  sour  cherries  will  find 
them  greatly  improved  by  first  draining  off  all 
the  juice,  and  then  covering  them  with  water 
— scald  and  drain  off,  and  cover  over  again 
for  sealing,  canning,  preserving  or  drying. — 
Farm  and  Fireside. 


better — and  why  ?  because  the  cause  of  his 
wretchedness  has  not  been  found  out,  and  un- 
til it  is  other  attempts  are  but  vain.  If  the 
owner  of  a  pet  in  such  difficulties  will  take 
doAvn  the  cage  and  cast  his  or  her  eyes  up  to 
the  roof  thereof,  there  will  most  likely  be  seen 
a  mass  of  stuff  looking  as  much  like  red  rust 
as  anything,  and  fi-om  thence  comes  the  cause 
of  the  poor  bird's  uneasiness.  The  i-ed  rust 
is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  myriads  of  para- 
sites infesting  the  bird,  and  for  which  water  is 
no  remedy.  There  is,  however,  a  remedy,  and 
one  easily  procurable  in  a  moment — fire.  By 
procuring  a  lighted  candle  and  holding  it  un- 
der every  particle  of  the  top  of  the  cage  till 
all  chance  of  anything  being  alive  is  gone,  the 
remedy  is  complete.  The  pet  will  soon 
brighten  up  again  after  his  "house-warming," 
and  will  in  his  cheerful  and  delightlhl  way 
thank  his  master  or  mistress  over  and  over 
again  for  this,  though  slight,  to  him  important 
assistance. — Land  and  Water. 


PARASITES  IN   BIEDCAGES. 

Many  a  person  has  watched  with  anxiety  and 
care  a  pet  canaiy,  goldfinch,  or  other  tiny  fa- 
vorite evidently  in  a  state  of  perturbation, 
plucking  at  himself  continually,  his  feathers 
standing  all  wrong,  always  fidgetting  about, 
and  in  every  Avay  looking  very  seedy.  In  vain 
is  his  food  changed,  and  in  vain  is  another  sau- 
cer of  clean  water  always  kept  in  his  cage,  and 
all  that  kindness  can  suggest  for  the  little  pris- 
oner done  ;  but  still  all  is  of  no  use,  he  is  no 


The  Fashions. — The  fiat  has  gone  forth,  and 
Fashion  declares  that  gentlemen  are  to  wear  pan- 
taloons "as  tight  as  possible,"  and  ladies  the 
smallest  crinoline  and  the  narrowest  dresses. 
Most  fashionable  color  for  pantaloons,  green;  for 
dresses,  brown.  Business  and  morning  coats  will 
still  be  worn  short,  the  variety  with  short  tails 
prevailing;  so  also  Avalking  and  even  morning 
dresses  will  continne  to  be  worn  short.  Eugenie 
has  adopted  them,  and  that  settles  the  question,  if 
there  was  any  doubt  about  the  matter  before. 
Gentlemen  will  wear  hats  with  low  cro\vns  and 
broad  brims ;  and  ladies  will  wear — what  they 
please,  provided  it  belongs  to  the  Broun  family. 
Full  dress  vests  for  gentlemen  will  be  low  in  the 
roll,  and  have  but  three  buttons  ;  ball  dresses  will 
also  be  low  "in  the  roll' if  we  may  be  alluwcd  the 
expression — and  ladies  will  exhibit  as  niaiij^  Imt- 
tons  on  their  attire  as  the  material  will  admit. 
Dress  shirt  bosoms  will  not  be  plaited  but  highly 
emljroidered ;  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  silks 
and  satins  designed  for  grand  toilets.  Both  sexes 
seem  to  agree  in  adopting  the  coat  sleeve.  On  the 
whole,  there  is  quite  as  much  similarity  in  the 
latest  fashions  for  ladies  and  gentlemen  as  could 
be  expected. 


DEVOTED  TO  AGBICTJIiTUHE,  HOKTICDXjTTIRE.  AND  KIlinDBED  AETS. 


NEW  SERIES.         Boston,  December,    1807.      VOL.  L— NO.  12. 


R.  P.  EATON  &  CO.,  Pl'bushers, 
Office,  34  Merchants'  How. 


MONTHLY. 


SIMON  BROWN, )  Editors 
S.  FLETCHER,     |  -Editors. 


DECEMBER,  LAST  OF  THE  MOUTHS. 

He  come-- 1     The  tart'y  winter  comes  I 
I  lienr  liU  fjot^tcps  Uir- ^ugh  the  nights! 
I  bear  Ins  viuiL'iiard  from  ihj  liciglits 

Alarch  through  ihe  piues  with  muffled  drums. 

OME  persons  think 
that  this  last  of  the 
vfA  ^\^o  months  is  one  of 
sheer  destruction — 
of  cold,  and  gloom, 
and  decay  of  all 
that  was  beautiful 
through  the  glow- 
/_i"g  portions  of  the 
year;  that  Decem- 
ber and  Death  are 
kindred.  But  it  is 
not  so.  "There  is 
more  dying  in  sum- 
mer time,  if  we  only 
knew  it,  than  there 
is  in  all  the  year 
besides.  There  is 
/l.^N^^I^C-  no  dying  now;  the 
l7^/0Kfm|l  hopeofunotherMay 

(y'lll  ""^^^^f  ^^  locked  at  last  in 

V/  ^  Nature's    heart,    a 

deep  and  great  happiness.     Winter  has  come 
and  the  ro^es  are  safe  for  June." 

The  answer  of  the  old  Friar  to  the  weeping 
maiden  was  a  happy  one : — 

"Wliy  art  thou  weeping,  maiden  mild?" 
Said  u  Friar  grey  to  a  lonely  child. 

"I  weep  for  the  swallows  gone  over  the  sea, 
Who  used  to  come  and  be  fed  by  me." 


'  Then  dry  your  tears,"  said  the  Friar  grey, 
They  will  ail  come  back  in  the  month  of  Ulay." 

So  they  will,  and  with  them  ten  thousand 
beautiful  things  that  the  casual  observer  thought 
were  dead  and  buried.  The  world  is  as  full 
of  life  and  animation  as  ever.  Some  of  it 
may  have  changed  form  before  us.  Some  of 
the  birds — not  all — have  left  us  to  animate 
other  localities.  They  are  not  dead,  but  true 
to  their  instincts,  like  the  Friar's  swallows, 
will  return  to  us  another  May.  The  hum  and 
activity  of  insects  are  not  seen  and  heard 
around  us  as  in  "the  leafy  month  of  June," 
but  life  is  not  extinct  in  them  but  lies  buried 
in  unnumbered  forms,  dormant  in  the  earth,  or 
under  the  bark  of  trees  ;  ineggs,protectedbythe 
skill  of  those  that  produced  them,  beyond  any- 
thing which  the  art  of  man  has  ever  devised ; 
in  cocoons,  impervious  alike  to  heat,  moisture 
and  cold,  and  in  countless  numbers  on  the 
branches  of  our  fruit  trees,  and  in  numerous 
other  forms. 

Life  is  still  everywhere  about  us  in  Decem- 
ber. See  how  the  plump  buds  glisten  on  the 
twigs  of  the  trees, — the  germs  of  future  life 
and  activity.  In  them  lies  folded  the  embryo 
that  shall  expand  into  the  most  beautiful  and 
fragrant  forms, — but  not  till  their  appropriate 
season  has  come,  when  softening  rains  and 
warming  suns  shall  bring  them  forth  in  beau- 
teous vigor,  much — it  seems  to  us, — as  the 
resurrection  of  the  just  shall  take  place  !  See 
the    cones  upon  the  white  pines,    pendant, 


650 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


graceful,  swinging  in  the  breeze,  and  scatter- 
ing their  tiny  seeds,  full  of  life,  over  the  bar- 
ren pasture,  to  clothe  it,  at  some  future  time, 
with  usefulness  and  beauty.  So  all  is  life  and 
activity  about  us,  though  in  a  different  form, 
more  hidden  and  obscure,  perhaps,  than  in  the 
summer  months.  If  the  plant  be  an  annual 
one,  the  whole  organism  perishes  the  first  year ; 
if  perennial,  the  part  of  the  organism  devel- 
oped in  the  atmosphere  alone  dies ;  but  the 
part  of  the  organism  still  below  the  soil,  is 
protected,  and  lives  securely,  sheltered  by  its 
friendly  covering  till  Avarm  weather  come  again, 
and  then  from  that  still  living,  underground  or 
subterranean  stem,  the  same  plants  spring 
forth  in  the  renewed  beauty  and  freshness  of 
youth,  to  go  through  the  same  brief  but  inter- 
esting life-changes. 

As  we  look  from  our  window  upon  acres  of 
trees  planted  by  our  own  hands,  apple,  pear 
and  peach  orchards,  elms,  pines,  the  larch, 
spruce,  beech,  birch,  black  walnut,  and  many 
other  varieties,  all  the  deciduous  ones  of  which 
have  shed  most  of  their  leaves,  how  vividly 
come  to  mind  the  riddles  and  little  songs  from 
nature  that  perplexed  our  narrow  comprehen- 
sion in  childhood  !  How  our  poor  brain  was 
perplexed  in  getting  at  the  truth  wrapt  up  in 
the  following  homely  riddle : — 

In  spring  I  look  gay,  clad  in  comely  array; 

In  summer  more  clotliing  I  wear ; 
But  as  colder  it  grows,  I  tiing  off  my  clothes, 

And  in  winter  quite  naked  appear  I 

What  a  wonderful  thing  is  a  tree !  How 
•would  a  single  town  or  State  look  without  (jne  ? 
What  would  the  climate  be  ?  What  would  com- 
pensate for  the  loss  of  their  fruits,  their  fragrant 
and  charming  flowers,  their  grateful  shade, — 
aye,  and  the  songs  they  sing  ?  Where  would  the 
birds  find  their  homes,  build  their  nests  and 
rear  their  young?  The  inspired  writers  often 
speak  of  the  beauty  of  trees,  and  illustrate 
some  of  their  best  thoughts  by  them.  David 
says  the  man  whose  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers 
of  watar,  that  bringeth  forth  his  fruit  in  sea- 
son, and  compares  himself  to  a  green  olive  tree 
in  the  house  of  God.  In  speaking  of  wisdom, 
Solomon  says,  she  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that 
lay  hold  upon  her. 

In  his  first  lessons  in  botany  and  physiology. 
Prof.  Gray  says  that  the  Washington  Elm,  at 
Cambridge — a  tree  of  no  extraordinary  size — 
was  some  years  ago  estimated  to  produce  a 


crop  of  seven  millions  of  leaves,  exposing  a 
surface  of  two  hundred  thousand  square  feet, 
or  about^re  acres  of  foliage  ! 

Trees  are  the  sanitary  agents  in  the  econo- 
my of  the  world  we  live  in.  By  one  process 
they  abstract  carbon  from  the  atmosphere,  that 
in  due  time  it  may  be  converted  into  wood  and 
other  vegetable  substances  ;  and  by  another, 
through  the  medium  of  their  leaves,  they  pre- 
serve the  air  in  a  condition  fit  for  human 
breathing.  '  'We  little  think  when  we  inhale  the 
fresh  air,  and  quaff  it  upon  the  hills,  like  so 
much  invisible  and  aerial  wine,  that  its  purity 
and  healthfulness  come  of  the  glorious  trees. 
But  so  it  is."  They  also  supply  us  with  nu- 
merous useful  articles,  whether  of  nourishment 
or  of  clothing,  or  of  medicine  ;  with  timber  to 
construct  our  houses,  furniture,  ships,  car- 
riages, and  an  infinite  number  of  lesser,  bst 
scarcely  less  indispensable  articles.  They  live 
and  help  us  live. 

There  is  no  death  in  the  works  of  an  Al- 
mighty hand.  What  we  call  death  shall  live 
again.  "Life  shall  rejoice.  Winter  shall  break 
forth  and  blossom  into  Spring,  Spring  shall 
put  on  her  glorious  apparel  and  be  called 
Summer.  It  is  life  !  It  is  life  !  through  the 
whole  year !" 

But,  it  is  Winter.  Winds  howl  and  snows 
fly.  Cold  penetrates  everywhere.  Want 
stares  into  some  dwellings  like  a  wolf  at  the 
door.  What  is  your  duty  ?  Go  and  deal  your 
Master's  stores. 

"Here  is  your  mission  I    Te  who  feed 

Your  lavish  tires  I     Not  far, 
But  at  your  doors,  your  heathen  are  I 

God'd  poor — your  creditors — take  heed." 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
PERSONAL    CARE   OF    STOCK. 

Farmers  are  apt  to  dread  the  coming  winter, 
in  this  northern  latitude,  because  it  throws 
their  flocks  and  herds  so  long  and  so  entirely 
upon  them  for  food  and  shelter.  And  they 
envy  their  more  favored  brethren  in  a  milder 
clime,  where  the  cattle  graze  in  green  pastures 
and  care  for  themselves,  independently  of  sta- 
bles and  cow-houses,  all  the  year  round.  But 
among  the  pleasantest  of  my  winter  experiences 
is  the  personal  care  of  the  animals  which  this 
inclement  season  renders  so  dependent  on  man 
for  protection  and  sustenance.  To  be  sure,  I 
am  but  a  "one-horse"  farmer,  having  only 
horse,  cow,  pigs  and  poultry  to  care  for. 
Some  of  your  heavy  stock  owners  may  smile  at 
my  simplicity,  and  wonder  at  my  presumption 
in  dictating  terms  to  them.  Well,  let  me 
have,  then,  only  the  ear  of  my  brother   one- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


551 


horse  farmers,  who  do  not  "despise  the  day 
of  small  things,"  and  who  cannot  afford  to 
hire  some  wild  Irishman  to  do  what  they  can 
60  much  better  do  themselves. 

With  me  it  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  neces- 
sity, but  a  source  of  real  pleasure,  to  feed 
and  tend  my  stock  through  the  inclement  season . 
And  while  they  thrive  better,  it  is  wonderful 
how  much  less  hay  and  grain  are  consumed 
under  this  arrangement.  Put  Tom,  Dick  or 
Patrick  in  charge  of  the  stock,  and  as  with 
Molly  or  Bridget  in  the  kitchen,  they  use  lav- 
ishly and  waste  needlest^ly,  what  they  have  no 
personal  interest  to  save.  There  are,  indeed, 
worthy  exceptions  to  this  statement.  And 
here  and  there  you  may  find  a  hireling  who, 
for  a  wonder,  makes  his  master's  interests  his 
own,  and  really  loves  the  animals  that  are  con- 
fided to  his  care.  He  shares  their  owner's 
pride  in  their  sleek  looks  and  good  condition, 
and  sometimes  proves  to  be  the  best  judge  of 
their  merits  and  capacities.  And  the  tender- 
ness with  which  he  cares  for  those  least  able 
to  care  for  themselves,  and  caresses  the  pet 
yearlings  and  sucklings,  proves  him  well  wor- 
thy of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  But  as 
an  offset  to  these  rare  cases  of  tenderness  and 
fidelity  on  the  part  of  servants  and  hirelings, 
think  of  the  instances  of  neglect  and  cruelty 
to  the  dumb  brutes  that  are  left  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  an  irresponsible  hired  man,  or  boy, 
who  tends  them  through  the  winter  in  what 
time  he  can  spare  from  his  meals  and  school. 
Think,  too,  how  many  inconvenient,  vicious 
tricks  have  been  taught  from  this  source,  and 
and  how  many  a  horse  and  cow  have  been 
spoiled  for  life  from  not  being  tended  and 
ti'ained  under  the  eye  of  the  master. 

Then,  again,  we  have  only  to  reiterate  the 
old  adage,  "a  merciful  man  is  merciful  to  his 
beast."  It  is  merciful  and  noble  in  any  man 
to  care  tenderly  for  those  who  next  to  his  own 
household,  claim  his  fostering  care.  If  he  can 
accomplish  this  through  a  more  efficient  instru- 
mentality than  his  own  hands,  very  well.  If 
physical  infirmity  or  disease  disable  him  from 
giving  that  personal  attention,  which  his  per- 
sonal interest  would  prompt,  he  may  justly 
plead,  "the  spirit  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is 
weak."  And  perhaps  it  is  the  most  trying 
thought  connected  with  his  sickness,  that  the 
care  of  his  stock  must  be  left  in  other  hands. 

Of  course  there  is  some  inconvenience  and 
unpleasantness  involved  in  this  personal  care 
of  stock.  And  the  idea  of  one's  doing  his 
own  chores  is  not  to  be  entertained  for  a  mo- 
ment by  certain  so-called  gentlemen  farmers. 
He  would  lose  caste  at  once  and  forfeit  in-evo- 
cably  his  title  to  gentility,  were  he  seen  with  a 
swill-pail,  or  caught  in  the  act  of  milking,  or 
cleaning  the  stable. 

And  here  another  serious  objection  to  the 
personal  performance  of  these  duties  occurs  to 
my  mind.  The  good  lady  of  the  house  dis- 
likes very  naturally  the  odor  of  the  stable,  and 
60  IS  averse  to  having  her  liege  lord  go  and 


stay  where  he  will  be  sure  to  get  its  taint,  and 
bring  it  back  into  the  house  with  his  clothes 
and  boots  and  beard.  Possibly  she  may  be 
one  of  those  fastidious  daughters  of  Eve  that 
never  meant  to  marry  a  farmer,  and  chafes 
daily  under  the  yoke.  But  let  us  more  chari- 
tably suppose  her  to  be,  like  every  true  woman 
and  wife,  heartily  in  sympathy  with  the  hus- 
band of  her  choice,  and  resolved  to  make  the 
most  and  the  best  of  their  natural  lot  in  life, — 
only  she  must  have  home,  sweet  hoiii'",  and  not 
smelling  like  an  Irish  shanty.  Well  this  is 
certainly  a  reasonable  wish,  and  the  writer 
would  not  throw  a  straw  in  the  way  of  its  ful- 
filment. Let  the  good  woman  only  see  to  it 
that  her  good  man  is  duly  equipped  from  head 
to  foot  for  his  chores,  so  that  wlien  he  throws 
of}'  this  stable  outfit,  he  frees  himself  from 
those  unpleasant  odors.  A  little  forethought 
and  painstaking  will  easily  remove  this  difficul- 
ty. Or  suppose  he  does  carry  about  in  his 
garments  something  that  associates  him  with 
the  faithful  horse,  and  indispensable  cow  ?  This 
smell  of  the  stable  is,  after  all,  but  a  mild  re- 
mmder  of  those  "salts  of  ammonia,"  which 
every  lady  has  at  hand  to  revive  her  fainting 
spirit.  And  what  true  woman  would  not  pre- 
fer a  man  with  no  worse  taint  than  this,  to  one 
whose  breath  was  fetid  with  liquor  and  to- 
bacco? Yet  "good  society"  often  discard  the 
former,  and  fi'eely  admit  and  tolerate  the 
latter.  w.  E.  b. 

Massacliuseits,  Nov.  1867. 


STOVES   AlfD    PUKNACES. 

The  season  of  the  year  has  arrived  when 
the  most  danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
escape  of  deleterious  gases  into  dwellings, 
from  stoves  and  furnaces.  Let  all  our  readers 
carefully  examine  their  stoves  and  flues,  and 
remove  the  accumulations  of  waste  material, 
that  the  smoke  and  gases  may  have  free  exit 
into  the  outside  atmosphere.  The  health  of 
thousands  is  seriously  impared  every  year  by 
breathing  the  gases  escaping  from  stoves,  and 
many  have  lost  their  lives  from  this  source. 
The  saddest  sight  we  ever  looked  upon  waa 
one  quiet  Sunday  morning  in  March,  a  few 
years  ago,  when  we  were  called  to  the  house 
of  a  neighbor,  to  view  the  lifeless  bodies  of 
the  father  and  mother  of  a  family,  lying  in  bed 
precisely  as  they  sunk  into  repose  tlie  night 
before.  During  the  night  coal  gas  escaped 
from  a  furnace  in  the  cellar,  and  from  thence 
into  the  chambers,  and  the  whole  family  nar- 
rowly escaped  from  passing  to  that  sleep 
which  knows  no  waking.  As  it  was,  the  fath- 
er and  mother  lost  their  lives. 

Several  of  the  products  of  combustion  are 
of  a  deleterious  nature,  particularly  carbonic 
oxide  and  carbonic  acid.  Anthracite  and  bitu- 
minous coals  contain  considerable  sulphur, 
which  partially  oxidizes  during  combustion  and 
forms  sulphurous  acid  gas,  and  this  is  very  suffo- 
cating and  injurious  when  breathed  into  the 


552 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARI^IER. 


Dec. 


lungs.  Sulphurous  acid  always  escapes  along 
with  the  other  gases  from  burning  coals. 

It  was  supposed  formerly  that  carbonic  acid 
was  a  poisonous  product,  but  it  is  now  known 
not  to  be,  but  is,  nevertheless,  fatal  to  human 
life,  when  inhaled,  as  it  operates  to  exclude 
oxygen  from  the  respiratory  apparatus.  A 
person  can  be  drowned  in  carbonic  acid  as  well 
as  in  water. 

But  carbonic  oxide  is  a  destructive  poison, 
and  certainly  and  rapidly  fatal  to  animal  exis- 
tence even  -when  largely  diluted  with  air. 
When  coals  are  burned  slowly  and  imperfectly, 
large  quantities  of  this  gas  are  formed,  and  if 
it  escapes  into  rooms,  even  in  minute  amounts, 
headache,  verligo,  lassitude,  are  sure  to  result. 

Physicians  in  searching  for  th  ;  causes  of  ill- 
health  in  patients  should  not  overlook  the 
fruitful  sources  connected  with  the  apparatus 
for  household  Avarmth.  Examine  the  stoves, 
we  say.  Is  the  draught  good?  Are  the 
dampers  properly  adjusted?  Is  the  ventila- 
tion of  rooms  such  as  it  should  be?  Look 
well  to  the  stoves  and  furnaces. — Journal  of 
Pharmacy  and  Chemistry. 


MAKING   "WINE. 

We  notice  that  there  is  considerable  discus- 
sion indulged  in  in  various  parts  of  the  coun- 
try on  the  subject  of  wine- making,  and  that 
there  is  much  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  how  it 
should  be  made.  Some  even  claim  that  there 
should  be  not  only  a  liberal  supply  of  sugar 
but  of  alcohol.  It  is  well  known  that  twenty- 
five  years  ago  there  was  little  Madeira  made 
in  its  native  island  that  iiad  not  an  infusion  of 
brandy,  on  the  score  that  it  would  not  other- 
wise "keep."  But  that  idea  has  long  been 
exploded,  and  neither  brandy  or  sugar  is  now 
used  in  Europe  in  the  manufacture  of  wine. 
The  pure  juice  of  the  grape  only  is  used. 
They  cultivate  the  grape  suitable  to  the  soil 
and  climate,  and  in  that,  and  in  the  care  of  ex- 
pressing and  fermenting,  the  whole  secret  lies. 
VVe  have  no  grape  in  this  region  from  v/hich 
we  can  make  drinkable  wine  without  sugar  to 
supply  the  want  of  saccharine  matter  in  the 
fruit.  But  this  artificial  ttpplicatiou  to  the 
"musf"  is  a  very  poor  substitute.  Tlie  truth 
is  we  have  our  doubts  if  any  really  fine  wine  can 
be  made  East  of  the  Mississippi.  Portions  of 
Missouri,  Kansas,  the  "Indian  Territory," 
and  so  through  New  Mexico  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  good  wine  may  be  obtained.  Cali- 
fornia and  some  ol'the  adjoining  regions,  par- 
ticularly, will  probably  become  a  great  wine 
country,  and  may  even  rival  the  best  districts 
of  Europe.  VVe  may  hit  upon  a  grape  even 
here  in  Pennsylvania  that  may  suit  the  soil  and 
climate,  but  it  seems  next  to  impossible  that 
in  this  latitude  with  our  short  seasons  we 
shall  ever  discover  a  grape  with  the  necessary 
proportion  of  sugar,  and  without  it  it  is  useless 
to  attempt  to  make  gc;od  wine. — Germantown, 
Pa.,  2'clcgrajjh. 


THE   CLOSE   OF    THE  YEAR. 

HE  withering  herbage,  the  fall- 
ing leaf,  the  frosts  and  the  chil- 
ly winds  remind  us  that  the 
year  is  drawing  to  its  close.  Na- 
ture has  done  her  day's  work,  and 
is  preparing  for  her  night  of  rest. 
The  spring  came  with  its  singing 
birds,  and  buds  of  promise,  clothed 
in  its  robe  of  green,  bedecked  with  brilliant 
flowers,  and  fragrant  with  perfumed  breath, 
cheering  all  hearts  with  the  inspiration  of  hope, 
and  stimulating  all  life  into  renewed  activity. 
The  summer  has  ended  and  the  harvest  has 
been  garnered,  and  now,  arrived  at  this  station 
on  our  journey,  it  is  appropriate  to  halt,  and 
cast  a  retrospective  glance  at  the  year  that  is 
passing  away. 

In  the  northern  parts  of  the  country,  the 
spring  was  cold  and  wet,  and  it  was  later  than 
usual  before  the  soil  was  prepared  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  seed,  and  as  the  temperature 
has  been  somewhat  below  the  average,  through 
the  summer,  both  the  early  and  the  later  har- 
vests were  from  ten  to  fourteen  days  later  than 
usual. 

A  section  of  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river 
has  suffered  from  drought,  which  has  injured 
the  corn  and  the  late  pasturage. 

But  taking  the  country  at  large,  the  crops 
have  been  abundant,  and  of  fine  quality.  The 
crops  of  hay,  wheat,  oats  and  corn  were  never 
larger  or  better.  Barley  and  buckwheat  are  a 
little  below  the  average.  The  continued  mois- 
ture has  rendered  the  pastures  luxuriant,  and 
preserved  them  green  almost  to  the  present 
time,  so  that  the  cattle  and  sheep  have  re- 
quired no  feeding  from  the  barn,  and  the  en- 
tire forage  crop  is  on  hand  for  the  winter's 
ubc.  Beef  cattle  and  sheep  have  come  from 
the  pastures  in  very  fine  condition,  and  thus 
the  country  has  a  good  supply  of  provisions 
for  the  cold  season  before  us. 

The  crop  of  grain  in  the  entire  South  was 
remarkably  good,  and  much  larger  than  they 
have  been  accustomed  to  make.  The  cotton 
crop,  according  to  all  accounts,  is  much  better 
than  was  anticipated,  amounting  to  between 
two  and  three  millions  of  bales,  nearly  as  largo 
a  crop  as  it  is  desirable  that  this  country  . 
should  raise  at  present.  It  is  probably  not 
best  for  the  world  that  its  markets  should  de- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


553 


pend  for  a  supply  of  this  necessary  of  life, 
upon  any  one  country. 

This  would  give  to  that  country  an  undue 
influence.  Before  the  late  war,  the  cotton 
States  believed  that  bread  riots  would  occur  in 
the  manufacturing  cities  of  the  North  and  in 
England  upon  the  stoppage  of  the  supply  of 
cotton,  and  thus  they  would  be  compelled  to 
accede  to  their  demands.  It  Is  not  desirable 
for  the  Southern  people  themselves  that  they 
should  be  so  extensively  devoted  to  the  culture 
of  one  crop.  It  will  be  much  better  for  them 
to  raise  a  variety  of  crops,  and  thus  secure 
for  themselves  an  abundant  supply  of  the  ne- 
cessaries of  life.  This  course  would  tend  not 
only  to  equalize  property,  but  to  increase  civil- 
ization and  intelligence. 

The  fruit  crop  in  New  England  is  somewhat 
less  than  the  luxuriant  blossom  encouraged  us 
to  hope  for.  Still,  there  are  apples  for  home 
consumption,  although  but  few  for  exportation. 
.  The  continued  moisture  of  August  caused 
the  squashes  and  potatoes  to  yield  a  larger 
crop  of  vines  than  fruit.  These  crops  are 
small,  and  generally  of  poor  quality. 

The  grapes,  being  later  than  usual,  were 
overtaken  by  the  early  frosts,  a  misfortune  to 
which  the  cultivators  of  the  grape  in  this  cli- 
mate will  be  occasionally  liable,  unless  they 
can  find  a  variety  that  ripens  earlier  than  any 
we  yet  have. 

The  health  of  the  entire  country,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  places  on  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi, and  in  the  extreme  South-West,  has  been 
remarkably  good.  Not  even  the  common 
autumnal  fever  and  dysentery  have  prevailed 
to  any  extent. 

On  the  whole,  looking  at  the  whole  country, 
our  people  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful  to 
the  Giver  of  all  good  things,  for  the  rich  sup- 
plies bestowed  upon  us,  for  the  wants  of  both 
man  and  beast. 

Our  Saxon  ancestors  called  November  Blot 
moneth.  Blood  month,  because  on  that  month, 
the  animals  were  slaughtered  and  salted  for 
winter  use,  and  some  were  offered  in  sacrifice 
to  their  Pagan  divinities.  This  usage  has 
been  handed  down  from  them  to  us.  The 
farmers  now  kill  their  beeves  and  swine,  and 
store  them  for  winter,  and  our  feast  of  thanks- 
giving occurs  on  this  month.  The  herbage  is 
no  longer  green,  and  the  animals  have  ceased 
to  grow  and  fatten,  and  can  no  longer  live  and 


thrive  without  being  fed  and  sheltered  by  man. 
He  now  brings  them  to  the  slaughter,  and 
stores  them  up  for  future  use,  and  it  is  both 
i.atural  and  proper,  that  he  should  rejoice  over 
the  fruits  of  his  labor,  and  offer  sacrifices  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving  to  the  Giver  of  all 
his  blessings— the  Father  of  all  his  mercies. 

Although  there  are  clouds  in  our  political 
horizon,  and  difficulties  to  be  encountered  be- 
fore the  country  is  fully  restored  to  peace  and 
prosperity,  we  can  rejoice  for  what  has  already 
been  accomplished,  and  we  will  trust  in'that 
guidance  that  has  carried  us  through  the  trials 
and  struggles  of  the  past. 


FARMERS'    GARDENS. 

The  Germanlown  Tehgrapli  says: — "We 
can  see  an  improvement  In  the  gardens  of  our 
farmers  within  the  last  half  dozen  years.  For 
years  we  have  endeavored  to  convince  the 
general  farmer  of  the  necessity  and  advantage 
of  providing  larger  gardens  tor  their  families, 
and  of  devoting  moie  attention  to  their  culti- 
vation. They  should  raise  tv\o  or  three  times 
as  many  vegetables  as  most  of  them  now  do, 
and  they  must  have  thf  m  earlier.  They  must 
not  be  satisfied  with  two  or  three  messes  of 
beans,  peas,  sweet  corn,  &c.  ;  but  they  must 
enjoy  the  m  daily  for  weeks.  We  do  all  we 
can  to  point  out  the  best  sorts  of  vegetatles 
and  when  to  plant  them.  There  should  be  at 
least  three  plantings  of  peas,  four  cf  corn; 
string  beans  all  the  time,  lima  beans  for  sum- 
mer and  winter,  early  c  ibbage,  beets,  lettuce, 
&c.,  as  long  as  they  will  possibly  last.  An 
early  crop  of  turnips  should  be  put  in,  not  less 
than  three  or  four  stalks  of  celery,  and  any 
amount  of  winter  cabbage. 


Care  of  Highways. — The  greatest  im- 
provement that  can  be  made  on  our  common 
roads  at  the  least  expense,  is  to  keep  the  loose 
stone  from  obstructing  the  travel  on  them. 
Tbis  should  be  the  first,  the  last  and  interme- 
diate duty  of  him  who  has  <he  charge  of  the 
hichvvay.  Another  Important  duty  that  re- 
quires careful  attention,  Is  to  keep  the  sluices 
and  ditches  open,  and  In  condition  so  as  to 
prevent  the  water  from  taking  Its  course  in  the 
middle  of  the  road,  and  thus  doing  much  dam- 
age that  a  very  little  cost  and  labor  might  have 
prevented. 

Cost  of  Macadam  Road. — By  a  careful  ex- 
periment made  In  the  summer  of  1854,  it  was 
ascertained  that  to  quarry  out  and  break  a 
good  quality  of  sandstone  lying  within  wheel- 
ing distance  of  the  track,  and  to  give  a  coating 
ten  inches  deep  and  eight  feet  wide,  costs  less 
than  to  lay  the  same  with  plank  and  sills  when 
lumber  is  delivered  at  $G  per  thousand  feet. 


55-t 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARRIER. 


Dec. 


1st. 

10 

16,5 

20 

30 

33 

40 

50 

60 

70 

80 

90 

100 

110 

120 

130 

140 

150 

10 

.3673 
.0023 

.6061 
.0038 

.7346 
.0046 

1.101 
.0009 

1.212 
.0076 

1.469 
.0092 

1.836 
.0115 

2.204 
.0138 

2.571 
.0161 

2.938 
.0184 

3.306 

.0207 

3.673 
.0230 

4.040 
.0253 

4.408 
.0276 

4.775 
.0299 

5.142 
.0321 

5.509 
.0.344 

16.5 

1.000 
.0003 

1.212 
.0076 

1.818 
.0114 

2.000 
.0125 

2.369 
.0152 

3.030 
.0189 

3.636 

.0227 

4.242 
.0265 

4.848 
.0303 

5.455 
.0341 

C.060 
.0378 

6.666 
.0416 

7.272 
.0454 

7.878 
.0492 

8.484 
.0530 

9.090 
.0568 

11.02 

.0689 

20 

1.469 
.0092 

2.203 
.0138 

2.424 
.0152 

2.938 
.0184 

3.673 
.0230 

4.407 
.0275 

5.142 
.0321 

5.879 
.0367 

6.611 
.0413 

7.340 
.0459 

8.080 
.0505 

8.815 
.0551 

9.550 
.0597 

10.28 
.0643 

2d. 

150 

30 

3.306 

.0207 

3.630 

.0227 

4.047 
.0276 

5.510 
.0344 

6.612 
.0413 

7.713 

.0482 

8.815 
.0551 

9.911 
.0619 

11.02 
.0689 

12.12 

.0758 

13.22 
.0826 

14.33 

.0895 

15.43 

0964 

16.53 
.1031 

150 

82.04 
.5105 

160 

33 

4.000 
.0250 

4.848 
.0303 

6.061 
.0379 

7.273 
.0455 

8.485 
.0530 

9.097 
.0606 

10.91 

.0682 

12.12 

.0758 

13.33 
.0833 

14.55 
.0909 

15.76 

.0985 

19.10 
.1194 

10.97 
.1061 

18.18 
.1136 

160 

88.15 
..5509 

94.03 
.5876 

170 

40 

5.877 
.0367 

7.346 
.0459 

8.815 
.0551 

10.28 
.0643 

11.75 
.0734 

13.22 

.0820 

14.69 
.0918 

10.16 
.1010 

17.63 
.1102 

20.57 
.1286 

22.04 
.1377 

170 

93.66 

.5854 

99.91 

.6244 

106.15 
.6034 

180 

50 

9.182 

.0574 

11.02 
.0689 

12.85 
.0803 

14.69 
.0918 

16.53 
.1033 

18.37 
.1148 

20.20 
.1203 

22.04 
.1377 

26.45 
.1653 

23.88 
.1492 

2.5.77 
.1606 

27.55 
.1722 

180 

99.17 
.0198 

105.78 
.6611 

112.39 

.7025 

119.01 
.7438 

190 

60 

13.22 

.0826 

15.45 
.0964 

17.63 
.1102 

19.83 
.1240 

22.04 
.1377 

24.34 
.1515 

28.05 
.1791 

30.85 

.1928 

33.06 
.2066 

38..57 
.2410 

190 

104.68 
.6542 

111.66 
.6979 

118.64 
.7415 

125.61 

.7851 

132..59 

.8287 

200 

70 

18.00 
.1125 

20.57 
.1286 

23.14 
.1446 

25.71 
.1607 

28.28 
.1768 

30.93 

.1928 

33.43 

.2089 

36.00 
.2250 

200 

110.19 

.0887 

117.54 
.7346 

124.88 
.7805 

132.23 

.8264 

139.57 

.8724 

146.92 
.9182 

210 

80 

23.51 
.1469 

26.45 
.1653 

29.38 
.1837 

32.32 

.2020 

35.26 
.2204 

38.20 
.2388 

41.14 
.2571 

44.08 
.2755 

210 

115.70 
.7231 

123.41 
.7713 

131.12 

.8195 

138.84 

.8678 

146.55 
.9159 

154.26 
.9641 

161.98 
1.012 

220 

90 

29.75 
.1860 

33.06 
.2066 

36.36 
.2273 

39.67 
.2479 

42  98 
.2085 

46.28 
.2893 

49..59 
.3099 

220 

121.21 

.7575 

129.29 

.8081 

137.37 

.8580 

145.45 
.9091 

153.53 
.9595 

161.61 
1.010 

169.69 
1.060 

177.77 
I.IU 

230 

100 

36.73 
.2296 

40.40 
.2525 

44.08 
.2755 

47.75 
.2984 

51.42 
.3214 

55.10 
.3444 

230 
240 

126.72 
.7920 

135.17 
.8448 

14.3.01 

.8976 

152.00 
.9503 

160.51 
1.003 

168.96 
1.055 

177.41 
1.109 

185.85 
1.162 

194.30 
1.214 

240 

110 

44.44 

.2777 

48.93 
.3058 

52.53 
.3283 

56.57 
.3535 

60.61 

.3785 

132.22 
.8255 

141.04 

.8806 

149.86 
.9366 

158.67 
.9917 

167.49 
1.047 

176.30 
1.102 

185.12 
1.157 

193.93 
1.212 

202.75 
1.267 

211  56 
1.322 

250 

120 

52.89 
.3306 

57.30 
.3581 

62.08 
.3880 

61.71 
.3857 

66.85 
.4178 

66.12 
.4132 

71.63 
.4476 

250 
260 

137.04 

.8009 

146.92 
.9182 

156.10 
.9756 

165.29 
1.033 

174.47 
1.090 

183.65 
1.148 

192.83 
1.205 

202.01 
1.263 

211.20 
1.320 

220.38 
1.377 

229.56 
1.434 

260 

130 

143.25 

.8953 

152.80 
.9545 

162.35 
1.015 

171.90 
1.074 

182.92 
1.143 

190.99 
1.194 

200.54 
1.253 

210.09 
1.313 

219.64 
1.373 

229.20 
1.432 

238.74 
1.492 

248.29 
1.551 

270 

140 

71.99 
.4499 

77.14 
.4821 

270 

148.70 
.9297 

1.58.68 
.9917 

168.59 
1.054 

178.51 
1.116 

188.42 
1.178 

198.34 
1.240 

208.26 
1.302 

218.17 
1.364 

228.09 
1.426 

238.01 

1.488 

247.93 
1.549 

257.84 
1.611 

267.76 
1.673 

280 

150 

82.64 
.5165 

280 

154.27 
.9641 

164.55 

1.028 

174.84 
1.093 

185.12 
1.157 

195.40 
1221 

205.69 
1.286 

215.97 
1.350 

226.26 
1.414 

236.55 
1.478 

246.83 
1.543 

257.12 
1.607 

267.40 
1.671 

277.68 
1.736 

287.97 
1.800 

290 

290 

159.78 
.9985 

170.43 
1.065 

181.08 
1.132 

191.73 
1.198 

202.3- 
1.2G5 

213.03 
1.331 

223.69 
1.398 

234  34 
1.465 

244.99 
1.531 

2.55.65 
1.598 

266.30 
1.664 

276.95 
1.731 

287.60 
1.797 

298.2'5 
1.864 

308.91 
1.931 

300 

' 

300 

105.29 
1.033 

17G.31 
1.103 

187.32 
1.171 

198.34 
1.240 

209.36 
1.308 

220.39 
1.377 

231.40 
1.446 

242.42 
1.515 

2.53.44 
1.584 

264.46 
1.653 

275.48 
1.722 

286.50 
1.791 

297..52 
1.859 

308.,54 
1.928 

3 19. .56 
1.997 

330.58 
2.066 

341.60 
2.135 

310 

3.52.98 
2.206 

310 

170.80 ; 182  18 
1.0671  1.139 

193.56 
1.210 

204.95 
1.281 

216.34 
1.352 

227.73 
1.423 

239.12 
1.494 

2.50.50 
1.566 

261.89 
1.637 

273.28 

1.708 

284.66 
1.779 

296.05 
1.850 

307.44 
1.921 

318.82 
1.993 

330.21 
2.064 

TABLE  OF  MEASUKES  OF  LAND. 


This  table  was  prepared  with  great  labor  I 
and  care  by  W.  H.  Foss,  one  of  the  assistants 
of  J.  H.  Shedd,  Civil  Engineer  of  this  city, 
and  was  electrotyped  expressly  for  the  New 
England  Farmer.  In  the  tidy  form  of  our 
monthly  edition  it  will  be  very  convenient  for 
reference.  In  his  explanation  of  the  table, 
Mr.  Shedd  well  remarks  that  "the  results  of 
agricultural  experiments  cannot  be  compared 
without  a  knowledge  of  the  area  of  the  land  on 
which  each  crop  was  grown,  and  as  it  is  not 
always  convenient  to  plant  just  an  acre,  or  half 
or  quarter  of  an  acre,  it  becomes  desirable  to 
have  at  hand  such  a  table  as  is  given  above, 
for  reference.  It  will  enable  a  person  to 
use  such  a  piece  of  land  as  he  may  happen  to 


have,  fit  for  the  purpose,  of  any  width  or 
length  given  in  the  table,  with  the  means  to 
readily  ascertain  the  area  in  square  rods  or 
square  acres,  in  whole  numbers  and  decimals. 
Tlie  table  is  used  in  about  the  same  niinner 
as  an  ordinary  multiplication  table,  and  though 
it  occupies  but  about  half  the  space  usually 
given  to  those  tables,  yet  it  contains  as  much 
information  as  though  made  up  in  the  square 
form.  The  multiplication  of  any  number  in 
the  diagonal  rows,  into  another  number 
less  than  itself,  is  a  mere  repetition  of  work 
that  has  been  done  before,  and  tlierefore  this 
table  is  made  up  so  that  the  square  of  a  num- 
ber in  the  diagonal  rows  is  the  first  result  given 
in  the  table  opposite  or  below  that  number. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


555 


The  darker  figures  represent  the  measurements 
in  feet  as  taken  on  the  ground.  The  area 
given  in  lighter  figures  is  expressed  in  square 
rods  by  the  upper  number,  and  in  square  acres 
by  the  lower  number. 

There  are  two  tables  given  above,  having  no 
connection  with  each  other,  except  that  the 
darker  figures  in  the  lower  are  in  continuation 
of  those  in  the  upper  at  corresponding  inter- 
vals. In  the  first  table,  the  toidth  of  the  piece 
of  land,  expressed  in  feet,  must  be  looked  for 
in  the  diagonal  row  of  darker  figures,  the 
length  in  the  horizontal  row  of  darker  figures 
at  the  top.  In  the  second  table  the  width 
must  be  looked  for  in  the  diagonal  row  of 
darker  figures,  and  the  length  in  the  vertical 
column  of  darker  figures  at  the  left.  The 
area  will  be  found  below  the  one  and  opposite 
the  other. 

To  illustrate  the  use  of  the  table  : — Suppose 
we  wish  to  know  the  contents  in  rods  and  in 
acres  of  a  piece  of  land  140  feet  long  by  80 
feet  wide.  We  look  in  the  upper  table  for 
140  in  the  top  row  of  dark  figures  and  find  it 
at  the  top  of  the  last  column  but  one.  Follow- 
ing that  column  down  opposite  to  80  in  the 
upper  diagonal  row  of  dark  figures  and  we 
find  it  contains  41.14  square  rods,  or  .2571 
acres.  Suppose  we  have  another  piece  just  twice 
as  long  and  twice  as  wide ;  we  look  in  the  lower 
table  for  the  length,  280  feet,  in  the  vertical  col- 
umn of  dark  figures,  and  for  the  width,  160  feet, 
in  the  lower  diagonal  row,  and  find  them  at  the 
head  of  the  second  column :  then  following 
that  column  down  opposite  to  the  280,  we  find 
the  area  to  be  164.55  rods,  or  1.028  acres. 

Having  ascertained  the  area  of  the  piece 
of  ground,  and  the  quantity  of  the  crop 
grown,  the  quantity  per  acre  may  be  found 
as  follows  : — Suppose  the  piece  to  measure 
80  feet  in  width  by  140  feet  in  length,  the 
crop  be  to  barley,  and  the  quantity  grown  288 
quarts, — annex  as  many  cyphers  to  the  num- 
ber of  quarts  as  there  are  decimal  numbers  in 
the  area  as  given,  and  divide  by  the  area. 
The  result  will  be  the  number  of  quarts  per 
acre ;  divide  by  32  and  the  result  will  be 
bushels.  In  this  case  the  quantity  being  ex- 
pressed by  288,  annexing  four  cyphers  we 
have  2,880,000:  dividing  by  2571,  we  have 
1120  quarts  per  acre;  divide  by  32  and  the 
result  is  35  bushels  per  acre.  As  by  exam- 
ple : — 


by 


Area  of  apiece  80x140=  .2571,  as  taken  from  the  table. 
Quantity  288  quarts.    Annex  four  cyphers  and  divide 


.2571  ^  2880000  / 1120  quarts. 
>'2571      ^ 

309O 
2571 

5190 
6142 

480 


Divide  that  result  by  32  \  1 1 20  /  35  bushels. 
/   96  \ 


160 
160 


The  process  would  be  the  same  if  the  quan- 
tity of  the  crop  were  expressed  in  bushels, 
pounds  or  tons.  If  the  quantity  per  square 
rod  is  sought,  the  same  figures  must  be  used, 
except  that  the  quantity  must  be  divided  by 
the  area  in  rods  as  expressed  by  the  upper 
number  in  the  table,  instead  of  the  area  in 
acres,  as  expressed  by  the  lower  number. 

The  quantity  of  the  experimental  crop  should 
be  measured  in  the  smallest  denomination  that 
is  practicable,  to  insure  accuracy  in  the  result 
per  acre.  If  by  dry  measure,  the  crop  may 
be  measured  in  quarts,  if  by  weight,  in  pounds. 


Good  Courage. — Dr.  Henry  Boynton  of 
Woodstock,  Vt.,  editor  of  the  sheep  and  wool 
department  of  the  Mirror  and  Farmer,  looks 
out  upon  the  "situation"  thus  hopefully: — 
"Notwithstanding  the  low  price  of  wool,  our 
farmers  would  as  soon  think  of  abandoning 
their  homes  as  their  flocks.  Nay,  the  know- 
ing ones  are  already  bestirring  themselves  in 
pursuit  of  bargains,  shrewdly  reckoning  that 
wool  can  touch  no  lower  deep — unless  the  bot- 
tom falls  out — and  that  the  best  time  to  buy 
sheep  is  when  they  can  be  bought  cheapest. 
Now  is  the  time  to  buy  sheep,  before  the  stock 
of  woolen  goods  is  swept  out  of  the  market, 
and  the  price  of  wool  advanced,  as  it  must  and 
will  be." 


Two  and  a  half  Acres. — It  was  stated  at 
a  late  meeting  of  the  Little  Falls  Farmers' 
Club,  by  Mr.  Lewis,  that  a  Mr.  Blood,  living 
ill  the  vicinity  of  Herkimer,  had  kept  this 
summer  eleven  cows,  a  bull  and  a  horse,  upon 
two  and  a  half  acres  of  land.  The  stock  was 
kept  in  a  yard  and  soiled.  The  land  had  been 
cut  over  several  times  to  furnssh  the  necessa- 
ry food  during  the  season,  but  the  stock  had 
been  kept.  This  fact  might  suggest  the  ques- 
tion whether  our  farmers,  ordinarily,  were  get- 
ting the  best  results  that  could  be  had  from 
their  land. 


656 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


THE   BED    ASTKACHAISr    APPLE. 


This  fruit  which  ripens  from  July  25  to  the 
middle  of  August  is  described  very  correctly 
by  Mr.  Downing  as  of  extraordinary  beauty. 
It  was  first  imported  into  England  with  the 
White  Astraehan,  from  Sweden,  in  1816.  It 
bears  abundantly  with  us,  and  its  singular  rich- 
ness of  color  is  heightened  by  an  ex([uisite 
bloom  on  the  surface  of  the  fruit,  like  that  of 
a  plum.  It  is  one  of  the  handsomest  dessert 
fruits,  and  its  quality  is  good,  but  if  not 
taken  from  the  tree  as  soon  as  ripe,  it  is 
liable  to  become  mealy.  Ripens  from  the 
last  of  July  to  (he  middle  of  August.  Fruit 
pretty  large,  rather  above  the  middle  size, 
and  very  smooth  and  fair,  roundish,  a  lit- 
tle narrowed  towards  the  eye.  Skin  almost 
entirely  covered  with  deep  crimson,  with  some- 
times a  little  greenish  yellow  in  the  shade,  and 
occasionally  a  little  russet  near  the  stalk,  and 
covered  with  a  pale  white  bloom.  Stalk  rath- 
er short  and  deeply  inserted.     Calyx  set  in  a 


slight  basin,  which  is  sometimes  a  little  irreg- 
ular. Flesh  quite  white,  crisp,  moderately 
juicy,  with  an  agreeable,  rich,  acid  flavor. 


American  Pomological  Society. — We 
have  received  the  following  circular,  and  com- 
mend it  to  the  attention  of  all  fruit  growers  : — 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  Oct.,  1867. 
Dear  Sir  : — You  are  specially  invited  to  aid  tlie  mak- 
ing up  (if  the  above  tiamed  C^ociety'!*  biennial  report,  by 
coutiibutini^  immediately  any  information  you  have 
relative  to  new  seedlings  and  the  values  of  different 
fruits,  diseases,  soils,  etc:.,  in  your  section  of  country. 
You  are  also  invited  to  forward  samples  of  any  new 
Seedling  or  unnamed  fruits  by  Express,  to  the  address 
of  the  8ecr(tary,  tliat  lie  may  make  comparisons,  draw- 
ings and  d'seriptions.  Any  fruit,  thus  forwarded,  the 
names  of  which  are  unknown  to  him,  will  be  again  trnne- 
mitled  to  I'omolotiists  for  the  (iesired  information.  The 
American,  United  iStates,  and  Merchants'  Union  Express 
Companies  have  generou^ly  oftVred  to  transport  all  sam- 
ple packages  of  fruit  for  this  purpose  FREE.  Due  ci'edit 
will  be  given  to  couttibutors.     Very  respectfully, 

F.  R.  Elliott,  Secretary. 

N.B  — The  feeof  Moml)ership  to  the  American  Pomo- 
logical Society  is  $'J  00  IJiennially,  or  $li).tl()  for  Life. 
Remittances  may  be  forwarded  either  to  the  Secretary, 
or  to  Thomas  P.  Jumcs,  Treasurer,  x'hiludelpliia,  Pa. 


1867. 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


557 


PRODUCT  OF  OO^WS. 

In  an  exceedingly  interesting  article,  com- 
municated to  the  Country  Qenileman,  by  our 
old  correspondent.  Judge  French,  of  Con- 
cord, IMass.,  we  find  the  following  in  relation 
to  "milk  for  market,"  and  a  statement  of  the 
cost  of  feeding  and  the  product  of  a  herd  of 
cows.  A  perusal  of  the  latter  by  our  corres- 
pondent, Avho  makes  the  inquiries  in  another 
column,  as  to  the  comparative  values  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  fodder,  may  throw  some  light  upon 
•liis  in(|uiries : — 

Milk  for  Market. 

This  forms  an  important  item  in  all  hus- 
bandry near  large  towns.  Heavy  trains,  car- 
rying milk  alone,  are  daily  run  into  Boston  on 
most  of  the  railways,  and  they  biing  milk  col- 
lected 75  or  100  miles  away.  The  advantages 
of  the  trallic  to  the  iarmer  are,  that  it  brings 
him  a  large  amount  of  ready  money,  that  he 
consumes  his  fodder  at  home,  and  so  makes  a 
large  quantity  of  manure,  and  that  he  relieves 
his  family  from  the  labor  of  butter  and  cheese 
making. 

The  disadvantages  arc  rather  public  than 
private.  Milk  is  sold  by  quantity,  not  quality, 
and  anything  that  flows  from  a  cow's  teats  is 
milk  fit  for  market,  although  we  all  know  that 
for  domestic  use,  some  milk  is  really  worth 
twice  as  mut  h  as  other  milk.  In  general  the 
milkman  recognizes  no  difference  between  the 
milk  of  a  Jersey  cow — four  or  five  quarts  of 
which  make  a  pound  of  butter,  and  that  of  a 
native,  of  which  twelve  or  fourteen  quarts  will 
scarcely  make  that  quantity.  The  milk  pro- 
ducer then  only  seeks  for  the  cow  that  gives 
most  milk,  with  no  regard  to  quality,  and  so 
the  milk  business,  to  use  a  common  expression, 
demoralizes  stock  raising. 

A  man  can  hardly  sell  milk  and  raise  calves. 
He  mubt  stipulate  to  furnish  a  somewhat  reg- 
ular supply,  because  the  milkman  has  his  reg- 
ular customers  to  supply.  To  do  this  he  must 
maintain  his  stock  of  cows  at  a  certain  average, 
and  he  cannot  well  keep  dry  cows,  or  give 
milk  to  calves ;  or,  indeed,  unless  he  has  ex- 
tensive stables  and  pastures,  pretend  to  raise 
stock.  The  common  practice  is  to  buy  new 
milch  cows  and  sell  them  to  the  butcher  as 
they  dry  up,  or  if  any  are  kept  over,  to  kill  or 
sell  their  calves  at  a  week  old  or  less.  The 
demand  of  stock-growers  by  the  milk  pro- 
ducer is,  of  course,  only  for  cows  that  .give 
large  quantities  of  milk,  no  matter  about  the 
quality.  In  the  London  city  dairies  most  of 
(heir  cows  are  grade  Short  Horns,  or  other 
large  breeds,  which  are  bought  when  full  of 
milk — tied  in  the  stall  until  the  quantity  of  milk 
is  reduced  to  a  certain  limit ;  fed  liberally,  in 
the  meantime,  so  as  to  become  fat,  and  then 
sold  to  the  butcher.  This  is  and  must  be  the 
practice  everywhere  where  milk  is  the  staple 
product.     A  large  flow  of  milk,  aptitude  to 


fatten  and  large  size  are  the  points  to  be  re- 
gauUd — the  very  points  which  are  wanting  in 
the  Channel  Island  or  Jersey  cattle — admitted 
to  be  the  best  milkers  as  to  quality,  and  the 
most  regular  in  iheir  yield. 

Willi  milk  at  the  stable  worth  about  four 
cents  per  wine  quart,  a  stock  of  cows,  as  kept 
by  our  farmers,  yield  each  an  average  of  about 
2500  quarts,  worth  $'00,  a  Iract'nn  less  than 
seven  quarts  a  day.  To  do  this  ihey  must  be 
liberally  fed,  and  those  that  ful  must  he  re- 
placed by  others.  I  have  not  in  mind  the 
statistics  of  milk  dairies,  but  cive  estimates 
gathered  from  my  neighbors.  The  quality  of 
the  pasturing  is,  cf  course,  an  iuipoitant  ele- 
ment, as  pasturing  is  mainly  relied  on  for  five 
months  in  summer.  In  whiter  shorts  and  oil 
meal,  with  whatever  roots  can  be  produced, 
are  liberally  fed  wiih  hay,  to  keep  up  the  flow 
of  milk  to  the  average  named. 

Governor  Boutwell's  Cows. 

Since  I  began  this  letter  I  have  visited  the 
dairy  of  this  di^tinguished  gentleman  at  Gro- 
ton.  Although  the  Governor  is,  perhaps,  best 
known  just  now  as  a  radical  politician,  not  ar- 
dent in  his  support  of  the  President,  yet  he 
carries  into  his  agricultural  affairs  the  mathe- 
matical accuracy  which  made  him  so  efficient 
as  first  commissioner  of  internal  levcnue.  He 
is  doing  what  most  of  us,  who  do  not  labor 
regu!arly  with  our  own  hands,  fail  to  do — that 
is,  making  his  farm  por?/. 

He  has  a  beautiful  stock  of  Avrshire  cattle, 
with  some  Jerseys.  He  keeps  an  accurate  ac- 
count of  the  milk  yielded  by  each  cow,  having 
it  weighed  morning  and  night,  every  Wednes- 
day, and  takes  that  as  the  average  for  the 
week.  From  his  books  he  has  given  ine  the 
following  notes,  which  contain  some  valuable 
statistics  of  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  stock  of 
cattle,  as  well  as  good  suggestions  as  to  the 
various  kinds  of  feed,  and  the  manner  of  pre- 
paring it. 

The  question  of  the  economy  of  cutting 
fodder,  and  of  cooking  it,  depends  much  on 
the  value  of  fodder  and  of  the  products  of 
the  dairy. 

The  statement  of  the  quantity  of  milk  given 
by  five  of  the  cows  on  Gov.  Boutwell's  estate, 
during  the  year  18GG,  is  interesting.  The 
cows  are  none  of  them  of  large  size,  and  prob- 
ably all  of  them  gave  more  than  seven  times 
their  live  weight  of  milk  in  the  year.  I  think 
the  quantity  will  prove  to  be  very  large,  and 
I  hope  your  correspondents  may  furnish  the 
means  of  forming  a  correct  judgment  on  the 
subject.  The  average  amount  of  milk  in  the 
year  given  by  a  herd  of  five  cows,  kept  up  by 
exchanging  them  when  their  milk  fails,  is  quite 
a  different  matter  from  the  average  of  five 
cows  kept  during  the  whole  time. 

The  Governor's  statements  are  as  follows : 
In  the  winter  of  1861  I  fed  25  cattle,  2  ox- 
en, 1  bull,  16  cows,  5  heifers  two  years  old,  1 


558 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


Dec. 


heifer  one  year  old.     The  daily  food  was   as 
foUows : 

Milk  Dairy  Statistics. 

132  lbs.  husks  and  straw  at  $8  pf  r  ton $0  53 

44  lbs.  oats,  (cut  in  milk,)  at  $13  per  ton  ...   .  29 

1  bushel  shorts 27 

1  bushel  corn  and  cob  meal 5U 

i4  bushel  oat  meal 27 

130  lbs.  dry  hay  at  $16 1  04, 

3  bushels  mangolds,  15  cts 45 

$3.35 
Hay  and  straw  cut  and  mixed — boiling  water  used. 
Feed  to  stand  10  or  12  hours  before  feeding. 

In  the  winter  of  18G2  I  fed  27  cattle,  to  wit : 
20  cows,  1  two  year  old,  1  three  year  old  bull, 
and  5  calves.     Daily  food. 

240  lbs.  oats  cut  in  milk,  and  hay. 
18  lbs.  shorts. 
40  11)8.  corn  and  cob  meal. 
ICO  lbs.  dry  hay. 
Mixed  thoroughly,  wet  with  boiling  water,  and  allow- 
ed to  stand  aboiU  10  or  12  hours  before  foeeding. 
Value  in  1S62  at  Barn. 

340  lbs.  hay  and  oats,  at  $12  per  ton $2  04 

18  lbs.  shorts 18 

40  lbs.  corn  and  cob  meal 48 

$2.70 

In  1861  and  18G2my  cattle  were  in  fair  con- 
dition, equal  to  that  of  farmers'  cattle  gener- 
ally. At  present,  however,  I  feed  better — say 
to  the  amount  of  20  per  cent.  This,  added  to 
the  cost  in  18G2,  would  make  $3.24.  Esti- 
mating the  stock  as  equal  to  24  cows,  the  cost 
would  be  about  13^  cents  each  per  day.  Add- 
ing 20  p3r  cent,  to  the  quantity,  and  estimat- 
ing the  value  of  the  provender  at  present 
prices,  the  account  will  stand  thus  : 

418  lbs.  hay  and  oats  at  $20 $4  18 

22  lbs.  shorts  at  IJ  cents 33 

48  lbs.  corn  and  cob  meal,  at  \%  cents 84 

$5.35 
To  which  should  be  added  4  bush,  roots  at  20c.,  80 

24  cows • $6.15 

Each   cow 25 

In  these  estimates  no  account  is  made  of 
labor  or  fuel  required  in  the  business  of  feed- 
ing in  the  manner  set  forth.  The  manure  is 
the  only  return  that  a  farmer  can  expect  to 
get. 

The  annual  cost  of  keeping  a  cow  is  then — in  win- 
ter, 183  days,  at  25  cents $45  75 

In  summer,  182  days,  at  10  cents 18  20 

$63.95 

In  1861  I  kept  14  cows  through  the  year, 
and  they  yielded  an  average  of  4002  pounds 
of  milk.  Half  of  the  animals  were  between 
two  and  four  years  of  age. 

The  amount  of  milk  is  not  large,  but  it  is 
equal  to  the  (juantity  obtained  by  farmers  gen- 
erally, especially  in  the  country,  where  the 
business  of  feeding  is  not  well  understood. 

Upon  the  basis  of  the  quantity  of  milk  ob- 
tained in  1862,  and  the  cost  of  feeding  in  1867, 
every  hundred  pounds  of  milk  would  now  cost 
$1.60,  or  about  3  1-5  cents  per  quart.  It  did 
not,  in  fact,  cost  but  about  half  tiiat  sum  in 
1862. 

In  1866  I  milked  15  cows  through  the  year, 


6  of  them  being  less  than  four  years  of  age. 
The  15  cows  and  heifers  yielded  74,140  pounds 
of  milk,  being  an  average  of  4942  pounds. 
Upon  the  basis  of  the  cost  of  feeding  at  the 
present  time,  (Sept.,  1867)  each  hundred 
pounds  of  milk  cost  $1.29,  or  2  3-5  cents  per 
quart,  wine  measure. 

Quantity  of  Milk  from  Jan.  1, 18GG,  to  Jan.  1, 1867. 

Name.  Age.  Breed.  Quantity  in  fcs. 

Diana,...     7  years,         ^^^^^^  7357 

Nellie,  ...     7  years,  Ayrthire,  6300 

Fannie,    .  .     7  years,         j  If  ^^^j^^'  6175 

Topsy.  .  .     8  years,         j  J '^S,?  ^^^^ 

Mattie,     .  .  10  years,  Ayrshire,  5425 

31,242 

Pounds  per  cow 6248 

Each  cow  had  a  calf  during  the  year.  Feed 
during  the  summer,  pasture  only.  In  winter, 
ha}',  straw  and  corn-fodder  cut,  with  corn  and 
cob  meal  added,  and  all  cooked  by  steam. 
Also  a  small  quantity  of  roots. 

If  other  correspondents  woidd  furnish  state- 
ments as  accurate  as  these,  valuable  results  as 
to  the  prolits  of  stock-growing  and  dairying 
might  be  attained.         Henry  F.  French. 

Concord,  Mass.,  Aug.  29,  1867. 


EXTE.ACTS    AND    REPLIES. 

TO   PBEPARE     STRAWBERRY     PLANTS     FOR    TRANS- 
PORTATION. 

A  friend  of  mme,  now  in  Oregon,  wants  me  to 
send  him  a  tlioui-and  strawberry  plants.  They  will 
go  liy  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.'s  Express,  and  Ly  vvater, 
and  will  be  about  thirty  days  on  the  way.  Now  I 
would  like  information  in  regard  to  the  best  way 
of  preparing  them  for  their  journey.  I  suppose 
the  l)et-t  tinic  for  taking  them  up  will  be  in  March, 
when  the  vital  forces  of  the  plant  are  all  inactive, 
and  just  as  soon  as  the  ground  has  thawed  sufQ- 
cicntly.  Also,  that  the  large,  outside  leaves  should 
be  removed,  leaving,  perhaps,  the  small  growth 
from  the  centre  of  the  root.  These  outside  leaves 
would  take  up  considerable  room,  on  which  ex- 
press must  Ijc  paid  to  get  to  San  Francisco,  at  the 
rate  of  ^1.80  per  cultic  foot,  in  gold.  Then,  how 
should  they  be  packed,  loosely  or  closely  ?  Should 
they  be  packed  in  damp,  or  wet  moss,  and  should 
they  be  in  a  very  tight,  or  in  a  ventilated  box  ? 
Whoever  will  give  the  necessary  information,  and 
correct  whatever  wrong  ideas  I  may  have  ex- 
pressed, will  receive  my  most  sincere  thanks. 

Franklin,  Mass.,  Oct.  7,  1867.  F. 

Remarks. — In  reply  to  the  foregoing  inquiries, 
we  are  very  happy  in  being  able  to  present  the  fol- 
lowing suggestions  from  a  gentleman  of  greatei 
experience,  pioliably,  as  a  florist,  seedsman,  and 
nurseryman,  than  any  other  individual    in  the  fl 

State.  There  is  considerable  inquiry  among  farm- 
ers and  others  as  to  the  means  of  obtaining  and 
methods  of  cultivating  strawberries,  and  a  great 
many  of  our  readers  will  join  with  "F."  in  thanks 
to  Mr.  Brcck  for  his  prompt  and  full  reply. 

Strawberry  plants  are  the  most  difficult  of  almost 
any  other  to  transport  with  safety  when  they  are 
kept  out  of  ground  a  long  time,  especially  when 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


559 


they  are  on  a  sea  voyage  of  thirty  days,  part  of  the 
time  in  a  tropical  climate.  To  pack  them  in  wet 
moss  would  he  their  destruction  in  half  that  length 
of  time  on  ship  board. 

I  have  found  that  the  best  way  to  preserve  them 
on  a  voyage  of  any  length  is  to  take  up  good  sound, 
young  and  well  established  runners,  the  last  of 
April ;  divest  them  of  all  decayed  leaves,  tie  them 
in  bunches  of  25  or  -50,  having  their  crowns  disposed 
evenly,  and  then  dip  the  roots  in  a  clay  puddle, 
working  it  into  all  the  roots ;  let  these  bunches  get 
dry  or  nearly  so ;  then  pack  them  tight  in  a  box 
with  the  crowns  upward,  and  let  the  top  be  covered 
with  slats  to  let  in  the  air,  and  I  think  they  will  go 
safe.    Yours  &c.,  Jos.  Breck. 

EARLY   LOSS    OF    THE   HAIR. 

Will  you  or  some  of  your  readers  give  me  a 
receipt,  through  the  Farmer,  to  prevent  hair  from 
falling  out  and  to  promote  its  growth.  I  am  a 
young  man  and  my  hair  has  been  falling  off  for  a 
year,  and  now  it  is  very  thin.  I  have  tried  all  the 
hair  oils  and  received  no  benefit;  and  now,  as  a 
last  resort,  I  apply  to  the  Farmer  for  help,  as  I 
always  do  when  needed.  Albert. 

Remarks. — If  the  cause  be  hereditary,  no  medi- 
cament will  cure.  In  some  families  the  hair  falls  off 
in  early  life,  for  which  no  possible  cause  can  be 
assigned.  In  other  families  the  teeth  decay  long 
before  manhood  arrives.  If  not  hereditary,  and 
the  skin  requires  a  little  quickening,  perhaps  the 
best  applications  are  a  wash  of  glycerine  and 
water,  or  a  weak  solution  of  borax  in  water. 

"Washing  the  head  occasionally  in  moderately 
cold  water,  and  rubbing  gently  until  the  hair  is 
dry,  would  tend  to  give  increased  activity  to  the 
Bkin  and  thereby  cause  it  to  hold  on  to  the  hair.  But 
it  should  not  be  washed  as  often  as  to  wash  away 
all  the  natural  oily  and  softening  secretions  of  the 
skin. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  hair  oils,  or  hair  re- 
storers, as  they  are  called,  are  probably  injurious 
to  the  head  and  hair,  instead  of  promoting  its 
growth,  or  retaining  it  upon  the  head.  And  it  is 
possible  that  your  trial  of  "all  the  hair  oils"  has 
aggravated  if  not  caused  the  trouble  you  now  seek 
to  remedy. 

AUTUMN   GARDENING. 

This,  I  have  no  doubt,  looks  like  a  very  frosty 
subject  to  many  of  your  readers.  To  prepare 
ground  for  next  year's  occupancy  and  leave  it  for 
the  cold  storms  to  beat  down  to  almost  brick  con- 
sistency ;  to  bury  little  seeds  in  the  earth  and  leave 
them  for  long,  weary,  cold  months  exposed  to 
frosts  and  storms  !  How  can  they  ever  spring  to 
life  and  health ;  to  bloom  and  fruit  bearing  ? 
What  is  regarded  as  an  accident,  sometimes  leads 
to  very  pleasant  and  useful  results.  A  tomato 
ripened  in  obscurity  under  the  leaves  of  the  pa- 
rent vine,  and  when  fully  ripe  it  still  eluded  the 
search  of  the  gardener.  Decay  always  follows 
maturity.  So  it  was  with  the  tomato.  The  rich 
pulp  decayed  and  fell  to  comparative  nothingness, 
but  the  little  seed  fell  upon  the  yet  unchilled  earth ; 
the  autumnal  rains  gave  it  a  slight  burial :  winter's 
frosts  and  snows  cemented  the  earth  around  it ; 
but  when  the  soft  rains,  and  gentle  winds,  and 


warm  sunshine  of  spring  came,  the  little  seed,  so 
long  dormant  and  cold  awoke  from  its  sliunberp, 
and  sent  up  a  tiny  plant  to  greet  the  returning  seiv 
son  of  flowers  and  fruit.  There,  where  it  sprang  up 
it  was  allowed  to  grow.  When  the  cold  winds  sa- 
luted it  with  rough,  chilling  breath,  their  only  in- 
fluence was  to  give  it  strengtli  nnd  power  of  endur- 
ance.    It  grew  on,  blossomed  and  bore  fruit. 

Near  l)y  it  was  placed  a  phint  taken  from  the 
hot  bed,  where  nurturing  care  had  long  and  faith- 
fully been  given  it.  This  plant,  too,  must  be  sub- 
ject to  all  the  influences  of  ont-of-door  atmosphere. 
When  the  winds  shook  it,  it  shrunk  from  their  em- 
brace, and  leaned  down  to  earth  for  its  protection. 
It  required  artificial  aid  to  give  it  an  upright 
growth.  It  also  liecame  enfeelded  by  its  removal 
from  the  rich  soil  and  hot-house  protection,  and 
through  this,  and  kindred  disadvantnges,  it  soon 
fell  behind  its  stronger  and  more  enduring  neigh- 
bor. 

The  above  is  no  allegory.  We  have  seen  the 
self-sown  tomato  spring  up  from  the  bed  of  its 
winter  repose,  and  have  set  plants  from  the  hot 
bed  in  well  prepared  soil  near  liy  it.  At  the  time 
of  transplanting,  the  hot-bed  plants  had  the  advan- 
tage of  several  inches  in  growtli,  but  with  the  same 
after  care,  the  self-sown  plants  reached  an  earlier 
maturity  nnd  gave  more  abundant  harvest.  And 
now,  we  depend  on  our  autumnal  planting  for  our 
supply  of  the  tomato. 

"The  ground  for  this  fall  sowing  should  be  pre- 
pared with  all  the  care  in  manuring  and  pulveriz- 
ing that  would  naturally  be  given  in  spring,  and 
the  seed  sown  where  the  next  year's  plants  are 
expected  to  grow  ;  for,  manage  the  thing  as  well  as 
may  be,  the  growtli  of  this  plant  is  retarded  by 
transplanting.  If  some  precaution  is  used  to  pre- 
vent the  cartli  from  Ijccoming  too  compact  in  win- 
ter and  spring,  it  will  be  all  in  favor  of  the  plant. 
We  do  not  claim  that  seed  so  sown  will  come  up 
so  early  as  those  sown  in  the  hot-l)ed,  but  they  will 
come  up  as  soon  as  the  earth  and  atmosphere  are 
ready  to  give  them  growth,  and  the  plants  raised 
in  this  way  acquire  a  healthier  growth,  come  ear- 
lier into  bearing,  and  produce  more  abundantly 
than  those  raised  or  started  by  artificial  means. 
Such  is  our  experience.  Lettuce  and  cabbage  may 
have  an  early  start  by  the  same  method.        w.  b. 

Richmond,  Mass.,  Dec.  11,  1866. 

Remarks. — This  communication  was  received, 
as  appears  by  its  date,  rather  too  late  for  its  prac- 
tical suggestions  to  be  adopted  by  our  readers  last 
season.  Autumn  gardening  can  now  be  attended 
to,  and  this  article  is  more  seasonable  than  it 
would  have  been  in  the  latter  part  of  last  Decem- 
ber. For  various  reasons  we  occasionally  postpone 
the  publication  of  the  favors  of  our  friends,  but 
we  hope  that  such  delay  will  never  be  considered 
as  disrespectful  to  the  writers. 

experiment  with  new  potatoes. 

I  tried  four  of  the  seedling  potatoes  advertised 
last  spring,  and  think  the  result  may  be  interesting 
to  your  readers.  I  planted  on  poor,  wet,  green- 
sward. Half  a  shovelful  of  gi-een  manure  and  a 
spoonful  of  phosphate  of  lime  were  put  in  a  hill. 
A  handful  of  ashes  was  applied  at  the  second  hoe- 
ing. The  variety,  amount  of  seed  used,  and  the 
yield  were  as  follows  : 

Name.  Seed.  Yield 

Harrison,  1  peck  10  bushels. 

Early  Goodrich,        34  bushels  13      " 

Calico,  V4  bushels  57       " 

Gleason,  2^     "  80      " 

The  blast  killed  the  vines  of  the  Calico  and 
Early  Goodrich,  and  consequently  the  hills  were 


560 


KEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


full  of  small  potatoes.  I  do  not  think  these  -worthy 
of  a  farther  trial,  as  I  want  a  potato  to  stand  the 
blast. 

The  vines  of  the  Gleason  and  the  Harrison  stood 
green  till  ihey  froze  down,  and  both  produced 
good  sized  tnl)ers.  Of  the  two,  I  give  the  prefer- 
ence to  the  Gleason,  as  the  Harrison  was  slightly 
affected  by  the  rot,  while  the  Gleason  was  per- 
fectly free  from  any  signs  of  disease,  and  is  a 
white,  handsome,  mealy  potato. 

From  a  third  of  an  acre  of  very  poor  land, 
planted  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  feet  apart 
each  way,  I  dug  eighty  bushels,  and  had  I  planted 
as  closely  as  most  farmers  do  here,  and  on  good 
land,  I  have  no  donbt  I  should  have  got  one-hnlf 
more.  I  recommend  farmers  to  give  the  Gleason 
a  trial.  L.  E.  Bicknell. 

Windsor,  Mass.,  Oct.  16,  1867. 


A   SPORTING   APPLE    TREE. 

Some  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  I  grafted  an  apple 
tree,  almut  four  or  live  inches  in  diameter,  contain- 
ing fiftetn  branches,  with  scions  taken  from  a  tree 
standing  about  twenty  feet  from  it,  a  part  of  which 
had,  for  more  than  ten  years  previously,  as  it  has 
ever  since,  borne  "Greenings,"  and  the  remaining 
part  "Liscombs." 

Intending  to  have  the  tree  under  consideration, 
pi-afted  to  "Greenings,"  only,  I  carefully  selected 
the  scions  from  that  part  of  the  tree  which  had 
always  borne  that  variety,  and  immediately  insert- 
ed them  in  14  of  the  15  branches  before  mentioned, 
leaving  one  as  a  sap-di-awer.  I  will  add  here,  that 
the  natural  fruit  of  this  tree  is  a  small  white  apple, 
nearly  sweet,  of  about  half  the  size  of  the  Russet 
herewith  sent. 

The  second  year  from  gi-afting,  one  of  the 
branches  bore  two  apples  of  the  same  kind  with  the 
specimen  with  the  oval  blossom  end ;  the  third  year 
two  of  the  branches  bore  abr.ut  half  a  bushel  of  the 
same  kind,  and  several  of  the  others  bore  Greenings. 
But  it  was  not,  I  think,  until  the  sixth  year  that 
all  the  branches  bore  together,  when  four  of  them 
bore  the  same  kind  as  the  tirst  two  apples  above 
mentioned,  and  all  the  rest  Greenings.  Subse- 
quently, I  have  noticed  no  difierence  in  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Ijranches  between  the  different  varieties, 
until  this  year,  when  nine  branches  bore  apples  of 
the  kinds  indicated  by  the  two  larger  specimens 
herewith  sent,  one  of  the  smaller,  and  four  only 
bore  Greenings ! 

And  yet  I  positively  assert  that  all  the  scions 
were  taken  from  a  tree  that  has  not  a  branch  that 
has  not  Iwrne,  during  more  than  twenty  years, 
either  "Greenings"or  "Liscombs." 

In  conclusion  I  would  say,  that  I  have  never 
noticed  any  of  the  kind  represented  by  the  speci- 
mens— flat  on  the  blossom  end,  like  a  Greening, 
until  this  year,  and  therefore  cannot  state  its  quali- 
ty— but  the  other  has  a  delicious  taste  and  flavor, 
seeming  to  combine  the  excellencies  of  the  Green- 
ing, Liscomb  and  Baldwin.      Edwin  E.  Blake. 

Wrentham,  Mass.,  Sept.  21,  1867. 

Remarks. — The  statements  of  our  correspon- 
dent are  both  interesting  and  strange,  and  did 
they  not  come  from  one  who  seems  to  have  given 
the  matter  the  most  careful  attention,  we  should 
be  inclined  to  think  that  some  mistake  was  made 
in  selecting  the  scions. 

We  call  these  strange  changes, — which  seem  to 
us  to  be  a  departure  from  the  regular  order  of 
things, —  freaks,  or  sports  of  nature,  when  the 
probability  is  that  they  arc  the  result  of  the  opera- 
tion of  exact  laws,  but  laws  which  are  as  yet  hid- 
den from  our  view. 


Trees  sometimes  blossom  twice  in  the  same  sea- 
son. It  is  only  two  or  three  weeks  since  we  saw 
an  account  of  an  apple  tree  in  full  bloom  in  Sep- 
tember. Cabbages  have  club  feet;  onions,  instead 
of  rounding  themselves  out  in  comely  proportions 
on  the  surfiice  of  the  ground,  grow  up  liUe  a  walk- 
ing stick,  and  reflect  no  credit  upon  their  kind. 
Some  cows  drop  a  calf  with  two  heads,  six  legs,  or 
three  tails!  And  who  can  tell  what  the  cause  is 
of  either  of  these  departures  from  the  common 
order  of  things  ? 

The  circumstances  related  are  interesting,  and 
we  shall  be  glad  to  receive  the  opinions  of  others 
in  relation  to  them. 


chemical  terms. — carbon. 

I  have  been  highly  pleased  with  your  series  of 
articles  entitled  "Chemical  Terms,"" flunking  they 
might  be  productive  of  great  good  by  defining  and 
explaining  what  has  been  kept  locked  up  away 
from  the  masses  as  profound  secrets,  in  unintelligi- 
ble terms  and  names  ;  but  while  I  see  much  to  ad- 
mire, I  would  request  the  writer  to  be  a  little  more 
exact  in  his  siatements. 

In  the  fonrth  article, on  carbon,  he  says,  "Plum- 
bago, or  as  it  is  called,  black  le.id,  is  crystalized 
black  carbon."  If  ho  had  written,  "crystalized 
carburet  of  iron,"  he  would  have  been  nearer  the 
facts.  According  to  Klaproth  and  Saussure,  plum- 
bngo,  when  pure,  is  a  chemical  compound  of  car- 
lion  and  iron,  in  the  proportions  of  96  carbon  and 
4  iron,  though  it  sometimes  eontnins  almost  enough 
silica  to  constitute  it  a  silicate  of  iron.  Probably 
it  is' the  iron  that  gives  it  its  fire-resisting  power, 
as  it  is  well  known  that  steel  is  more  refractory  in 
the  fire  than  pure  iron. 

Finally,  the  main  points  of  difference  between 
"It."  and  mj^self  are  these:  he  cites  plumbago  as 
a  sample  of  pure  carbon,  saying  nothing  of  the 
iron  whicn  is  an  important  constituent  of  the  min- 
eral in  question,  while  I  claim  it  is  a  chemical 
compound  of  carbon  and  iron.  Rusticus. 

Ripon,  Vt.,  Oct.,  18G7. 


MR.   potato   field    VS.  MR.    GREEN    GROCER. 

Last  spring,  because  of  the  exorbitant  price  that 
Mr.  Green  G.-occr  made  me  pay  for  potatoes,  I  de- 
termined that  I  would  patronize  him  no  longer, 
and  hearing  Mr.  Potato  Field  wns  a  man  well  re- 
ported of  for  honesty  and  fair  dealing  among  his 
neighbors,  I  determined  that  he  in  future  should 
have  my  custom.  Accordinglv  one  day  I  called 
upon  him,  and  after  a  very  interesting  visit  spent  in 
looking  around  his  premises,  we  came  to  the  fol- 
lowing understanding:  Mr.  Field  wiis  to  furnish 
me  with  all  the  potatoes  I  wi>lied  in  the  fiill, 
and  the  price  thereof  w.is  to  be  as  reasonable  as  ho 
could  afford,  while  I  in  turn  was  to  work  for  him 
for  fair  pay,  and  render  him  any  assistance  he 
miilht  require  in  his  businesis. 

The  first  of  our  ti-ansactions  was  as  follows:  I 
rented  to  Mr.  Field  a  piece  of  land,  making  him 
pay  a  fair  price  for  the  s:-imc.  I  al.-o  made  him 
pay  a  good  price  for  the  manure  put  upon  it,  and 
for  repairing  the  fence  around  it.  I  then  sold  him 
some  i)otatoes  for  seed,  charging  hini  the  same 
price  that  Mr.  Green  Grocer  asked  for  them.  Then, 
as  Iha<l  leisure  time,  I  workcti  forhini,  jiloughing, 
planting,  hoeing,  &c.,  for  which  I  charged  him 
$1.50  jicr  day.  And,  by  the  way,  he  is  a  very 
nice  man  to  work  for ;  fully  agreeing  with  me  in 
politics,  and  on  all  other  iiniiortant  subjects;  so  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  very  sensible 
man. 

Well,  the  summer  months  have  passed  and  gaas, 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


561 


and  the  time  has  arrived  at  which  Mr.  Field  was  to 
pcilbim  ills  part  of  the  contract,  and  to-day  he  has 
tinii^hcd  putting  the  potatoes  into  my  cellar,  and 
tliis  evening  we  have  Ijccn  looking  over  our  hooks. 
I  find  lie  has  charged  me  only  23  cents  per  bushel 
for  potatoes.  Now  as  23  cents  per  Inishel  is  only 
about  one-tliird  as  much  as  Mr.  Green  Grocer  asks 
for  them,  I  liavc  come  lo  ihe  conclusion  that  Mr. 
Potato  FiLld  is  the  best  man  to  deal  with.  And, 
furthermore,  Mr.  Galen  Speculator  stands  ready 
to  give  me  a  good  price  for  the  potatoes,  as  he 
wisLies  to  send  them  down  for  the  good  people  of 
the  "Hub'  to  cat.  So  you  see  I  might  make  a  few 
dollars  for  pocket  money. 

I  have  Ibund  jMr.  Field  honest  and  upright  in  all 
dealings.  In  fact,  I  have  such  confidence  in  his 
honcsiy,  that  I  should  not  hesiiate  to  trust  him  in 
any  business  transactions,  never  fearing  but  that 
the  side  of  my  loss  and  gain  account  would  show 
a  larger  balance  because  of  my  dealings  with  him. 

Washinqlon  County.,  Vt.,  Oct.  1867.  c. 

Remarks. — Ptcv.  H.  W.  Bcecher  is  reported  to 
have  said  that  it  may  be  true  that  clothes  do  not 
make  a  man,  still  after  a  man  is  made  bethought 
he  looked  all  the  better  for  being  dressed  up.  This 
is  as  true  of  facts  as  of  men.  Even  dry  statistics 
may  be  presented  in  an  attractive  garb ;  and  most 
capitally  has  our  correspondent  succeeded  in  giv- 
ing life  and  beauty  to  the  dry  bones  of  his  potato 
raising  experiment. 

OLD    PLASTEH,   LIME,   &C. 

I  am  repairing  my  house,  and  among  the  debris 
are  several  loads  of  old  plaster,  mortar,  &c.  It  is 
said  to  lie  a  valuable  fertilizer.  But  I  am  ignorant 
of  the  proper  meihod  of  its  application.  How 
can  it;  be  disintegiatcd  for  such  a  purpose  ?  Is 
there  any  way  liy  which  it  can  be  profitably  com- 
posted with  other  inaredients  ?  s.  h. 

Attkboro',  Mass.,  Oct.  7,  1867. 

Remarks. — Such  materials  are  valuable,  as 
they  contain  manj'  excellent  fertilizing  properties. 
On  fair  land,  we  should  prefer  a  dressing  of  them 
to  one  of  good  staVne  manure,  for  a  crop  of  wheat. 
Still,  we  know  of  several  heaps  of  such  stuff, 
which  have  been  lying  by  the  road  side,  on  the 
form,  for  several  years.  It  is  certainly  time  that 
the  common  farmer  should  give  more  attention  to 
things  of  this  nature.  Our  uorrespondentis  a  pro- 
fessional man,  but  the  moment  a  farm  comes  into 
his  possession,  his  inquiries  commence  as  to  the 
value  of  things  about  him.  And  this  is  the  only 
way  to  proceed  in  order  to  make  the  labor  applied 
become  profitahle. 

The  plaster  of  an  old  house  contains  many  val- 
uable agents,  besides  mere  lime,  such  as  salts  of 
various  kinds,  soot,  &c.  In  China,  the  plaster  of 
an  old  kitihen  is  so  much  esteemed  as  a  manure, 
that  a  farmer  will  be  at  the  expense  of  replastering 
an  old  cook  house  for  the  old  plaster,  that  he  may 
employ  what  he  takes  off  to  fertilize  Lis  fields. 

In  one  of  Prof.  James  F.  W.  Johnston's  lectures, 
delivered  before  the  Durham  County  Agi-ieultural 
Society,  in  England,  some  twenty  years  ago,  he 
Bays  lime  acts  upon  soils  in  two  ways.  It  pro- 
duces a  mechanical  alteration,  which  is  simple  and 
easily  understood ;  it  is  also  the  cause  of  a  series  of 
chemical  changes,  which  are  really  obscare,  and 


I  are  as  yet  susceptible  of  only  partial  explanation. 

In  the  finely  divided  state  of  quick  lime,  of 
slaked  lime,  or  of  soft  and  crumbling  chalk,  it 
stiflfens  very  loose  soils,  and  opens  the  stiffer  clays, 
while  in  the  form  of  limestone,  gravel  or  shell- 
sand,  it  may  be  employed  cither  for  opening  a  clay 
soil  or  for  giving  body  and  firmness  to  boggy  land. 

The  purposes  served  by  lime  as  a  chemical  con- 
stituent of  the  soil,  are  at  least  o*"  four  distinct 
kinds. 

1.  It  supplies  a  kind  of  inorganic  food  which  ap- 
pears to  be  necessary  to  the  healthy  growth  of  all 
our  cultivated  plants. 

2.  It  neutralizes  acid  substances  which  are  nat- 
urally formed  in  the  soil,  and  decomposes  or  ren- 
ders harmless  other  noxious  compounds  which  are 
not  unfrequently  within  reach  of  the  roots  of  plants. 

3.  It  changes  the  inert  vegetable  matter  in  the 
soil,  so  as  gradually  to  render  it  useful  to  vegeta- 
tion. 

4.  It  causes,  facilitates  or  enables  other  useful 
compounds,  both  organic  and  inorganic,  to  be  pro- 
duced in  the  soil — or  so  promotes  the  decomposi- 
tion of  existing  compounds  as  to  prepare  them 
more  speedily  for  entering  into  the  circulation  of 
plants. 

All  these  theories  are  susceptil)le  of  quite  satis- 
factory illustrations  or  explanations,  for  which  we 
refer  our  intelligent  correspondent  to  Davy's  Ag- 
ricultural Chemistry,  Licbig's  Natural  Laws  of 
Husbandry,  to  the  Lectures  from  which  we  have 
quoted,  or  to  Prof.  Norton's  Elements  of  Scientific 
Chemistry.  They  will  each  pay  well  for  a  careful 
perusal,  and  will  interest  and  please  while  they 
instruct. 


THE    TOMATO. 

I  have  frequently  been  asked  the  question:  How 
long  has  the  tomato  been  in  use  in  this  part  of  the 
country  ?  I  have  also  been  infoi-nied  that  the  subject 
has  been  discusseel  in  some  of  the  jiapers  within  a 
short  time.  1  therefore  propose  to  give  my  own 
experience  in  the  niatter. 

The  late  Chief  Justice  Wm.  M.  Richardson  of 
Chester,  N.  H.,  was  a  member  of  the  Congrei-s  that 
declared  the  war  of  1812,  and  when  he  came  home 
from  Washington  he  brought  with  him  tiie  seed  of 
the  tomato,  the  martynia  and  rhubarb,  to  his  father, 
who  was  our  nearest  iieiglilior.  He  raised  them 
one  year,  and  the  next  I  procured  the  seed  and 
roots  and  they  have  all  I)ecn  in  our  garden  ever 
since.  They  were  all  raised  as  curiosities,  not 
knowing  that  they  were  of  any  use  at  all  for  several 
yeiirs. 

In  the  year  1823  I  was  at  school  at  the  Greenleaf 
Academy,  Bradford,  Mass.,  anil  Mr.  Kimball,  the 
man  with  whom  I  boartled,  worked  in  Haverhill, 
anel  occasionally  brought  home  a  liandful  of  toma- 
toes and  used  them  sliced  in  vinegar,  the  same  as 
cucumbers.  This  was  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
them  used,  and  here  I  fir-t  learned  to  eat  them. 
Mr.  Kimball  called  ihem  Trcmardcrs. 

In  the  year  1829,  I  raised  several  bushels  in  the 
town  of  Arlington,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Albert  Winn,  Esq.,  and  sold  tlicin  in  a  green  state 
for  pickles.  I  next  raised  them  on  the  Longwood 
farm  in  Brookline,  for  the  Hon.  David  Sears ;  he 
having  learned  to  use  them  in  France. 

In  the  year  1833, 1  undertook  to  raise  30  bushels 
for  a  Mr.  Thomas  Lewis,  in  Broad  Street,  Boston ; 


662 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIMER. 


Dec. 


but  the  seed  was  planted  in  the  field  like  corn,  and 
but  few  of  them  ripened.  A  few  bushels,  however, 
ripened,  and  were  carried  to  market  by  Charles 
Stearns,  Esq.,  of  Brookline,  and  this  was  the  first 
that  I  heard  of  their  being  carried  to  Boston  by 
the  bushel.  From  that  time  they  came  into  use 
very  rapidly. 

P.  S.  Judge  Richardson  went  to  Congress  from 
Groton,  Mass.  B.  F.  Cutter. 

Pelham,  N.  H.,  Oct.  25,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  are  pleased  to  see  once  more 
the  name  of  our  old  friend  and  correspondent  in 
the  columns  of  the  Farmer.  The  history  of  the 
introduction  and  popularity  of  the  tomato  is  inter- 
esting, as  an  illustration  of  the  influence  of  haljit 
and  fashion  on  the  taste  and  opinions  of  men. 
Mr.  Buist  says  that  in  1828  it  was  almost  detested ; 
in  ten  years  more  it  was  so  popular  that  every 
pill  and  panacea  was  "extract  of  tomato."  Mr. 
Fearing  Bun-,  in  his  excellent  work.  The  Vegeta- 
bles of  America,  notices  the  fact  that  its  scientific 
name,  lycopersicum,  derived  from  lykos  wolf,  and 
persicon,  a  peach,  referring  to  the  beautiful  but 
deceptive  appearance  of  the  fruit,  more  than  inti- 
mates the  kind  of  estimation  in  which  it  was  held. 
The  American  Encijcloiwdia  says  the  tomato  is 
supposed  to  have  originated  in  South  America,  and 
to  have  been  early  cultivated  in  Mexico  and  Peru. 
Several  varieties  were  known  in  England  and  Ger- 
many in  1597,  and  Parkinson,  in  1656,  speaks  of 
them  as  garden  curiosities  under  the  names  of 
love  apples,  amorous  apples  and  golden  apples. 

varieties,  culture,  and  use  of  the  aUINCE. 

Will  you,  or  correspondents,  give  practical  in- 
formation about  quinces  ?  I  find  little  in  fruit 
books. 

1.  What  is  the  best  kind  ?  Are  they  best  raised 
from  seed,  cuttings,  or  plants,  and  how  long  will 
it  take  to  bring  them  into  bearing  ? 

2.  If  raided  on  a  large  scale,  would  they  be 
always  sure  of  a  profitable  market,  and  how  long 
will  they  keep  ? 

3.  If  for  lack  of  market,  they  were  likely  to  de- 
cay, could  they  be  dried,  or  preserved  in  any  other 
way,  so  as  to  be  salable,  to  any  extent  ? 

Lastly.  Do  nurserymen  generally  keep  them  ? 
Have  tiicy  any  enemy  l>ut  the  borer  ?  and  how  far 
apart  should  they  be  set  ? 

Answers,  and  "general  information  on  the  above 
subject,  will  greatly  interest  and  oblige  a  reader  of 
your  most  vabmble  paper.  S.  B.  Keach. 

Providence,  R.  L,  1867. 

Remarks. — 1.  The  best  quince,  all  things  consid- 
ered, is  what  is  called  the  Apple-shaped  Quince.  We 
have  them  now  on  the  bushes,  large  roundish  fruit, 
which  stew  tender  and  are  of  delicious  flavor.  It 
is  said  that  there  arc  several  varieties  of  llie  apple- 
shaped  (juinee,  but  we  are  inclined  to  think  that 
the  variations  in  this  popular  variety  are  owing  to 
soil  and  culture.  The  quince  requires  a  deep,  rich 
soil  in  order  to  produce  large  and  fair  crops.  On 
poor  soils  they  arc  knotty.  They  may  be  raised 
from  seed,  cuttings  or  roots;  but  the  best  way  is 
from  cuttings.  Set  them  early  in  the  spring  in  a 
shady  place,  and  in  good  soil. 

2.  The  demand  tor  the  quince  in  all  this  region 
is  now  quite  limited.    Twenty  years  ago,  or  more, 


oefore  pears  were  so  abundant  as  they  now  are, 
arge  quantities  of  the  quince  were  produced  and 
found  a  ready  sale  in  most  markets.  It  was  then 
the  principal  fruit  presei-ved,  and  was  considered 
the  most  delicious  of  any.  They  will  not  keep 
sound  long. 

3.  Quinces  may  be  dried,  but  we  do  not  think 
the  operation  would  be  a  profitable  one. 

4.  Quince  plants  may  usually  be  found  at  the 
nurseries.  The  bushes  may  be  set  as  near  as  ten 
feet  to  each  other,  and  are  hardy  and  easily  pre- 
served in  bearing. 

SUCCESSFUL   bee   FEEDING. 

Last  season  I  had  three  swarms  of  bees.  In  No- 
vember two  of  them  died,  leaving  no  honey  in 
enher  hive.  On  examination,  I  found  the  third 
swarm  alive,  but  their  honey  was  nearly  gone. 
Being  anxious  to  preserve  my  stock,  I  determined 
upon  an  experiment  in  feeding.  I  obtained  twenty- 
three  pounds  of  Southern  honey  for  this  purpose, 
costing  17  cents  per  pound.  My  hive  was  of  the 
Langstroth  pattern.  In  place  of  the  surplus  box, 
I  put  a  box  containing  a  part  of  the  Southern 
honey.  As  the  bees  emptied  the  hox  it  was  re- 
filled, until  in  three  days  they  had  disposed  of 
the  twenty-three  pounds.  The  swarm  wintered 
well,  and  from  the  loth  to  the  30th  of  last  June 
the  Ijces  swarmed  three  times.  During  the  sum- 
mer and  autumn,  I  took  from  the  old  swarm  two 
boxes  of  honey  weighing  eighteen  pounds,  and 
from  the  first  new  swarm,  six  boxes  of  honey, 
wcighmg  fifty-eight  pounds.  The  four  hives  are 
large  and  are  now  filled  with  comb  and  honey, 
— fifty  pounds  or  more  in  each  hive, — making  in 
all  two  hundred  and  seventy-six  pounds  of  comb 
and  honey.  Last  season,  one  of  the  most  disas- 
trous to  the  bee  keeper  of  any  I  have  ever  known, 
my  neighljors'  bees  all  died, — one  of  them  losing 
twenty-two  swarms.  Forty-four  swarms  died  in 
our  neighborhood  last  autumn  and  winter,  most  or 
all  of  which,  in  my  opinion,  might  have  been  saved 
by  feeding.  Luke  Waite. 

Hubbardston,  Mass.,  Oct.  16,  1867. 


a  great  cow  for  milk. 

I  see  by  your  paper  of  July  27,  that  Mr.  I.  H. 
Capron,  of  Smithficld,  has  a  two-year-old  heifer 
that  gave  fifteen  quarts  of  milk  per  day.  I  have 
one  that  came  in  seventeen  days  before  she  was 
two  years  old,  and  when  her  calf  was  five  weeks 
old  it  dressed  137  lbs.,  and  its  mother  gave  for  four 
weeks  not  less  than  fifteen  quarts,  and  sometimes 
more  per  day.  And  at  this  tlate,  after  giving  milk 
twenty-eight  months,  without  missing  one  day,  she 
gives  five  quarts,  and  has  not  given  less  than  that 
quantity  during  the  whole  period,  though  she  has 
had  one  calf  in  the  time.  I  have  her  now  and  she 
comes  in  February  5th.  W.  A.  Sylvester. 

Suidh  Wrentham,  Mass.,  Oct.  12,  1867. 

Remarks. — As  much  is  said  of  late  about  the 
comparative  value  of  different  breeds,  we  regret 
that  Mr.  Sylvester  does  not  state  to  which  breed 
his  heifer  belongs. 

PLOUGHING   ORCHARDS. 

I  wish  to  inquire  through  the  Farmer  what  the 
eftect  is  of  ploughing  orchards  ?  I  will  give  my 
experience  and  observation,  and  would  like  to 
have  yours. 

Six  years  ago  I  ploughed  my  orchard,  being  very 
careful  not  to  disturb  the  roots;  but  found,  on  ex- 
amination, that  there  were  a  great  many  cut  off; 
planted  it  two  years,  seeding  down  the  third.  The 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


563 


effect  was,  that  it  started  at  first  and  seemed  to 
look  thrifty,  and  commenced  bearing;  but  since 
that  it  has  been  going  bade, — limbs  dying  all  over 
the  trees,  and  some  trees  dying  outriglit.  Now 
the  question  is,  in  my  mind,  whetlier  the  plough- 
ing, and  the  brealiing  of  so  many  roots,  caused  my 
orchard  to  decay.  One  of  my  neighbors  has  kept 
his  orchard  ploughed  seven  or  eight  years,  but  has 
not  taken  any  crops  from  it.  He  ploughs  it  sev- 
eral limes  during  the  season,  and  the  consequence 
is,  in  my  opinion,  that  he  is  spoiling  his  orchard, 
if  it  is  not  already  six>iled.  A.  l.  w.  . 

Hope,  Me.,  Sept.  30,  1867. 

Remarks. — Shallow  and  careful  ploughing  of 
an  orchard  is  usually  beneficial.  Breaking  a  few 
of  the  small  roots  that  run  near  the  surface  is  not 
considered  injurious.  The  breaking  up  of  the 
sward  is  supposed  to  be  quite  useful  to  an  orchard 
that  has  been  several  years  in  grass. 

We  think  the  decline  of  your  orchard  must  be 
imputed  to  some  other  cause  than  that  of  plough- 
ing. You  ploughed  yours,  you  remark,  six  years 
ago ;  since  that  time  nearly  all  the  orchards  of 
New  England  have  failed  to  yield  a  crop.  As  a 
general  thing,  however,  the  trees  have  not  died. 

EATS   IN    THE   CELLAR. 

What  is  the  best  remedy  to  drive  that  enormous 
pest,  the  rat,  from  one's  cellar  ?  I  have  tried  trap- 
ping and  poisoning,  and  do  not  succeed  in  either. 
If  you,  or  any  of  your  numerous  readers,  can  tell 
it  will  do  a  reader  of  your  paper  a  great  kindness. 

Middlebziri/,  Vt.,  Oct.  11,  1867.  E.  m.  e. 

Remarks. — There  is  nothing  equal  to  agood  cat, 
but  she  must  not  be  handled  by  children,  or  any 
other  person  ;  must  be  fed  rather  spai-ingly  at  reg- 
ular times,  and  as  much  as  possible  on  fresh  meat, 
and  usually  by  the  same  person.  She  will  soon 
become  accustomed  to  such  circumstances,  will 
answer  the  call  of  this  person,  who  can  change  her 
about  to  different  parts  of  the  house, — as  a  night  in 
the  attic,  a  night  in  the  cellar,  and  so  on.  When 
treated  in  this  way  she  will  be  rather  shy  and  wild, 
but  will  soon  become  a  terror  to  i"ats. 


contained  in  meadow  hay."  If  every  land  holder 
in  the  State  could  save  for  his  cows  the  bean  straw 
of  his  garden  only,  instead  of  letting  it  dry  up  and 
go  to  waste,  the  aggregate  saving  would  be  con- 
siderable. Inqijirer. 
October,  1867. 

Remarks. — When  bean  plants  are  pulled  just  as 
some  of  the  leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow, — the  best 
time,  by  the  way,  for  the  bean  itself, — and  are 
carefully  dried  and  kept  free  from  dirt,  cattle 
relish  them  highly,  and  sheep  will  leave  almost 
any  other  fodder  to  feed  upon  them.  If  left  standing 
until  the  haulm  is  dry  and  Ijlack,  then  pulled  and 
cast  upon  the  ground,  to  remain  several  days,  they 
become  nearly  worthless,  losing  their  peculiar 
flavor  and  nutriment. 


BEAN  straw. 

We  should  like  to  know  whether  bean  straw  is 
saved  and  used  for  cattle  to  any  extent.  Cattle  food 
is  now  so  high  it  would  seem  as  if  its  kinds  should 
be  increased.  We  know  that  formerly  bean 
straw  was  always  wasted  as  worthless.  If  of  value 
for  cattle,  and  if  it  is  now  generally  wasted,  what  a 
wicked  waste  it  is !  The  following  table  compiled 
from  the  United  States  Agricultural  Reports  shows 
by  analyses  the  relative  value  of  this  straw  and 
corn  fodder  and  grasses  : — 

Corn  Fodder.  Grasses.  Bean  Straw. 

Flesh  forming, 8.200  10.34  1«.38 

Heat  and  fat  producing,  35.273 

Woody  fibre 50.251 

Mineral  matters,  ....    

Water, 6.276 

lOO.tOO  lOU.OOO  100.00 

Prof.  Ilorsfall  of  England,  after  experience, 
speaks  of  liean  straw  thus :— "Bean  straw  uncooked 
is  dry  and  unpalataldc ;  liy  the  process  of  steaming 
it  l)ecomes  soft  and  pulpy,  emits  an  agreeable  odor, 
and  imparts  flavor  and  relish  to  the  mess.  In  albu- 
minous matter,  which  is  especially  valuable  for 
milch  cows,  it  has  nearly  double  the  proportion 


BRUSSELS   SPROUTS. 

Has  any  body  had  any  experience  in  this  deli- 
cious vegetable  in  this  country  ?  Every  body 
who  has  travelled  abroad  speaks  of  it  with  rap- 
ture, but  we  never  sec  it  in  our  markets  and  hear 
nothing  of  it  except  that  the  seeds  are  annually 
offered  for  sale  in  our  seed  stores.  Wo  planted 
some  this  year  and  have  several  fine  large  healthy 
plants,  but  the  promised  "little  heads"  on  the 
stalks,  the  eatable  part,  seem  to  be  forming  so  slowly 
and  sparsely  that  we  do  not  exj^ect  more  than  one 
good  dish  for  all  our  trouble.  Can  the  leaves  bo 
eaten  ?  If  not,  can  the  small  heads  on  the  stalk  be 
produced  in  this  climate  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
be  worth  cultivating  ?  With  me  the  leaves  above 
the  small  heads  are  abundant  and  vigorous 
enough.  Inquirer. 

October,  1867. 

Remarks. — We  have  never  raised  the  Brussel 
Sprouts,  and  know  nothing  of  their  merits.  Mr. 
Henderson,  in  his  valuable  book,  Gardening  for 
Profit,  says  this  vegetable  has  never  come  into 
general  use  in  this  country,  probably  owing  to  its 
being  too  tender  to  stand  the  winters  of  the  North- 
ern States.  Even  in  England,  where  it  is  very  ex- 
tensively grown,  it  is  not  much  raised  for  market, 
being  mainly  cultivated  for  private  use. 


43. so 

33.86 

37.18 

25.84 

8.68 

9.45 

14.4T 

CHEMICAL   TERMS. 

Your  correspondent  from  Ripon,  Vt.,  criticises 
my  definition  of  Plumbago,  and  thinks  I  should 
have  written  it  "Crystallized  Carburet  of  Iron." 
Stockhardt, — see  Camb.  Edition,  18o2,  parte  96, — 
calls  it  "Crystallized  Black  Carbon."  On  the  97th 
page  he  says,  "Carbon  shows  very  clearly  how  one 
and  the  same  body  can  have  quite  diftercTit  forms 
and  properties.  In  charcoal,  soot,  coke  and  ani- 
mal carbon  it  is  black,  without  any  determinate 
shape,  and  veiy  combustible.  In  Graphite,  (Plum- 
bago) it  is  black  with  a  crystallized  foliated  struc- 
ture, and  is  nearly  incombustible.  In  the  diamond 
it  is  colorless,  and  is  crystallized  as  a  four-sided 
double  pyramid,  and  is  likewise  nearly  incombus- 
tible. 

In  Ure's  Dictionary,  see  Art.  Graphite,  we  read: 
"It  consists  of  carbon  in  a  peculiar  state  of  aggre- 
gation, with  an  extremely  minute  and  apparently 
accidental  impregnation  of  iron.  Burns  with  great 
difficulty."  I  was  aware  that  iron  and  silex  are 
usually  found  in  plumbago,  but  I  think  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  the  iron  is  chemically  combined 
with  the  carbon,  and  is  not  rather  a  hydrated  ses- 
quioxide  of  iron  mixed  with  it. 

De  Saussure  was  an  eminent  chemist,  and  did 
much  to  promote  science  in  his  day.  But  he  wrote 
ninety  years  ago,  and  several  of  his  statements  re- 


564 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


quire  verification.  However  I  thank  your  corres- 
pondent lor  his  caution  respecting  exactness  of 
etatenient,  l^it  especially  for  the  kind  spirit  he 
manifests,  and  the  gentlemanly  language  he  uses. 
Criticism  when  not  unsound  and  captious,  tends 
to  promote  care  and  accuracy.  r. 

Concord,  October,  1867. 


RAPHANUS    CAUDATUS,  OR  LONG-TAILED   RADISH. 

What  has  been  the  progress  as  to  this  new  plant 
this  year  ?  The  seeds  were  sold  in  the  spring  for 
fifty  cents  each.  Not  being  disposed  to  go  in  ex- 
tensively, at  that  price,  we  bought  only  two. 
They  came  up  well,  hwt  soon  after  the  leaves  were 
formed  they  were  attacked  by  a  small  black  bug, 
by  which  it  seemed  as  if  they  would  be  destroyed 
at  once.  We  attacked  the  l)ugs  by  hand  and  soon 
exterminated  ihem.  A  neighbor  who  had  two 
plants  dill  not  discover  the  cause  of  the  injury  to 
his  plants  till  they  were  eaten  past  recovery.  He 
lost  them.  Oiir  plants  were  after  this  very  healthy 
and  hardy,  and  came  to  perfection.  The  seed 
pods,  whith  a'linc  are  eaten  when  young,  arc  veiy 
delicate  ami  of  a  line  flavor,  resemljling  the  radish. 
Their  value  is  said  to  be  lor  boiling,  hut  we  used 
none  in  this  way,  preferring  to  preserve  the  seed, 
that  we  uiight  li  ive  an  abundance  of  plants  for 
another  j'car.  From  the  hardy  and  prolilie  nature 
of  this  new  esculent,  we  shall  not  be  disappointed 
if  it  goes  into  as  general  use  and  l)eLomes  as  jiopu- 
lar  as  the  tomato,  and  yet  ii:  may  be  valueless. 
We  have  quite  a  package  of  seeds  from  our  two 
.plants,  and  shall  experiment  with  them  another 
year.  Inquirer. 

October,  1837. 

A    SICK    SHEEP. 

I  have  avaluable  Merino  ram, four  yearsold,that 
for  some  cause  unknown  to  me,  refuses  all  kinds 
of  grain  ami  mots  and  almost  every  variety  of 
feed  except  what  he  can  gather  from  the  earth. 
He  looks  dull  about  the  eyes — gnaws  the  edge  of 
boards  as  if  flecking  for  something  contained  in 
the  wood.  He  appears  to  be  failing.  He  has  had 
good  grazing  the  past  summer.  Is  there  any 
remedy  ?  Geo.  S.  French. 

Wilmot  Flat,  X.  H.,  Oct  20th,  1867. 

Remarks. — From  the  above  Statement  it  is  evi- 
dent you  have  a  sick  slieep ;  but  we  are  not  able  to 
determine  the  character  of  the  disease.  Will  some 
of  the  experienced  sheep  keepers  among  the  read- 
ers of  the  Farmer  oblige  Mr.  French  by  a  speedy 
reply  ? 

APPRAISING    STOCK. 

Old  Farmer  B.  was  on  a  sick  bed  when  the  as- 
sessors of  his  town  came  around  to  take  his  in- 
voice. He  said  "my  cattle  are  in  the  barn  ;  they're 
a  poor  lot  of  "cm  ;  the}'  ain't  worth  much  ;  yon  can 
go  and  look  at  'em."  The  assessors  repaired  to 
the  barn,  apjiraised  the  stock  and  reported  to  Far- 
mer B.  in  his  sick  room.  The  old  man  was  much 
dis])lcascd  ihit  they  "set  'em  so  high,"  and  de- 
clared tlic\'  '-wan't  worth  anywhere  near  it." 
"Well,  Mr  IS.,"  said  the  chairman  of  the  Board, 
"I  will  take  every  creature  at  our  ajipraisal." 
"Shan't  have  'em,"  said  the  old  man  with  a  great 
deal  of  emphasis;  "shan't  have  'eui-r-I  won't  luive 
you  cheated  so— I  won't."  o.  p. 

October,  1867. 


PLOVGIIINO    IN    MANURE. 


In  my  ccmmuinication  on  preparing  ground  for 
Bpring  wheat,  in  a  late  number  of  tlic  Farmer, 
the  expression  "harrowing  in  wheat  is  a  fatal 


error,"  should  have  read,  harrowing  in  manure  is  a 
fatal  error,  because  being  so  nigii  the  surface  it 
dries  and  evafiorates  quickly.  It  should  be 
ploughed  in.  The  connection  shows  it  to  have 
been  a  misprint,  but  one  that  may  possibly  mislead 
the  reader.  H.  Poor. 

Loiiff  Island,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  17,  1867. 

A   HORSE    WITH    A   SORE   EAR. 

I  have  a  horse  that  has  a  little  sore  on  the  edge 
of  one  of  his  ears.  It  discharges  aliout  once  a 
week,  about  three  or  four  drops  at  a  time  of  mat- 
ter as  clear  as  water,  but  a  little  thicker.  There  is 
no  swelling,  and  it  clocs  not  appear  to  be  tender. 
The  sore  has  been  there  over  a  year  and  grows  no 
worse.  Can  you  or  any  of  your  subscribers  in- 
form me  what  it  is,  and  what  will  cure  it,  and 
oblige  a  subscriber.  k.  p.  a. 

Strickland's  Ferry,  Me.,  Oct.  1867. 

Remarks. — Will  some  of  our  horsemen  reply 
to  the  above  inquiries  ? 


FATTENING   OF    ANIMALS. 

The  season  of  the  year  is  at  hand  when  the 
farmer  usually  fattens  his  animals  to  send  to 
market,  or  to  supply  his  own  table  through 
the  winter  months. 

And  nolo  is  the  important  time, — fir^t,  be- 
cause the  ingathering  of  the  late  harvests  usu- 
ally brings  together  a  mass  of  materials,  such 
as  small  potatoes,  apples,  squashes,  pumpkins 
and  unsound  corn,  which,  mingled,  and  cooked, 
form  the  best  feed  that  can  be  produced  for 
fattening  purposes.  If  to  this  mass,  oat  or 
barley  meal  is  added,  healthy  animals  will  be 
found  to  fatten  upon  it  rapidly. 

Secondly,  it  is  the  proper  time,  because  the 
weather  is  only  moderately  cold,  and  it  will 
require  less  food  to  make  a  certain  amount  of 
flesh,  than  it  will  when  it  is  sharp,  cold 
weather.  As  fatting  animals  get  but  little  ex- 
ercise, they  must  be  protected  from  wind  and 
cold,  and  provided  with  a  comlbrtable  place  to 
stand  and  lie  down  in. 

Having  suitable  articles  of  food,  improving 
the  right  time,  and  furnishing  the  stock  with 
suitable  accommodations,  the  next  care  should 
be  to  provide  the  animals  with  a  varieiy  of 
food.  Some  experienced  stall- I'eeders  assume 
"that  whenever  animals  are  fed  on  one  kind  of 
vegetables  only,  there  is  a  waste  of  one  or 
another  of  the  necessary  elements  of  animal 
food,  and  that  a  great  lesson  on  this  subject 
taught  us  by  nature  is,  that  by  a  judicious  ad- 
mixture, not  only  is  food  economized,  but  the 
labor  imposed  upon  the  digestive  organs  is 
also  materially  diminished." 

It  has  been  found  by  experiment,  that  food 
which,  when  given  alone,  does  not  fatten,  ac- 
(juires    that  property  in  a  high  degree  when 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


5Go 


mixed  with  some  fatty  substance,  and  that 
those  which  are  the  richest  in  the  muscle-form- 
ing ingredients  produce  a  comparatively  small 
effect,  unless  they  contain  also,  or  are  mixed 
with,  a  connderable  proportion  of  fatty  matter. 
The  strict  observation  of  a  few  general  rules, 
in  fattening  animals,  will  ensure  profit  in  the 
process. 

1.  Food  should  be  so  prepared  that  its  nu- 
tritious properties  may  be  all  made  available  to 
the  use  of  the  animal ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
appropriated  with  the  le;;st  possible  expendi- 
ture of  muscular  energy.  The  pig  that  eats 
raw  potatoes  or  whole  corn,  when  either 
cooked  could  be  eaten  in  one  quarter  of  the 
time,  may  indeed  fatten,  but  much  less  rap- 
idly than  if  it  were  given  in  a  proper  manner. 
All  food  should  be  given  in  such  a  state  to 
fattening  animals,  that  as  little  time  as  possible, 
on  the  part  of  the  animals,  shall  be  required  in 
eating. 

2.  We  have  spoken  of  the  importance  of 
mixed  food.  It  will  be  well,  occasionally,  to 
give  the  animal  some  one  article,  by  itself,  of 
that  which  goes  to  make  up  the  mixed  food,— 
that  is,  a  handful  of  corn,  a  few  raw  potatoes, 
a  few  carrots  or  pieces  of  pumpkins,  and  if 
the  animal  seems  to  relish  them,  continue  the 
treatment.  But  from  the  time  the  fattening 
process  continues,  as  long  as  the  animal  is  fed, 
he  should  never  be  hungry,— but,  at  the  same 
tune,  never  be  fed  so  liberally  as  to  leave  food 
standing  before  him.  The  animal  that  is 
stuffed  and  starved  by  turns  may  have  streaked 
meat,  but  it  will  be  made  too  slowly  for  the 
pleasure  or  the  profit  of  the  good  farmer. 

3.  One  of  the  most  essential  p  ints  in  feed- 
ing animals  is  regularitij.  If  fed  irregularly 
the  animal  will  consume  his  food,  but  will  soon 
acquire  a  restless  disposition  be  disturbed  at 
every  appearance  of  his  feeder,  and  never  in 
that  quiet  state  so  necessary  to  take  on  fat. 

Horses  that  are  fed  regularly  will  scarcely 
notice  a  person  coming  into  the  stable  between 
their  regular  hours  of  being  fed  ;  but  if  at  the 
usual  feeding  hour,  they  paw  and  whinner,  and 
say  as  emphatically  as  their  power  of  speech 
will  allow,— "It  is  my  dinner  time,  and  I  want 
it  now !" 

4.  Allow  nothing  to  take  place  to  disturj 
them  while   eating,  or  indeed,   at  any  other 
time. 
It  is  said  that  animals  fatten  better  in  the 


dark  than  in  the  light ;  but  we  protest,  with 
all  the  feeling  we  can  express,  against  shutting 
out  any  of  God's  creatures  from  the  blessed 
sunlight   which   he   has  made  to  fall  on  all. 
There  is  no  need  of  it.     All  they  want  is  to 
be  quiet.     If  fed  abundantly,  and  the  places 
which  they  occupy  are  comfortable,  they  will 
soon  subside  into  a  most  quiet  and  thrifty  habit. 
Even  the  most  irritable  of  them  will  soon  con- 
form themselves  to  their  new  circumstances, 
if  the  demands  of  appetite  and  bodily  com- 
fort are   all   answered.     There    is    no   surer 
proof  that  an  ox  or  a  pig  is  doing  well  than  to 
see    it    eat    its    meal   quickly   and   then   re- 
tire to  its  bed  until  the  hour  of  feeding  re- 
turns.    It  is  poor  policy,   always,  to  make  a 
pig  earn  his  living  by  rooting  over  manure. 
He  requires  extra  food  by  such  labor,  as  well 
as  the  ox  or  horse,  that  works  hard. 

5.  Do  not  withhold  cold  water  from  fatting 
animals.  It  is  a  cruel  practice.  Let  them 
have  as  much  as  they  wish  and  they  will  fatten 
all  the  faster  for  it. 

Fattening  Swine 
need  a  dry  bed,  entirely  sheltered  from  cold 
winds.  Their  apartment  should  be  well  ven- 
tilated, sweet  and  clean,  and  if  their  food  is 
slightly  soured  they  will  fatten  faster  upon  it, 
and  their  flesh  be  whiter  and  more  delicate.   In 

Fattening  Sheep 
their  food  should  be  so  prepared  as  to  require 
as  little  labor  from  the  animal  as  possible  in 
eating  it. 


Soiling  and  Pasturing.— At  a  late  Fair 
in   Duchess  county,   N.  Y.,   Horace    Greeley 
said  he  considered  pasture   land  a  nuisance, 
and  he  advocated  the  universal  adoption  of  the 
soiling  system.     Wonder  what  he  would  do 
with  the  results  of  the  experiments,  as  to  the 
cost  of  keeping  cows,  published  in  the  Farmer 
last  week.     With  good  hay  at  only  fifteen  dol- 
lars per  ton,  it  appeared  that  the  cost  of  keep- 
ing a  cow  in  the  barn  was  about  twenty-five 
cents  per  day,  and  in  pasture,  on  land  worth 
$iO  per  acre,  the  cost  was  less  than  seven  and 
a  (luarter  cents  per  day,  at  the  State  Reform 
School  Farm,   Westborough,  Mass. ;  and    on 
Gov.  Boutwell's  farm,  the  cost  of  keeping  in 
the  stable  was  the  same  as  at  Westborough, 
while  the   pasture  feed  was  estimated  at  ten 
cents  per  day.    Circumstances  govern  cases,  is 
an  old  adage  that  some  of  our  enthusiastic 


£66 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


agricultural  writers  and  speakers  appear  occa- 
sionally to  forget.  The  fact  that  soiling  is 
practicable  where  land  is  very  high  and  where 
milk  is  worth  from  eight  to  twelve  cents  per 
quart,  does  not  prove  that  pasture  lands  are  a 
nuisance  and  the  universal  adoption  of  the 
soiling  system  is  advisable  everywhere. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
THREE   CATTLE    SHOWS. 

For  the  following  notice  of  the  Fairs  of  the 
Stanstead,  Can.,  the  Caledonia,  and  Orleans 
County,  Vt.,  Societies,  we  are  indebted  to  our 
correspondent,  "Z.  E.  J.,"  of  Irasburg,  Vt., 
who  visited  each  of  the  three  exhibitions. 
Stanstead,  Province  of  Quebec. 

The  fair  of  this  society  was  held  at  Stan- 
stead Plain,  Sept.  17,  18  and  19.  I  attended 
the  second  day,  and  found  over  200  cattle — 
Short  horns,  Dutch,  and  grades,  with  one  Al- 
derney  cow  and  calf;  80  long  wooled  sheep, 
over  50  Downs,  15  Mei  inoes  ;  also  a  fine  show 
of  White  Chester  and  Berkshire  swine.  In 
the  Floral  Hall  there  was  an  excellent  show  of 
grains,  wheat,  oats,  seed  corn.  &c.,  with  arti- 
cles manufactured.  One  excellent  feature  of 
this  fair  was  the  exhibition  of  nearly  everything 
all  three  days,  so  that  those  who  went  the  third 
day  saw  the  cattle  and  sheep.  No  exhibitor 
was  allowed  to  speak  to  an  awarding  commit- 
tee, who  only  found  numbers  attached  to  the 
articles.  When  awards  were  made  the  secre- 
tary sent  a  man  to  tie  a  card  and  ribbon  upon 
the  meritorious  article. 

Caledonia  County,  Vt. 

The  next  week,  September  25,  I  went  to 
St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  the  second  day  of  the 
Fair  at  that  place.  The  society  have  fitted  up 
their  grounds  and  track  at  great  expense.  The 
Floral  Hall  was  very  large ;  but  as  the  objects 
of  greatest  interest  to  me  and  other  farmers, 
were  cattle  and  sheep,  1  hastened  to  the  yards, 
and  found  only  one  bull  calf  and  five  Merino 
sheep !  the  other  pens  being  full  of  horses 
hitched  lor  the  day.  The  cattle  were  on  the 
ground  the  first  day  only,  to  the  great  disap- 
pointment of  many  farmers  from  out  the  coun- 
ty. The  Floral  Hall  was  crowded  nearly  all 
the  time.  The  show  there  was  excellent. 
Here  the  exhibitors'  names  were  on  the  cards 
attached  to  the  articles.  There  was  a  show  of 
horses  upon  the  track,  yet  I  venture  to  say 
the  thousands  present  wouhl  have  been  better 
satisfied,  if  thu  cattle  could  liave  been  retained. 
Their  early  removal  will  be  of  more  damage  to 
the  society  than  their  cost  of  keei)iiig.  To 
draw  a  crowd,  year  after  year,  there  must  be 
a  show. 

Orleans  County,  Vt. 

This  society  was  organized  this  year,  and  it 
was  thought  advisable  to  have  only  one   day's 


exhibition,  October  8,  which  was  held  at  Bar- 
ton Landing.  There  were  over  500  entries, 
and  about  3000  people  present.  Less  than 
$300  were  awarded  as  premiums,  from  an  in- 
come of  about  $700  ;  leaving  a  good  surplus 
in  the  treasury  for  another  year.  The  most 
prominent  exhibitors  of  blood  stock  were  H. 
C.  Cleveland,  Coventry,  of  Kentucky  Short 
Horns,  14  head ;  T.  Baker,  Barton,  Short 
Horns,  and  Dutch  cattle,  and  Merino  sheep ; 
A.  A.  Randall,  Short  Horn  and  grade  cattle. 
There  was  one  Alderney  calf,  the  only  repre- 
sentative of  the  stock, — there  being  but  few 
specimens  in  the  county.  Our  drovers  say 
that  in  Canada  they  can  buy  Alderney  cows 
very  cheap,  from  10  to  20  dollars  each.  With 
our  dairy  farmers  the  Short  Horn  grades  are 
preferred,  probably  because  the  good  quali- 
ties of  other  breeds  are  not  appreciated. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
THE    GAEDEN   IN"   NOVEMBER. 

The  careful,  thoughtful  gardener  will  find  a 
plenty  of  worii  still  to  do  in  the  garden,  while 
those  with  little  forethought  will  find  little  No- 
vember work,  except  the  gathering  of  some 
neglected  or  late  garden  crops.  There  are 
many  things  which,  attended  to  now,  will  con- 
tribute largely  towards  another  year's  prosper- 
ity. Provision  for  the  extended  production  of 
the  various  fruits,  large  and  small,  may  yet  be 
made  by  preparing  the  ground  for  early  spring 
planting,  and  extending  facilities  for  hot  house, 
cold  frame,  and  hot-bed.  The  gardener  should 
not  neglect  to  finish  up  harvesting  any  and  all 
crops  not  yet  stored ;  and  as  the  fall  has  been 
a  late  growing  season,  some  crops  will  necessa- 
rily be  left  in  the  ground  later  than  usual ;  but 
generally  little  is  gained  in  letting  any  crops 
remain  long  after  frosts  have  cut  down  the  fo- 
liage, or  tops.  Protection  should  be  provided 
for  the  various  crops  that  are  to  be  kept 
through  the  winter,  either  for  consumption  or 
spring  culture.  Stiff  soils  are  improved  by 
being  ploughed  or  thrown  into  ridges,  expos- 
ing the  greatest  surface  to  the  ameliorating 
and  mellowing  action  of  the  frosts  of  winter. 
Draining  may  yet  be  done  where  needed  to 
obviate  the  ill  eti'ects  of  a  redundancy  of  wa- 
ter in  the  soil. 

Asparagus. — The  old  stalks  should  be  cut 
and  cleared  off,  and  a  protection  of  some  kind 
given  to  the  beds  ;  coarse  manure,  leaves,  &c., 
are  good  to  prevent  excessive  freezing.  New 
beds  may  still  be  made,  if  reciuired,  but  it 
were  better  to  have  been  done  ealier  in  the 
season.  Deep  working  and  enriching  the  soil 
is  necessary  to  the  successful  culture  of  this 
plant,  though  manure  is  the  secret  of  large 
crops  of  giant  asparagus. 

Bicins — If  nut  already  harvested,  should  be 
drawn  betbie  tlie  ground  freezes  at  all,  as  frost 
is  injurious  to  them.  Cut  the  tops  and  trim 
them,  and  store  by  pacliing  them  in  saud  in  the 
cellar,  as  heretofore  suggested. 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FAEMER. 


567 


Cabbage. — Gather  these  and  turn  them  on 
the  head  to  drain  for  a  few  hours,  and  then  put 
in  trenches  or  in  the  cellar.  I  have  found  them 
to  keep  best  when  put  in  the  cellar,  to  set  the 
roots  in  the  ground  and  the  heads  close  to- 
gether. Have  known  them  put  in  trenches, 
head  down  and  the  heads  covered  four  or  five 
inches  with  soil ;  but  they  should  be  buried  in 
well  drained,  dry  soil ;  when  so  done,  they 
come  out  nice  in  the  spring.  Harvest  before 
hard  freezing  weather. 

Cold  Framics. — Look  to  these  and  see  that 
they  are  properly  ventilated  and  aired,  that  the 
plants  may  be  sufficiently  hardened ;  protect 
with  mats  cold  nights ;  and  when  freezing 
weather  comes  on  cover  with  mats,  straw  or 
leaves,  to  exclude  frosts  till  spring;  ventila- 
tion is  necessary, 

CoMrosT. — The  more  the  better.  For  some 
soils  a  cord  of  nuu^k  or  peat  composted  with 
ten  to  fifteen  bushels  of  hard  wood  ashes,  with 
half  a  bushel  of  refuse  salt,  will  make  an  ex- 
cellent fertilizer ;  now  is  a  good  time  to  pre- 
pare it. 

Currants. — Provide  for  an  increased  pro- 
duction by  mulching  with  manure  to  be  worked 
into  the  soil  in  spring.  Gooseberries  should 
be  treated  similarly.  Make  cuttings  of  each, 
to  plant  out  in  spring,  if  not  already  provided 
for,  and  if  an  increase  is  desired  ;  pack  them  in 
sand  in  the  bottom  of  the  cellar  where  they 
will  neither  dry  up  nor  keep  too  moist. 

Flowers. — Who  says,  I  do  not  love  flowers  ? 
Provide  lor  early  kinds  by  planting  early  blos- 
soming bulbs,  if  not  already  done  ;  lift  dahlias 
and  other  tubers  and  bulbs  that  require  stor- 
ing during  winter,  and  store  in  the  cellar. 

Grape  Vines. — This  month  is  the  best  time 
for  pruning  the  grape  vme  ;  cut  back  all  the 
last  growth  except  three  or  four  eyes,  lay 
down  the  vine  and  give  a  slight  protection  of 
earth  or  litter.  It  is  better  to  set  new  vines 
in  the  spring,  or  rather,  such  has  been  my  ex- 
perience. 

Mice. — Any  rubbish  or  tall  grass  left  where 
they  will  find  a  harbor  will  pretty  surely  be 
occupied  by  these  little  destructives,  from 
which  they  will  emerge  to  ruin  shrubs,  trees, 
&e,  ;  see  that  they  have  no  such  haibor. 

Parsnips — Are  better  for  remaining  in  the 
soil  through  winter.  A  few  may  be  dug  and 
put  in  earth  in  the  cellar  for  winter  use,  if  de- 
sirable. 

Rhubarb. — Cover  the  crowns  with  a  good 
coat  of  manure  to  be  dug  into  the  soil  around 
theui  in  spring. 

Strawberry  Bed. — A  slight  protection  to 
the  plants  during  winter  is  of  advantage  in  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  following  season ;  spent 
tan-bark,  straw  or  forest  leaves  are  good  for 
covering  ;  the  limbs  of  firs,  or  like  evergreens, 
will  answer  a  good  turn. 

Turnips. — Late  ones  may  safely  remain  till 
there  is  danger  of  the  ground  freezing  so  as 
to  prevent  their  being  pulled.  Pull  and  store 
in  the  cellar ;  packed  in  sand  they  keep  fresh- 


er than  if  only  kept  in  boxes,   barrels   or  in 
piles.  Wm.  IL  White. 

South  Windsor,  Conn.,  Nov.,  18G7. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
CAEBONIC    ACID. 

As  an  appendix  to  what  the  Farmer  has  re- 
cently furnished  its  readers  in  rela,tion  to  this 
very  common  and  important  gas,  1  have  thought 
that  the  following  remarks  might  not  be  with- 
out interest  to  a  portion  of  your  readers. 

In  an  article  entitled  "How  Plants  Grow, 
No.  3,"  and  published  in  the  Farmer  of  July 
20th,  18G7,  we  find  the  following:— 

"Carbonic  acirt  gas  is  somewliat  licavier  than 
common  air,  and  tends  to  accumulate  in  the  lower 
strata  of  the  atmosphere,  thus  wetind  it  in  valleys, 

pits  and  wells And  the  simple  fact 

that  carbonic  gas  is  heavier  than  atmospheric  air, 
would  cause  all  animal  life  to  cease  from  the  earth, 
had  not  some  compensation  been  found.  This 
compensation  consists  in  the  withdr'awal  of  this 
gas  from  the  air  by  the  vessels  of  growing  plants. 
As  we  ascend  into  the  atmosphere  carbonic  acid 
is  less  abundant." 

While  penning  the  above  the  writer  seems 
to  have  forgotten  the  well  known  law  of  the 
equal  diffusion  of  intermingled  gases  of  differ- 
ent specific  gravities.  And  many  readers  are, 
no  doubt,  surprised  to  learn  that  the  accumu- 
lation of  carbonic  acid  in  some  valleys,  pits  and 
wells,  is  due  to  the  superior  specific  gravity  of 
the  gas,  and  not  to  local  causes  in  active  opera- 
tion where  the  gas  abounds.  And  indeed  it  is 
difficult,  on  the  theory  of  gravity,  to  account 
for  the  facts,  that  in  some  valleys,  pits  and 
wells  where  there  is  a  scant  vegetation,  or 
none  at  all,  the  air  is  in  its  normal  pure  condi- 
tion. If  any  one  should  perchance  inquire 
why  such  eminent  explorers  and  philosophers 
as  Humbolt,  De  Saussure  and  Liebig  did  not 
discover  one  of  the  probable  reasons  "why 
plants  thrive  with  less  vigor  in  elevated  situa- 
tions," I  answer,  they  did  not  know  that  car- 
bonic acid,  by  the  mere  force  of  gravity,  left 
the  upper  strata  of  the  atmosphere,  and  that 
"as  we  ascend  into  the  atmosphere,  carbonic 
acid  is  [proportionally]  less  abundant ;"  as 
will  be  seen  below. 

The  following  statements  of  some  of  the 
most  eminent  physicists  are  in  striking  contrast 
with  our  hrst  (juoted  paragraph  : — 

"These  accumulations  (viz.,  in  some  valleys,  pits 
and  wells,)  happily  never  take  place,  except  when 
there  is  some  local  origin  for  the  carbonic  acid; 
as  for  example  ^\heu  it  is  generated  by  fermenta- 
tive processes  going  on  at  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  or  when  it  issues  directly  from  the  earth, 
as  happens  at  the  Grotto  del  Cane  in  Italy,  and  at 
Pyrrnont  in  Westphalia.  There  is  no  real  founda- 
tion for  the  opinion  that  carbonic  acid  can  separ- 
ate itself  troin  the  great  mass  of  the  atmosphere 
and  accumulate  in  a  low  situation  by  the  mere 
force  of  gravity,  yuch  a  supposition  is  contrary 
to  the  well  known  tendency  of  gasscs  to  diffuse 
themselves  equally  through  each  otlier.  It  is  also 
contradicted  by  observation,  for  many  deep  pits 
contain  pure  atmospheric  air." — Turner. 

"The  experiments  of  De  Saussure  have  proved 


568 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Dec. 


that  the  upper  strata  of  the  air  contain  more  car- 
bonic acid  tlian  the  lower  wliieli  are  in  contact 
with  plants,  and  that  the  quantity  is  greater  by 
niglit  than  by  day  when  it  undergoes  decomposi- 
tion."— Liebig. 

"Gases,  when  mixed  togetlrer,  do  not  arrange 
themselves  according  to  their  specific  gravities, 
but  the  particles  of  each  are  dilfiised  uniformly 
thro'ughout  the  whole  space  occupied  by  the  fluid. 
From  this  principle  of  gaseous  dilfusiou  it  necessa- 
rily follov;.-:,  that  at  airiuibitable  heights  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  the  air  must  have  a  nearly  uni- 
form composition." — Higgins. 

"Carbonic  acid  increases  as  we  rise  from  the 
earth,  and  is  less  gfter  a  rain  which  washes  it  down 
from  the  au'." — Youmans. 

I.  B.  ILiRTWELL. 

WilUnsonville,  Oct.  21,  18C7. 


CARE    OF    HORSES. 

After  about  twenty-two  years'  experience  as 
a  horse  owner,  I  undertake  to  set  down  a  little 
of  my  experience  concerning  the  management 
of  that  noble  animal. 

Commencing  when  the  foal  is  a  day  or  two 
old,  I  go  to  it,  and  pass  my  hands  down  its 
face,  along  its  back,  and  down  its  legs  to  the 
hoofs,  hind  and  fore,  not  to  mesmerise  or 
charm  the  animal,  but  to  accustom  it  to  being 
handled,  a  thing  which  cannot  be  commenced 
coo  soon.  Foals  are  animals  that,  when  quite 
young,  have  more  sagacity,  and  are  more  trac- 
table and  easily  taught  than  any  other  animal, 
so  whatever  you  want  them  to  learn,  commence 
before  they  are  old  enough  to  make  resistance, 
and  depend  upon  it,  they  will  never  forget  it. 
Put  a  halter  on  it,  and  lead  it  about,  but  be 
careful  not  to  let  it  break  away  from  you. 
Be  very  kind  and  gentle  to  it,  but  show  that 
you  are  its  master. 

I  next  proceed  to  the  horse's  feet.  Horses' 
hoofs  are  things  of  the  greatest  importance ; 
for  who  would  want  to  follow  a  lame  horse  at 
either  work  or  pleasure.  Many  things  ruin 
the  feet  of  horses,  which  I  cannot  pretend  to 
touch  on,  but  I  will  try  to  point  out  a  few 
errors  which  any  man  can  see  and  correct,  the 
greatest  of  which  is  leaving  their  shoes  on  too 
long.  This  hurts  the  hoof,  strains  the  legs, 
and  causes  lameness  in  every  shape.  In  the 
winter  this  has  a  worse  eliect  than  in  summer, 
as  then  the  leet  are  more  dry  and  clean, 
whereas  in  sunmier  they  are  wet,  and  the  mud 
and  heat  of  summer  will  rot  the  hoofs  and 
cause  the  shoe  to  fall  off.  I  have  kuovvn 
horses'  shoes  nailed  on  in  the  fall,  and  not 
taken  off  until  the  next  summer,  when  they 
would  fall  oil'  in  the  pasture,  a  practice  which 
seldom  I'ails  to  bring  on  lameness.  A  horse's 
shoe  should  never  be  on  longer  than  three 
montlis,  and  two  months  are  very  often  too 
long,  llor-cs'  hoofs  were  meant  by  nature  to 
go  bare,  and  run  on  the  earth  in  their  natural 
state,  and  as  long  as  we  drive  them  on  such, 
they  need  no  shoeing ;  but  when  we  drive 
them  on  paved  streets,  hard  roads,  &e.,  we 
Lave  to  shoe  them,  and  stop  the  wear  that  na- 


ture meant  should  be  on  their  hoofs.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  shoe  binds  the  hoof, 
and  often  causes  contraction  and  many  other 
evils,  when  nailed  too  far  to  the  heel,  left  on 
too  long,  or  when  the  hoof  is  not  sufficiently 
pared  down  between  shoeings.  See  that  the 
shoe  is  not  nailed  too  far  to  the  heel.  Any 
intelligent  man  can  see  when  a  shoe  has  been 
on  long  enough,  and  take  it  off,  when  it  may 
be  left  off'  a  day  or  two,  or  longer,  as  the  case 
may  be.  A  drive  over  soft  snow,  a  favf  days 
ploughing  or  harrowing,  or  the  like,  would 
spread  the  foot  and  help  to  counteract  the 
effects  of  shoeing.  Always  see  that  the  hoof 
is  properly  pared  down  before  the  shoe  is 
again  put  on.  I  have  often  seen  the  hoofs  of 
old  horses  greatly  improved  by  being  left  bare 
a  few  weeks  in  pasture.  There  are  many 
other  things  that  hurt  horses'  feet,  as  too  poor 
feed,  too  high  feed,  too  hard  driving. 

The  most  natural  feed  for  the  horse  is  what 
he  can  pick  for  himself,  but  as  we  cannot  let 
him  run  and  pick  his  own  living,  let  his  feed 
be  as  near  natural  as  possible.  Too  high  or 
too  low  feed  have  both  a  bad  effect,  but  as 
different  individuals  will  form  very  different 
notions  of  what  high  and  low  feed  are,  I  will 
try  and  point  out  what  1  consider  the  middle 
course  to  be.  Hay  alone,  be  it  ever  so  good, 
is  not  fit  feed  for  horses,  whether  working  or 
idle.  They  need  grain,  with  an  occasional 
feed  of  roots,  bran  mash,  or  something  to  keep 
their  bowels  open.  Horses  need  regular  feed. 
The  feed  I  generally  find  best  for  horses  is 
about  12  pounds  of  hay  and  from  9  no  12 
quarts  of  oats,  given  in  three  regular  feeds, 
with  a  feed  of  raw  potatoes  once  a  week, 
when  idle,  or  at  gentle  work  ;  and  a  small  in- 
crease when  at  hard  work.  The  practice  of 
feeding  horses  all  the  hay  they  can  eat  when 
idle,  has  many  bad  effects  ;  whereas  if  they 
get  three  small  feeds,  they  will  stamp  about  in 
the  stall,  and  take  exercise  between  feeds, 
which  will  keep  their  legs  from  swelling,  &c. 
But  remember,  I  do  not  advocate  small  feeds 
of  hay  without  grain.  A  very  cheap  way  of 
feeding  horses,  and  not  a  bad  way,  is  on  straw, 
with  a  fair  allowance  of  oats.  I  have  tried  a 
great  many  experiments,  and  have  found  horses 
always  do  better  on  straw,  than  horned  cattle. 
Horses  will  do  better  on  straw,  provided  it  be 
good,  than  they  will  on  hay  only,  without  grain 
in  both  cases;  but  of  course  they  must  not  be 
stinted.  The  main  point  with  the  farmer  who  ' 
keeps  horses,  is  to  use  them  in  such  a  way  as  . 
will  give  them  all  the  strength  and  agility  the 
animal  is  capable  of,  and  to  work  them  all  they 
can  stand  without  injuring  either.  The  poor, 
half- starved  horse  is  an  animal  any  man  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the 
pampered  and  over-i'ed  and  half-worked  horse, 
though  he  may  look  very  nice  to  some,  is  an 
animal  1  would  advise  the  farmer  not  to  keep, 
as  such  animals  are  more  liable  to  loss  than 
any  other. — J.  D.,  of  Nackawick,  in  Colonial 
Farmer. 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


569 


USES    OP    OIL   IN   "WOOL. 

LL  persons  who  know  any- 
thing about  M'ool,  admit  that 
it  must  be  oily  during  its 
growth  in  order  to  be  good  ; 
and  that  is  merely  admitting 
that  Nature,  in  a  perfect 
understanding  of  the  work 
which  she  undertakes,  has 
'  always  placed  it  there. 

It  is  precisely  so  with  the 
hair  of  the  horse,  ox  and 
cow,  and  probably  is  with 
all  animals  who  have  the 
pleasui-e  of  wearing  hair 
which  takes  root  in  themselves. 

This  oil  was  undoubtedly  intended,  not  j)ri- 
marUij,  as  supposed  by  some,  for  theliealihof 
the  animal,  but/or  the  especial  benefit  of  the 
wool.  If  the  wool  had  not  needed  the  pres- 
ence of  the  oil,  there  would  have  been  no  oil 
glands  to  secrete  it ;  but  as  the  glands  are 
there,  and  as  the  wool  does  need  their  co-op- 
eration, the  health  of  the  animal  will  be  im- 
paired if  the  functions  of  those  glands  are 
suspended. 

The  oil  in  wool  serves  two  purposes  at  least. 
First,  the  same  that  it  serves  the  common  hen, 
the  mink  and  other  fur-covered  animals  that 
live  both  in  and  out  of  the  water — that  is.  as 
&  protection  against  moisture;  and  this  is  a 
very  important  consideration,  especially  to 
those  sheep  who^e  careless  owners  permit  them 
to  remain  without  shelter  through  cold  North- 
east storms. 

Secondly,  the  oil  is  indispensable  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  best  wool.  It  keeps  it  soft, 
pliable,  lustrous  and  strong,  with  all  its  beau- 
tiful parts,  barbed  sides,  and  serrated  edges, 
perfectly  developed.  It  is  elastic  and  pleas- 
ant to  the  touch,  instead  of  being  dry  and 
harsh. 

There  is  nothing  much  easier  for  many  peo- 
ple than  to  ride  a  "hobby,"  and  to  ride  it  un- 
mercifully, too ;  and  here  is  a  sample  of  it. 
In  the  Ohio  Farmer  of  August  3,  there  is  a 
considerable  portion  of  an  essay  put  forth  by 
the  wool-growers  of  Coshocton  Co.,  in  which 
the  following  is  the  leading  expression: — 
''Rams  for  coupling  shouldthroio  out  as  much 
oil  as  possible,  the  more  the  better,''  and  among 
other  things  it  is  stated  that  this  oil  tends  to  keep 
the  wool  "clean."     Both  remarks  are  extrav- 


agant, and  injurious  to  the  wool-grower,  and 
wool  manufacturer,  too. 

All  the  oil  that  is  necessary  is  just  what  is 
sufficient  for  the  purposes  which  Ave  have 
mentioned  above,  namely,  protection  agamst 
moisture,  and  to  render  the  wool  soft,  plia- 
ble, healthy,  lustrous  and  strong;  all  beyond 
that  is  a  production  which  draws  upon  the 
physical  powers  of  the  sheep,  and  adds  an  cle- 
ment which  is  not  only  useless  iu  itself,  but 
one  which  subjects  the  manufacturer  to  a  heavy 
cost  to  get  rid  of  belbre  he  can  woik  up  the 
wool. 

It  is  only  a  few  days  since  we  were  convers- 
ing with  a  manufacturer  upon  the  condition  of 
the  business  at  present,  cost  of  wools,  wool- 
growing,  &c.,  &c.  Among  otht  r  i-i marks 
which  he  made,  this  was  especiyliy  remem- 
bered :   "We  purchase  no  wool  of if  we 

can  possibly  avoid  it."  )Vhy  not?  "Be- 
cause the  shrinkage  is  so  great  on  account  of 
oil  and  dirt  that  it  is  more  expensive  than  any 
other  wool  in  the  market.  Besides  this,  there 
is  a  cost  of  five  or  six  per  cent,  for  chemicals 
to  extract  these  substances  before  the  wool 
goes  to  the  cards.  The  oil  must  all  be  ex- 
tracted, or  the  yarn  will  not  take  colors." 
•  This  is  not  the  first  time  we  have  heard 
some  of  our  most  experienced  and  intelligent 
manufacturers  say  that  they  never  desired  to 
see  a  pound  of  wool  from  one  of  our  finest 
wool-producing  States,  and  it  is  entirely  ow- 
ing to  the  oil  and  dirt  introduced  by  "riding  a 
hobby."  They  have  bred  to  oil  and  dirt  until 
they  have  turned  the  attention  of  customers 
another  way.  If  those  customers  are  in  the 
West,  they,  too,  in  turn,  will  drive  manufac- 
turers to  South  America,  the  Cane,  or  some 
where  else  for  their  supplies. 

The  merino  sheep  may  be  bred  to  produce 
this  peculiar  oil  or  yolk  in  a  most  remarkable 
degree.  We  have  seen  the  fleece  of  a  French 
merino  so  full  of  it  that  when  laid  upon  the 
table — without  any  pressure  upon  it — the  oil 
has  run  olF  from  the  table  to  the  floor !  It 
could  be  s(jueezed  out  by  the  hand  !  Such  a 
fleece,  or  one  only  half  as  oily,  is  in  a  condi- 
tion to  catch  and  hold  all  the  dust,  chaff  and 
fine  seeds  that  come  in  contact  with  it.  It 
creates  a  mass  of  filth  which  injures  the  wool 
and  sometimes  reaches  a  weight  which  becomes 
an  intolerable  burden  for  the  sheep  to  bear. 

The  question  is,  how  much  of  this  oil  is  ben- 


570 


2^W   ENGLAND    FAB5MER. 


Dec. 


eficial  to  the  wool  ?  Let  us  reason  by  analo- 
gy. How  much  is  necessary  to  the  human 
head,  to  the  horse,  cow,  fowl,  or  any  of  God's 
creatures  for  whom  he  has  provided  it  ?  Not 
much ;  hardly  more  than  in  an  imperceptible 
degree.  More  than  this  is  a  burden,  a  waste 
of  vital  power,  and  twice  an  expense, — first  in 
the  purchase,  and  secondly  in  getting  rid  of  it. 
Since  writing  the  above  we  have  referred  to 
Dr.  Randall's  Practical  Shepherd,  the  best 
work,  probably,  ever  prepared  on  the  subject 
of  sheep  husbandry,  and  copy  as  follows  : — 

Proper  Amount  and  Consistency  of  Yolk. 

I  esteem  it  particuLarly  fortunate  for  the  preser- 
vation of  tlie  intrinsic  value  of  our  merino  sheep, 
and  fortunate  for  the  public  interest,  that  it  is  al- 
ready incontcstibly  ascertained  that  the  greatest 
amount  of  yolk  is  not  consistent  cither  with  the 
greatest  amount  of  wool,  or  v.itli  the  greatest  ag- 
gregate amount  of  both  j-ol k  and  wool  "  The  black, 
miserably  "oily,"  "gummy"  sliccp,  looking  as  if 
their  wool  had  been  soaked  to  .saturation  in  half 
inspissated  oil,  and  then  daubed  over  externally 
with  a  coating  of  tar  and  lamp-ljlaek,  never  exhibit 
that  maximum  of  both  length  and  density  of  wool 
which,  with  a  proper  degree  of  yolk,  produces  the 
greatest  aggregate  weight.  Yolk  has  been  gener- 
ally thought  to  be  the  pabulum  of  wool,  and  if  so, 
its  excessive  secretions,  as  a  separate  substance, 
may  diminish  its  secretions  in  the  form  of  wool. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  the  fact  I  have  stated  stands 
without  an  exception.  And  animals  exhibiting 
this  marked  excess  of  yolk,  are  invariably  feebler 
in  constitution,  less  easily  kept,  and  especiallj'  less 
capa1)Ie  of  withstanding  severe  cold.  Such  ex- 
cessive secretions  appear,  then,  to  cause,  or  else  to* 
be  the  results  of  an  abnormal  or  defective  organi- 
zation. For  these  reasons,  tiicse  comparatively 
worthless  animals,  once  so  eagerly  sought,  have 
already  gone  out  of  use  among  the  be.-t  informed 
breeders;  and  where  they  linger,  it  is,  like  anti- 
quated la>liions,inregions  where  the  current  ideas 
of  the  day  penetrate  slowly  ! 

There  should  be  enough  fluid  yolk  within  the 
wool  on  the  upper  surfaces  of  the  body,  to  cover 
every  fibre  like  a  brilliant,  and,  in  warm  weather, 
like  an  undried  coat  of  varnish — but  not  enough 
to  till  the  interstices  between  them,  so  that  the 
fleece  shall  appear,  as  it  sometimes  does,  to  l)e 
growing  up  through  a  bed  of  oil.  And  if  there  is 
a  sulliciency  of  yolk  above,  it  must  be  expected 
that  underneath  where  the  fleece  is  less  exposed 
to  evaporation  and  the  washing  of  rains,  and  to 
which  part  gravitation  would  naturally  determine 
a  flidd  siib.>^tance,  a  considerably  greater  quantity 
of  it  will  be  fountl.  13ut  hardened  or  pasty  masses 
of  it  within  the  wool  are  to  be  avi  ided,  on  all  parts 
of  the  l)ody.  A  portion  of  the  fluid  yolk  will  ne- 
cessarily inspissate  or  harden  on  the  oiiier  tnds  of 
the  wool.  It  is  proper  that  it  should  sensibly 
thicken  those  ends,  and  clot  them  together  in  small 
masses  on  the  upper  parts  of  the  b.jdy — f)rniiiiga 
coat  considerably  thicker,  firmerand  harder  to  the 
hand  than  wouhl  the  naked  wool,  and  quite  rigid 
when  exposed  to  cold;  but  it  should  not  cover  the 
wool  in  roimdeil  knobs,  or  in  thick,  (irmly  adher- 
ing patches,  botmded  by  the  fl;ece  cracks— slick- 
ing to  the  hand  in  hot  weather  like  a  conii)Oundof 
grease  and  tar,  and  in  cold  having  a  "board-like" 
Ktittness.  Underneath,  for  the  same  reasons  given 
in  reference  to  inside  yolk,  a  greater  quantity  of  it 
must  be  tolcratetl.  it  should  stick  the  masses  of 
wool  together  in  front  of  the  brisket  and  scrotum, 
and  large  rounded  knobs  of  it  inside  the  legs  and 


thighs  and  on  the  hack  side  of  the  scrotum,  are 
considered  desirable. 

Another  "hobby"  of  sheep  raisers  is  that  of 
"wrinkles" — but  we  must  look  at  his  paces 
another  time. 


THE  HORSE  AT  FAIRS. 
To  justify  the  prominence  that  is  given  to 
horses  in  the  premium  list  of  agricultural  Fairs, 
the  editor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  copies  the 
following  table  prepared  by  the  Auditor  of 
the  State  of  Illinois.  It  shows  the  value  of 
horses,  as  compared  with  other  farm  stock, 
«&c.,  to  be  larger  than  we  supposed  it  to  be  : — 

The  assessed  value  of  neat  cattle  in  the  State 

of  Illinoia  for  the  year  1S67  is $17,144,597 

Do  of  sheep 3,510,777 

Do.ofho^s 5,221.552 

Do.  of  manufactured  articles 2,210,536 

Do.  capital  stock  of  banks 2,270,326 

$32,387,783 
Do.  of  horses    .   • 32,578,223 

While  admitting  that  trials  of  speed,  as  at 
present  conducted,  are  objectionable  and  de- 
moralizing, the  writer  believes  that  e.Khibitions 
and  tests  of  horses  may  be  arranged  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  encourage  the  improvement  of 
this  noble -animal  and  to  develop  its  valuable 
qualities.  For  this  purpose  the  whole  matter 
must  be  taken  from  the  hands  of  those  who, 
caring  nothing  for  the  improvement  of  stock, 
own  and  train  horses  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting money  in  their  pockets  by  winning  purses 
or  premiums  offered,  and  by  successful  betting, 
often  secured  by  the  merest  tricks,  of  which 
the  following  is  given  as  an  illustration : — 

A  is  a  breeder;  B  and  C  are  unscrupulous  jock- 
eys. Each  enters  a  horse,  A's  bein^'  the  best. 
The  race  is  "mile  heats,  best  3  in  5."  The  flrst  heat 
B's  horse  keeps  A's  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  while 
C's  runs  slowly,  and  just  saves  his  distance.  Sec- 
ond heat,  C's  horse,  nearlv  fresh,  runs  at  A's  and 
keeps  him  at  the  top  of  his  speed  tlironghont  the 
second  mile,  while  B's  runs  slowly  and  just  saves 
his  di.-^tance.  A's  horse  having  won  two  heats  at 
the  top  of  his  speed,  must  now  win  a  third  against 
two  horses,  neither  of  which  has  exericd  liis  powers, 
but  in  a  single  heat ;  and  the  hi.-toiy  of  the  turf 
shows  thousands  of  cases  in  which  the  joekcj'S 
have  thus  succeeded  in  beating  a  flrst  class  animal 
with  others  by  no  means  his  equal. 

The  writer  would  have  the  managers  of  our 
agricultural  Fairs  and  of  our  Breeders'  Asso- 
ciations assume  the  control  of  the  "speed 
rings,"  and  so  conduct  every  performance  that 
"honest  men  may  without  sacrifice  of  self- 
respect,  present  their  animals  for  competition, 
and  the  crowds  of  old  and  young  avIio  attend 
the  annual  Fairs  may  witness  the  contest  with- 
out the  consciousness  that  they  are  patroniz- 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


671 


ing  the  seductions  of  the  gaming  table  or  the 
immoralities  of  the  degenerate  American  turf." 
We  heartily  endorse  his  remark  that  "unless 
this  can  be  done  on  the  tracks  at  our  Fairs, 
they  had  much  better  be  dispensed  with  alto- 
gether." But  we  cannot  agree  wiih  him  when 
he  speaks  of  the  English  system  of  racing  as  a 
model  for  this  country,  and  of  its  adoption 
here  as  likely  to  remedy  the  objections  to  this 
feature  of  our  Fairs.  We  are  surprised  by 
his  remark  that 

"The  English  system  has  not  the  exciteme^it  which 
attends  tluit  now  in  vogue  among  u  s  ;"  but  that  "the 
annual  trials  of  speed  have  l>een  attended  by  every- 
body, from  the  King  or  Queen,  to  the  peasant; 
from  the  archbishop  to  the  humblest  layman  ;  by 
all  conditions  and  both  sexes ;  and  yet  we  hear 
nothing  of  the  demoralization  of  that  nation  wnose 
chief  pastime  this  is." 

To  those  who  have  heard  nothing  of  the  de- 
moralizing effects  of  that  popular  pastime  upon 
the  people  of  England,  we  commend  the  follow- 
ing earnest  words  of  Tom  Hughes,  Esq.,  re- 
cently addressed  to  the  New  York  Tribune : — 

"Of  all  the  cankers  of  our  old  civilization,  there 
is  nothing  in  this  country  approaching  in  un- 
blushing meanness,  in  rascality  holding  its  head 
high,  to  this  belauded  institution  of  tlic  British 
Turf.  It  is  quite  true  thrt  a  very  considerable 
section  of  our  aristocracy  is  on  the  tnrf,  but  with 
what  result  ?  Shall  a  man  touch  pitch  and  not  be 
defiled  ?  There  is  not  a  man  of  them  whose  posi- 
tion and  character  has  not  been  lowered  by  the 
connection,  while  in  the  majority  it  ends  in  bring- 
ing down  their  standard  of  morality  to  that  of  the 
blacklegs,  and  delivering  over  their  estates  into 
the  grasp  of  Jew  attorneys. 

The  last  notable  instance  among  our  jeunesse 
doree,  is  that  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  suc- 
ceeded to  a  clear  £70,000  a  year,  some  three  years 
ago,  and  who  is  now  a  pensioner  of  his  creditors 
in  the  ring,  while  the  old  palace  of  the  Douglass 
is  at  the  order  and  disposition  of  the  celebrated 
Mr.  Padwick.  This  gentleman  at  his  Derby  din- 
ner this  year  entertamcd  three  dukes,  two  mar- 
quises and  six  earls,  and  I  believe  there  was  only 
one  untitled  man  at  the  board.  All  of  these  under 
the  thuml),  or  anxious  to  cultivate  the  esteemed 
favors  of  this  'giver  of  all  good  things.' 

Just  consider  for  a  moment  what  our  modem 
system  of  betting  has  Ijrought  us  to.  A  reliable 
tip  is  that  which  the  most  scrupulous  young  gen- 
tleman on  the  turf  desires,  above  all  other  earthly 
blessings,  before  a  great  race ;  that  is  to  say,  some 
reliable  information  which  may  enable  him  to 
overreach  his  dearest  friend  or  his  own  brother,  if 
he  can  induce  him  to  take  the  odds." 


Caxker  Worms. — From  imperfectly  under- 
stood causes,  Canker  Worms  were  not  as  de- 
structive the  past  season  as  usual.  It  is  not 
safe,  however,  to  presume  that  this  pest  is 
passing  away.  In  almost  every  orchard 
which  was  infested  by  canker  worms  last  year, 
there  were  more  or  less  seen  the  past  season, 
and  in  some  they  were  nearly  as  destructive  as 


ever.  As  the  grubs  commence  their  ascent  in 
the  fall,  usually  after  the  first  severe  frosts,  it 
is  now  time  to  look  to  the  trees,  and  to  com- 
mence defensive  operations.  That  orchards 
can  be  saved  from  the  ravages  of  the  can- 
ker worms  has  been  demonstrated  by  many  in- 
stances of  success,  in  the  faithful  application 
of  tar  and  other  means  of  protection,  that 
have  been  published  in  our  columns.  The 
best  time  to  lock  the  stable  is  before  the  horse 
is  stolen. 


THE   INDIAN    SUMMER. 

See  across  the  smiling  viillf-y, 
Where  the  yellow  eorn-tields  stand 

Fruitful  with  ilie  r(  d  mun's  blessing, 
Rise  the  mountains  tall  and  grand, 

With  their  cloudy  purple  summit 
Gazing  far  across  the  land. 

Seem  they  Ike  groat  chiefs  in  council, 
Stern  and  thoughtful  every  one; 

Like  a  big  eye,  downward  peering. 
Through  the  cloud-rifts  looks  the  eon 

On  the  broad  vale,  fair  and  shinicg, 
Where  the  silver  rivers  run. 

There  the  smoke  of  many  wigwams 

Like  a  soft  haze  hovers  blue; 
There  beside  the  lisping  river 

Safe  is  moored  the  birch  canoe. 
That  with  light  stroke,  quick  and  steady, 

Glides  the  waters  through. 

Hither  comes  the  dry-voiced-robin, 
With  the  sunset  on  his  breast, 

Dee;  est  dye  of  happy  crimson. 
Borrowed  from  th ■■  glowing  west, 

That  with  flaming  color  kindles 
When  the  great  sun  sinks  to  rest. 

Yonder  see  the  forest  monarch. 

See  the  uak-tree  burning  red. 
Like  a  warrior  in  his  war  paint. 

Lifting  high  his  fearless  head, 
With  his  tall  crown  plumed  with  feathers, 

And  his  giant  arms  outspread 

See  the  beech-trees  gathering  russet 
By  th''  shaoy  woodland  stream; 

Like  the  young  men  of  our  people, 
feuppl  ,  hard,  and  strong  they  seem, 

Like  my  warrior,  my  true  lover, 
Beautiful  as  any  dream. 

See  the  maples,  bright  and  golden. 
Like  the  gay  queens  of  our  race; 

And  the  young  ash,  tall  and  slender, 
Bending  lightly  in  its  place. 

Like  a  youthful  Indian  maiden, 
Full  of  beauty  and  of  grace. 

Yonder  on  the  sloping  hill  side, 

Misty  with  the  floating  seeds. 
In  the  wind  likn  gay  plumes  nodding, 

See  the  yellow  golden  reeds ; 
See  the  sumai-h's  tiery  berries 

Shine  like  strings  of  golden  beads. 

Soon  will  come  the  sand  wind,  sobbing 
In  these  leaves  of  gold  and  red, 

Like  the  sound  of  mingled  voices 
Mourning  for  a  spirit  fled, 

Voices  raised  in  lamentation 
When  a  mighty  chief  is  dead. 

Soon  will  come  the  pattering  rain-drops, 
Slowly  falling,  chill  and  damp, 

Like  the  tread  i.f  stealthy  footsteps. 
Like  the  dull  and  mufded  tramp, 

When  our  warriors,  for  the  war-path, 
File  from  out  tfaeii  silent  camp. 


672 


NEW   ENGLAOT)    FARMER. 


Dec. 


COOKING  FOOD  FOR  CATTLE. 

The  subject  of  cooking  food  for  stock  was  dis- 
cussed at  one  of  the  evening  meetings  held  at 
Buifalo,  during  the  late  State  Fair  of  New 
York.  The  statements  made  by  some  of  the 
speakers  in  regard  to  the  increased  value  of 
steamed  food  we  regard  as  bordering  on  the 
extravagant.  Mr.  George  Moore,  of  Erie 
county,  said  he  had  fully  satisfied  himself  that 
the  value  of  food  was  tripled  by  cooking. 
Mr.  G.  Geddes,  of  Syracuse,  had  thoroughly 
proved  years  ago  that  cooking,  independently 
of  grinding,  at  least  doubled  the  value  of  food. 
Others  considered  two  bushels  of  steamed  fod- 
der better  than  three  uncooked. 

Wm.  Birnie,  Esq.,  of  Springfield,  Mass., 
whose  stock  for  several  years  has  consisted  of 
about  fifty  head  of  thoroughbred  Ayrshire  cat- 
tle, and  five  horses,  has  practiced  steaming 
feed  for  his  stock  since  1858,  and,  as  he  says 
in  a  letter  to  the  Country  Gentleman,  "with 
increasing  confidence  in  its  economy."  The 
process  and  apparatus  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose, is  thus  described  in  this  letter  : — 

My  barn  is  built  on  a  side  hill,  and  is  three 
stories  in  part,  the  principal  story  on  which 
the  barn  lloor  is  situated  being  level  with  (he 
ground  on  the  highest  side,  and  used  entirely 
for  the  storage  of  hay,  grain,  &c.  The  next 
story  below  opens  on  to  the  barn-yard,  and  is 
used  for  stabling  and  a  root  cellar,  being  under 
ground  at  one  t-nd.  Under  a  portion  of  this 
story  is  a  manure  cellar  50  by  28  feet,  and  8 
feet  deep,  which  opens  on  to  a  still  lower 
yard. 

On  the  stable  story  is  located  the  steam  ar- 
rangement. In  one  corner  of  the  under 
ground  part  is  the  boiler  room,  about  ten  feet 
square,  made  as  near  tire-proof  as  pos.^ible. 
The  chimuty  is  built  of  brick  on  the  outsiile, 
against  the  coiner  of  the  barn,  and  extends 
about  six  ieet  above  the  roof  at  that  point 
The  boiler  (tubular)  is  about  the  capacity  of 
a  four  horse  en;^iiie.  The  vat  or  chest  in 
which  the  steaming  is  done  is  built  of  brick 
and  lined  Avith  two  inch  plank,  tongued  and 
grooved,  is  six  feet  square  inside  and  eight 
feet  dee]),  and  extends  (rora  the  stable  iloor  to 
the  ba)  n  (ioor  above,  with  a  lid  the  Avhole  size 
of  the  top,  openinii  on  a  level  with  the  lloor. 
There  is  also  a  door  four  feet  square  on  one 
side,  near  the  Ijottom,  for  the  purpose  of  tak- 
ing out  the  Iced.  The  vat  steam  pipe  ]iasses 
directly  from  the  boiler  to  the  vat,  and  ex- 
tends around  the  four  sides  and  across  the 
middle,  about  six  inches  aI)ove  the  bottom.  It 
isperfora'ed  with  small  holes,  about  six  inches 
apart,  lor  th(!  escape  of  the  steam.  Conven- 
iently located  at  one  side,  above  the  top  of 
the  vat,  is  a  cask  which  holds  about  two  hun- 


dred gallons  of  water,  which  is  kept  full  by  a 
pipe  connected  with  an  aqueduct. 

The  fodder  is  cut  by  horse-power  on  the 
barn  floor,  and  consists  usually  of  about  one- 
half  coi-n-stalks  and  straw  and  one-half  good 
hay.  It  is  thrown  from  the  lloor  into  the  vat, 
and  thoroughly  Avet  and  mixed  with  a  small 
quantity  ol'  meal  or  bran,  according  to  circum- 
stances, continuing  the  process  luitil  the  vat  is 
full,  and  taking  care  to  tread  down  well,  using 
as  much  water  as  x>ossihle,  to  caute  the  fodder 
to  absorb  as  much  as  it  will  hold. 

1  usually  direct  my  foreman  to  start  the  fire 
in  the  boiler  before  he  begins  to  (ill  the  vat, 
and  by  the  time  it  is  full  the  steam  begins  to 
pass  into  it.  I  never  attempt  to  gel  lip  much 
pressure,  but  let  the  steam  pass  into  ihe  vat 
as  fast  as  it:  is  geneiated,  and  like  to  keep  it 
on  three  or  four  hours — the  longer  the  better. 

1  feed  with  the  steamed  mixture  morning 
and  evening,  and  with  good  dry  hay  at  noon. 
When  feeding  time  arrives,  the  door  at  the 
lower  side  of  the  vat  is  opened,  and  a  sufficient 
quantity  withdrawn  into  a  box,  and  the  door 
closed  at  once  ;  it  is  then  carried  to  the  cattle 
in  a  basket,  giving  to  eaeh  about  a  bushel,  less 
or  more,  according  to  size  and  condition.  By 
the  time  it  reaches  the  cattle  it  will  be  quite 
warm,  but  not  hot. 

Last  Avinter  I  steamed  but  twice  a  week, 
finding  no  unfavorable  effect  from  keeping 
the  feed  so  long.  This  was  done  to  save  labor 
and  fuel.     Three  times  a  week  is  better. 


TACT   IN"   FEEDING    STOCK. 

As  an  excuse  for  the  wretched  looking  ob- 
jects to  be  seen  on  some  farms,  and  as  a  rea- 
son for  not  obtaining  better  animals,  it  is  of- 
ten said,  what  would  be  the  use  of  having  any- 
thing well  bred  on  such  land  P  The  best  stock 
in  the  world  would  soon  be  no  better.  This 
is  partly  true,  for  poor  feeding  will  cause  de- 
generacy in  each  succeeding  generation  ;  but 
however  bad  the  soil  may  be,  tact  would  force 
some  forage  crops  for  sunmier,  and  loots  for 
wintt-r,  to  assist  the  thin  herbage  for  ihe  warm 
season,  and  to  help  the  dritd-up,  old,  with- 
ered hay  through  the  cold  weather. 

It  ii  astonishing  to  see  the  good  effects  pro- 
duced by  judicious  management  of  slock  of  all 
varieties,  each  generation  becoming  superior 
to  its  ancestors,  if  feel  and  treated  in  a  belter 
way,  and  if  a  wise  discrimination  is  l)roiightto 
b'-ar  on  the  proper  ma'ing  of  the  ))aients  ;  as 
witness  the  sheep  of  the  present  day,  com- 
pared with  those  of  forty  jears  back,  and  see 
lir)w  very  much  finer  the  descendants  of  the 
Arabian  horses  are  in  England,  in  spite  of  the 
pernicious  practice  of  over  eatly  training. 

It  is  not  altogether  the  liberality  in  feeding, 
that  tells  on  the  colts,  the  calves  and  the  tegs; 
then;  is  a  certain  watchfulness  and  care  com- 
bined with  a  nice  perception  of  what  is  re- 
([uired,  which  none  but  an  exj  erienced  person 
knows  how  to  exercise  to  benefit  the  young  ani- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


573 


mals  from  the  time  they  are  born,  till  perfect 
in  their  lull  growth  and  beauty.  It  is  useless 
for  ]n  op'e  vvlio  think  they  know  everything,  to 
cavil  at  this  statement,  for  I  assert  that  there 
shall  be.  say  20  colts,  20  calves  and  200  tegs, 
put  under  one  man's  supervision,  and  a  like 
number  under  another's,  each  having  facilities 
in  every  re.«-pect,  growing  what  they  please, 
and  clioo>ing  whoever  they  like  to  wait  upon 
them  ;  } « t  there  shall  be  double  or  treble  a 
supeiintendent's  salary  difference  in  the  value 
of  the  two  lots  when  they  come  to  be  a  year 
old.  L:isr  spring  I  saw  colts  and  ca'ves  which 
stagirered  from  weakness,  and  were  naught  but 
a  frynie  of  bones,  when  there  was  everythmg 
at  hand  to  have  made  them  fat,  if  there  had 
been  any  tact  on  the  premises.  It  is  so  in 
many  in.sttinces.  The  animals  want  a  change  in 
their  lodging,  in  food,  in  air  and  exercise  ;  re- 
quire to  have  some  sunshine  on  them  ;  or  there 
are  some  simple  laws  of  nature  neglected, 
throiij:h  ignorance,  probably,  for  the  manager 
may  be  excellent  in  Lis  way ;  he  may  know 
how  to  nund  everything  on  the  farm,  but  the 
live  stock;  he  may  say  "come  along,"  to  ev- 
ery man  who  works  with  him,  but  not  get 
along  the  }oung  animals  which  ought  to  be  in 
a  continual  thriving  state;  in  short,  be  totally 
delicifiit  ill  knowledge  of  the  proper  treat- 
ment of  <attle,  &c.,  excepting  in  cases  of 
"hollow  horn"  and  "tail  evil." — G.  G.,  in 
Country  Gentlemm. 


Flavoring  of  Fkuit. — A  gardener  of 
Ghent  has,  after  many  trials,  succecdi-d,  writes 
Galignani,  in  giving  any  kind  of  fruit  thellavor 
he  pleases  while  it  is  still  on  the  tree.  Let  us 
take  an  ap[)le  lor  instance  :  he  pricks  it  rather 
deei»ly  in  lour  or  live  places  with  a  large  nee- 
dle, and  then  lets  it  dip  for  a  while  in  a  bowl 
containing  a  liquid  possessing  the  llavor  he 
wishes  to  coinmunicate.  After  a  few  seconds, 
this  liquid  will  have  penetrated  into  the  pulp; 
and,  tliis  Ofieration  being  repeated  two  or 
three  times  at  intervals  of  eight  or  ten  days, 
the  ap|»le  is  left  to  ripen  on  the  tree,  and  will 
subse(iuently  be  found  to  have  acquired  the 
taste  en  her  nf  strawberry,  raspberry,  or  cloves, 
according  to  the  lupiid  employed. 


Lamtas  oil  Lampcs.  —  \V.  E.  Mintzer,  Vet- 
ernary  surgion,  !St.  Paul,  Minn.,  says  this 
complaint  is  common  to  all  young  horses;  but 
it  is  ciuel  and  imnecessary  to  bum  or  cauterize 
for  it.  Lly  pasMUg  the  linger  nail  np  between 
the  gums  and  the  teeth  it  may  be  loosened, 
which  is  all  that  is  necessary.  But  CACn  this  is 
not  ri(|uisite,  except  in  extreme  cases;  lor  if 
corn  in  the  cob  is  leil  to  the  animals  lor  a  few 
days,  the  <  libit  to  -lull  it  will  cause  the  gum  to 
be  loosened  just  ihe  same  as  with  the  tinger. 
A  hone  has  a  strong  memory,  and  once  burnt 
in  the  mouth  he  is  apt  to  be  chary  of  jour 
meddling  wiih  it  in  any  way,  and  many  ill-hal- 
ter tricks  are  olten  the  consequence. 


THE  WHITE  SPEUCE  PIK. 
Nothing  relieves  and  beautifies  the  land- 
scape in  the  winter  like  evergreens.  They 
protect  the  buildings  and  small  shrubbery,  re- 
fresh the  eye  and  give  the  homestead  a  snug, 
social  and  quiet  aspect.  Though  the  ground 
i  may  be  covered  with  snow,  their  presence 
always  brings  up  pleasant  memories  of  sum- 
mer and  green  fields,  and  unconsciously,  per- 
haps, to  the  beholder,  inspires  a  love  of  the 
beautiful.  The  fir,  pine,  larch,  &c.,  should 
have  a  place  about  all  our  farm  buildings,  and 
even  in  the  yards  of  village  residences,  where- 
ever  there  is  any  thing  like  a  liberal  surround- 
ing of  ground.  Their  beautiful  foliage  and 
magnificent  appearance  have  at  all  times  ren- 
dered them  objects  of  attention  and  admira- 
tion. 

The  White  Spruce  Fir,  here  represented, 
says  the  American  Cyclopcedia,  is  one  of  a 
large  number  of  coniferous  trees  of  a  pyra- 
midial  form  and  elegant  proportions.  It  has 
rather  glaucous  leaves,  four-cornered  and 
pointed.  It  is  a  small  tree  of  inferior  timber, 
but  of  value  for  its  small,  thread-like,  tough 
roots,  employed  by  the  Canadians  and  Indiana 
to  sew  their  birchen  canoes,  and  for  its  resin, 


574 


NEW    ENGLAM)    FAR^VIER. 


Dec. 


which  they  use  for  pitch.  The  young  sap- 
lings, straight,  light  and  durable,  are  used  for 
poles  in  horticulture.  But  it  is  now  recom- 
mended rather  for  its  beauty  than  for  the  eco- 
nomical value  of  its  timber  or  roots,  and  we 
hope  our  illustration  will  be  sufficiently  attrac- 
tive to  cause  many  persons  to  embellish  their 
homesteads  with  this  or  other  evergreens. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer, 
HARVEST  TIME. 
Although  the  summer  which  has  just  gone 
by  was  colder  and  wetter  in  this  vicinity  than 
any  preceding  sunmier  for  several  years,  it 
was  by  no  means  so  unfruitful  a  season  as  some 
agricultural  writers  represent  it  to  have  been. 
Taking  all  things  into  account,  I  believe  that 
the  farmers  of  this  section  of  New  England, 
have  but  little  reason  to  complain  of  the  re- 
sults of  the  season's  work  ;  for  if  some  of  our 
crops  have  fallen  below  the  yield  of  last  year, 
others  have  come  out  in  greater  abundance 
than  in  any  previous  season  for  a  long  time ; 
and  as  certain  articles  of  produce, — potatoes 
and  onions,  for  instance, — command  a  much 
higher  price  to-day  than  they  did  a  twelve- 
month ago,  it  is  my  opinion  that  many  of  us 
have  gained  almost  as  much  in  one  way  as  we 
have  lost  in  another. 

I  think  that  every  New  England  farmer  of 
long  experience  will  admit  that  we  have  had 
no  better  season  for  hay  during  the  last  twenty 
years.  As  a  general  thing,  the  first  cut  was 
larger  than  that  of  18G6,  while  the  crop  of 
rowen  was  the  heaviest  that  has  been  mown  for 
a  great  while.  In  fact,  1  have  no  recollection 
of  a  moister  summer  than  that  of  the  present 
year.  The  pasturage  continued  good  through- 
out the  season,  so  that  there  was  no  need  to 
feed  our  cattle  at  the  barn.  Of  the  corn  fod- 
der which  I  planted  in  June,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  feeding  it  to  my  heifer,  in  case  of  an 
August  drought,  not  a  stalk  has  been  eaten, 
and  it  is  now  in  the  barn-gable,  ripe  for  winter 
use. 

No ;  if  farm  produce  should  be  held  at  fam- 
ine prices,  during  the  winter  now  almost  at 
the  door,  it  will  be  in  consequence  of  the 
knavery  of  speculators — not  because  of  a  scar- 
city of  "food.  If  the  crops  of  '67  be  somewhat 
deficient,  as  compared  with  those  of  some  ear- 
lier years,  there  is  yet  a  sufficiency  for  all. 

At  any  rate,  there  is  hardly  a  possibihty  of 
starvation  on  the  farm  which  I  occupy.  I  ad- 
mit that  my  potatoes  suffered  somewhat  from 
the  rot,  but  the  loss  was  not  extremely  heavy, 
after  all ;  for  from  thrte-quarters  of  an  acre 
of  the  Beach  lot,  I  harvested  about  seventy- 
seven  bushels  of  (Jleasons,  which  were  sold  in 
the  market  here  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  a 
bushel — not  an  unremunerative  price.  The 
onions,  too,  were  thinned  altogether  too  freely 
by  the  maggot,  so  that  I  was  able  to  gather 


only  two  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  of  Silver- 
skms  oflT  of  one  acre  of  land ;  but  as  they 
brought  a  dollar  and  ten  cents  a  bushel  in  Bos- 
ton market,  I  sustained  no  loss  in  this  case. 
My  cabbages  numbered  about  forty  hundred, 
— all  grown  in  a  field  containing  one-and-a- 
quarter  acres ;  these  I  disposed  of  at  an  aver- 
age price  of  six-and-a-half  dollars  a  hundred, 
— realizing  on  this  crop  alone  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars.  Squashes,  on  my 
place,  came  to  nothing.  I  have  hardly  enough 
for  my  own  wants.  But  the  yield  of  hay  was 
enormously  heavy,  the  weight  of  both  cuts 
being  not  less,  in  my  opinion,  than  six  and  a 
half  tons,  the  mowing  lot  measuring  two  acres 
and  a  quarter.  My  apples  were  not  worth 
gathering ;  but  a  friend  of  mine  informs  me 
that  his  orchard  is  rapidly  improving,  and  that, 
judging  from  present  appearances,  it  will  next 
season  yield  a  fair  supply.  For  the  first  time 
in  four  years,  he  has  just  sent  a  few  bushels  to 
market;  and  yet,  in  the  fall  of  '61,  that  or- 
chard yielded  a  hundred  barrels  of  excellent 
fruit. 

How  deliciously  pleasant  are  these  early 
October  days.  The  skies  seem  nearer  now 
than  at  any  other  season,  while  earthly  objects 
appear  farther  away.  The  bluffs  beyond  the 
river  have  assumed  a  greater  remoteness,  and 
the  hilltops  that  were  faintly  visible,  last  even- 
ing, on  the  western  horizon,  are  no  longer  to 
be  seen.  Through  the  enveloping  haze, — a 
spiritual  rather  than  a  material  substance, — 
the  maples  glow  like  a  subdued,  but  yet  smoul- 
dering fire.  The  briers  are  red  with  apple- 
thorns  ;  over  every  pasture  wall  the  barberry 
bush  reaches  forth  its  bunches  of  crimson  ber- 
ries ;  and  the  leaves  of  the  sumachs  on  the 
roadside  look  to  have  been  steeped  in  blood. 
Belated  honeysuckles  are  blossoming  in  the 
meadow ;  here  and  there  the  low  grounds  are 
blue  with  asters  ;  and  under  the  orchard  trees 
lie  heaps  of  fragrant  apples,  green,  and  golden, 
and  russet,  and  red. 

And  the  sounds  that  fall  upon  the  ear  have 
no  disturbing  effect  on  the  prevailing  quiet; 
they  but  serve  to  render  our  enjoyment  more 
complete.  Immense  bumble-bee>:, — resplen- 
dent in  their  black  and  yellow  apparel, — are 
drawing  in  the  fiower-cups ;  squirrels  are 
chattering  to  each  other  in  the  nut-trees ; 
crickets  are  chirping,  far  and  near.  We  hear 
the  cawing  of  crows  in  the  wood  on  the  river- 
side, and  at  intervals  one  of  the  black- 
robed  conclave  gives  utterance,  once  and 
again,  to  the  cry:  '■'holly-liuu-k!  hollij-haivk!'''' 
and  then  is  still.  As  we  ajj^roach  the  river, 
the  king-fisher  ijuits  his  perch  on  the  blighted 
locust,  and  hurriedly  wings  his  way  to  the  op- 
posite shore, — loudlj'  sounding  liis  alarm-rat- 
tle as  he  flies.  Blue-jays  are  screaming  in  the 
covert;  wild  geese, — the  vanguard  of  a  grand 
army  moving  rapidly  southward  in  pursuit  uf 
the  retreating  summer, — are  honking  overhead  ; 
and  from  morning  to  evening,  from  the  gloam- 
ing to  the  dawn,  into  the  listener's  heart  pene- 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


675 


tratcs  the  subdued  murmurings  of  the  unquiet 
sea. 

It  is  the  Sabbath.  The  winds  are  still. 
From  the  farm-house  chimney  the  smoke  rises 
slowly  and  perpendicularly  to  the  sky.  The 
orioles'  nests, — long  since  deserted  by  their 
summer  occupants, — hang  motionless  from  the 
drooping  branches  of  the  yellowing  elms.  The 
surface  of  the  river  is  unmoved  by  the  slightest 
ripple,  and  the  overhanging  willow  on  the  far- 
ther shore  is  well-nigh  as  visible  in  the  water 
beneath  as  in  the  air  above.  There  is  no  rus- 
tling of  the  maize-leaves  ;  all  silently  the  yel- 
low fields  await  the  coming  of  the  gleaner. 
We  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  dreamland. 
The  earth  is  at  rest.  And  as  we  hear  the  bells  of 
Salem  pealing  forth  their  far-reaching  and  har- 
monious summons  to  the  worship  of  narrowing 
and  discordant  creeds,  we  cannot  but  pray  for 
the  speedy  coming  of  the  time  when  the  bells 
of  the  true  City  of  Peace  shall  ring  glad  tidings 
to  all  mankind.  Essecker. 

Salem,  Mass.,  Oct.,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 

METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  following  meteorological  observations 

for  July,  August  and  September  were  taken 

for  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Smithsonian 

Institute : — 

July. 

The  average  temperature  of  July  was  68°  ; 
average  midday  temperature  75°.  The  corre- 
sponding averages  for  July,  1866,  were  73°  and 
82°.  Warmest  day,  the  28th,  averaging  80°  ; 
coldest  days  the  18th  and  I9th.  averaging 59°. 
Range  of  temperature  from  53°  to  90°. 

Average  height  of  mei'cury  in  the  barome- 
ter, 29.20  ins.  ;  average  do.  for  July,  1866, 
29.21  ins.  Highest  daily  average,  29.51  ins. 
Lowest  do.  29.01  ins.  Range  of  mercury, 
from  28.99  ins.  to  29.53  ins. 

Nine  rainy  days  ; .  amount  of  rain,  4.70  ins. 
There  were  no  cloudless  days  ;  on  three  days 
the  sky  was  entirely  overcast.  Eleven  rainy 
days,  with  4.97  ins.  of  rain.  One  cloudless 
and  one  totally  cloudy  day  in  July,  1866. 

The  month  was  singularly  propitious  to  ag- 
ricultural interests,  and  at  the  same  time  emi- 
nently ctmifortable  and  healthful.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  average  temperature  of  July 
1866  and  1867  is  remarkable.  The  similarity 
of  the  rain,  rainy  days  and  barometrical  aver- 
ages are  worthy  of  note. 

August. 

The  average  temperature  of  August  was  68°  ; 
average  midday  temperature,  77°.  The  cor- 
responding averages  for  August,  1866,  were 
64°  and  72°.  Warmest  day,  the  7th,  averag- 
ing 77"  ;  coldest  day,  the  3 1st,  averaging 56°. 
Range  of  temperature  from  42°  to  86°. 

Average  height  of  mercury  in  the  barome- 
ter, 29.23  ins. ;  average  do.  for  August  1866, 


29.16  ins.  Highest  daily  average,  29.40  ins. 
Lowest  do.,  28.97  ins.  Range  of  mercury 
from  28.94  ins.  to  29.44  ins. 

Fourteen  rainy  days  ;  amount  of  rain  5.87 
ins.  There  were  three  cloudless  days ;  on 
four  days  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast.  Fif- 
teen rainy  days  with  5.97  ins.  of  rain.  One 
cloudless,  and  one  totally  cloudy  day  in  Au- 
gust, 18li6. 

While  July  was  cooler  this  year  than  last, 
August  has  been  about  enough  warmer  to  make 
up  an  average  season.  The  weather,  as  to 
rain,  &c.,  was  singularly  like  that  of  same 
month  last  year.  The  usual  cool  snap  during 
the  last  week  was  experienced,  but  no  frost  oc- 
curred. 

September. 

The  average  temperature  of  September  was 
58°  ;  average  midday  temperature,  67°.  The 
corresponding  averages  for  September,  1866 
were  59°  and  67°.  Warmest  day,  the  18th, 
averaging  73° ;  coldest  day,  the  30th,  averag- 
ing 42°.  Range  of  temperature  from  33°  to 
80°. 

Average  height  of  mercury  in  the  barome- 
ter, 29.32  ins;  average  do.  for  September, 
1866,  29.26  ins.  ^  Highest  daily  average  29.62 
lowest  do.  29.02  ins.  Range  of  mercury  from 
28.96  ins.  to  29.65  ins. 

Ten  rainy  days  ;  amount  of  rain,  2.10  ins. 
There  were  five  cloudless  days ;  on  no  day  was 
the  sky  entirely  overcast.  Fifteen  rainy  days 
with  7.18  ins.  of  rain.  One  cloudless,  and  five 
totally  cloudy  days  in  September,  1866. 

While  the  temperature  of  the  month  aver- 
aged almost  exactly  the  same  as  last  year,  the 
weather  was  very  different  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  above  comparison.  The  amount  of  rain 
was  very  small  for  September  with  no  "equi- 
noctial storm."  A  fine  season  for  harvest- 
ing. A.  c. 

Claremont,  N.  H.,  Oct.  18,  1867. 


For  the  New  England  Farmer. 
DOMESTIC   TRAINING. 

If  there  is  a  need  of  Agricultural  Colleges, 
where  young  men  shall  be  taught  the  theory 
and  practice  of  successful  farming,  surely 
there  is  an  equal,  if  not  greater  need  of  simi- 
lar institutions  where  young  ladies  may  be 
taught  the  equally  important  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  housekeeping. 

Without  doubt,  the  best  place  for  domestic 
training  is  home  ;  the  best  teacher  a  judicious 
mother.  But  some  mothers  are  incompetent, 
and  many,  from  various  causes,  indisposed  to 
give  their  daughters  thorough  instruction  in 
the  manifold  duties  of  housekeeping.  Some 
consider  it  too  much  trouble.  They  find  it 
easier  to  go  on  and  do  up  the  work  themselves 
than  to  have  their  giils  "round  in  the  way." 
Others  are  proud  of  the  lily  hands  and  attenu- 
ated waists  of  their  daughters,  and  to  prehcrve 
in  them  those  excellent  qualities,  they  are  wiil- 
ine  to  make   slaves  of  themselves.     It  would 


576 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Dec. 


not  be  easy  to  compute  the  misery  •wbleh  re- 
results  from  this  neglect.  In  -whatever  situa- 
tion a  lady  may  be  placed,  ignorance  of  do- 
mestic duties  is  a  fruitful  source  of  annoyance. 
If  she  have  servants,  she  is  constantly  at  their 
mercy, — a  servant  of  servants  is  she  all  the 
days  of  her  life.  If  she  does  her  own  work, 
it  is  at  the  expense  of  a  vast,  an  unnecessary 
amount  of  mental  and  manual  labor.  Many  a 
lady  loses  her  health  and  grows  prematurely 
old,  from  this  cause  alone.  While  the  sys- 
tematic housekeeper  will  do  the  work  for  a 
large  family  without  hurry  or  confusion,  the 
unskilful  one  will  worry  herself  into  illness 
over  a  much  lighter  task. 

We  would  not  be  understood  as  decrying 
"book  learning,"  or  fas-hionable  accomplish- 
ments. We  believe  that  there  is  time  enough, 
if  it  be  properly  improved,  to  learn  mu^ic, 
drawing,  &c.,  without  encroaching  upon  the 
time  necessary  to  acquire  a  thorough  domestic 
education.  Mattie. 

Marlboro',  Mass.,  Oct.  14,  1867. 


Remarks. — Our  correspondent  has  said  just 
enough  upon  this  subject  to  excite  the  hope 
that  she  will  authorize  us  to  add  to  the  above 
brief  communication  the  editorial  formula — To 
be  continued. 


TOMATOES. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  de- 
tails an  experiment  in  growing  tomatoes  at 
the  Michigan  College.  The  varieties  repre- 
sented were  the  Eureka,  Keyes,  Maupa}''s, 
Collins,  Tilden,  College,  French  Tree,  I'oard, 
Lester's  Perfected,  Large  Smooth,  Early  Red, 
Early  York,  Large  Yellow,  Pear  Shaped,  Yel- 
low Plum,  Cherry,  Grape,  Feejee,  White, 
Cook's  Favorite,  Whortleberry,  Red  Valentia, 
and  Great  Chihuahua.  They  were  grown 
side  by  side  upon  the  same  soil,  two  hills  of 
a  kind,  making  a  row  230  feet  in  length,  and 
received  from  the  first  precisely  the  same 
treatment.  They  were  trained  to  a  trellis  four 
feet  in  height,  the  branches  trimmed  so  as  to 
cover  the  whole  trellis,  and  all  redundant 
growth  cut  off.  In  this  way,  during  the 
height  of  the  season,  the  plants  present- 
ed the  aftpearance  of  an  uninterrupted  wall  of 
mingled  foliage  and  fiuit. 

In  regard  to  the  merits  of  these  different  va- 
rieties, the  fruit  of  which  vary  in  size  from  a 
well  grown  cherry  to  those  of  several  pounds 
in  weight,  the  writer  says,  a  great  number  can 
be  set  down  as  unworthy  of  cultivation,  unless 
it  be  as  matters  of  mere  curiosity. 

The  first  live  varieties  enumerated  in  the 
above  list  are  new.  Some,  which  were  loudly 
heralded  for  their  superior  merits  have  proved 
well  nigh  worthless,  while  others  whose  merits 
were  more  modestly  set  forth,  give  promise  of 
being  valuable  acijuisitions.  Perhaps  more 
was  expected  from  Keyes'  Early  Prolific  than 


from  any  of  the  new  varieties  ;  but  thus  far  it 
has  not  exhibited  a  single  quality  whieh  is  not 
surpassed  in  some  of  the  other  varieties.  In 
point  of  earliness,  its  chief  n  comnii  ndaiion,  it 
stands  third  on  the  ll.^t ;  and  as  regards  f-mooth- 
ness,  beauty  and  (lavor,  its  position  is  so  low  as 
to  e> elude  it  frcm  a  li.-t  o[  vatietie>  worthy  of 
cull ivai ion.  The  Colhge  toma'o  is  a  needling 
of  the  Early  Red,  pt  oduccd  here,  and  i.s  now  in 
its  third  year  of  trial.  It  is  as  marked  a  varie- 
ty, so  far  as  fruit  is  concetned,  as  any  on  the 
li.st.  As  regards  foliage,  the  most  marked  of 
the  newer  varieties  is  Keyes'.  Estimating 
their  value  by  their  average  (jualities,  the  hnest, 
most  desirable  tomatoes  now  before  the  public 
are  the  Tilden,  Red  Valencia,  Collins  and 
Foard,  and  to  these  four  should  be  added  the 
old  fashioned  Early  Smooth  Red,  as  being  the 
earliest  good  vaiiety  yet  produced. 

1  he  vai  iety  which  lirst  produced  a  ripe  fruit 
is  the  Early  Red.  the  date  being  July  '^Dth. 
The  next  in  order  are  Early  York,  Large 
Smooth,  Keyes'  and  Tilden  ;  these  four  being 
of  the  same  date,  Aug.  1< 


AUTUMN   PLOUGHIKG. 

In  all  heavy  clay  soils,  and  heavy  clay  loams, 
autumn  ploughing  is  of  great  advantage.  The 
winter  frost  is  a  mechanical  pulverizer,  and 
disintegrator  of  such  soils,  if  we  will  but  put 
them  in  the  proper  condition  to  be  acted  upon. 
Potash  is  one  of  the  elements  of  such  soils, 
and  with  them  one  of  the  chief  values  for  the 
small  grain.  This  mineral  is  found  under  two 
conditions  ;  one  fixed,  and  the  other  free. 
The  free  potash  is  slowly  dissolved  in  water ; 
it  thus  unites  with  sand  to  form  the  coating  of 
the  straw. 

In  the  other  condition  mentioned,  it  is  fixed, 
and  in  that  condition  is  insoluble  in  water,  and 
like  humus,  unfit  for  the  food  of  plants. 

To  prepare  the  fixed  potash  in  the  soil,  that 
is,  to  disintegrate  it,  we  must  expose  it  to  air, 
moisture  and  heat,  hence  we  must  pulverize 
the  soil  by  the  winter  frost,  to  admit  of  these 
conditions. 

Autumn  plowing  is  supposed  to  kill  many 
insects  ;  that  it  does  this  to  some  extent  is 
doubtless  true  ;  but  we  appiehend  less  than  it 
has  the  credit  for.  It  can  be  done  at  a  time 
when  the  teams  are  strong,  the  weather  cool, 
and  so  much  of  the  spring  work  is  out  of  the 
way  ;  while  for  spring  wheat  and  barley,  it  is 
almost  indispensable. — Prairie  Farmer. 


Animal  Life — One  of  the  striking  facts 
pertaining  to  animal  life,  and  one  which  every 
tiller  of  the  soil  has  noticed,  whether  as  a 
gardener,  an  orchardist,  or  more  general  far- 
mer, is  the  great  nniltiplicity  of  animal  life 
seen  in  one  season  and  an  almost  extinction 
the  next  jear.  The  year  18GG  was  remarka- 
ble for  the  great  numbers  of  red  s(juirrels  in 
Maine,  and  other  New  England  States.  They 
abounded  everywhere.     Every  house  had  its 


1867. 


NEW    ENGLAND    FARMER. 


577 


squirrels  and  every  fence  had  them  as  occu- 
pants. This  year  we  have  not  seen  one.  Last 
year  the  catei  pillars  covered  the  apple  trees 
with  their  nests.  This  } ear  we  have  seen  but 
a  single  nest.  We  have  not  seen  a  cut  woini 
the  presi  nt  year  on  our  corn  or  in  our  garden. 
Thus  by  a  wise  provi.>-ion  of  an  all-ruling  Prov- 
idence, these  pests  which,  if  allowed  to  in- 
crease from  year  to  year  unchecked,  would 
prove  the  destruction  of  every  plant,  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea  are  bidden. — -'Thus  far  shalt 
thou  go  and  no  farther." — Maint  Farmer. 


THB    FARMER'S    TIME. 

BY  C.  G.  LELAND. 

Autumn  is  the  farmtr's  timp; 
Ladies  fair  may  love  llie  spring, 
Lovers  give  it  welcoming; 
Merchants  laugh  for  joy  to  see 
Open  roads  and  rivers  free; 
Let  them  live  and  trade  and  rhyme — 
Autumn  is  tlie  farmer's  time. 

Let  (hem  in  the  city's  hum 
Lau^b  to  Bee  the  winter  come; 
Dancers  then  are  brick  and  gay, 
Banquets  drive  the  hours  away; 
Every  season  halh  iis  prime — 
Autumn  is  the  farmer's  time. 

Summer  sends  the  you  h  and  maid 
To  the  country's  cooling  shade; 
Then  we  cut  the  golden  grain. 
Then  we  load  the  creaking  wain; 
Then  we  work  till  rest  seems  crime- 
Autumn  is  our  better  lime. 

Autumn  brings  us  cooler  nights, 
Autumn  bring-  us  Iresh  delights; 
Autumn  heaps  the  richtst  fruit, 
Autumn  yie  ds  the  brai  cli  and  root; 
f  ii'gs  earh  season  in  its  prime — 
Autumn  is  the  farmer's  time. 


Durham  Stock  in  Vermont. — A  corres- 
pondent who  has  recently  visited  the  Short 
Horn  herd  of  Dexter  Way,  Esq. ,  of  Landgrove, 
Bennington  County,  Vt.,  thinks  the  State  has 
reason  to  be  proud  of  such  fine  animals  as  he 
there  saw.  A  portion  of  Mr.  Way's  stock  is 
from  the  celebrated  herd  of  J.  O.  Sheldon, 
Esq.,  of  Geneva,  N.  Y.  His  bidl,  the  Earl  of 
Oxford  was  sired  by  Mr.  Sheldon's  Third 
Lord  of  Oxford,  which  is  among  those  recent- 
ly sent  to  England,  and  which  we  recently  no- 
ticed as  being  tied-up  in  the  royal  stables  of 
the  late  Prince  Consort.  At  sixteen  months 
old,  Mr.  Way's  Earl  of  Oxford  weighed  four- 
teen hundred  pounds.  He  has  also  a  fine 
cow  from  Mr.  Sheldon's  herd.  He  has  other 
pure  blood  Durhams  which  are  seldom  excelled. 
Among  other  stock  our  correspondent  noticed 
a  pair  of  two  year-old  steers  that  weighed 
twenty-six  hundred  pounds  ;  two  pairs  of  year- 
lings that  weighed  about  twenty-two  hundred 
pounds  per  pair ;  and  five  calves  that  he  re- 
garded as  splendid  animals, — the  best  of  their 


age  that  he  had  ever  seen.     One  pair  of  May 
calves  weighed  thirteen  hundred  pounds. 


Lemon  Greening. ^Mr.  S.  H.  Allen  of 
Shrewsbury,  Mass.,  has  lefc  at  this  office  .speci- 
mens of  a  \ery  large  apple,  which  he  tays  was 
brought  from  England  by  his  ancestors  who 
located  in  Medtield,  Mass.,  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  country,  and  has  been  pi  opagated 
to  a  small  extent  only  by  the  Allen  family,  and 
by  those  only,  so  far  as  he  is  aware.  The 
tree  is  hardy  and  thrifty,  and  bears  every 
year.  As  it  ripens  in  April  It  assumes  a  rich 
yellow  color,  fiom  which  It  derives  Its  name. 
Though  a  fair  eating  apple  when  ripe,  it  is 
particularly  valuable  for  its  superior  excellence 
for  cooking  purposes.  Mr.  Allen  says  It  sells 
In  the  Worcester  market  considerably  higher 
than  any  other  late  keeping  variety.  The 
specimens  before  us  are  very  large  and  very 
hard. 

An  Industrious  Community. — A  gentle- 
man of  this  city  Informs  us  that  on  his  farm  in 
the  country,  a  swarm  of  bees  which  were  hived 
the  fifteenth  of  June  last,  laid  up  108  pounds 
of  honey  and  comb  In  107  days.  With  honey 
at  forty  cents  a  pound,  we  think  this  daily  In- 
crease of  store  very  creditable  to  the  new 
housekeepers. 


Large  Farms. — As  machinery  cannot  be 
used  to  its  fullest  extent  and  with  the  greatest 
economy  on  small  farms,  Mr.  J.  Harris  sa>s 
in  the  American  AgricvUuriso  that  in  this 
country  we  must  have  larger  farms.  The 
tendency  is  already  apparent.  We  may  de- 
plore it,  and  argue  against  it,  but  cannot  stop 
it.  He  adds  :  It  is  certainly  far  better  to  have 
a  small  faim  highly  cultivated  than  to  have  a 
large  one  half  tilled.  But  a  large  farm  may 
be  cultivated  as  highly  as  a  small  one — and  at 
less  expense  per  acre.  In  England,  as  a  rule, 
the  largest  farmers  are  the  best  farmers.  One 
of  the  most  highly  cultivated  faims  I  ever 
saw  contained  over  3000  acres,  and  I  do  not 
recollet  t  ever  seeing  a  farm  of  fifty  acres  or 
less,  that  would  at  all  compare  with  the  more 
liberally  managed  large  laims.  This  Is  very 
ditierent  from  what  it  Is  here,  and  one  main 
reason  is,  a  deficiency  of  working  capital. 


Farmers'  Dress. — A  farmer  while  labor- 
ing, is  brought  into  pretty  close  intimacy  with 
dirt,  and  his  clothes  should  correspond  with 
his  labor.  To  wear  fine  cloth  and  clean  linen 
while  at  work  in  the  field,  would  be  highly  in- 
appropriate ;  but  when  he  rides  into  town  with 


578 


NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Dec. 


his  family,  or  to  market  his  produce,  it  would 
elevate  his  calling  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world,  if  he  were  a  little  more  careful  of  his 
appearance.  No  matter  how  independent  we 
may  feel — however  we  may  affect  to  despise 
the  opinions  of  others,  we  are  none  of  us  en- 
tirely insensible  to  the  fashions  of  the  times 
or  the  opinions  of  the  world.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  once  used  the  expression — "True; 
dress  does  not  make  the  man ;  but  when  he  is 
made,  he  looks  better  dressed  up." — Am.  Far. 


AGKICITLTUBAIi   ITEMS. 
— In  fifteen  years,  sheep  have  increased  in  Ireland 
over  2,000,000. 

— To  raise  good  crops  is  often  the  best  way  to 
raise  a  mortgage. 

— The  only  way  to  harvest  potatoes  successfully 
is  to  keep  digging. 

— Some  ticlds  of  corn  on  the  Scioto,  Ohio,  flats 
have  been  sold  at  forty  dollars  per  acre,  the  pur- 
chasers intending  to  turn  hogs  into  them. 

— The  crop  of  flax  seed  i-aised  in  the  West  this 
year  is  supposed  to  be  at  least  twice  as  large  as 
that  of  any  previous  season. 

— Capt.  D.  Farrington,  of  Croton,  Hudson  river, 
raised  this  season  150^  bushels  winter  wheat  on  5^ 
acres,  lie  applied  1|  tons  bone  dust,  and  the  grain 
was  sown  on  16th  October. 

— The  Boston  Traveller  estimates  the  cranberry 
crop  on  Cape  Cod  this  season  at  10,050  barrels 
which  at  ^10  per  barrel  will  be  $100,500  for  cran- 
berries alone. 

— The  death  of  an  agricultural  laborer  in  Eng- 
land is  supposed  to  have  been  caused  by  drinking 
cider  from  a  barrel,  between  the  staves  of  which 
white  lead  was  used  by  the  cooper. 

— To  prevent  the  rebounding  of  a  wedge  from  a 
log  you  wi.^h  to  split,  make  a  few  checks  near  to- 
gether wiih  the  ax,  and  insert  the  wedge  between 
them,  or  dash  into  the  crevice  from  which  the 
wedge  has  rebounded  a  little  dry  sand. 

— A.  M.  Ward,  New  Britain,  Ct.,  informs  the 
New  York  Farmer's  Club,  tljiit  if  cider  as  it  comes 
from  the  pre? s  is  brought  to  a  gentle  scald,  only, 
barreled,  and  l)unged  tight,  it  will  keep  sweet,  and 
the  last  drawn  will  l)e  as  good  as  the  first. 

— In  Central  Illinois,  they  who  are  not  farmers 
complain  of  hai-d  times.  Once,  pork  was  2  cents 
a  pound,  now  it  is  10;  beef  was  a  cent,  now  it  is 
12  cents ;  lard  was  5,  now  it  is  15 ;  corn  was  10, 
now  it  is  GO.  In  Boston,  "they  who  arc  not  far- 
mers" find  the  same  cause  of  complaint,  hut  in- 
stead of  inquiring  whether  a  change  in  the  relative 
numbers  of  producers  and  consumers  may  not 
liavc  somctliiug  to  do  with  the  result,  they  content 
themselves  with  t imply  cursing  the  speculators. 

— "Coal  tar,"  reduced  one-half,  and  applied  with 
.1  brush  while  siiglitly  warm,  makes  an  excellent 
substitute  for  putty  on  green-house  roofs,  beside 


holding  the  glass  firm  through  all  the  changing 
seasons.  It  is  also  an  excellent  preservative  of  the 
sash. 

— Those  animals  that  are  the  most  natural  prey 
of  ferocious  beasts  possess  the  ruminating  faculty 
so  that  they  can  gather  their  food  in  a  hurry  from 
exposed  localities,  stow  it  away  temporarily  in  a 
sack  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  retire  to  a 
place  of  safety  to  masticate  it. 

— The  statement  is  made  in  the  Kansas  Farmer 
that  "Capt.  Bouton  of  Rock  Creek  township,  in 
Nemeha  county,  has  threshed  250  bushels  of  wheat 
fi'om  8  acres  of  ground — upland  prairie — sown  on 
sod  ground — seed,  the  White  May.  He  is  selling 
the  entire  crop  for  seed  at  $2  per  bushel." 

—In  Benson  Co.,  Ind.,  there  is  a  farm  of  24,000 
acres  of  land  owned  by  Messrs.  Fowler  and 
Earl.  They  design  it  to  he  used  entirely  in  pre- 
paring cattle  for  market.  When  the  whole  tract 
has  been  brought  into  proper  condition,  it  is  ex- 
pected 8,000  cattle  can  be  fed  on  it. 

— Five  j'cars  ago  Ohio  cheese  was  the  only  kind 
sent  to  Chicago.  Now,  Northern  Illinois  contains 
more  cheese  factories  than  Europe,  Asia,  and  Afri- 
ca. Some  of  the  best  butter  reaching  New  York 
city  this  season  is  from  this  section  and  from  Wis- 
consin. 

— To  clean  cider  barrels  the  Scientific  American 
says,  put  lime  water  and  a  common  trace  chain 
into  the  barrel  through  the  bung  hole,  first  tieing 
a  strong  twine  to  the  chain  to  draw  it  out  with. 
Shake  the  barrel  about  until  the  chain  wears  oflF 
the  mould  or  pomace,  then  rinse  well  with  water. 

— In  France,  Goveniment  raises  all  kinds  of  im- 
proved stock  for  sale,  and  prohibits  farmers  from 
doing  so.  No  agricultural  societies  are  allowed, 
for  Government  does  all  this  business,  and  there 
cannot  be  a  meeting  of  more  than  20  persons  for 
any  oliject  whatever,  without  consent  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

— It  was  recently  stated  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Madison  County,  111.,  Farmers'  Club,  that  when 
the  country  was  new,  rails  made  from  old  timber 
cost  about  50  cents  per  100,  aird  would  last  from 
thirty  to  forty  years;  those  now  made  from  the 
second  growth  cost  from  $5  to  $6  per  100,  and  do 
not  last  more  than  ten  years. 

— A  farmer,  more  than  most  men,  needs  pluck, 
faith  in  himself  and  in  nature,  and  above  all  pa- 
tience. He  must  wait  for  results,  and  while  doing 
so  it  is  innwrtant  that  his  surroundings  should  be 
as  pleasant  as  he  can  afford  to  make  them.  A 
cheerful  healthy  location,  is  of  more  value  than  a 
fine  house. 

— In  a  letter  from  Texas  to  the  Mirror  and  Far- 
mer, Dr.  Boynton  speaks  of  the  scab  as  a  very 
prevalent  disease  among  sheep  in  that  State.  The 
usual  remedy  is  immersion  in  warm  tohacco  water, 
the  fumes  of  which  often  make  the  men  who  ad- 
minister it  sick  and  completely  prostrated.  "Bless 


I 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


679 


ed  beyond  measure,"  says  Dr.  B.,  "are  the  New 
England  flock  masters  who  have  not  this  enemy 
to  contcndwith." 

— In  the  annual  report  of  the  managers  of  a 
horse  railroad  in  New  York,  it  is  stated  that  279 
hoi-ses  out  of  988  died  during  the  year.  The  aver- 
age life  of  a  liorse  in  this  service  is  said  to  be  only 
3^  years.  The  average  price  paid  by  this  company 
was  about  $1.56.  For  those  sold  in  a  broken  down 
condition,  it  received  a  trifle  over  $30  each. 

— A  gentleman  in  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  informs  the 
Country  Gentleman  that  he  has  kept  his  currant 
bushes  entirely  free  of  the  currant  worm,  and  his 
quinces  of  the  borer,  by  the  use  of  coal  ashes. 
The  ground  under  the  currant  bushes  was  covered 
in  the  spring  to  the  depth  of  five  inches,  and  a 
mound  was  made  about  the  stems  of  the  quinces. 

— Mr,  S.  D.  Ingham,  Ripley,  Ohio,  after  torment- 
ing his  horse  to  madness  with  the  various  prescrip- 
tions of  horse  doctors  for  the  cure  of  Fistula,  re- 
sorted to  cold  water,  which  was  poured  from  a 
watering  pot  upon  the  sore,  and  a  complete  cure 
was  effected  in  five  weeks  from  two  daily  applica- 
tions. 

HDSKING. 

The  yellow  suns  of  autumn  fall 
Across  the  orchard  and  the  wood; 

The  still  air  echoes  every  call, 

The  vine  lies  paii  ted  on  the  wall. 
And  all  the  maples  drip  with  blood. 

The  neighbors  corne  from  f<ir  and  ne^r. 
And  gut  hi  r  on  the  broad  barn  iloor; 
To  ceU'ln-dte  the  ripened  year, 
And  6ttip  the  hu^k  from  off  the  ear. 
That  turns  to  go  d  the  farmer's  store, 

—Riverside  Magazine. 

«^*The  following  paragraphs  were  received  in 
connection  with  a  longer  article  from  one  of  our  cor- 
respondents. If  other  farmers  would  follow  his  ex- 
ample, our  items  column  might  be  filled  with  facts 
and  suggestions  fresh,  seasonable  and  instructive. 
The  idea  of  producing  an  elaborate  dissertation  is 
the  grand  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  writing 
for  a  paper.  Almost  all  farmers  can  talk  plamly 
and  to  the  point ;  but  the  moment  they  undertake 
to  write  they  fall  into  the  sermonizing  style,  and 
too  ofttn,  getting  stuck  in  the  first  sentence,  they 
throw  down  their  pens  in  despair.  We  submit  the 
following  four  communications  as  models  for  the 
study  and  imitation  of  all  who  have  been  bafHed  in 
their  attempts  at  writing  for  agricultural  papers : 

— Four  dollars  a  barrel  is  being  paid  in  Acton, 
Mass.,  for  number  one  Baldwin  apples. 

—A  barrel  of  dry  wood  shavings  thrown  into  a 
hog-pen  will  absorb  more  wet  than  a  cart-load  of 
moist  earth. 

—Fruit  trees  have  made  a  large  growth  this 
year  and  have  the  appearance  of  being  in  an  unu- 
sually healthy  condiiiun. 

—Apples  keep  best  w  hen  cool  and  dry.  Sudden 
changes  of  tem[jcraturc  induce  the  collection  of 
moisture  on  the  skin,  which  dissolves  the  delicate 
vanii>h  with  which  the  skiu  of  the  apple  is  covered, 
and  it  soon  decays. 


EXTRACTS   AND   BEPLIES 
"bloodkd"  native  cows. 

I  saw  in  the  last  Farmf.ii  a  brief  statement  of 
the  product  of  a  .Jersey  cow,  owned  by  Mr.  Daniel 
S.  Brown,  of  Arlington,  that  made  ditring  Ibtir 
months  of  last  year,  frcmi  the  first  nf  Jttne,  an 
average  of  9.\  poiiufls  butter  per  week.  I  now 
write  to  say  tliat  I  have  a  native  cow  that  is  eight 
years  old,  and  calved  the  last  of  last  March,  that 
made  during  four  months  of  this  year,  from  the 
first  of  June,  an  average  of  10  4-9  pounds  of  butter 
per  week,  as  near  as  we  can  estimate  it.  If  any 
thing,  it  would  exceed  this  rather  than  fall  short 
of  it.  Most  of  this  time  she  was  kept  in  an  ordi- 
nary pasture,  and  fed  the  amount  of  one  quart  of 
corn  Tneal  per  day.  During  August  and  September 
she  received  a  feed  of  fodder  corn.  If,  in  the  first 
case,  "blood"  tells,  does  it  not  also  in  the  second  ? 

I  liave  another  native  cow,  seven  years  old,  that 
calved  a  year  ago  last  May,  and  again  the  first  of 
last  August,  th<>.t  gave  an  average  of  five  quarts  of 
milk  per  day,  from  the  first  of  May  till  she  calved 
again  ;  and  then  gave  an  average  of  five  quarts  per 
day,  besides  what  the  calf  took ;  but  it  was  butch- 
ered at  the  age  of  four  weeks  and  one  day.  The 
calf  weighed  81  pounds  dressed  meat,  and  the  cow 
gave  an  average  of  14  quarts  per  day  during  Sep- 
tember, and  now  gives  nine  quarts  per  day.  She 
has  been  kept  with,  and  fed  the  same  as  the  other. 

From  my  experience  with  native  cows,  I  would 
say  that  they  do  not  give  large  quantities  of  milk 
and  little  cream,  but  that  they  give  fair  quantities 
of  milk,  well  interspersed  with  cream ;  and  for 
butter  will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  breed. 
One  thing  is  certain,  much  depends  upon  care  and 
keeping.    We  cannot  get  what  we  do  not  give. 

Tpigsboro',  Mass.,  Oct. 28,  1867.     S.  Barker. 


APPLYING  COAL  TAR  TO  BARN  ROOFS. 

In  the  New  England  Farmer  of  Oct.  19,  there 
is  a  communication  from  Mr.  Stephen  Chandler, 
wishing  for  information  "as  to  time  and  manner 
of  applying  coal  tar  to  the  roof  of  a  barn."  There 
are  two  ways  in  which  it  may  be  done. 

First.  Di'ive  two  forked  stakes  into  the  ground, 
and  lay  a  stick  across,  on  which  hang  an  iron  pot, 
into  which  put  the  tar,  and  build  your  fire.  When 
the  tar  is  boiling,  dip  your  shingles  into  the  tar 
six  inches,  (weather  end,)  and  sjiread  them  about 
in  the  sun  to  dry,  and  they  are  soon  ready  for  the 
roof. 

Second.  After  your  roof  is  shingled,  take  a  lad- 
der and  hook  it  to  the  ridge-board.  Carry  the  tar 
up  to  the  top,  and  pour  it  gently  over  the  roof; 
let  another  person  stand  upon  the  ladder,  with 
an  old  white  wash  brush,  and  as  the  tar  flows 
down,  brush  it  crossways  of  the  shingles.  The  tar 
should  be  hot  and  the  weather  warm,  in  order  to 
have  the  work  done  well. 

One  barrel  of  tar  will  be  sufficient  for  a  roof 
2Jx40.  Shingles  tarred  will  lastmuch  longer  than 
those  laid  without  it,  and  it  is  strange  that  so  few 
persons  are  willing  to  economize  in  this  way. 

Thomas  Bridge. 

Xorth  Tewlcsbury,  Mass.,  Oct.  29,  1867. 

THREE   GENERATIONS   OF   APPLES   ON   ONE   TREE — 
WINTER   PEARS, 

Enclosed  please  find  sample'of  my  winter  pears ; 
also  a  sample  of  apples,  name  unknown  to  me.  I 
raised  only  eleven  apples  this  year  of  this  kind 
that  sot  ripe.  Hope  to  raise  more  another  year, 
for  I  think  they  are  the  best  sweet  apple  I  ever 
tasted.  The  tree  was  in  blossom  May,  June,  July, 
;.nd  August.  1  enclose  specimens  of  the  fruit  from 
the  blossoming  of  each  of  these  four  months.  Per- 
haps you  can  give  me  a  name  for  it.    If  you  can 


680 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARIVIER. 


Dec. 


find  any  other  town  that  can  raise  apples  from  the 
blossoms  of  four  successive  months  in  the  year,  I 
would  like  to  lunr  from  it.  J.  A.  Ames. 

Wibnimjton  Station,  B.  §  L.  R.  R.,  Oct.  19,  1867. 

Rem  AUKS. — A  dealer  in  fruit  pronounces  your 
apple  to  be  the  Orange  Sweet.  He  may  be  correct, 
but  in  size  of  core,  and  some  other  peculiarities,  it 
does  not  seem  to  us  to  correspond  exactly  with 
the  descriptiims  given  in  the  books  of  that  variety. 
Freaks  in  untimely  blossoming  are  not  very  un- 
common with  the  apple  tree ;  Ijut  it  is  seldom^  we 
think,  that  such  perfect  specimens  of  four  genera- 
tions in  one  season  arc  seen  on  one  tree.  The  fruit 
from  the  May  blossoming  is  mature,  and  measures 
some  nine  inches  in  circumference ;  that  from  the 
June  l)l<)ssoming  is  quite  a  respectable  apple,  meas- 
uring full  five  inches  ;  that  from  the  July  bloom  is 
nearly  four  inches  round ;  while  that  started  Au- 
gust fir>t  is  full  three  and  a  half  inches  in  circum- 
ference. For  these  interesting  specimens,  and  for 
the  box  of  winter  pears,  Mr.  Ames  will  accept  the 
thanks  of  the  New  England  Farmer. 

POTATOES,  APPLES   AND    DROUGHT, 

I  planted  some  three  or  foixr  pounds  less  than 
half  a  bnshol  of  early  Goodri  h  potatoes,  about  the 
middle  of  May,  and  in  the  fore  part  of  Seiitemljcr 
I  dug  18  bushels  of  nice  ones,  at  the  rate  oi'  3U0 
bushels  to  the  acre.  We  have  cooked  some  of 
them  and  find  them  nice,  (iiher  boiled  or  baked. 
The  ground,  which  was  a  sandy  loam,  was  ploughed 
last  Decemlxr;  some  coarse  manure  was  spread 
on  in  the  spring,  and  plastered  both  in  the  hill  and 
after  it  was  hoed  the  second  time. 

1  alc^o  ohtamcd  three  small  potatoes  from  New 
Hampshire,  by  mail,  of  the  Oroiio  kind,  and  raised 
three  pecks  from  them,  without  any  manure,  but 
plasterid  in  the  hill. 

I  raised  14  l>ushcls  of  nice  Ladyfinger  potatoes 
from  less  than  haif  bushel  of  seed,  on  a  soil  that 
was  gravelly  and  too  dry. 

Among  niy  Pound  Sweets,  was  one  that  weighed 
1  Hi.  3  o/,.,  and  measured  14  inches  around  it,  and 
the  same  the  other  way.  Ihe  season  has  l>een 
very  dry  here  this  summer;  the  bottom  of  many 
wells  having  leaked  out,  at  the  lower  corner. 

H.  Griffin. 

Essex  Junction,  Vt.,  Oct.  29,  1867. 


STEAMING    FODDER. 

Much  has  been  said  in  agricultural  papers  dur- 
ing the  hist  twelve  months,  about  steaming  corn 
buts,  staiiis,  and  ])oor  hay  for  cattle  in  winter. 
But  in  no  case  have  I  seun  the  operation  fully  ex- 
plained. 

I  would  Mice  to  inquire  through  the  columns  of 
the  Monthly  New  England  Fai{mei!,  in  eases 
where  a  iij:lit  liox  is  used,  how  much  water  is  used 
to  a  buslit  I  of  cut  feed?  Should  the  water  be 
boi'inir  liot  or  only  warm  ?  How  much  meal 
should  lie  mixed  wiih  it  to  make  it  good  as  Eng- 
lish hay  :  or  if  shoris  are.  used  how  many  ?  What 
is  the  icliolc.  manner  of  prejjaring  it?  Who  can 
give  the  d  sired  information,  and  oblige 

Jesse  B.  Butteufield. 

Tyti(jsb(iro\  Mass.,  Nov.,  18'j7. 

Remarks. — In  addition  to  Ihe  information  which 
our  covrispi)ndent  will  find  in  the  statement  of 
Wm.  Birnic,  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  in  relation  to 
his  apparatus  and  his  mode  of  "Cooking  Food  for 
Cattle,"  we  copy  the  following  particulars  from  a 


communication  written  by  S.  N.  Thompson,  of 
Southboro',  Mass.,  for  the  Country  Gentleman. 
Mr.  T.  has  had  five  years'  experience  in  steaming 
feed,  and  he  expresses  the  opinion  that,  from  the 
extra  work,  he  can  winter  40  cows  on  steamed 
feed  for  one-third  less  expense  than  on  dry  ;  can 
get  at  least  one-quarter  more  milk,  and  keep  them 
in  as  good  thriving  condition. 

The  plan  which  he  at  first  adopted  is  described 
as  follows : 

Five  years  aeo  I  prepared  a  steam  box  flirecfly  over 
the  boili  r  ill  my  barn  cell  ir,  mnde  a  wooden  cover  to 
the  boiler,  fitii' a  it  sieam  tight,  and  ihrungb  rubber 
tuhes  conveyed  the  s*eam  into  a  perforaKd  iron  p'pe 
runiiins;  the  length  i  f  the  steam  bnx.  I  then  put  my  cut 
liay,  straw,  &c.,  into  ihe  bos,  wi  tting  it  theront-lily  as  I 
put  it  in;  if  nut  thus  wet  Ihe  slciim  will  dry  it  so  as  to 
destroy  it^  nourishing  qualities.  After  fiili  .y  die  boiler 
with  watir  and  mahing  my  connections,  box  and  cover 
sle:im  tiyht,  lighted  my  lire  and  kept,  the  wait  r  boiling 
bri>ikly  for  about  four  hours,  whin  I  found  the  mass  to 
be  pretty  thoroughly  cooked,  and  of  su'b  nature  that 
my  cattle  liked  it  <  xceedingly  well  By  addi  g  a  liberal 
supply  of  corn  meal  and  shorts  when  tilling  ihc  box,  you 
have  a  mass  nsemblmgin  flavor  amw  made  biaf  of 
brown-bread,  on  which  the  cattle  do  very  well,  though 
the  material  cooked  be  of  an  inferior  quality. 

After  pursuing  this  course  one  winter,  and  sat- 
isfying himself  that  he  could  make  more  milk 
from  a  fair  quality  of  meadow  hay,  thus  prepared, 
than  from  the  best  quality  of  upland  hay  fed  dry; 
and  that  the  addition  of,  say  two  quarts  of  meal, 
per  cow,  before  steaming  the  mass,  was  far  more 
beneficial  than  when  the  same  amount  was  fed  in 
comiection  with  dry  hay,  he  adopted  a  simpler 
process  of  preparing  the  feed,  of  ^^hic■h  he  gives 
the  following  description,  and  which  he  likes  quite 
as  well  as  the  first. 

I  take  a  large  feed  box,  willi  a  tight  cover,  and  into 
this  I  put  my  teed,  wetiii  g  each  layer  with  I  oiiing  wa- 
ter, fehal-ing  the  hay  so  as  to  h.ive  each  part  tlioioughly 
wet.  I  ihen  tramp  it  down  as  solid  as  possinle,  put  on 
another  layer,  ai  d  proceed  as  before  till  m\  b  x  is  lilKd. 
For  my  stock  of  15  liead  1  use  45  gallons  of  boiling  wa- 
ter in  mixing  enougli  to  last  them  two  days  Thi^  box 
shoulil  then  he  cloted,  while  another  boil,  r  of  water  is 
bciig  heated,  when  45  gallons  more  is  paired  evenly 
ov.'r  the  mass  the  box  closed,  and  allowed  to  stand 
about  12  hours  b'^fore  using.  The  feed  i-<  then  softeied, 
so  as  to  be  easily  digested  and  of  nearly  the  Siime  fla- 
vor as  when  in  its  green  state;  and  rry  c  .Itle  prefer 
even  po'  r  meadow  liay,  thus  prepared,  to  the  best  Eiig- 
lish  hay  when  f.  d  dry. 

After  remarking  that  he  had  kept  his  stock  for 

three  winters  on  corn  stover  and  meadow  hay  that 

his  neighbors  considered  almost  worthless,  using 

meal,  not  to  exceed  one  quart  per  day,  to  each  cow, 

when  not  giving  milk,  and  bringing  them  out  in 

good  condition,  he  states  the  following  fact: 

About  tlie  middle  of  April  last,  havi-  g  used  my  poor 
hay,  fir  whieh  I  p.iid  $13  per  ton,  (Eigli."!!  hay  being 
tlieti  worth  $3i,)  I  commenced  f  eding  \eiy  lie  early 
cut  EMl!li^h  I  a\ ,  dry,  to  n.y  inich  cows,  and  to  my  sur- 
prise, 1  found  that  ill' y  decrcas(  d  in  their  quantity  of 
mi  b  from  one  quarter  to  oiie-th'rd,  and  1  was  not  able 
to  increa-'t'  that  quantity  till  they  went  to  grass,  though 
I  doubl  d  their  quantity  of  grain. 

NEW  PLAN  FOR  FALL  FEEDING. 

We  have  avoided  feedingourfields — grass  fields — 
ciilier  in  spring  or  autumn,  preferring  to  feed  from 
the  liarn  when  we  could  no  longer  keep  our  stock 
in  the  jiusture.  Our  neiirhbors  have  practiced 
feeding  their  cattle  in  their  tiehls,l)0(h  in  sjiriiigand 
fall,  and  some  of  tiiem  pretend  to  think  that  their 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARRIER. 


581 


grass  is  thicker  for  it,  and  that  where  it  is  fed  closely 
and  by  licavy  animals,  the  worms  do  not  injure 
the  grass  as  ihcy  do  where  eatclc  are  kept  olF. 
Will  the  farmers  who  have  acres  of  grass  destroy  ed 
by  worms  please  make  a  note  of  this  lenndy,  and 
see  if  the  ]:oitions  of  ilieir  liclds  which  ij-cuped 
the  deprcda.ions  of  the  worms  were  not  tho-c 
where  the  cattle  i'cd  the  most.  After  carefully 
considcsimj  ihe  evidence  in  the  case,  we  have  con- 
cluded to  ad  'pt  the  fasiiiins  for  once,  and  feed  our 
field-  this  fdl,  and  will  report  another  season,  if 
there  is  an\  tiling  tliscovcn  d  worth  a  n  cord.  We 
shall  fied  iciih  a  compost  of  soil  mixedby  hogs  with 
stable  mainue.  f. 

New  Hampshire,  Oct.,  1867. 

Remarks. — Until  ''F."  takes  out  a  patent  for 
his  invention,  we  suppose  it  is  open  to  the  whole 
world. 


MEASURING   HAY  IN    BULK. 

I  have  seen  statements  in  the  Farmer  of  the 
nnmhcr  of  cubic  feet  of  a  hay  mow  which  are  gen- 
erally allort-cd  lo  be  equal  to  a  ton.  As  I  have 
forgotten  the  ligun  s,  you  will  olilige  me  and  per- 
haps otheis  by  republishing  ihe  Catimate. 

BrigJdon,  Mass.,  Nov.,  ItidT.  J.  Lane. 

Remarks. — The  rule  which  we  have  publi-hed 
two  or  three  times  is,  that  /;o/?j/bMr<o^re  hundred 
cubic  feet  of  a  tcell  packed  mow  of  tolerably  fine  hay 
are  equal  to  a  to7i.  In  the  Monthly  Farmer  fur 
1860,  page  2G,  Thomas  S.  Fletcher  of  Reading,  Vt., 
stated  that  "at  the  bottom  of  a  large  mow  4j0  feet 
will  make  a  ton,  and  that  one  whole  barnful  that 
was  weighed  out  averaged  a  little  less  than  500  feet 
to  the  ton."  On  the  same  page,  Mr.  M.  J.  Peikins, 
another  of  our  correspondents,  stated  that  farmers 
in  his  region  esiimaie  that  from  400  to  500  cubic 
feet,  according  to  the  po^itioll  in  which  the  hay 
lies,  is  sufficient  for  a  ton.  Meadow  and  other 
coarse  hay  is  lighter,  will  not  pack  as  closely,  and 
more  feet  must  be  allowed  for  it.  Another  concs- 
pondenc  of  Hope,  Me.,  writes  that  ''a  mow  of  hay 
that  is  well  stowed,  wiil  weigh  out  a  ton  to  every 
five  hundred  cubic  feet ;  or,  if  it  is  of  very  fine 
qualiiy  from  four  to  live  hundred  feet  will  make  a 
ton." 

On  publishing  the  above,  the  Country  Gentleman 
remarks  that  "ihis  agrees  with  the  report  of  one 
of  our  subscribers  at  the  West,  who  found  the 
lower  layer  of  some  three  f^et  of  a  considerable 
bulk  on  a  seafiuld,  to  average  510  feet."  Wm.  J. 
Pcttee,  of  L  ikevillc,  Ct.,  says  in  the  same  paper 
that  if  the  hay  be  closely  pressed,  as  at  the  bottom 
of  a  bay,  450— if  lightly,  as  on  a  scaffold  or  top  part 
of  a  bay,  500  feet. 


I  see  that  our  friend  "R."  criticises  my  criticism 
of  his  arii  le  on  carbon,  and  while  acknowledging 
the  spirit  of  kindness  witli  which  I  am  met,  must 
say  1  am  not  entirely  sati-fied  with  his  explanation. 
Dr.  J.  L.  Coiiistuck,  in  his  Introduction  to  Miner- 
alogy, paffc  55,  euiiion  of  1848,  says:  "Carbon  is 
ft>und  ill  abundance  in  the  earth,  being  the  chief 
element  in  the  composition  of  coal.  It  is  also 
found  combined  wiih  iron,  forming  a  carburet  ot 
that  metal.  Tlie  diamond  is  composed  entirely  of 
carbon."  Without  questioning  the  authority  ot 
Dr.  Ure,  may  we  not  ask,  does  not  the  fact  that 


Graphite  give«  nearly  the  same  proportions  of  iron 
and  carbon,  the  world  over,  prove  incontestably 
that  it  is  not  an  "accidental  im|iregnaiion<  f  iron  ?" 
One  iliing  more,  and  I  am  done.  This  same  Dr. 
Ure  is  not  stiiitlv  exait  in  his  statements,  as 
quoti  d  by  "R  "  He  says  :  "/«  the  diunumd  it  is 
colorless."  If  he  had  said  generally  coloiless,  that 
would  have  hi^  the  mark.  Com-tock— page  327, 
edirion  o  1  1818— describes  diamomis  as  follows: 
"Coloress,  or  of  a  y(  llowi.-h,  blueish,  yellnwish 
green,  clove  brown,  browni  h  bla  k,  Prussian  blue, 
or  rare  red  color,"  &c.  Finally,  vshirc  dot  tors 
di-agreo  who  can  decide  ?  Risxicus. 

Ripton,  Vt.,  Nov.  4,  1867. 

Remarks. — It  appears  to  us  that  our  correspon- 
dents, substantially  agreeing  upon  facts,  are  dis- 
puting mainly  about  words.  In  this,  however, 
they  have  the  example  of  dislingnij-hcd  controver- 
sialists in  theo'ogy,  policies,  morals,  &c.,  as  well 
as  in  science.  Perhtips  both  parties  will  thank  us 
for  appending  Webster's  definition,  as  found  in 
the  "Unabridged:"  "Graphite;  Carhon  in  one 
of  its  condiions,  di-tinguished  by  its  usually 
crystallizing  in  foliated  six-sided  prisms,  though 
often  mastive,  by  its  softness,  its  metaliiL;  lustre, 
and  by  leaving  a  dark  lead  colored  trace  on 
paper.  It  sometimes  contains  iron,  but  this  is  not 
essential.  It  is  used  fur  pen  ils,  and  is  often  called 
plumbago  or  black  lead. — Cleaveland." 

gladiolus. 

We  have  had  good  luck  with  this  beautiful  flow- 
er this  year.  They  come  late,  are  very  .••liowy, 
and  last  a  good  while.  They  are  e.isily  ciiltiviited 
and  ra|  i(  ly  increase.  But  we  made  a  great  mis- 
take, Ave  fear,  in  setting  our  liiilbs  out  scattering, 
last  spring.  We  have  just  gathered  our  bulbs  in 
great  abundmce  and  fine  condi.ion,  and  are  satis- 
fied that  another  spring  to  make  the  finest 
display,  we  should  set  them  out  in  clumps. 
Can  liny  ( ne  tell  us  how  near  to  set  the  bulbs 
lo  each  other  to  have  them  do  the  best .' 

November,  1867.  Inquirer. 

Remarks. — We  have  had  very  good  success  with 
this  beautiful  flower,  which  we  planted  in  beds, 
placing  the  bulbs  in  rows  eight  inches  apart  one 
way  and  nine  inches  the  other.  A  friend  plants 
four  to  six  about  a  stake,  so  that  they  are  six  or 
eight  inches  apart.  We  have  found  them  very 
easy  of  cultivation,  and  look  upon  them  as  indis- 
pensable to  the  flower  garden.  Our  friend  will 
find  a  bed  four  by  eight  or  ten  feet  in  dimensions, 
the  luilbs  planted  as  above,  and  staked  with  sticks 
four  f.et  long  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  square, 
will  make  him  as  fine  a  show  as  he  can  desire. 

is  labor  disreputable  ? 

What  is  f  h^re  to  keep  the  boys  on  the  farm,  and 
the  girls  in  Ihe  kitchen  ?  Is  farming  less  respecta- 
ble than  it  usid  to  be,  or  has  labor  become  a  fjur- 
den  and  a  disgrace  ? 

"Ill  fares  the  land,  to  hastenins  il's  a  prey, 
When  wealtli  accumulatL-s  and  men  decay." 

I  look  for  some  advantage  from  the  college,  if  it 
shall  not  make  the  students  despisers  of  labor. 
We  cannot  all  l)e  farmers.  We  must  have  consum- 
ers as  well  as  producers;  but  what  right  have  the 
former  to  despise  the  latter,  because  the-e  eat  what 
thoac  have  raised.  Benj.  G.  Kimball. 


582 


NEW  ENGLAND  FAKMER. 


Dec. 


labks'    Stpaitmtttl. 


From  the  Lover's  Diary,  by  Alice  Cary. 
BY   THE    SEASIDE. 

Come  out  to  the  side  of  the  sea,  my  love, 

Come  out  to  the  side  of  the  sea; 
The  sun  is  set,  and  the  stars  are  met, 

And  the  winds  and  the  waves  agree; 
But  star  so  bright,  uor  wave  so  light, 

Brings  pleasure  or  peace  to  me, 

0  come,  for  I  sit  and  wait,  alone, 

On  the  rocks  by  the  side  of  the  sea  1 

1  am  going  down  in  my  memory 
To  the  blessed  long  ago, 

"When  the  golden  ground  of  the  buttercups 
Was  dashed  with  the  daisies'  snow. 

And  I'm  thinking  of  all  you  said  to  me, 
And  if  it  were  true  or  no, 

While  I  watch  the  tide  as  itTuns  away 
From  the  beach  so  black  and  low. 

If  I  should  die,  my  love,  my  sweet, 

Die  of  your  smile  forlorn, 
Burv  nie  here  by  the  side  of  the  sea, 

Where  all  my  joy  was  born. 
Where  the  waves  shall  make  my  lullaby, 

And  the  winds  from  night  till  morn 
Shall  say  to  the  rocks,  "He  is  gone  to  sleep 

Where  all  his  joy  was  born." 


HOUSEHOLD   ECONOMY. 


CONTRIBUTED  FOR  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  FARMER. 


Sweet  Apple  Cakes. 
Five  cups  of  sour  milk ;  five  cups  of  com  meal ; 
two  and  a  half  tea  spoonfuls  of  soda;  lialf  a  cup 
of  molasses ;  a  teaspoonful  of  salt,  and  about  two 
quarts  of  sliced  sweet  apples.    It  requires  a  very 
hot  oven,  and  a  good  deal  of  baking. 
Tapioca  Pudding. 
Put  three  table-spoonfuls  of  tapioca  in  soak  in  cold 
water  over  night.    In  the  morning,  add  a  quart  of 
boiling  milk,  the  yolks  of  three  eggs  and  a  cup  of 
sugar,  leaving  out  two  table  spoonfuls  of  the  sugar 
to  beat  with  the  whites  of  the  eggs  for  a  top  to  the 
pudding  after  it  has  boiled  as  much  as  a  soft  cus- 
tard.   Flavor  with  vanilla.    Brown  it  lightly  in 
the  oven.    Serve  cold. 

Chocolate   Caramels. 

One  cup  of  milk ;  two  cups  of  sugar ;  two  cups 
of  molasses ;  one  cake  of  chocolate  grated  fine. 
Boil  till  it  candies.  Pour  out  on  a  flat  dish  and  cut 
in  squares. 

Cocoanut  Cakes. 

One  pound  of  sugar;  one-half  pound  of  butter; 
three-fourths  pound  of  flour;  six  eggs;  one  cocoa- 
nut  grated  fine  without  the  milk.  Beat  the  yolks 
and  whites  of  eggs  separately.  Add  the  flour  and 
cocoanut  just  before  baking.  If  you  please,  you 
can  bake  one-fourth  of  the  grated  cocoanut  in  the 
cake,  and  after  it  is  cool,  put  the  rest  with  pow- 
dered sugar  on  the  top  for  a  frosting. 

Mufllns. 
For  tea,  maliC  a  sponge  about  eleven  o'clock,  by 
dissolving  a  yeast  cake  in  a  little  warm  water  and 
flour.    At  two,  add  one  pint  of  milk ;  two  eggs ;  a 


quart  of  flour  and  a  tablespoonful  of  butter. 
Warm  the  milk  enough  to  melt  the  butter;  mix 
thoroughly  and  keep  in  a  warm  place  to  rise.  Bake 
in  rings. 

Orange  Ice. 

Express  the  juice  of  six  large  oranges ;  strain, 
and  add  a  quart  of  cold  water ;  make  it  very  sweet ; 
beat  the  whites  of  four  eggs  to  a  stiff  froth ;  pour 
the  whole  into  a  "freezer"  properly  prepared,  and 
freeze  immediately  before  it  is  ivanted. 
For  Chapped  Hands. 

Three  ounces  white  wine  vinegar ;  three  ounces 
lemon  ^uice ;  one-half  pint  white  brandy.  Rub 
this  liquid  on  the  hands  frequently,  especially  af- 
ter washing  with  soap.  Mary. 

Parsonjield,  Me.,  Oct.  30,  1867. 

Cracker  Mince  Pies. 
Take  three  large  crackers ;  one  cup  of  vinegar ; 
one  cup  of  molasses  ;  two  cups  of  sugar ;  a  piece 
of  butter  the  size  of  an  egg ;  raisins  and  spice  to 
your  taste.    This  will  make  three  pies. 

Mother's  Cookies. 
One  and  one-half  cup  of  white  sugar ;  the  whites 
of  two  eggs ;  one  cup  of  thick  sour  cream ;  one- 
half  teaspoonful   saleratus;  nutmeg  or  spice  to 

your  taste. 

Lemon  Pie. 

One  lemon  sliced  fine ;  one  egg ;  one  cup  of  su- 
gar ;  one-half  cup  of  water ;  one  table  spoonful  of 
flour. 

Steamed  Pudding. 

Take  two  cups  of  sour  milk ;  one-half  cup  of 
sour  cream ;  one-half  cup  of  sugar  or  molasses ; 
one  cup  of  raisins  (or  dried  berries) ;  one  tea- 
spoonful of  saleratus  ;  spice  to  your  taste,  and  a 
little  salt;  stir  in  flour  until  it  is  as  thick  as  com- 
mon gingerbread ;  steam  one  hour  and  a  half.  To 
be  eaten  with  sour  sauce  or  sweetened  cream. 
Snow  Balls. 

One  cup  of  sugar ;  two  eggs  ;  four  table  spoon- 
%ls  of  milk ;  one  teaspoonful  of  cream  of  tartar ; 
one  of  soda,  if  the  milk  is  sour;  spice  to  your 
taste ;  mix  them  hard  enough  to  roll  out ;  cut  with 
a  small  cake  cutter,  and  fry  in  hot  lard ;  then  dip 
them  in  the  white  of  an  egg,  and  roll  in  powdered 
loaf  sugar  till  white. 

To  Take  Ink  Spots  out  of  Linen. 

Dip  the  ink  spots  in  melted  tallow ;  rub  until  the 
tallow  comes  out,  and  the  ink  will  come  out  with 
it.  Vermont  Farmer's  Wife. 

Weston,  Vt.,  October,  1867. 


DOMESTIC   RECEIPTS. 

Brown  Chicken  Soup. — Cut  up  a  nicely-dress- 
ed chicken  ;  put  it  in  the  pot  with  water  to  cover 
it,  which  must  be  measured,  and  half  as  much 
more  added  to  it  before  the  soup  is  (lished.  Keep 
it  covered  tight,  boiling  slowly,  and  take  ofi"  the 
fat  as  fast  as  it  rises.  When  the  cliickeu  is  ten- 
der, take  it  from  the  pot  and  mince  it  very  fine; 
season  it  to  the  taste,  and  brown  it  with  liutttr  in 
a  dripping  pan.  When  brown,  |)iit  it  l)ack  in  the 
pot.  Brown  togctiicr  butter  and  Hour,  and  make 
rich  gravy,  by  adding  a  pint  of  the  soup ;  stir  this 


1867. 


NEW   ENGLAND   FARMER. 


583 


in  the  soup,  and  season  it  with  a  little  pepper, 
salt,  and  butter.  Be  careful  the  chopped  chicken 
does  not  settle,  and  burn  on  the  pot.  It  will  Ijc 
well  to  turn  a  small  plate  on  the  bottom  of  the 
kettle  to  prevent  this.  Toast  bread  quite  brown 
and  dry,  but  do  not  burn  it,  and  lay  the  toast  in 
the  tureen,  and  servo  it  with  the  soup ;  stir  the 
chicken  through  it,  and  pour  it  in  the  tureen. —  I 
Godey's. 

Potato  Patties. — Butter  some  small  pattypans ;  I 
strew  Itread-crnmbs  over  the  insides  and  (ill  them  ' 
with  some  nicely-mashed  potatoes,  flavored  with 
either  mushroom  catchup,  grated  lemon-peel,  or 
savory  herbs  chopped  fine ;  add  sufficient  lard  or  \ 
fresh  butter,  and  sift  more   bread-crumbs  on  the 
tops ;  place  them  in  an  oven  till  properly  browned,  i 
lift  them   out  of  the  pattypans  to  serve.    Note:  a 
very  thin  puff  paste  may  line  and  cover  the  p.atty- 
pans,  and  the  bread-crumbs  be  omitted. — Godey's. 

Eggs  avith  Onions. — Boil  some  eggs  hard,  pre- 
serve the  yolks  whole ;  cut  the  whites  into  slips, 
and  add  them  to  a  few  small  onions  which  you 
have  first  fried  in  butter :  give  all  a  stir  up,  pour 
off  the  superfluous  fat;  dredge  in  a  little  liour; 
moisten  it  sufficiently  with  gravy ;  add  seasoning 
to  taste ;  let  it  come  to  a  boil ;  put  in  the  yolks, 
and,  when  they  are  quite  hot,  serve. 

Starching  Cuffs  and  Collars. — After  wash- 
ing and  rinsing  them,  let  them  dry  as  if  for  iron- 
ing. Having  made  some  starch  a  little  thicker 
than  cream,  put  them  in,  wring  them  out  again, 
let  them  dry  before  the  fire  until  they  are  fit  for 
ironing,  roll  them  in  a  cloth,  and  iron.  To  give 
them  a  good  gloss,  take  the  end  of  a  wax  candle 
and  stir  it  through  the  starch  when  quite  hot,  and 
do  not  let  the  iron  be  too  hot.  A  little  salt  put 
into  the  starch  when  hot  will  prevent  the  iron  from 
sticking,  and  some  soap  rubbed  on  it  before  using 
will  answer  the  same  purpose. 

Flaxseed  Syrup. — This  excellent  remedy  for  a 
cough  is  made  thus  : — Boil  one  ounce  of  flaxseed 
in  a  quart  of  water  for  half  an  hour ;  strain  and 
add  to  the  liquid  the  juice  of  two  lemons,  and  half 
a  pound  of  rock  candy.  If  the  cough  is  accom- 
panied by  weakness  and  a  loss  of  appetite,  add 
half  an  ounce  of  powdered  gum  arabic.  Set  this 
to  simmer  for  half  an  hour,  stirring  it  occasionally. 
Take  a  wine-glassful  when  the  cough  is  trouble- 
some. 

Cure  for  Corns. — The  following  receipt  is 
vouched  for  as  a  sure  cure  for  corns  : — "Put  the  feet 
for  half  an  hour,  two  or  three  successive  nights,  in 
a  strong  solution  of  soda.  The  alkali  dissolves  the 
indurated  cuticle,  and  the  corns  fall  out  spontan  e 
ouslj' ;  leaving  a  small  cavity,  which  soon  fills." 
An  exchange  says  : — "We  know  the  above  reme- 
dy for  corns  to  be  effectual.  We  have  tried  it,  and 
found  it  acts  like  magic.  But  we  do  not  tliink  a 
strong  solution  is  desirable.  We  know  of  a  friend 
who  tried  the  remedy  on  our  recommendation,  but 
he  made  the  solution  so  strong  that,  with  the  corns, 
it  took  off  a  portion  of  the  skin  on  the  foot.  From 
one  to  two  table-spoonfuls  soda  in  a  small  foot-tub 
of  hot  water  is  sufficient  to  remove  the  corns,  by 
letting  the  afflicted  member  remain  in  it  ten  or  fif- 
teen minutes." 

Mustard  Plasters. — By  using  syrupor  molas- 
ses for  mustard  plasters,  they  will  keep  soft  and 
flexible,  and  not  dry  up  and  become  hard,  as  when 
mixed  with  water.  A  thin  paper  or  fine  cloth 
should  come  between  the  plaster  and  the  skin. 
The  strength  of  the  plaster  is  varied  by  the  addi- 
tion of  more  or  less  flour. 

To  Wash  Merinoes. — An  old  merino  may  be 
made  to  look  as  good  as  new  by  flrst  ripping  to 
pieces  the  skirt,  and  afterwards  washing  each 
breadth  separately  in  warm  suds,  being  careful  to 


rinse  only  in  clean  warm  water  suds.  Cold  water 
after  warm  will  shrink  any  kind  of  woolen  goods. 
Iron  while  quite  damp  on  the  wrong  side.  After- 
wards fold  once  double  on  the  right  side,  placing 
over  it  a  clean  newspaper,  and  iron  with  a  very  hot 
flat  iron,  in  this  way  making  the  seam  fold  in  al 
new  double  folded  goods. 


"WOMEN   AND    THE  FASHIONS. 

It  is  the  eternal,  hc«^en-decreed,  anti-Mill  law 
that  women  should  be  dependent,  and  poor,  and 
vain ;  and  their  dependence,  their  poverty,  and 
their  vanity  make  them  all  the  more  ad()ral)le,  be- 
cause we  know  that  these  spring,  not  from  scllish- 
ness,  but  from  desire  to  give  delight  to  men.  They 
are  deliciously  poor.  They  will  borrow  sixpence 
from  you  without  shame ;  and  if  they  have  fifty 
thousand  pounds,  they  will  come  and  cast  the 
money  into  your  lap  and  say,  "There,  dear ;  pay 
off  the  nasty  mortgages,  and  then  take  me  out  for 
a  walk."  They  only  want  to  be  taken  out  for  a 
walk  to  look  at  the  l)onnet  shops.  If  there  be 
cash  about,  they  will  have  a  bonnet — the  best  that 
money  can  buy.  If  the  funds  be  at  low  water, 
they  will  "take  it  out  of  the  bonnets"  by  looking 
at  them.  I  have  known  a  "nice  woman"  who  had 
not  the  slightest  hesitation  in  eating  partridges  at 
twelve-and-sixpence  a  brace,  but  who  was  per- 
fectly content  to  dine  on  a  basin  of  water  gruel— 
so  long  as  you  took  her  out  for  a  walk.  Y<ju  must 
take  her  out  for  a  walk.  The  nice  woman  forgives 
everything  but  neglect.  Pay  her  attention,  and 
she  will  forgive,  forgive,  fortjivc  fof  ever  and  ever. 
Neglect  or  scorn  her,  or  (U'cliiie  to  admire  the  new 
collar  and  cuffs  she  has  bought  for  onc-and-eleven- 
pence-halfpenny  in  Newington  Causeway,  and  she 
will  hate  you  worse  than  Mrs.  Potiphar  hated  Jo- 
seph. What  is  the  usual  complaint  of  an  ill-used 
woman  against  a  man  .'  It  is  not  "He  beats  me ;" 
"he  swears  at  me;"  "he  has  spent  all  my  money." 
It  is  "he  doesn't  care  for  me."  The  woman  likes 
to  be  poor.  She  likes  to  beg.  She  likes  to  have 
nothing,  and  that  everything  should  come  from 
you.  She  would  nibble  the  bread  out  of  your 
mouth  if  you  would  let  her.  She  triumphs  in  "car- 
nejnng"  you  out  of  a  five-pound  note.  I  do  verily 
lielieve  that  she  will  cheat  you  a  little  if  she  has  a 
chance.  If  you  are  wealthy  and  generous,  you 
may  cover  her  with  all  the  gems  Mr.  Hancock  has 
to  sell.  You  may  pour  on,  and  she  will  endure. 
But  fall  you  into  poverty — be  you  proscribed,  be 
unhappy,  be  distressed,  and  away  go  the  diamonds 
and  the  cashmeres  to  mine  uncle — away  go  vanity 
and  caprice ;  and  you  liav(kby  your  side  a  patient 
little  soul  in  a  cotton  print,  who  will  wash  and 
mangle  and  iron  and  starch — who  will  peel  pota- 
toes and  broil  red  herrings — who  v/ill  stitch  her 
fingers  to  the  bone  in  the  making  of  soldiers'  jack- 
ets to  buy  your  bread.  I  believe  that  Zenobia, 
Queen  of  Palmyra,  would  do  this ;  and  "Nancy," 
the  burglar's  sweetheart  in  Oliver  Twist,  could  do 
no  more.  It  is  the  nature  of  womankind.  There 
are  exceptions  to  the  rule ;  but  the  exceptions  are 
scarcely  women. — Belyravia  for  October. 


Favorite  Days  for  Marriage. — The  latest  re- 
ports of  the  Registrars-General  of  England  and 
Scotland  show  "that  no  two  nations  could  differ 
more  widely  than  do  tlie  English  and  the  Scotch 
with  regard  to  the  choice  of  days  of  the  week  for 
marriage.  The  Scottish  report  states  that  the  fa- 
vorite day  for  marriage  in  Scotlund  is  the  last  day 
of  the  year,  provided  it  does  not  fall  on  Saturday 
or  a  Sunday.  No  marriages  are  celebrated  on 
Sunday  in  Scotland,  while  in  England  it  is  the 
favorite  day  of  the  week  for  marriage,  thirty-two 
per  cent,  of  the  marriages  being  contracted  on 
that  day.  Monday  is  a  favorite  day  in  both  coun- 
tries.   Saturday,  in  England,  is  the  third  day  of 


584 


NEW   ENGLAND    FARMER. 


Dec. 


the  ■week  in  order  of  selection  for  marriaijc,  seven- 
teen per  cent,  occurring  on  that  day  ;  but  in  Scot- 
land, no  true  Scot  will  marry  on  a  Satur<lay, 
nor,  indeed,  begin  any  work  of  imiwrtance.  With 
the  Scot,  Saturday  is  an  unlucky  day  for  marriage, 
and  he  is  impressed  with  the  superstitious  Ijclicf 
that,  if  he  married  on  a  Saturday,  one  of  the  par- 
ties would  die  before  the  year  expires,  or  that,  if 
both  survive  I,  the  marriage  would  prove  unfruit- 
ful. Hence  it  happens  that  Sunday  or  Satui'day, 
the  two  favorite  days  fom  marriage  in  England, 
are  blank  days  for  marriage  in  Scotland.  Friday 
is  the  day  on  which  the  English  do  not  marry, 
bui  in  Scotland,  it  is  one  of  the  favorite  days  for 
marriage. 


the  beginning  of  next  month  the  winter  styles  will 
be  ready  for  the  inspection  and  >election  of  the 
ladies,  and  Broadway  will  again  witness  the  ex- 
citement of  opening  day.  The  liikle  goddess  that 
rules  modistes  and  their  customers  is  already  pre- 
paring strange  surprises  for  her  subjects  in  Gotham. 
— New  York  Herald. 


THE   FASHIONS. 

The  races  at  Jerome  Park  and  the  summer-like 
weather  of  the  past  week  brought  out  the  belies  of 
the  metropolis  in  the  brightest  and  gavcst  of  fall 
toilettes.  It  is  an  agreeal)le  feature  of  the  inde- 
pendence and  good  taste  of  American  ladies  to  sec 
that  our  mof/tA^es  are  obliged  to  modify  and  har- 
monize the  extreme  peculiari  ies  of  the  fashions 
dictated  in  Paris.  The  prevailing  col  r  in  dresses 
and  bonnets  among  the  f\iir  patronesses  of  Ji  romc 
Paik  was  blue,  and  interminable  trails  mingled 
with  the  coqucttisli  short  dresses  that  came  into 
vogue  last  spring.  The  becoming  little  Fanchon 
still  graces  fashional)le  heads  ancl  nostlcs  beside 
preposterous  diignons.  Ornaments  of  gold  are 
much  used,  but  do  not  necessarily  portend  a  re- 
turn to  specie  payments  on  the  part  of  the  wearers' 
liusbands.  Satin  and  velvet  trimmmgs  are  seen 
on  nuiny  of  the  crape  and  tulle  hats,  and  thi  re  are 
already  indications  of  a  return  to  crowns  and  cur- 
tains in  the  matter  of  bonnets.  Lace  strings  are 
extresnely  fashionable,  and  streamers  of  a  narrow 
rilibon  wave  in  the  wake  of  every  belle.  There  is 
little  novelty  in  cloaks  to  be  seen  out  doors  yit,  as 
the  Indian  summer  still  encourages  hand-ome 
short  suits,  with  elaborately  ornamented  overskirt 
and  bodi 's  of  every  possible  pattern.  Jet  and  lace 
will  be  ihe  principal  materials  in  trimmings  tliis 
season.  On  evening  dre>ses  bands  and  bows  of 
velvet  form  strange  geometrical  ligurcs.  There  is 
a  rumor  that  ribbons  of  immense  width  will  be 
worn  this  season,  not  oid}  as  sathcs,  but  al.-o  in 
tlie'hair,  on  dresses,  and  tied  around  the  itpper 
part  of  I  he  sleeve.  Tlic  Bismarck  brown  is  still 
prcfVrred  in  ti  ileties,  but  it  cainiot  hold  sway  very 
long,  for  a  m(.rc  unbecoming  color  never  i  Uianated 
from  the  sanctum  ot  Madame  Fathion.    About 


The  Spinet. — Any  lady  who  will  take  the 
ti'otililc  to  mount  to  the  fourth  story  of  the  Messrs. 
Cliickcring  s  piano  store  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
may  sec  stich  a  spinet  as  Mrs.  Washington,  Mrs. 
Adams  and  Mrs.  Hamilton  played  upon  when  they 
were  little  girls.  It  is  a  smallharp-shaied  instru- 
ment on  legs,  exceedingly  coarse  and  clum-y  in  its 
construction, — the  case  rough  and  unpolished,  the 
legs  like  those  of  a  kitchen  table,  with  wooden 
castors  such  as  were  formerly  used  in  the  construc- 
tion of  cheap  bedsteads  of  the  "tritndle"  variety. 
The  keys,  however,  arc  much  like  tho>e  now  in 
use,  tliouuh  they  are  I'ewcr  in  iiiiml)cr,  and  the 
ivory  is  yellow  with  age.  If  the  reader  would  know 
the  tone  of  this  ancient  instrument,  he  has  hut  to 
stretch  a  l)rass  wire  across  a  box  between  two  nails, 
and  twang  it  with  a  short  pointed  piece  of  quill. 
And  if  the  reader  would  know  how  mticli  better 
1867  is  than  the  year  1700,  he  mav  ti^^t  hear  this 
spinet  played  upon  in  Mes.-rs.  Cuiikcrinu's  dusty 
garret,  and  then  descend  to  onef)f  the  floors  below 
and  listen  to  the  round,  fall,  i^rilli  int  singing  of  a 
Chickering  grand,  of  the  present  illustri  lus  year. 
By  as  much  as  that  grand  piano  is  better  than 
that  poor  little  spinet,  by  so  niuili  is  the  p -e-ent 
time,  is  better  than  the  clays  when  Louis  XIV.  was 
king.  If  any  intelligent  person  d  )ul»rs  it,  i;  is  either 
bcKiiisc  he  does  not  know  that  age,  or  because  he 
docs  not  know  this  age. — Parcon. 


Female  Logic. — As  a  young  woman  was  walk- 
ing alone  one  evening,  a  man  looked  at  lier,  and 
followed  her.  The  young  woman  said,  "Whvdo 
you  follow  me  ?"  lie  answered,  "Lie  au.-e  I  have 
fallen  in  love  with  you."  The  v\oiiian  said,  "Why 
are  you  in  love  with  me  ?  My  sister  is  iiiiicn  hand- 
somer ;  she  is  coming  after  mc  ;  go  a  d  make  love 
to  her."  Tlie  man  turned  ba  k  and  saw  a  woman 
with  an  ugly  face;  being  greatly  disple  ised  he 
turned  to  the  first  woman  and  said,  "\Vii.\  did  you 
tell  mc  a  f.d-ehood  ?"  The  w.unin  answered, 
"Meithcr  did  you  speak  the  truth,  t  r  if  yo  i  were 
really  in  love  with  me,  why  did  you  Ic.ivo  me  to 
look  ui)un  my  sister  ?" 


i  ^5 


W9M